Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Alexx Shorts: RoC Agent Helix (8/3/09)

 
Well, this is it: I've finally decided to start reposting my old "Alexx Shorts" G.I. Joe reviews.  They're the reviews that lead to what eventually became this blog!  I'll be posting them in straight copy-and-paste format, separating them with bold dotted lines so you know where they begin and end, and then I'll post some final thoughts on what I think of the figure currently.

For those unfamiliar: I used to take random pictures here and there, but by the time the Rise of Cobra toys came out, I was getting annoying with how much people had been bashing the figures which were clearly better than the previous 25th Anniversary offerings.  I set out to show people how awesome they were, and things went from there, forming into "Alexx Shorts", named so because I thought I was going to keep to a short format with a few pictures.  I did not do that.


Man, I did NOT say enough about this one, back then:

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Should I keep the lightstick rave jokes to a minimum? I don't want it to seem like I don't like the figure, 'cause she ROCKS. Nonetheless, I think they could have worked with her weapons a bit more to allow her to hold them better than she does. The gun (while awesome) is too long, and the pistols are just slightly too big. She can hold them, as the pics will show, but I'd like them to be firmer for play reasons. If they had made them a bit thicker rather than wider, I think that would have done it.

Wanted to get the minor bad stuff out of the way first, 'cause the rest is all Agent Articulation! This girl can move! All the articulation you could want is there and completely moveable; nothing is hindered by gear. Makes sense, since her only gear is the big 'ol belt, but that moves right with the figure. They made this one to do some acrobatics! And, oh, I seem to have done some:





The figure really looks slick all around. I like the yellow and black color scheme, and though the accessories could be held better, they still rock!









Like I said, her rifle is a bit too long, but (strangely enough) the handle is perfect and she holds it the best, even if she can't hold it in any real fashion:





She also comes with the standard giant missile launcher. Most of them shoot missiles or energy, but this one...um...shoots a missile net?



I don't want to make this one sound useless, because she can hold her weapons! The hands are fantastic and she has a separate index finger, so she'll be able to hold many things. If you want to get rid of those awesome guns of hers, you'll have a lot of options! Oh, and if you want Scarlett to have a bit of her classic yellow, this worked out pretty well:



The neck, however, it TOO LONG for regular Scarlett or Pilot Scarlett heads. I took some pics...but ugh. Just trust me or try it yourself. The one above is your best option unless you can to cut some neck!

So, in the end, I'm not sure if I'm as impressed with this one as I was hoping I would be, but she still hits it out of the ballpark because she is one of the few, the proud, the well made female figures! You just don't get very many of them, and Agent Midnight Rave is one heck of a looker. The figure moves well, looks great, and has greats hands. Even if she can't use her weapons perfectly, there will be something that she can use! I don't think this one is a question in many people's minds, but I'll say it anyway: Must buy! I'll leave you with some extra pics:






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Every time I look back at this one I'm surprised by how few pictures I took.  I didn't really talk too much about it, either!  I do still agree with Past Alexx: GREAT figure!  I couldn't find her accessories in question, but I think my problem with the pistols was that they fell out of her hands as you were posing her, so I wasn't as enthusiastic as I should have been.  If you get her, don't worry about getting her loose without accessories - she'll hold anything that has a reasonably sized handle.  And you should totally get her!  She's one of the most unique figures from RoC, and female, so that should be a buy just from the gender (because we get so few female characters). 

This is one of those characters that I hope they bring back again, if G.I. Joe ever gets rebooted for...I dunno, the fifth or sixth time (or has it been less?).  If it's one thing I'm sad about, with Joes, it's the brand new characters that get lost to time because they didn't exist in the 80's.  Bring 'em back and show the 2000's some love!

10 comments:

  1. I complained that the Viper Commando didn't really spark the imagination, this figure is the exact opposite! She oozes personality and playability! I always picture her similar to Miko from transformers prime, but more sarcastic. Never understood why she had a machete though! A fan of Jason maybe? One of the true highlights of the ROC line, heck G.I. JOE in general!

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    1. I dunno, someone pointed out that the machete was some military design, or something? Maybe it was just 'cause she looked like she needed a blade.

      Anyway, YEAH! That's the best part of new characters - when they have that SPARK.

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  2. One of the best figures in the line. Fresh, modern, female character. Lots of personality. The band-aid on her arm adds a lot of little things.

    I do remember IDW sort of tried to make her a Scrabby Doo to Snake Eyes, having some sort of muscle memory magic trick that allowed her to replicate ninja skills and crap. Then she died. So MEH.

    But who cares? COOL NEW CHARACTER.

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    1. LOL wow, I had no idea what they did with her, story wise! This is why I'm glad they start as figures, sometimes. They far outstrip what writers may or may not do with them.

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    2. I think Hama's kept her alive in the ARAH book, though. Which is a bit weird, but, hey, always fun to see him mix in the new blood.

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  3. A near excellent figure, and a damn shame she never got a repaint or seen again.

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    1. YEP, that's the death of yet another 2000's new character!

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  4. Yup this figure rules. When I weeded out my Joe collection, I decided to keep a core team of 6 or 7 Joes, and Helix made the cut. She looks amazing in any action setup doing basically anything. I don't even know what her official background is (IIRC her package bio just had some nonsense about a "whirlwind attack") and I don't care. I'll make up my own. Based on the above comments, it sounds like IDW handled her in an unsatisfying way anyhow.

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    1. Yeah man, the bios around that time were HILARIOUS. They could be summed up by saying "CHARACTER is good at SPECIALTY and fights Cobra in LOCATION with ACCESSORIES." That shit got super annoying, and that's coming from a guy who made up his own stuff anyway. I like a LITTLE flavor in the bios to use, ya know? Even if I don't use it all.

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