Snake Eyes: 10 Best Action Figures Of The G.I. Joe Hero
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins tells the origin story of the classic hero and draws on one of his most famous action figure versions for his movie costume. But there are many, many versions of Snake Eyes dating back to his toy debut in 1982. They keep getting better, making it hard to determine which is the best of the best.
Hasbro introduced Snake Eyes in the A Real American Hero relaunch of the brand in 1982 and has never stopped producing him since. While some Snake Eyes figures feature common design elements like his iconic visor, many are unique to the era and style they appeared in. Many images courtesy of the database at YoJoe.com!
10 A Real American Hero Version 4
The fourth version of Snake Eyes adopts a very bright neon color scheme common to G.I. Joe toys in the early '90s. With his Day-Glo visor and matching sword, there is a very sci-fi appeal to this 1991 entry, one of the last figures of the original run of the line before it went on a brief hiatus. While the line had declined in popularity at this point and the figures were very different from the realistic aesthetic they started with back in 1982, this Snake Eyes remains a vivid example of the line's fun and creativity.
9 A Real American Hero Version 3
Version 3 of Snake Eyes from 1989 leans heavily into his evolving role as a ninja. He features swords and nunchucks and a stylish silver color scheme which easily makes him one of the best versions of the character. Snake Eyes started off as a commando among the Joes, but his backstory, written by legendary comic book writer Larry Hama (who was behind most of the character biographies in the toy line), led to him becoming a ninja and member of the Arashikage Clan. Snake Eyes would be on par with some of the best martial artists in Marvel Comics.
8 Ninja Force
The ninja theme became even more dominant as the line wound down, as was evident in this Snake Eyes from the Ninja Force sub-line. This is the fifth version of Snake Eyes from 1993 and features a pastel blue set of weapons and armor to go along with his more standard black and silver.
While it might have been a bit loud at the time, the weapons and subtle samurai detailing are very close to what fans saw on screen in the latest Snake Eyes movie, even if the movie costume leaned heavier on the earlier looks.
7 25th Anniversary
The 25th Anniversary line celebrating A Real American Hero brought G.I. Joe and Snake Eyes into the 21st century. This 2007 figure is a huge upgrade in sculpting detail and articulation of the second version of Snake Eyes from 1985.
He came with numerous weapons, including several guns and a sword. This figure, along with the vintage version it was based on, provides the template for the movie costume and thus one of Snake Eye's strongest connections to the G.I. Joe franchise.
6 Sigma Six Arctic Snake Eyes
The Sigma Six toyline from 2006 was probably a little ahead of its time. The Arctic version of Snake Eyes has more in common with the six-inch Classified Series currently on toy shelves. Sigma Six were eight inches tall and came with many interactive accessories, allowing figures like Snake Eyes to augment his very modern and unique design even further. Despite only lasting a couple of years - and hailing from a less-than-good animated series canceled after one season - this was a great version of Snake Eyes.
5 City Strike
G.I. Joe reverted back to its 80s 3 and 3/4 inch scale with the 25th anniversary and through the first two less than ideal G.I. Joe movies. That eventually led to the "City Strike" Snake Eyes in 2009. A highly modern take on the classic look of the character with very practical and realistic gear, he's one of the very best versions of the character. He comes loaded with accessories, including a lot of different guns and swords. He is the 48th version of Snake Eyes to have been produced by Hasbro overall.
4 Alpha Commandos
Starting in 2020, the Classified Series brought G.I. Joe into the six-inch scale popularized by Marvel Legends and Star Wars: The Black Series. Hasbro broke the mold with Snake Eyes with the Alpha Commandos set which is just hitting now. This set features a highly detailed version of Snake Eyes based on his original 1982 costume and pairs him with an articulated version of Timber, his wolf sidekick. Timber was not articulated in the original toy line, making for a unique set of figures for any G.I. Joe collector.
3 Commando
The first version of Snake Eyes from 1982 is still one of the best. Outfitted in all black, Snake Eyes instantly stood out amongst his Joe colleagues, who were initially all costumed in army green. The mystique and awesomeness of the character were established from the very start.
Like all other figures introduced in 1982, Snake Eyes originally came with 'straight arms,' or less articulated limbs that were more akin to the Kenner Star Wars figures of the time. This was quickly revised to the more jointed limbs that became standard for the line.
2 Pursuit Of Cobra
The 54th version of Snake Eyes emerged in the 2011 Pursuit Of Cobra line. He is arguably the best modern version, with an extremely detailed sculpt that draws on his past iterations and an insane amount of accessories including numerous guns and swords. This figure represents in many ways the apex of what Hasbro could do in the 3 and 3/4 scale in terms of sculpting, articulation, and accessories. The figure has numerous features now more common and associated with the generally more collector-focused six-inch scale.
1 A Real American Hero Version 2
The update kicked off an avalanche of updated Snake Eyes variants in decades to come. Much like Kenner Star Wars figures which have made it into the canon, this version of Snake Eyes is the look that the new movie adopts for his official Snake Eyes costume.
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