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Review and photos by David Yeh

The success of G.I.Joe's 25th anniversary has given Hasbro a great opportunity in bringing back new versions of classic characters and also giving fans the chance at toys never before produced. With the new DVD Battle Packs, five sets will be released, each one containing a piece of the M.A.S.S. Device. Reviewed here now is the second set that focuses on the second miniseries "The Revenge of Cobra" that takes the Joe team on a race against Cobra to battle the Weather Dominator.

The 5-part miniseries is a fun trek down memory lane with solid made-for-TV animation even by today's standards. Packed in a slim DVD case, the movie has no extras and no commercial interstitials. It's all 5 episodes straight through so if you prefer the original version, check out the Rhino Home Video box set release.

Unlike the first set, there are only three figures here but in the place of a fourth figure, we get the Weather Dominator, a fine substitute in my opinion. The figures included are all repaints with the exception of Lady Jaye, who gets a brand new cartoon accurate head, almost making this set worth it for that alone.

Let's take a closer look at each figure. Roadblock (v18) is the same exact figure as v16 released in the box set last year but featuring all new paint and cartoon friendly colors. My only problem with this new paint job is that it's not as major of a difference as I initially thought. The only thing that I felt should have been addressed was the facial hair as Roadblock only has a mustache in the cartoon. The figure retains the facial hair from the previous two versions so it's still not quite cartoon accurate. Accessories for Roadblock include the Joe display stand, a knife, and a sampling of Destro's vines. The vines look great but I'm afraid they aren't bendy or sturdy enough to hold a pose, making it difficult to wrap the vines over your figure.

Lady Jaye (v7) loses her cap in toy form for only the second time, making this the first Lady Jaye that remotely resembles the toon. The head sculpt looks decent if not good but I feel as if she does need some make-up to make her more of the woman she should be. The body makes use of v6 released last year and is suitable enough but disappointing due to the lack of wrist articulation. Throwing a spear or even holding it will be more of a challenge here. Accessories for Lady Jaye are the display stand, pistol in holster, backpack, and spear.

Wrapping it up is Destro (v18), a repaint of the initial v14 figure. This time, Destro gets both a chrome head as well as some paint over his eyes which is a huge improvement. Since Hasbro was shooting to be cartoon accurate, it wouldn't have hurt to give Destro some eyebrows either, but it's good to get what we did as he is probably the best Destro using this mold to date. Destro comes with display stand and a pistol that fits into his side holster.

This set also comes with the M.A.S.S. Device Generator piece as well as Destro's Weather Dominator. The Weather Dominator is a fine recreation but it's far from perfect. Missing is the seat in which Destro sits which requires him to operate the machinery while standing. What's great about the Weather Dominator is that it does indeed split into the various pieces that send Joe and Cobra teams against each other.

Everything comes nicely packaged in this second DVD Battle Pack, and you get all that for $20-23, a total bargain considering that one figure by itself costs $7. You get three figures, DVD, and accessories. It's an incredible deal and being such a fan of the toon, worth every penny. Yes they are mainly repaints but with the exception of Roadblock, these are repaints (and resculpts) worth looking into getting.

Archive entries:
Destro (v18)
Lady Jaye (v7)
Roadblock (v18)
Weather Dominator
M.A.S.S. Device Generator
The Revenge of Cobra DVD

Editor's Note:
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Images from the collection of: David Yeh

Figures courtesy of BigBadToyStore — get your G.I. Joes and much more at BigBadToyStore!