There've been a fair few releases in the Sideshow range already, and regular viewers of the blog may recall seeing their Cobra Commander figure in my first post (feel free to go check). However, since he was the first I purchased - and still my favourite - I'm giving Firefly the spotlight today. Partly, I bought this based on a review of the figure at GeneralsJoes which was very enthusiastic, and partly because despite not appearing in The Rise of Cobra, I've quickly become a massive fan of Firefly as a character. Though I like how the movie made Cobra as an entity look and function, and in fact probably wouldn't have it any other way, I rather like having one lone guy amongst the evil legions who actually looks like the sort of terrorist that the Joes seem to think they're fighting. In fact, the lunatic excesses of the rest of Cobra actually make Firefly stick out all the more.
And of course, Sideshow did a fantastic, fantastic job with this particular Firefly, combining a splendidly-articulated body with a revised but instantly familiar outfit, and a ton of excellent gear to stick on him. And since I'm feeling generous...or just in the mood to show off...here's a rundown of exactly how awesome he is. Let's start with some poses!
"Reporting for duty! Assuming said duty involves making stuff explode.
Otherwise, piss off."
"Sex bomb, sex bomb, yoooouuuu'rre my sex bomb!"
When Firefly sings to his grenades, try not to stare.
Curiously, for a man so fond of exploding things,
Firefly likes to keep his guns quiet.
Token crotch shot.
No, I don't expect you to be interested in his plastic penis. I'm just pointing out his nice articulation, not to mention the snazzy detailing on his trousers and boots. Nice knife sheath, too.
Good luck getting that stuff through airport security.
There're lots of little gaps in the fabric across both the backpack pouches and the strap that goes across his front; these can be used to hook on either some grenades (good luck trying to get all of them on there...) or the various separate pouches Firefly comes with - there's one for his detonator, one for his pistol clips and two small ones for...well, anything that fits. I figure you can split the mines between them, though fitting two mines in one pouch can be tricky. If all else fails, the backpack itself has enough space inside to hold all his smaller accessories at once. An inelegant solution, but nice and easy, and very thoughtful of the designers.
Now THAT...is a ton of stuff.
Just felt like showing all the accessories at once. Helps to get your head around exactly what your money gets you. Two guns, both with suppressors and detachable aim-assist gizmos and four clips; three pairs of hands (only two in shot); a knife; a pair of goggles; five frag grenades; two flash-bang grenades; two smoke grenades (one red, one yellow); four detachable pouches; one large backpack with adjustable straps; two shaped explosive charges; one suitcase; and one detonator. Whew.
"If you can't strip this baby down whilst blindfolded,
you're not badass enough to put me on your shelf. Nerd."
Nice close-up of the pistol in hand. Note how the slide can be pulled back, so it looks like it's really out of bullets? How brilliant is that?!
It's a cool gun.
Can't really think of anything funny to say here.
There's no adjustable slide fanciness on the SMG (don't ask me what model it is - I'm not entirely clued up on my gun names), but the stock can fold up along the side of the gun (look back at the first pic to see that), and of course the scope for the top and the suppressor can both detach. The spare mags, FYI, fit snugly into a pouch that's clipped around Firefly's left thigh.
"Hell're you lookin' at? It was wash day, alright?"
Oh yeah, forgot to say: Firefly actually comes with two heads. In fact, the above one is the default, and is the one used on the packaging. However, when pre-release pics were seen by the Joe fandom, there was a pretty strong backlash, since all previous Firefly figs have had a mask that matched the rest of his uniform. Sideshow - and this was very nice of them, it must be said - took those words to heart, and added a second head with the same grey camo scheme as the rest of the uniform. This may be the only time I'll ever say this, but I'm thankful for the fanboys' whining in this case; although there's nothing wrong with the black head, the camo one is just so much cooler.
"You can have the blade, or just a punch in the face.
Either way it'll kill you, it's just a question of how much you bleed."
The knife's pretty small, but it looks sharp, and I like how the blade is camouflage-painted (presumably so it doesn't reflect light and give Firefly's position away during night-time operations. Also, this is the only photo where I remembered to put his hood up. Firefly's never had a hood before or since (maybe because Hasbro think that should remain strictly Zartan's 'thing') but it really suits him here, and fits very snugly.
Not something you want to declare at Customs.
I love the fact that he's got a suitcase bomb. It's so much more modern and practical and...terrorist-y than just a big block of C4. Not sure if I needed to have the individual charges be removable, but I suppose you could use the case for other things.
"Dammit, I can never get Radio 1 on this thing..."
If you're gonna have a bomb, you'll need a detonator too. It's a bit...retro, but it matches the equivalent accessory from the old-school Firefly figure, which is nice, and it fits one of his hands perfectly.
Looks like a hockey puck.
Almost as dangerous, too.
One of his four limpet mines. They're a very nice size, I feel, and clearly fit his hands. Plus they fit the 'saboteur' function better than plain ol' grenades. Also...
Sticky!
...they're magnetic! Love that, I really do. It's all well and good saying these sort of figures are collectors' pieces, but c'mon...you're gonna play with them at some point, so they'd better have something to offer in that regard.
Also, I'd like to give the box some love. I'm not one for keeping things mint-on-card, so when I do keep the packaging, it's because it's special somehow. This is one of those times. It's got a lovely fold-out design, lots of printed details, some nice pics, AND you can open it without tearing off any sellotape, so it stays presentable. Lovely.
Firefly relaxes after a good days' work.
Or as close to relaxing as you can get with a face like that.
Next time, erm...no idea. See you then!
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