Sunday, January 14, 2024

Wrapping Up 2023: Jodie "Shooter" Craig from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 


   The last quarter of the year was filled with G.I. Joe: Classified Series releases and I have a bunch of them to catch up on. Today I'm looking at another of my favorite Classified Series figures of 2023: Jodie "Shooter" Craig from the Night Force subset. Shooter wasn't part of the vintage Night Force subset as she wasn't ever a figure released in the vintage A Real American Hero line, but her roots are there. In the fist issue of Marvel's G.I. Joe, there's an image of a computer panel that shows the Original 13 members of the G.I. Joe: Team and a 14th member whose face is obscured. The name Shooter is visible, though, but it was originally a reference to Marvel's then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. In 2006, Larry Hama used the name in G.I. Joe: Declassified for a new character, a sniper who was killed during the early mission "Operation: Lady Doomsday." Shooter received her first action figure in 2016 as part of the 50th Anniversary line, so she's a "newer" character when it comes to G.I. Joe stuff. Yeah, there is a name mentioned in 1982, but she really is from 2006. Still, she's been around for 18 years, so she's not new-new or anything. She's a really cool figure who was part of the Walmart exclusive Night Force subset along with Big Ben and the Mole Rat. While my preorder of her (and the rest of the first series of Night Force figures) arrived without any issues, I actually grabbed a second Shooter when I found her at retail... for $7 dollars. No idea why a Walmart I was at clearanced out one random Shooter when they had plenty of older figures on the shelves, but it worked for me. She's a very versatile figure. Let's check her out after the break...





The Facts:

Height: 5 7/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/ hinge ankles, calve 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: 3 hair pieces, rifle, magazine, backpack, pistol, kukri, and holster. 

Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars





The Positives:


* Shooter is an incredibly cool figure and her style is just what I dig in a tactical military figure: A sleek, black uniform, a tactical vest with lots of pouches, armored plating, gadgets, and a sheathe for her knife, and some random bits of gear here and there. She's sporting some armored thigh pads (taking a pullet to the thigh is no joke) and a belt with plenty of pouches for extra gear and ammo. She's also rocking a cool tattoo of a snake that looks like it's been pierced all the way through by an arrow. That's pretty fitting for a G.I. Joe sniper who spends their nights taking out Cobra troops, isn't it?




* Shooter has a great portrait with sharp paint work and lovely eyes. She also has swappable hair like some previous figures. 






* Here's a shot of the back of Shooter so you can see her cool hair style, the back of her tactical vest, and some loops on her belt for attaching gear (non-functioning). 





* The second hairpiece has Shooter's hair braided on top. It's a neat hairstyle and gives her some great display options.



* My favorite of the hair pieces actually has an attached gasmask. How cool is this look for Shooter? It ties in nicely with the Dark Energon theme of this series and just makes her look very, very cool.  I love the design! Shooter and Big Ben look great together in their gas masks. 






* I'm assuming this device on Shooter's shoulder strap helps her to get information on wind speed, temperature, humidity, and other things that might affect a bullet's velocity. 



* The articulation is excellent and Shooter can hold her rifle quite well. She also looks fantastic using her pistol and knife for some close quarters combat. 



* Shooter's sniper rifle has a very cool design. I don't recognize it and by the look of it I'm guessing it might be a Hasbro original design. It has a very realistic look to it but still appears to be just a bit futuristic. 




* The magazine is removable and also has an interesting design.













* Rather than a full backpack, Shooter has a small frame that she can wear which holds her rifle. The rifle stays on securely and looks pretty cool being toted around.




* Shooter's pistol is also very slick with a built in suppressor, an extended magazine, and a laser sight. The sculpt is really detailed, making this a rather impressive piece. 





* The holster on Shooter's right thigh holds her pistol perfectly. 


* She also has a smaller kukri for when things get really hairy up close. I guarantee she's chucked this thing at some Cobra troops in the same manner as the Three Storms in Big Trouble in Little China. 




* She also carries the kukri in a sheathe on her left shoulder. Y'all know how crazy I am for carrying a knife on your shoulder, so I'm all about this. 


The Negatives:

* My only complaint is that Shooter's elbows don't really match her biceps and forearms. Again, I think the issue is that Hasbro uses a slightly different plastic here, but it still look off. 
The Bizarre:


* I don't dislike Shooter's shoes, but does anyone know if there's some real word basis for these? They look like a very sleek, stable shoe but they're also open on top. The flare out. They remind me a little of Tracker's shoes from the vintage ARAH line, but I might be off on that. 

   Shooter checks so many of the boxes in what I like on a tactical military figure: She's got a cool vest with pouches, a knife worn on her shoulder, a fantastic customized pistol, and gas mask. I love it! She's incredible and quickly has become one of my favorites. The color scheme is perfect, too. To be honest, I'm not sure what a non- Night Force version of Shooter would look like? She and Big Ben both look fine to me as both Night Force and standard figure. Shooter is an Epic figure and an absolute knockout of a Classified Series figure. The newest Night Force figures just arrived from Hasbro Pulse yesterday (Tunnel Rat and Wolf Spider) but neither are as good as Shooter.

This is the first figure of Jodie "Shooter" Craig I've reviewed. For more Classified Series reviews check out the following:






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4 comments:

  1. Mychael MJanuary 17, 2024 at 4:55 AM

    I just don't like how gummy and the lacking of the paint is on her sniper rifle.

    Everything else looks A1 though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbecue17January 18, 2024 at 10:20 AM

      I don't find her rifle to be gummy but it could be a little more solid. The plastic is a bit soft. I didn't have any real issues with warping, though, and I actually own two of Shooter (found one on clearance at Walmart for cheap, oddly enough). I've messed around with some Valaverse rifles for her but I really like the unique design of her included rifle.

      Delete
  2. foldabotZJanuary 20, 2024 at 6:31 AM

    The sniper rifle most certainly a made-up design but one that's possibly inspired by several real rifles. It certainly reminds me of the Barrett M82/M107, one of my favorite sniper rifles because of its muzzle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbecue17January 29, 2024 at 9:26 AM

      I can definitely see some of the inspiration there. Hasbro did release a pretty accurate Barrett as a mounted rifle on the Night Ops Humvee during the DTC era back around 2004-2006.

      Delete

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