I always thought it was "we have way too many characters now" but could be all the above.
I was like 13 or so and majorly into the comic when the SAW-Viper did his dirty deed, and I was freaked out but also completely enthralled. I remember being upset, not about the deaths, but rather that the actual SAW-Viper figure wasn’t as intimidating and menacing as his comic book counterpart. I was deeply into horror and splatterpunk lit at the time, and so I was excited to see some bigger stakes in the comic book. Doc and Quick Kick were major losses, but it made it feel more engaging to me. I also dug how Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow went in for revenge and (off-camera) ripped SAW-Viper to shreds.
Don’t get me wrong: I was a creepy kid, but not a gross edgelord: I was, however, fascinated by violent death, and SAW-Viper became a big focus of my interest in Cobra. I love that modern SAW-Viper figures have leaned into how scary he is.
Just Zandar for me. I had Dial-Tone growing up, but always wished I had Breaker instead. I might pick DT up on clearance if he makes it that far and if I stumble across him during one of my few brick-and-mortar hunts. I really, deeply dislike that Heavy Duty reveal. I never signed up for Pulse Premium, and I'm glad I didn't because I would not be civil in my correspondence. I feel for you all that had to deal with that.
What's wrong with Heavy Duty? I'm not so sure about that giant harness thing and I wouldn't have hated had they left off the kinda goofy "camouflage" green triangles on his pants but the figure itself looks pretty good. I do wonder if he's gonna be a deluxe offering. Won't be paying that price for him.
Also, I would've traded 100 Breakers for a Dial Tone back in the day. DT was one of my favorites. That backpack and rifle were awesome. He was just a great figure overall. (Other than the goofy mustache, but it was the '80s). Can't wait to get this new version.
- those deaths felt utterly meaningless and almost mean-spirited
And the fact that is was a total no name troop. It's would be like if TK421 was a little quicker on the draw and took out Han, Luke, Chewie and R2D2 when they tried to sneak on the Deathstar. Which on one hand is like, "Who this mofo think he is?" and then you're like: crap, this is war and folks die usually never seeing where that shot came from.
@normdapito I finally looked it up and it's only seven.
SpoilerIn case you do wanna know, and knowing is half the battleDoc, Heavy Metal, Thunder, Crankcase, Breaker, Crazylegs, and Quick Kick.
The way I remember it may be worse than reality, but in my head some of them were even sacrificing themselves by stepping in the front to save some of the others.
Oof. I’m familiar with about half of them, but still, those are some significant losses. Exactly like TF:TM ‘86.
Was it graphic? Like did he actually saw them up? I'd be queasy reading that.
There are some deaths in comics that feel like a publicity stunt that won’t last, and others that are a gut punch and feel like the loss of friend.
I don't know if this is "news" but on the "back in stock" section of Pulse they restocked:
Shooter
Mole Rat
Big Ben
If anyone wants those for MSRP.
Yeah, I'm all for an impactful, emotional, story-enhancing character death but the tonal shift during that issue felt kinda personal. I remember it happening around the time more grimdark stuff was popular in comics and always wondered if it was a reaction to the industry. Even now, as someone who tells stories for a living, the shift in style in those issues jumps out at me as being tonally off and kind of forced. If it had always been a life is short and death is cheap book it works great for the horror element, but stylistically it felt off. (Even the way the deaths were handled, with the twins freaking out that someone killed the captives instead of releasing them, almost felt like a meta commentary side-eye at editorial leadership. It kinda feels like him saying "you get what you ask for, guys.")
That being said, I love that the new Classified SAW Viper looks absolutely psychotic. It's a great homage to how absolutely vile that one nameless SAW was in the comics. And revealing him right after we got Doc? Brilliant meta commentary if it's intentional. That is legit dark comedy at its finest.
And since GrumpyMatt mentioned Dial-Tone's mustache--I really appreciate that this line rarely tries to fix the bad 80s fashion statements on so many characters. All the mustaches all over the place makes me so happy. It wouldn't have felt the same if they gave Mutt or Recondo a full beard to look more modern.
And I think the Joe comic was one series where deaths were permanent. Except some cobra people who faked their deaths.
I really, deeply dislike that Heavy Duty reveal.
What's wrong with Heavy Duty? I'm not so sure about that giant harness thing and I wouldn't have hated had they left off the kinda goofy "camouflage" green triangles on his pants but the figure itself looks pretty good. I do wonder if he's gonna be a deluxe offering. Won't be paying that price for him.
I suppose he isn't too far off from the vintage design. You could say the bigger takeaway is that I didn't realize how goofy the original figure was. He looks like he's wearing a Charbroil™ gas grill.
Generally yeah, dead stayed dead in the Marvel comics (I know they brought a bunch of people back when they changed publishers). There was that particularly gruesome story arc around the same time as Doc and crew's death where a bunch of classic Cobra names were buried alive to starve to death in a ship IIRC, and only a few of them managed to escape. It really did feel like a grim massacre of characters within like a half-dozen issues. I actually stopped buying the comic regularly after that for a long time because it didn't sit right.
On a lighter note, just got the Twilight Guard / Steel Brigade Commander set! I like Twilight a LOT more in hand than I did in the promo pics. He's not very photogenic but he's very toyetic. Commander is just a repaint, but a repaint of an overall excellent figure. I do keep thinking I want to display him without the shoulder pads though. Those pauldrons always make the Brigadiers look a little more linebacker to me than I prefer. (I like really streamlined, mobile looks, but that's my personal bias.)
@docsilence yeah, I was thinking of that too, with a bunch of cobras getting buried alive in that freighter. I think Zartan and Billy got out then later it was revealed Firefly also did separately. I think that whole era.... Or maybe from Snake Eyes' origin up to Ninja Force was some great stuff. Oh and the silent issue.
On topic for me, I did get a Firefly for more than retail but not too much, but all this comic talk got me to price cobras again. And that's gonna include the damned Saw Viper, heh.
@ru1977 Glad you were able to get a Firefly! The 84 version is one of my favorite figures in this whole line.
I also forgot how absolutely brutal the freighter deaths were and that most of them DIED OF BOTULISM. What a weird time in comics. Firefly finding a way out and not telling anyone is such a Firefly move. I forgot Croc Master was on the freighter too. Honestly, if anyone was going to die from eating spoiled meat, though, it should've been him. That just feels predestined.
@docsilence I forgot the botulism! And didn't they show the bodies later after some decomposition
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