I wanted this figure from the moment I saw him advertised and it was a complete no brainer getting him. This was Cobra the Space Pirate, one of those peripheral mangas and anime that wold kinda pop in during my youth. Now, it’s been decades since I’ve read or seen anything Cobra, so my memories are more nostalgic, more “how did I feel.” The manga was first published in 1978 in Japan and would not appear on my radar for many years. The anime did, though. It came out in 1982 and was part of the first anime invasion. The anime was one of those things that would appear in different video stores or on some cable channel. Eventually the bootleg subtitle and dubbing industry would make the series available.
I love the late ’70s early ’80s space stories, there is something so… trippy about them. Just take Cobra’s robotic gun arm, for example, and all it’s phallic love. And he’s got a red jumpsuit. Red — that dangerous color, that passionate color, the color of lust. He’s a blond-haired, blue-eyed, red jumpsuit-wearing, phallic-armed space pirate. There’s something psychedelic and trippy about it. Lady Armaroid, his old pal, walks around in a suit tight enough to be a birthday suit with a flair of S&M to it. And anyone that thinks a chick walking bumming around with a phallic-armed fella in space isn’t trippy, then I don’t know what is.
And in the background I have some sort of ’70s progressive rock running through my head.
Cobra was a no-brainer for me when it was announced. I mean no-brainer. But I had my concerns; most of the Figma figures that I owned are five-inches tall. Granted, they are supposed to represent teenage characters, but are small. I was hoping that Cobra would be an actual six-inch action figure. All reports pointed to that direction, and if he was going to be six-inches, then this would be a huge indicator as to how the upcoming Figma Movie Avengers would turn out.
I am happy to report that this figure is six-inches tall.
And that six-inch Marvel collectors are screwed.
Yes, screwed. You thought you had it all tied up in Marvel Legends and that they were back on track. You thought you were safe in your little world. You are not. If Cobra is any indication of what we can expect, then your pockets will soon run dry, your credit will be eaten up, and you will be left under a bridge wondering where it all went wrong. But you will have some of the coolest six-inch Marvel figures to date.
Let me start by saying that Figma’s Cobra may be the figure of the year for 2013. And that says a lot, because that means ThreeA’s Fighting JC has just been taken off that pedestal. And that is a very tall pedestal. There is no figure last year or this year that comes near Fighting JC. That is, no one except Cobra.
I’m already enamored with the joints and sculpting; Figma has proven themselves through the various brands that they work on. Simply fantastic work. Yes, the knee joints are a little funky on the back and the thigh sculpt is a little flat to accommodate the joint and the range of motion, but it’s really a minor qualm when the rest of the figure is this bad-ass. The sculpt is simply amazing, spot on. At first I was worried about the narrow shoulders and the wide lats. They seemed off, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. The more I play with the figure, the more I understand it. Anatomically, they’ve done a great job making the shoulders to pecs area flow. The abs are well done, as are the thighs, the legs, the arms, hands, and head. I love the hair. I’m really enjoying this figure.
Even…
THE BOOT CUFFS!
Actually, the more I look at this figure, the more I think this could and should be adapted to an anime version of Captain America, something “Marvel vs Capcom” styled.
The joints use Figma’s “ball and socket” technology. Each joint is a hinged ball with a peg on each side of the ball that connects from one body part to the next. Ankles, knees, and elbows all employ this joint. The toes are a standard hinge, as are the wrists. the hips are a combo of a thigh swivel plus a ball-and-socket hip. The lower abs/waist are a ball and socket. Think of the part that attaches the hips and waist as having three balls at the end that the hips and abs attach to. The range of motion from this is amazing. The waist/underpants section is really soft plastic that allows for an incredible amount of motion. The ab joint between the chest and the abs is a ball and has a pretty good range of motion. The neck has two ball joints where the neck and chest meet and where the head and neck meet. The shoulders are a double ball-joint, a barbell with one ball going into the chest and another going into the shoulder. There is an incredible range of movement. And finally, bicep swivels nicely tucked away at the shirt sleeve. All this articulation is a ton of fun and you get some fantastic poses out of this figure.
There are extras: extra hands, a “Dirty Harry” hand canon, an extra arm, a sleeve to put over the bionic arm, a base, extra cigars, the barrel for the bionic arm rifle, a Zippo cigarette lighter, and an eyeball mover. You heard me.
One of the most amazing aspects of this figure is the moveable eyeballs. Yes — the eyeballs are poseable, and oh goodness is there fun to be had! Marty Feldman impersonations! Drunk eyes! Googly eyes! Seriously, there are hours of fun to be had here.
It’s been a while since I’ve had a figure this fun. Yeah, Fighting JC is a great figure and one that I pined for, but Cobra is an unexpected treasure. Figma has blown me away with this six-inch action figure, and I can only guess what the Marvel Avengers figures will be like. If you haven’t already ordered this figure, do so today. If you can get it on the aftermarket, that is.
