G.I. Joe Classified Series Cobra Valkyries review

The Cobra Valkyries are a new designation for the female Cobra Troopers in Cobra. While Cobra Commander was a lot of things, he wasn’t sexist. His right- hand man for years was Baroness until Destro came along. And some of the more memorable episodes in the G.I. Joe A Real American Hero cartoon series featured female Cobra agents.

To give Baroness, Zarana and Vypra some company, the Classified Series team decided to add in some reinforcements courtesy of the army-builder Cobra Valkyries. After all, dudes don’t have a monopoly on getting conned by a charismatic figure promising them riches and power beyond belief.

I missed out on the first crack at the Valkyries, but they eventually resurfaced on Pulse during the latest Pulse Premium sales event. The Valkyries’ weapon rollout definitely makes army building a tempting proposition but let’s see if this initial two-pack was worth the initial investment.

Packaging: While I didn’t love not being able to see the figure I really appreciated the artwork on the front. It did a great job of telling a story in this Classified Series universe. I’m glad that was retained when the plastic window returned.

For this one, a pair of Valkyries are out front of a Cobra stronghold — helpfully indicated by the big golden snake at the center. Lurking in the background is Junkyard with his blue eyes in a nod to the cartoon episode High Freq where Cobra created a device to control animals.

The top right strip features the massive rollout of weapons and accessories. Over on the package’s left side is the large QR Code to nowhere and the skill stats. Turning to the right side is the larger portrait of both of the Cobra Valkyries included in this set. On the rear is the larger accessory and figure breakdown and the stats.

You’ll have to go to Hasbro Pulse for the bio, which is written very well: The Cobra Valkyries stalk the battlefield as “choosers of the slain” ushering any enemies who cross their path straight to Valhalla. These Cobra Troopers are not to be underestimated or trifled with.

Cobra Valkyries scored a 1 in foot soldier, hand-to-hand combat, sabotage, light weapons and leader.

Likeness: I really like the design for the Valkyries. It’s mainly based off the Cobra Officer design with ribbed, mesh style armor in various sections from the shoulders to chest, arms, sides and thighs.

They’ve got web gear with sheathes to the left shoulder and holsters on the belt and right thigh.

My favorite part of the figure is the sinister mask with the snake-like mouth piece. It really provides a cool and mysterious look for them.

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Paint: Paint is rarely a concern with the Classified Series. Hasbro continues to bring more diversity into the line by having both a white and black portrait as available display options.

Both eyes are painted sharply with minor fuzziness around the mask section. That would be difficult to paint sharply for a mass release figure.

The only difference with the two is one has the tan harness gear like the early Cobra Trooper look in the comic book. This does allow for a bit more color pops than the standard black web gear with accent points in the sheath, belt and boots.

Scale: They might be Valkyries, but they’re not Amazons. They’re shorter than most of the Cobra grunts. Height-wise, they line up to Vypra and Ferret driver Scout just fine.

Articulation: Just like all of the other army builders, it’s key for the Valkyries to be able to do all kinds of warfare tactics.

From aiming, crouching, punching and kicking.

This body allows for very fluid movement and the ability to hit a variety of poses.

Cobra Valkyries have:

• head
• neck
• shoulders (butterfly)
• elbow (double-jointed)
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• mid-torso
• torso
• waist
• hips (ball-jointed)
• drop down hips
• knees (double-jointed)
• ankles

Accessories: What really sets the Valkyries up perfectly for army building is the wide array of accessories allowing for all kinds of gear and weapon load outs.

There’s a swappable head with a sculpted-on gas mask and red visor to hide the Valkyrie’s identity. Now you’ll need to get at least another pack to make this the lead Valkyrie especially with the officer trooper with the silver V in the center.

Next up is the same set of weapons just in different colors to match the Valkyries’ web gear. First up is the backpack. It’s got plenty of detail with various pouches and straps along with pegs to hold the guns.

First up is the smaller SMG style gun. It’s styled like the cartoon blasters with a wider barrel. For an added touch it has a removable magazine.

For heavier firefights, the Cobra Valkyries have a grenade launcher gun. It also has a removable magazine, which is a neat added feature Hasbro is incorporating with more guns now.

There are also two smaller pistols in case they want to go John Woo style in battle.

And there’s a small knife with a painted silver blade.

Maybe the coolest accessory with the set is the blast effects, which will likely get shared by all the Joes and Cobras in action shots.

They’re done in a largely red translucent plastic with some gradients of orange and yellow.

There are two wider spray effect to use as the base for the blasts. Most include pegs and holes on either end so you can combine them up to four pieces. That was smart engineering.

Options include a smoking vapor trail, a rapid-fire effect, a smaller blast, a medium and longer blast trail effects. The options are very impressive.

Worth It?  This set was $54.99 on Pulse. That was the same price as the Ferret set. This is a little more than $25 per figure, but the accessories basically balance it out. I got the set for around $35.74 thanks to that Pulse sale, which was a terrific deal. I certainly wouldn’t mind getting another set at that price point.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Being able to army build with figures that have so many display options is a solid deal. The Cobra Valkyries proved another great surprise in the CS line and well worth building.

Where to Get it? The Cobra Valkyries are exclusive to Hasbro Pulse but are currently sold out. This likely will go back in stock so keep an eye out for it.