As I said in the Heavy Duty review, I can get somewhat conflicted being an adult Sigma 6 fan, especially in cases like this when you get two retooled, re-released figures instead of something cool and new that you just know Hasbro is capable of making.

But somehow I'm less irritated by it with this figure than I am with Heavy Duty, simply because this Duke has so much to offer and has so many cool new items that make this figure a great, fun one to own, regardless of who the character is.

Something we'll just all have to accept is that Duke and Snake Eyes will be making a LOT of appearences on store shelves while Sigma 6 is going strong. As such, all we can hope is that either Hasbro makes them all as cool as possible so we don't regret buying the extras, or makes them so totally terrible that we feel no obsession to keep buying them. I can safely say that Jet Wing Duke belongs in that former category.

I've never been a Duke fan, though I haven't absolutely hated him like a lot of people do...still, I have no desire to own 15 different versions of him. But so far Hasbro has done a good job at making each version worthwhile. The Sea Ops Duke came with some terrific gear, and his scuba mask made him easily disguised as whoever you wanted him to be. Now, with this version, once again you get some awesome and much welcomed gear upgrades, and you also get a great helmet to cover Duke's tanned mug and let this figure be whoever you want it to be.

The figure itself is remarkably similar to the original Commando version with the blue/black Sigma Suit and short sleeves. Where the original had a blue vest and no cloth pants, this version has a nice pair of grey pants and nothing on his torso other than the Jet Wing cage itself. Surprisingly this makes them both look pretty different from each other. The Jet Wing itself is a great size, with a nice solid wingspan, but not so oversized that it looks cumbersome. Overall, design-wise, the Jet Wing looks incredible, too, with a really dramatic design and an interesting fold-back wingspan concept. It does look similar to the wing design of the Sky B.A.T.s, but souped up enough to be a Sigma 6 technological marvel instead of a typical COBRA B.A.T. attachment.

The figure itself is your typical medium sized Sigma 6 figure and for the most part is identical mold-wise to the original Duke, with the exception of his boots. In original pictures, I got the impression that the boots were some sort of snap-on feature, but the fact is, they are completely retooled new foot-pieces, and I like them honestly. They make a certain amount of sense considering he could be landing on rough surfaces, in rough weather, or at high speeds. These new boots give him some added flash and added "oomph" and I like them, even though they don't necessarily fit for all purpose use.

But of course the main draw for this new figure is the Jet Wings unit itself, and honestly, it doesn't disappoint. While I will look at the Jet Wings in a little more detail on the Tech Specs page, I need to cover it here, because it's an obviously critical componant of this new release figure.

The cage unit slips over Duke's head smoothly (but only without his helmet on) and two bars hook in at the chest. These bars don't latch in real securely and sometimes tend to slip out, but it doesn't really effect the success of the figure overall. I kind of like the way the cage hooks in around the figure, and the design of the cage itself is pretty neat. When I first saw pictures I saw those two bars kind of hanging there, and I really hoped they were controls of some kind, because there doesn't seem to be any real way to drive the Jet Wings. But they are not, so I can only imagine perhaps the wrist-mounted computer interfaces with the aircraft so Duke can pilot it. In my world, the helmet is an important part of the control system of the Jet Wings, and the helmet looks so flat out cool, that I'm happy to integrate it like that.

There is a single button on the back of the Jet Wings that pop the wings out, and then slide them back in, all with a little push of a small button/lever.

The Jet Wings has six removable cuncussion bombs, very cool twin gatling guns, and very intricate sculpting and detail. The two turbines look great, the cage looks very solid, technical, and almost "real world" (and I love the little touches like the quilted surface inside).

Beyond the elaborate backpack itself you have his kneepads and pants...and no, those pants don't go any longer, they are only meant to be shin-length, and likely wouldn't fit over his retooled boots anyway. I like the darker gray color of the pants, but the kneepads I can take or leave. His weapon is very similar to the Armored Snake Eyes' machine gun, and has a removable clip...all in all, this Duke is very, VERY cool.

Cool enough to take another $15.00 out of your wallet? That might be a little debatable. I LOVE the Jet Wings personally, and I don't regret dropping the cash on this figure at all. But when it comes right down to it, this Duke figure is less "all purpose" than the previous version, and I don't think serves as a replacement. However, with his helmet on, he can be anyone you choose, and I think that will draw a lot of people in, as well it should, because this is a fun toy. Ultimately if you can look past the fact that this is yet another Duke, you will appreciate this toy for what it is, and it has the potential to be pretty interesting on the display shelf and pretty fun to play with.