2021 TBM Blue WORMS (Cobra Commander)
You’d think with the endless amount of Cobra Commander figures Hasbro made over the years, the last thing I (or really, anyone) would be in great need of is more Cobra Commanders. However, the circumstances and novelty appeal of Black Major’s Cobra Commanders really hit me just right, so I went out of my way to acquire a couple of these.
This figure was mainly billed as custom WORMs, but those didn’t really work for me, for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that I like Hasbro’s WORMs so much, I use them in their normal colors regardless of the environment, so environment specific repaints don’t do much for me. Besides this, you could only get the WORMs in a big set at first, with one of each color. This also didn’t appeal to me very much, as I’d rather have several of my favorite army-builders, as opposed to one of each.
TBM did sell some figure individually, however, he only sold ones with Cobra Commander parts. This suited me fine, as again, I’m really fine with the Hasbro WORMs I already have. As a Cobra Commander figure, he picks up a few unique benefits, such as the fact that I’m fine with only having one, or that he doesn’t invalidate opportunities to use my normal WORMs that I like so much. I also think that these Cobra Commanders are very well done, which is all the justification I need to own some in various colors.
Today’s profile is of the blue coloration, which among the many variations of this figure, is my favorite. On a basic level, it doesn’t look too much different from a typical Cobra Commander figure, but the appeal is in the details. Far and away the most eye-catching detail is the Cobra-sigil painted over his hood. That in particular kind of makes me think of this figure as an ARAH rendition of JvC Cobra Commander.
The colors and paint are nice here. The details on the WORMs sculpt come across well, and the choice of using red contrasts nicely against the bright blue the figure uses. There’s some silver details, including some on his knees, which I think look weird. It’s especially irritating when the figure’s posed with his knees bent, as it highlights the joint there. Other than that, there’s enough painted details in different colors that the figure pops.
He includes some very odd choices for accessories. You get the Iron Grenadier’s Uzi, a generic ROC pistol, a 25th Snake Eyes knife, and a modified sculpt that I believe originates from a Grunt M16. Overall, I dislike them, as these sculpts are either bad or don’t work well with this figure. I do like the modified M16 though, as while it looks a little strange, it’s also something new and unique to this figure.
Currently, these figures are circulating around and are fairly available around $24. TBM himself sold through his stock of several colors in less than a day (hours?), which surprised me, although it will be interesting to see how much demand holds out for these figures. Ultimately, $24 is a lot for a figure, and probably too much even for this one, as nice as it is. Likewise, this isn’t really a figure you need huge squads of, even if you prefer the sculpt as the WORMs, so I expect the prices on these could stagnate at a certain point.
I skipped the full set as most of the figures didn’t do too much for me. But, once they came out, I had to scramble to get a few of the figures I really liked: this Cobra Commander among them. Sadly, you are right about the accessories and they are really terrible. Fortunately, CC doesn’t need a great weapon complement to be useful.
I’d love a squad of the blue Worms, even though I have no vehicles that match them. The black versions turned out really, nice. And, I wonder how well they’d match the Night Force Maggot. I’d love a few arctic Worms, too. But, at $24, I’ll buy more vintage Ice Vipers instead. That’s a classic case of a figure being worth acquisition at $15 and army built at $12 but’s an easy skip at $24.
I did snag a few of the Flying Scorpion figures….just because.
Strange weapons, indeed.
It’s funny, rumour is CC’s hooded appearance is off limits now. Bootlegs may be all we get of that appearance.
Do tell on the hooded CC ban.
I hadn’t heard that and would be interested to know if there’s any more info on it. Hasbro’s vendors have announced other odd changes for Star Wars, etc.
I assume you looked around already. But anyway…
Super 7’s Brian Flynn mentioned it in regards to being asked why the Ultimate Cobra Commander didn’t include a hooded head and said it was a no go from Hasbro. Some people speculate it was comparisons to the Klan’s use of hoods. I recall such talk around the first live action movie, and why CC did have that look in Rise of Cobra.
I haven’t looked at recent chatter, so maybe there’s more.
Thank you. That’s the exact way the Slave I news came out.
Like it or not, the hood has connotations. And, when you add in the heavily Nazi inspired origins of Cobra’s designs, you get a double whammy. I can see Hasbro avoiding that when they have 2 equally good other looks for the character. (Helmet and Battle Armor.)
I’m guessing I missed out on a new wave of Joe fans earning social media blocks because “No, really, Nazi’s aren’t that bad…” takes.
“Like it or not, the hood has connotations.”
Which makes it appropriate for the leader of the designated bad guys.
“And, when you add in the heavily Nazi inspired origins of Cobra’s designs…”
Are you getting this from actual statements by Ron Rudat et al, or is this just the usual “non-American uniforms are fascist and fascists are national socialists” laziness?
“I’m guessing I missed out on a new wave of Joe fans earning social media blocks because “No, really, Nazi’s aren’t that bad…” takes.”
Don’t be such a Pharisee.
I like the pairing of him with the Chinese Bludd and Gyro-Viper–it looks like a scene right out of the comics. You couldn’t really do that shot quite right otherwise–the 84 Hooded CC would look to skinny next to those later molds, I think; the 91 Talking figure is too bright; and the 93 and 00, while excellent, are too dark. So despite all the CCs we have, this guy actually fills a gap. I hadn’t thought about the JvC comparison but it’s brilliant.
I’m a big fan of the blue ones as WORMS, since it’s a more classic Cobra color and I think looks better with the Maggot. (Also, they all have antennae.) It also goes well with the Motor-Viper, who I like to have drive. The khaki one for me is a desert WORMS (so I don’t have much use for TBM’s desert version) but is too out-of-sync with other Cobras to be the default. The arctic ones look good, and I’m tempted to paint up a white Maggot, but I simply can’t suspend disbelief enough to imagine an open-topped arctic vehicle. So I think I’ll just use one or two as back-seaters in the WOLF.
I believe the M-16-style accessory is actually a cut down version of Airborne’s rifle rather than Grunt’s. I have no use for it or the pistol, which I didn’t recognize as ROC, thanks for pointing that out. But I am a big fan of the IG Uzi so I’m glad to have more of those.
Great review! I love the photos, too. I didn’t expect anyone to profile the “just CC” versions of these, but I’m glad you did. It actually made me much more interested in this figure’s use as Cobra Commander. I really like the TBC version and its repaints, but this offers something different, too.
I did want a couple of these as blue WORMs. I love the original version, but I see it as more of a Cobra Officer or high-ranking field commander than as a MAGGOT operator. So I wouldn’t mind having a few more of those officers/elite goons in traditional Cobra colors.
I missed out, though. Which is fine because I cannot deny that I already have enough toys.
I like this figure, but haven’t bothered putting on the COBRA Commander head, after reading this, I’m going to have to give it a go.
The WORMS was an interesting choice for a factory custom. It’s not a mold that really lends itself to major army building, and the cost was upped by the additional parts. Still, it was nice to see an exotic vehicle driver mold get the custom treatment.