|
If rumors are to be believed, early drafts of the Retaliation script had Flint as the leader of the team, and it was only after they got a major star (in the form of The Rock) that Roadblock became the focus.
A rough, young member of the GI Joe team, Flint rappels down a zip line to infiltrate an enemy base and destroy a missile silo.
Wow, that sounds pretty exciting. Is it in the movie? We'll find out in about a month! Even if it's not, it certainly sounds like the type of action GI Joe usually engages in. Well, GI Joe, or whoever the guys are that back up James Bond when he's found his way into a supervillain's secret volcano lair and opens the ceiling so they can all drop in on ropes in the coolest way imaginable. Actually, GI Joe and James Bond make a good comparison: you've got flashy enemies, slightly futuristic/silly technology, political intrigue, and completely implausible situations that you accept because you're absorbed into the story. "The name ish Joe - Yo Joe!"
Flint's head is new. It definitely resembles actor DJ Cotrona, but it's not the strongest likeness in the line - but then, neither is it as bad as, say, the first movie Baroness or Cover Girl. Part of that may be that it looks so large on the body, but that's a whole different issue that we'll get to in a moment. They did do a good job with his haircut, so there's that.
And then that's where the new pieces end. Below the neck,
this toy uses the same body as the Duke that's been pegwarming since last June. You know, because people hadn't had enough of an opportunity to own that yet. The sculpt looks like an update of the "reactive armor" worn in the first film, but worn like a bulletproff vest instead of a full suit. There's a more normal jumpsuit worn beneath the armor, and several black straps holding it on. While Duke's armor was painted silver, Flint's is the same gray-green as the rest of his outfit. He gets white apps on the insides of his arms, and gray camouflage stripes on his arms and legs.
To help disguise the re-use, Flint is wearing Pursuit of Cobra Jungle Duke's webgear, and has his machete. And while that does help hide the sculpt's origins and bulk up the body, it's still too small to go with the head. Flint is not a tiny guy, but the proportion of the head to the body makes this toy look more like DJ Qualls than DJ Cotrona. Plus, since this is a Wave 1 figure (or is that Series?), the articulation is slightly sub-par: he has no ankles and his knees are single-hinged.
In addition to the webgear, Flint has a removable beret
(courtesy of Falcon), an M-16 and a made-up sci-fi gun of some sort [a modified KRISS Vector --ed.]. He also gets a zipline launcher that's shaped kind of like a crossbow, but launches from the wrong end. Plus, the button to make it fire is under the strings, making it most inaccessible. The line itself is the same sort that came with the Red Ninja. So basically, ignorable.
At last year's JoeCon, a movie Flint was glimpsed briefly, but it wasn't this one. That Flint had the same head, but a more appropriately sized body and a costume that actually matched how he looks in the movie. So skip this sad little repaint and wait for the later release.
-- 03/01/13
|
