Storm Shadow (2009)
The second Cobra five pack of the 25th anniversary line, much like the GI Joe version, improved on a few versions of figures that were previously lacking in their modern interpretations. Baroness was one of the better early revamps. Storm Shadow was another, at least in terms of his mold. He received a new set of legs, and lost his shirt sleeves. In this way, more represents the comic and Sunbow looks, albeit with some changes to his color scheme.
The choice to paint certain parts of the figure grey is a bit odd, unless the design team or marketing thought the figure would be more visually dynamic in the package with a splash of contrast among the stark white of his outfit. The again, it may have been simply to differentiate it from the previous figure, since mom or dad might balk at buying their kid another white ninja that looks essentially just like the one they may have already purchased. Speaking of such, remember when parents were buying GI Joes for their kids? Hard to do, I know.
Stormy’s equipped with the same accessories as previous versions, including somewhat flimsy swords, and a sash that just can’t seem to stay in the right place. Maybe it’s just my example, and I need to soak it in boiling water to reshape it a bit.
If the grey bits don’t strike your fancy, check out the Hall of Heroes version, as it returns Stormy to his all-white ninja pajamas. Of course, all of these earlier releases have been eclipsed by last year’s amazing “ultimate” version.
It might seem hard to belive but twenty years ago [when i was 8] my parents were still buying me Gijoes. Gijoe as a brand did well against Tmnt and other fads until the power rangers arrived. Then everything that wasnt a power ranger was thrown into the discount binns. I certainly stuck out in my generation. I was born in ’86 but everyone jokes that i was born in ’76 due to all the stuff i like.
I wish I could have found that set at retail. I’ve since gotten better versions of the figures (like Ultimate Cobra Commander and Ultimate Storm Shadow) but figures from that set would have stayed out on display and made me a lot happier than the weak ones I had from the early 25th Anniversary line. I’m glad Hasbro revisited some of the early, less-than-successful attempts with some figures, though I think we still got a bit of Cobra Commander, Storm Shadow, Snake-Eyes and Duke overload trying to fix some earlier subpar figures. On the plus side, though, it does show that Hasbro is willing to listen to criticisms and release better versions of things to correct some mistakes.
@ Skymate–I was the same way. I remember getting Joes as a kid up until the end of the line in 1994. I’m a year older than you, so we were probably getting the same stuff. I liked Turtles and Power Ranges as a kid, but let me tell you, Joe is the only one I’ve ever gone after later in life. I haven’t touched Power Rangers since sixth grade or so (and to be honest, I’m a little embarrassed that I fell into that fad as deeply as I did), but I remember during high school scouring toy aisles for stuff from the Joe Vs. Cobra era. I still do have a pretty big nostalgic soft spot for the Turtles, but nothing released there hits both my nostalgia button and my “I’d like to pretend I’m a grown up collector” button at the same time like the Joes do.
This figure also came with a pair of nunchucks too, it should be noted. I think the gray is meant to be a nod to the 1997 version, which had bits of gray in similar places.
Overall, I think this is a very nice looking Storm Shadow figure.
@KansasBrawler
I think part of the reason Tmnt did badly in my home town was due to the old miser who ran the toy store. Kids in the town loved those turtles [my sister wanted a Michelangelo for her fourth birthday over a Barbie] but the miser never bothered ordering decent turtles stock. All he ever got in was Aprils boss and the camera man with the big nose [sorry i dont know their names] as kids would defer to the Joe figures instead [lots of variety]
Nice figure.