Destro was one of the two first G.I. Joe figures I got and one of my favorites of the bad guys, so finally getting an official six-inch version is a big deal. Luckily, Destro came through the updater relatively unscathed. Let’s take a closer look and see what’s going on.
I am an official, stodgy, unshakeable anti-updater. I don’t and have never minded different designs—like V2 or V3 or Vwhatever versions—but as far as taking an original design and tweaking it to “update it,” my brain never sees that as a necessary thing. I don’t care if the original design is rooted to the 80s or something one might think of as “boring” or whatever. My dream Joe line is modern six-inch versions of the classic designs/toys.
This doesn’t mean I’m shunning the line. I’m all in, regardless. But my personal excitement level is far, far higher for designs that skew closer to the original look and don’t add a bunch of unnecessary flimflam to them. Duke and Roadblock add some, Scarlett went a bit overboard in the wrong direction, Snake Eyes straddled a line, and Destro is closer to what I’d like to see if the designs have to be tweak. The crayon box was kept mostly closed, the design is allowed to breathe, and it doesn’t seem burdened more than helped by excessive designwork. This one is a successful tweak.
Those of us who got the Special Edition Snake Eyes and were wowed by the articulation were wondering if that scheme would be carried through to all the figures, or if it was just a special case. If you’re getting these in hand you know that ever figure seems to be featuring that hyper-articulate pattern that made Snake Eyes such excellent hand candy.
Everything is here: double jointed arms and knees butterfly shoulders, an additional joint at the neck that allows a little extra motion, and that extra-special combo of the upper torso crunch combined with the lower waist wobble that gives these figures that added oomph that the Power Rangers figures all have. I still would have liked to see a double wobble at both the abdomen and waist instead of the crunch (it would allow for more side to side range like Figuarts figures get) but that’s a minor complaint, because I can get the figure to do almost everything I want it to do. The Power Rangers and now the Joes present a leap forward in terms of action figure playability for domestic release figures.
In addition to all of that, the drop down hips allow Destro to lunge like he’s never lunged before. There does seem to be a slight looseness drawback to the drop down hips, but it’s very slight, and the rewards offset any issues there. I want my toys to move and these figure move just shy of import levels.
The sculptwork is excellent, with various textures working their way throughout the body. There’s leather textures beside smoother textures and then all the precise panelwork and metal touches on his boots and his gauntlets.
The holster and belt are connected, and can ride up a little when you’re posing it, so you’ll have to do some readjusting depending on what you have his legs doing. His necklace is a separate piece, which I like. It allows it to be affected by gravity, and dangle if he’s leaning forward or whatever. It gives him an added aura of realism.
Destro’s Beryllium steel mask is key to getting across the whole “Destro” thing. My personal preference is the haunting, inhuman cardback image, but this one does a good job providing a more well-rounded look. It has a generic “male face” quality to it that fits somewhere in the middle of comic and cartoon without being too overdone. I’m glad they resisted going overboard with rivets and panels which would give it more of a scrap metal feel. There is some segmenting but it’s restrained.
My biggest complaint is probably with the placement of his wrist rockets. They’re sitting at a ¾ angle, and they’re too bunched up. They’re clustered instead of evenly spaced out on the flattest part of his forearm. If you’re thinking that I am being way too anal about wrist rockets, you’re correct, but it’s a signature component and I feel like their placement and their appearance here isn’t ideal. They seem more like they were added on as an afterthought instead of being laid out correctly.
I’m also missing either more rockets or some grenades on his curiously naked left gauntlet. He feels a little lopsided without something on that arm.
Anyway, that’s my main complaint: wrist rocket placement.
Oh! Extra hands would have been cool also. At minimum I’d have loved to get a gesturing hand for his left hand. I’d always like a pair of fists, of course, but definitely a single alternate left hand that he can choke a Joe or make a bold declaration with.
For accessories, Destro gets a large red and black laser(?) pistol, a smaller gold pistol that fits in his working holster and a suitcase that opens up to show what I’m assuming is money and a control panel. Or it could be explosives. It’s green with bands, but there’s no detail, so…I’m going to go with explosives, even if it’s supposed to be money. I don’t know.
I don’t care for the laser weapons for the Joes but for Destro it makes sense. Dude is an arms dealer with state of the art weaponry, so I can dig it. I’d prefer his gold pistol to be black, but I guess the dude likes his flair. I haven’t decided if I’m going to make a black cast of it yet or not. The suitcase is a cool addition. It gives him an official look, even if there’s really just baloney sandwiches in there.
All in all, this is another great figure. They’re kind of putting me through a rollercoaster with ever reveal in terms of what I want versus what I’m getting and how happy or satisfied with each one I am, but Destro is probably tied with Snake Eyes as the strongest figure of the wave.
