Direct to Consumer Wave 1 - Medi-Viper
Toy
name: Medi-Viper
Assortment: Direct-to-Consumer
Wave 1
Price: MSRP $4.99
Availability: July, 2005
Holy
crap! They actually did it! Hasbro took the initiative and released a fan favorite
that everyone has been clamoring for. Sure, it's not comic accurate...sure,
everyone and their cousin has tried to customize one themselves...but shoot,
man. For a simple head swap/repaint, this Medi-Viper is just plain fantastic!
Like the Crimson Guard, Hasbro seems to depend pretty heavily on repaints or remolds for the COBRA Troopers in this assortment. Also like the Crimson Guard, Hasbro took most of a Spy Troops Wave 5 figure to base this new character on, which, if you ask me, is a terrific idea, since the Wave 5 figures are among the greatest new sculpt figures of the line. Where the Crimson Guard borrowed heavily from the CLAWS Commander, Medi-Viper borrows from (as well he should) the chief COBRA doc, Scalpel. This is by no means a bad thing, simply because Scalpel is an excellent figure to start off with and working these new Medi-Vipers into his mold is an awesome idea that works amazingly well.
Figure Mold
The figure mold used here is straight up the same as the Scalpel figure used way back in Spy Troops, which is definitely not a bad thing. The figures in that wave were a little bit larger, but proportions were pretty spot on, figure designs were beyond excellent, and the line looked to have an exceptionally bright future. I considered Scalpel a pretty big part of that, and to tell the truth, his mold holds up 100% with the current releases.
We start off with a plenty wrinkled basic medical uniform, looking like it belongs on a doctor, as it should. The tell-tale folds in the front of the uniform and wrinkles spread throughout it are both indications of someone in the medical field, yet there are more than enough interesting twists on the figure to make it quite unique to COBRA. We start off with the exhaggerated shoulder pads, proudly emblazoned with the COBRA symbol and immediately separating this figure from your normal medical staff. His chestplate is another bright spot, containing all sorts of instruments and implements to fix people up, or carve them up worse, either way. And of course, on his right arm, he sports Scalpel's familiar flip out saw blade, which the mere sight off gives me shivers...I can't even imagine how the COBRA Troops in the field feel.
The legs are simple and straight forward, yet still effective. Not a huge amount of detail save for the two round COBRA-themed kneepads which both make sense from a functional standpoint and also look pretty neat, too. But yeah, I'm saving the best for last...how about that head sculpt? Holeeee...
With a simple new sculpted head, Hasbro has breathed a wealth of new life into this figure. The trickiest part for folks customzing this figure was how to do the elaborate medical instruments that were sewn into the Medi-Viper's mask in his brief Marvel Comics appearences. But here Hasbro has faithfully reproduced the headgear that makes Medi-Viper unique, and the sculpting is TOP KNOTCH. Absolutely impeccable sculpting job by the design team, and it immediately makes this figure recognizable. The rest of his body just fits him in with Scalpel and is the icing on the cake.
Paint Applications/Color Choices
Hasbro definitely took the cues from Scalpel here and went for the familiar "medical student green" color, but changed it up at least somewhat to separate this figure from being a direct clone of the original. The base green color is the familiar turquoise that we all recognize from hospital hallways, but the rest of the trim on the gloves, boots, pads, etc... is a nice different shade of "puke hospital green" which isn't all that attractive to look at, but it's familiar and makes sense. The colors all blend together well and look nice, and all of the black, red and silver trimming brings out the details beautifully.
Accessories
There really isn't much in the way of "accessories" per se...most of it is gear that gets snapped on to the figure to make it work. His shoulderpads/backpack combination provides some elaborate costume trimming to make him look the part of COBRA medical staff. He basically comes with a small scalpel-type knife and the familiar COBRA machine gun as his real "accessories" but honestly what does he really need? The beauty of his costume is that everything is built right in, so the need for accessories isn't really there. I like that he comes with some form of defense, and what accessories he has all make sense.
The only real issue I have is that the shoulder pads/backpack really does not fit that well. It seems to fall off way too easily, but this is a pretty minor gripe for what is, overall, a great new figure.
Final Comments
Never would have guessed it. The thought that Hasbro would ever even consider making an official Medi-Viper never crossed my mind, but I'm happy to report that they're doing it and doing it exceptionally well. The new head sculpt is spot on perfect, and the body chosen works really well at being a medical trooper as well as also fitting in with the already established chief medical officer of Scalpel. It's figures like this that make me not mind seeing a repaint or retool nearly as much, since the figure actually looks great and MAKES SENSE.
Great choice of parts and colors, and a fantastic job resculpting a new head. Good figure all around!
Ratings (out of 10)
Character: 8
Mold : 8.5
Paint Apps: 8.5
Value: 7
Overall score (not an average): 8
