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Halfway through this Top 10 list, and I have a feeling things might get a little controversial.  As if putting Data-Viper way back at #6 wasn’t bad enough, now I’m going to get under the skin of not only the Sigma 6 haters, but also the Rise of Cobra haters and the “Marlon Wayans as Ripcord” haters.  It’s a three-for-one deal!

But really, my love and desire for this figure only have to do with one of those three things, and based on what I’ve heard from other fans, I don’t think my opinion is that dramatically different from many of yours.

5 – G.I. Joe: The Pursuit of Cobra Ripcord Sub-Arctic Diver

Yes, it’s another Ripcord figure.  Yes, it’s from the earlier days of G.I. Joe: The Pursuit of Cobra, and really, it’s a guy in a scuba suit which means there isn’t a whole lot of use or extraneous detail to appeal to the general collector crowd.  But for me, and I would think for other lovers of Sigma 6, it’s got something very important.  It’s got a 4″ scale Sigma Suit.  John Warden, who is currently the design maestro of the G.I. Joe line, also worked on Sigma 6, and based on conversations I’ve had and that I’ve read, he has a love for that property.  With this Ripcord figure, he seemingly shared that love by giving him a straight up Sigma Suit, and I love it.  Even though I strongly doubt that Hasbro would ever re-visit the Sigma 6 theme in a 4″ scale, giving collectors a good custom base to do it themselves makes a ton of sense, and I’m crushingly disappointed that it never went anywhere.

Sure, there are other options.  Heck, many fans would argue that the Rise of Cobra Reactive Armor was more or less a Sigma Suit and could be used as such for customs.  But the Ripcord was different.  He had that unique texture where there wasn’t rubberized coating.  He had those signature ports on his arms…this guy WAS Sigma 6 at a smaller scale, and the fact that he most likely will never be released is a true shame.

Based on what I’ve heard from other current Joe fans, I don’t think I’m the only one that thinks like this.  Many folks seem to have the opinion that Sigma 6, done in a proper scale, would be a great addition to the current run of G.I. Joe.  Many fans claim that the only issues they had with it was the fact that it was at an 8″ scale and that it went totally overboard into the animated styling.  Regardless, though, it certainly seems as if we may not see this figure going forward, especially with all of his accessories going to the Night Landing raft, but I’ll still hold onto this dream.  Go Sigma!

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