Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Wrapping Up 2023: Agent Helix from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   I was thrilled to hear that Agent Helix was making her way into the Classified Series so quickly. I really loved the G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra toyline and how it added in some new characters. Agent Helix is quite unique in that she wasn't a member of the military prior to joining G.I. Joe. She's a very competent individual with Olympic level gymnastic who possesses what is referred to as "Total Organic Battlefield Awareness." She can convert everything going on in a combat situation into data sets which she can analyze. She also can essentially master a martial arts style when encountering a practitioner of it. I believe some of the comics referred to Agent Helix as being a savant and possibly even having autism. Agent Helix first appeared in 2009 in the G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra videogame (she was named after the developer, Double Helix Games), the IDW comic series, and in the Rise of Cobra action figure toyline. She was one of my favorites there and I still think she's one of the strongest figures Hasbro put out in that era. Ready to take a look at a fantastic new G.I. Joe: Classified Series figure? Then join me after the break...

  




The Facts:

Height: 6 inches

Articulation: Swivel/ hinge ankles, boot swivels, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed drop down hips, ball jointed waist, balljointed torso, butterfly pecs, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, ball jointed neck base, and a barbell jointed head.

Accessories: 2 mantis blades, 2 swords, 2 pistols, backpack, 2 holsters, and knife. 

Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars

The Positives:


* First of all, I just really like Agent Helix's colors. Grey, yellow, and black look so good together. Second, I love her style. Her original figure is only.... good grief, fifteen years old? Still, 15 ain't 40 and I don't feel like she looks outdated or anything. She definitely has somewhat of a 2000s vibe and probably shopped at Hot Topic at some point during the decade, but I like it. She looks very modern with an excellent combat outfit. She's still sporting the armored corset, the coolest shirt with sleeves half rolled up, and fair number of straps and buckles. 



* Flip her around and you can see not only the armor she's sporting on the back of her outfit but also a band-aid tattoo on her left forearm and some sort of device on her right bicep. A band-aid tattoo can be a symbol of an emotional wound that hasn't healed or that they're not ready to talk about yet, which might explain some of Agent Helix's mysterious past. And the device on her right shoulder? On the original figure there was speculation it was an MP3 player of some sort, but perhaps it's some alternate take on the JoePro?




* Her belt is filled with goodies. Extra magazines, pouches with gear, and a few grenades for when she needs to take out a few targets at once. 

* Helix is supposed to have dark hair with blonde streaks but here you can only see one dark streak. Is everyone else's figure the same? There's a bit of dark paint shoring her roots at her par but the color is much more pronounced on the press images for the figure. She's quite pretty with very piercing eyes. There's something about her that reminds me more of a Marvel Legends headsculpt than a Classified Series headsculpt, though there's nothing wrong with her and she fits in just fine. I can't quite put my finger on why I think that?



* Agent Helix shares the lower half of her body with Scarlett, so she has the same really cool boots with some sort of thrusters or propulsion units on them. They just look really cool and I'm still a fan of the design of them. 




* The articulation is just fine and is exactly what we've come to expect in the Classified Series. The upper body is all new so far as I'm aware and has pinless joints with smooth movement. 



* Agent Helix's dual pistols are based on the pistols included with her 2009 Rise of Cobra figure. They were referred to as 10mm autopistols and they do look like the Springfield Armory 10mm XD-M Elite pistols but with some seriously extended magazines and presumably what are presumably laser sights on the bottom. They're very, very cool and they have hollow barrels for using firing effects.  




* They fit nicely in the holsters on her left and right hips. It's a snug fit and might take a little force to get them out, but they do stay in securely.





* Helix's swords are reused from the movie Storm Shadow figure, a figure I didn't actually own until I picked one up at Ollie's a month or so ago for $3 dollars. They're nice swords and I especially like the yellow and black paintjob. 




* I'm not a huge fan of the weird sheathe for these (it's like a backpack with two loops for swords and no actual sheathe) but it does look good. They yellow and black just goes together nicely. 




* Check  out this short machete! It's pretty lethal looking, especially with that spiked hilt. 











* These mantis blades are very cool. It looks like their is something similar in the videogame Cyberpunk 2077, so maybe that's where Hasbro got inspiration from? They're essentially lie swords on a hinged wrist piece.




* There's a hinge on the base of the wrist and at the bottom of the blade, allowing the blade to pivot forward and strike an enemy. They're quite unique!







* There's a loop on the back of Helix's belt to hand her machete from.

The Negatives



* Of course, why store a bladed machete like this? A sheathe on her lower back or something would been have been far more preferable. 





* The mantis blades can get loose on the wrists, so you may have to apply heat from time to time to get them back tight on Helix's forearms. 

   Agent Helix is another Epic figure from the Classified Series whom I just adore. There's no doubt it was my favorite line of last year and getting more and more excellent characters with such cool designs and a variety of incredible weapons just makes it better and better. I do miss Agent Helix's H&K G11 (which the original figure came with), but the Mark 2 Toys accessory works wonderfully here (I even mentioned Agent Helix in my review of that set from 2022). I love seeing classic Joes in the Classified Series but I'm also excited for characters from outside of the vintage era. Bring on Bombstrike, Barrel Roll, and Blackout!



This is the first figure of Agent Helix I've reviewed. For more G.I. Joe: Classified Series figures check out the following:




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