Review and photos by Phillip Donnelly

Hot Toys' iteration of Retaliation Joe Colton here is called a "Summer
Toy Fairs" exclusive, whatever that means. I think he was available at
summer toy-centric conventions around Asia? Either way, the only way
you can get him in this hemisphere is online. But you know, you may
want to seek him out!
Let's start with the basics, then. His packaging has the outer
sleeve with a photo of the actual actor in costume, with the inner box
showcasing the figure and its accessories. Right away you'll notice
that he seems to have a lot more accessories than Snake Eyes or Storm
Shadow, but we'll get back to that later.
Once again, I find myself not knowing how to remove his belt in a safe
manner, so while his costume is simpler than the other figures, I still
can't easily remove it. I can see that he has the black t-shirt on
underneath the jacket, so you can probably get him to look like the front of
his box, an image also used for the theatrical posters. Of course, the
picture on the figure box shows that Bruce Willis is left-handed, while I
sort of set him up to be right-handed. Oops.
The headsculpt on this figure is an eerily accurate rendition of Bruce
Willis, too. Seriously, if Bruce ever does own one of these things, I
thik he'd keep it chained up in the box, hidden deep in a closet somewhere.
Lest the figure claim his soul. In other words, it's really,
really good. While he only comes with three sets of hands, they're
more than enough to work with what weapons come in the package. Like
with Storm Shadow, these hands are made from a flexible plastic, meaning he
can grip handles and triggers with ease. No worries about breakage
here.
Articulation-wise, the figure has all the movement you'll really need.
Again we have double-jointed knees and elbows, torso and waist joints, and
full rotational movement for the shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles.
As Joe Colton's costume is simpler than the ninjas, he ironically has better
range of motion than them, too! The armor plating of Snake Eyes and
the pleather jacket of Storm Shadow restricted their movement a bit, but the
same does not hold true for Joe. The rather plain army fatigues aren't
a mark against him, either, as it's true to the movie and the character as
well. Remember, this was a guy who was supposed to be in the field
back in the '70s and '80s (and the '60s, if we go by the comic!). This
sort of dress fits a soldier from that time.
I
mentioned that Joe looks to have more accessories than the ninjas earlier.
Well, while he may look better armed, it doesn't necessarily mean he is better armed. He comes with five weapons, but Snake Eyes
comes with six, and Storm Shadow has eight! The difference is that the
ninjas come with large swords and some smaller edged weapons, with perhaps a
firearm or two. Joe has an assault rifle, a shotgun, and three pistols
to his person. He also comes with eight spare magazines, and storage
to keep all of them on him at one time. It's actually rather
impressive how much he comes with, and how it all fits together. Why
does he even have two carabiners? No seriously, why? I have no
idea what purpose they serve.
I think the craziest thing of all here is found in the pistol magazines.
That top bullet in the magazine? Yeah, that's removable. We have
tiny bullet accessories that slide into place, not meant to draw attention
to themselves. Who puts that much detail into something? Joe
can't even hold them!
I feel the need to point out a movie gripe that's also applicable with
this figure. The white-handled pistol Joe comes with is, according to
the Retaliation movie, the pistol that once belonged to General George
Patton. That's all well and good, but why then does it have a modern
trigger? If you've got such a revered historical piece, why on Earth
would you then go and customize it for yourself? That boggles my mind.
Or maybe it's just the obsessive collector mentality in me - you're
ruining its value! (Editors note: General George S.
Patton Jr. did not carry a Colt model 1911 .45 pistol. This is an error
within the film. General Patton carried a Colt .45 Model 1873 and a 1935
Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum. Both with ivory grips.)
If you're a Bruce Willis fan, a die hard G.I. Joe fan, or just a
collector who wants some sort of movie-accurate Joe Colton figure, you owe
it to yourself to pick this guy up. Seriously, it's an amazing
likeness of Bruce Willis, holding some awesome weapons, and just generally
looking badass. Who wouldn't want that on their shelf?
Editor's Note: Like what you saw? Hated it? Post about it in the YoJoe! Forums!
More action shots:
Images from the collection of: Phillip Donnelly and Terry Dizard
Figure courtesy of Hot Toys!
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