It seems like it's been forever since we got a full Commando wave. While Duke Jet Wing and Heavy Duty w/ Flameblaster came out a number of months ago, it was tough to classify them as a new release, simply because there were only two figures and they were both repaints/retools. Since then, it seemed to have taken a long, long time for a new full-fledged four-figure assortment to hit. We first saw pictures of these guys in February during Toy Fair, and now, finally they're starting to hit.

While this wave has two rehashed characters (and the two most popular characters, of course) for the most part there are a lot of new, fresh figures in this series and it's a very cool new assortment. Snake Eyes Jungle Commando is definitely the weakest figure of this series, and even with some new gear, he doesn't really get the job done, in my opinion.

Snake Eyes has notoriously been of the black and gray variety, and here he has stepped away from that look a little bit, going to more of a green on green, to better blend in with his jungle surroundings. I'm a little surprised at the fact that these green shades actually work a little better than I thought they might, though they still don't really match the Snake Eyes character a whole lot.

First of all, though, the body used here is the same body mold we got with Snake Eyes v.1, a departure from the Kamakura mold we got with the Night Ops version in the last Soldier wave. While I really dig the Kamakura figure, and loved Snake Eyes using it, I do think maybe this look makes more sense for these jungle operations, and it looks fine as the generic Sigma Suit that it is. The angular look seems more comfortable now than it did in Series 1, and seems to match the character more closely. Now, I'm not sure if I'm the only one, but I definitely got an "insect" feel to the first Snake Eyes. I'm not sure if it was purposeful, but the curved spine, more angular proportions, and shape of his appendages really gave me a strange bug-like feel to the figure. Well, this version only compounds that.

Not only does the figure itself has these slight insect traits, but both of his facemasks have clear links to the bug world. Both have some funky eye shapes, the undersea mask has those twin tanks that almost look like bug mandibles, and of course the comm unit has that antenna. Combine all of this with a sharply angled, almost shell-like Shield (that really looks very beetle-esque) and the bug motif becomes all the more clear. I still haven't really decided if this works for me or not.

Still, from a base sculpt standpoint, there isn't much different here than we got in Series 1, although disappointingly his visor isn't removable, the head being sculpted from the Ninja Battles version. So even though he comes with all of these swappable visors/facemasks, they merely go on top of the visor, not in place of it.

But of course, with a figure like this, isn't it the colors that really makes the difference? I would think so.

Snake Eyes Jungle Commando comes decked out in a pretty nice dark, deep green and black uniform, maintaining the jungle ops look, but still looking different enough from the original version to give him some new life. A lot of people seem to like this guy as Beachhead, which could definitely work (though not as easily with the non-removable visor).

Anyway, the greens mesh together nicely, the black compliments it well, and the figure looks nice and lively with this new color scheme. Of course, even though I cover the weapons in detail in the Tech Specs section, I should talk about them here as well, because obviously that's another selling point of this new version, especially at a Commando price point.

First of all, he comes with a pair of cool goggle/face mask attachments with what looks to be some sort of night vision set, and an "underwater" mask as well. Both are pretty neatly designed accessories that would provide some good use in the jungle. He also comes with his trusty Uzi (with removable clip), tonfa sword (with a nasty looking serated blade), his now-standard Whipstar, and his...big...green....shieldy thing. I'm not quite sure what to make of this clunky behemoth, but it evidently acts as a shield/weapons storage system and weapon launcher. Small twin SG-A swords fit into the shield, and can be extended as weapons should they be needed, and it also has two removable grenades as well. It's kind of a clugey contraption, but it's got some neat play features built into it. Snake Eyes also comes with a Whipstar, but frankly, it feels pretty flimsy. It's made out of very thin plastic, has none of the moving parts the the previous version had, and just feels kind of chinsy. Probably the coolest accessories here are the smaller SG-A swords, which are actually very nicely designed, nicely sized, and have the same modular ends that a lot of the other ninja weapons have, so there are more potential conversions with other ninja weapons in the line, which is always neat.

So how does Jungle Commando Snake Eyes stack up? It's not bad, but really not anything new. The new colors are interesting, the new weapons are somewhat on the bizarre side, but have some other intriguing aspects. Ultimately I do not think the changes are worth an extra $15.00 purchase, although if you're looking for a Beachhead, this figure might serve your purpose there. Without the removable visor, though, even the Beachhead use might be a stretch. I do kind of wish he came with a more elaborate firearm system other than just his Uzi, but beyond that, the weapons are different and definitely fantasy-based, but are actually pretty fun. If you have the original Snake Eyes I really don't think this one is worth the additional purchase. If you could choose between this one and the Night Ops, I'd definitely recommend the Night Ops version, as this version is much of the same as version one, and honestly doesn't bring much new to the table other than a bizarre spring-loaded shield system that makes little sense.

Yeah, this new Snake Eyes really didn't impress me a whole lot, and I'm not sure how much I can recommend him, if at all. No cool new accessories (except maybe the masks, but are those worth fifteen bones?), a kind of strange color scheme (for Snake Eyes) and just a weird overall appearence. Not a must-buy.