@theknightdamien man, if they do Night Viper but he's has some re-imagining elements that are still cool, AND do a retro version more akin to the original... I'll probably get both. Again, I'm treating all the Viper variants as specific characters with their own codenames (honestly... even the four Vipers I army built are still individuals with codenames, no they aren't Viper 1-4), so two Night Vipers are just two more fellas joining the organization.

Posted by: @ru1977

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But what about V5? When Snake Eyes aged beyond his hips working properly?

That's definitely his "older ninja trying to look cool but thinks the kids and their ninja tanks are weird" stage.

Snake Eyes was all of us then.

If they make V4 look cool, I'm into it. If he looks ridiculous, I'm really happy for those of you yearning for that. V3 seems like an easy win though and my most wanted figure now.

@ibentmyman-thing I. Love. This. Perfect analysis of his costume shifts (especially since in all likelihood his costume shifts were done strictly to sell more figures at the time; but Hama wrote the character so well even tactics to sell toys can have a meaningful arc.) 

I'm particularly looking forward to V4 because Classified has done such a good job taking absolutely goofball original designs and doing interesting, engaging things with them. I don't think they've had a real dud in the mix. 

V3 is the one I'm truly looking forward to, though - that was my favorite when V2 disappeared from my collection (stolen at school) and I always wished the knives on his chest were removable, and there's a zero percent chance this line doesn't make those things functional knives on that figure. 

@docsilence When the line came back in... what was it? 2008 or so? They did a V3 figure with removable butterfly swords on his chest, but they clipped on. I would looooooove sheaths.

EDIT:

@docsilence The ME 4" version of v3 had the knives be removable/usable but they could be a real pain to get to stay in place. So, uh, be careful what you wish for!

I've been thinking about how they'd do v3 with his knives, and a rubber vest overlay with either pegged straps or static straps holding the knives in place seems like a good option to keep it faithful to the original while still being able to keep functionality and looks with them in his hands.  It would still be tricky to make him look good with them on his chest but Classified team could do it.

V3 “I wear the skins of my enemies” Snake Eyes is my second favorite look for him and hoping they get to him in 2026. I have a feeling there’s a good chance Hasbro will give us Ninja Force SE after V4 before giving us V3. 

But hell, I’m just happy we are getting cartoon purple SE with radioactive hands and polar bear this year. That set makes me smile and I don’t even own it yet. 

Yeah, I could see the knives on his chest being tough to stay in place but say one thing about Classified - when they want a figure to be able to functionally carry ALL of his accessories, they nail it. It's wild to me how many of the early figures could carry every piece of their gear, safely and not likely to fall off and get lost. I bet they could create loops on an overlay to slide the knives into. (I'm actually thinking about a McFarlane Batman figure who has very similar knives strapped to his back as a comp.) 

Ordinarily I'd be wary of wishing for this but Classified is wildly good at kitting out the figures with their own gear. 

What concerns me about the potential for v3 Snake Eyes is that he really needs those knives or you can't get the look right, but also weapon holsters fucking suuuuuuuuuuuck up around the chest area because they're just too thick. You'd almost have to make a new upper torso for Snake Eyes that's recessed in at the pectorals so that the overlays are more flush than they are proud of his chest. Otherwise you might as well not even give him butterfly joints because they'll be useless - ala some other, particularly earlier, figures like the Vipers.

Still, I would love v3.

And as much as I DO want neon pink on my v4 Snake Eyes, I have always detested the neon weapons. I don't know why that's where my immersion breaks in G.I. Joe - but it is and literally always has been. Even as a kid I could have Cesspool driving a sludge-shooting zombie tank or whatever while Cobra troopers literally skydive out of actual space to attack neon-colored NINJAS... awesome. Love it. If any of those characters had weapons that weren't realistic or semi-realistic in color? Irritated the shit out of me. My biggest complaint right now with Classified as an overall line is that sometimes the weapon colors are kind of stupid.

@ru1977   The 'each specialty is actual a unique character' thing is how I always did it as a kid, because I could rarely ever convince my parents to buy me more than one a figure they knew I had. Could not get them to understand army building unless it was Star Wars Stormtroopers. And even then I'd get the 'but you already have this guy' stuff. So whenever I got a Cobra, it was virtually always 'the' Cobra of that type. Desert Viper was his name as much as his specialty. To me there was no difference between a Range Viper and a Croc Master. And that seemed to fit better in the mythos anyway because it paralleled G.I. Joe - who did not have army builders and everyone was a specialist.

If your parents let you army build only one thing, Stormtroopers are the best option. I started army building them by accident because of aunts not communicating what they bought me for Christmas, but I was THRILLED. "You can never have too many Stormtroopers" is literally a mantra in my family because of my reaction that Christmas.

I'm thinking for Snake Eye v3 and his knives, it may be a case of a classified design "inspired by" the classic instead of a 1 for 1. I just dont see the knives working well without deviating a bit on the design.

OK, I love all this Snake-Eyes talk. He’s totally my guy and I love all his outfits.

I’m telling you now, though: the version that most deserves an amazing Classified rehabbed version is absolutely Ninja Force/v5. That version has literally never had a good figure, and the design itself is incredibly awesome with the armored face mask and general “heavy-duty ninja commando” vibe. I’d lean into the body-armor, mute the blues and definitely keep the Batman eyes.

@aceofknaves I bet you're right. And when they do it, I'll probably get him. I just lack the imagination to envision it heh.

Posted by: @aceofknaves

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OK, I love all this Snake-Eyes talk. He’s totally my guy and I love all his outfits.

I’m telling you now, though: the version that most deserves an amazing Classified rehabbed version is absolutely Ninja Force/v5. That version has literally never had a good figure, and the design itself is incredibly awesome with the armored face mask and general “heavy-duty ninja commando” vibe. I’d lean into the body-armor, mute the blues and definitely keep the Batman eyes.

Absolutely. I've said before that v5 is, in theory, one of my favorite Snake Eyes designs. I loooove Ninja Force after all. And I do think the design of that costume is bad ass. The problem, as you said, is that Hasbro decided that he'd be one of the only figures in the entirety of ARAH to have those stupid T-hips. Him and Ninja Scarlett. So they made two of the ninja characters the worst articulated figures in the line. Also, the proportions were weird in comparison to everyone else because of the hips. So just.. overall.. those figures were terrible. V5 SE deserves redemption.