For the most part, Hasbro has done an incredible job with updating many G.I. Joe characters to the modern look you see today. We’re not just talking about characters like Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander, but all of the other characters that you’ve seen been given an update since 2007. Under the brand management of Mark Weber and Derryl Depriest, we’ve been given some of the best G.I. Joe action figures in recent years and one of our person favorites was the Zombie Initiative box set from JoeCon 2014. Zombies are big right now and as Mark said when we asked for more Zombie G.I. Joe’s, Hasbro is “bitten but not infected.” Get caught up on our coverage from JoeCon 2015 when we had interviewed both Mark Weber and Derryl Depriest.
In 2015, we’ve seen some nice updates to previously offered G.I. Joe action figures in both the 2 packs, 3 packs, SDCC box sets, retail box sets, and not to mention licenses with Gentle Giant, Funko, and other companies.
Cobra army builders are one of the most important updates to the line, as not only you have people buying multiples of each, but each one has their own function and look in the Cobra ranks S.A.W. Vipers, H.E.A.T. Vipers, Techno Vipers, TOXO Viper, and many others that create diversity to the line. These aren’t core characters or have their own code names, but legions of loyal soldiers ready to take aim at G.I. Joe.
In IDW’s most recent G.I. Joe comic book Cobra World Order (NYCC 2015 exclusive cover shown above) they had holograms of several Cobra Viper factions and while of them have been updated to today’s style, not all have been given this treatment. Today, we’re going to talk about the Secto-Viper. The Secto-Viper was released along with the Cobra BUGG in 1988 and has not been released as a repaint or update since then.
Right now, it’s unknown to us if the Cobra BUGG can be reissued and if the tooling still exists, so if Hasbro were to make a Secto-Viper figure in 50th Anniversary style, he would likely not come with the vehicle.
That’s ok with us, as we are more interested in filling in some missing Cobra army gaps in our collection and while there are others out there we haven’t wished for just yet, the Secto-Viper can be offered in a multi pack, box set, or as a G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club exclusive either at JoeCon or the Figure Subscription Service. Whatever they do, we’re looking to complete the vintage ARAH collection in this style.