G.I. Joe Classified Series Crystal Ball review No. 159 (2025)

Crystal Ball was an oddity in G.I. Joe. He missed the cut to make an impression in the Sunbow cartoons and only appeared in one issue of the G.I. Joe spin-off series Special Missions written by Herb Trimpe, not Joe architect Larry Hama. With his wacky backstory and kooky outfit even by 1987 Cobra standards, Crystal Ball was hardly a favorite among even the most ardent Cobra fan. Until now.

The GI Joe Classified Series team has seemingly made it a mission to transform the goofier 87 lineup villains into some of the cooler looking Cobras in the line. Crystal Ball gets a slight reimagining with a few tweaks to take a joke Cobra into one of the top candidates for figure of the year in the Classified Series line.

Let’s look beyond the haze and see if Crystal Ball’s future as a contender is…crystal clear or cracked.

Packaging: Crystal Ball has the standard packaging setup with the wide window showing off the figure and accessories. Over on the side the artwork shows him as he would appear to any Joes that cross his path and exposed to his hypnotics tech. I do wish in this case the portrait actually showed him in his regular guise.

The left side shows his skill stats and the QR Code of Doom. Over on the back, Crystal Ball is on a rooftop with Firefly pointing out a helicopter in the distance.

His skill set rankings are 4 in psyops, 3s in shield & coercion and a 2 in intelligence.

Likeness: Crystal Ball had a fairly streamlined outfit with his Real American Hero figure. It was more of his card art that made him look a bit odd especially with his exaggerated expression as he was trying to hypnotize someone.

The Hasbro design team incorporated all of the elements from the RAH figure. Some aspects they enhanced while others were toned down, but this is what’s making the Classified Series line so special. They’re not just changing things to change it so much as figuring out how to make the designs better.

To start, Crystal Ball’s head sculpt has a mix of vintage and contemporary. His hair is styled about the same complete with the stray strand falling down. Crystal Ball has the same arched eyebrows and a bit of a sinister smile. The original design featured a handlebar mustache while the CS figure has that vertical visual with face paint around his eyes. That is a pretty savvy change that immediately makes him look more formidable.

Instead of a vest, Crystal Ball has a sleeveless trench coat with a tattered hem. It features plenty of detail from the gold clasps on either side, the paneling and cracked elements in the leather section. He’s still got the fur trim around his collar and the unique rune marking on his shirt. Additionally, he’s wearing two necklaces and a belt with a third eye buckle to really sell his supernatural leanings.

In lieu of the sleeves, Crystal Ball has layered shoulder pads with leather portions mixed in. Crystal Ball has a bracelet on his right arm and a gauntlet on his left arm. They both have more rune type markings. The gauntlet has some layered, shelled armor and a glove with clawed fingers and some of the leather bracelet material. For his right hand, he’s wearing various on each finger.

His pants and boots closely resemble the RAH style, and he’s got a holster on his left leg.

Scale: Crystal Ball doesn’t need to be some towering figure. If anything, he should be somewhat unassuming so he’s about eye to eye with the average height Cobras. Ironically, he’s one of the shorter 87 wave Cobras as he’s looking up to both Big Boa and Croc Master.

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Paint: Once again, Hasbro didn’t skew too far from the original design for Crystal Ball just changing up a few hues and adding more paint detail than his RAH figure.

He still has three areas with grey hair creeping in with a small tuft in the front and along his temples. The eye face paint has that dot matrix style application to it, which makes it look like it was smeared along and isn’t completely uniform.

He’s wearing contacts with black pupils and red irises to really drive home the creep factor. Crystal Ball’s teeth have a pearlescent quality to them that give them a bit of a sheen and making it easier to appreciate the slight fangs. He also has a very faint five o’clock shadow going, which turned out very nice.

Crystal Ball’s trench coat is a darker brown than his shirt and bracelets while the fur section is a light brown that blends nicely with the two darker shades. The rune pattern on his vest was sculpted, but it’s painted on the shirt.

He’s got some tattoos along his chest and arms. My favorite is the one on his left arm with a Cobra wrapped around a human skull. The gold details on his coat and belt buckle really pop.

It’s the same shade of gold as the rune on the shirt. There’s some minor overspray with the lefthand gauntlet and his hairline. Otherwise, the paintjob is exactly what I’ve come to expect from this line.

Articulation: Crystal Ball could have had some trouble with his movement thanks to his trench coat, but the sides are flared out, so they don’t impede his range of motion.

Since he’s absolutely more of a distance Cobra agent, he shouldn’t be getting into too many fisticuff situations. He is able to hit some dramatic poses worthy of a hypnotist stalking Joes on the battlefield or when they’re caught off guard.

Crystal Ball has:

• 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: Crystal Ball has some funky accessories that play into his use of D.I.R.E. (Dread-Inducing Responsive Energy) Tech. He’s more than just a dude with a spinning lenticular shield now.

Crystal Ball still does have that, but the pattern is so much more interesting now with snakes going in and out of a skull suggesting the mind screw that he does to his victims.

He’s got what looks like a revolver with a gold coil around it. Maybe that shoots more of his D.I.R.E. instead of bullets? The handle on the revolver is well executed and now he’s got an offensive weapon.

To help further mess with the Joe’s heads he has some D.I.R.E. Tech with a projected monster mask, which looks really creepy. While it’s a mask it has some impressive detailing on it with the tentacle mouth, scales around the eyes and recessed red eyes to match the gem in the forehead. It’s an intimidating portrait.

Additionally, he’s got a D.I.R.E. Tech sword, which I’m not clear if it’s actually capable of cutting or just an illusion to throw off the Joes. The handle is real so maybe it does have some attack capabilities as well.

To stay on brand, Crystal Ball also has a smaller crystal ball with tentacles reaching over the globe while a skull is positioned inside. He also has a D.I.R.E. Tech shield plate with a skull surrounded by snakes meeting at its eyes. This guy clearly wanted to be part of Cobra.

Finally, to aid in posing, he has an open left hand. He’s loaded with accessories!

Worth It? Crystal Ball is the usual $24.99 price point, but he really feels like we got so much more here. Like every CS figure the value is never a question as the team makes sure to pack as much possible to give you plenty of bang for your buck.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Crystal Ball is one of those unexpectedly great figures that really has no business being so good. The Classified Series team really showed out with him. to deliver one of the best figures in 2025.

Where to Get It?  Crystal Ball is a shared Hasbro Pulse and Walmart exclusive is easy to grab online at Hasbro Pulse or at Walmart.

To catch up on more Classified Series figures, check out the collection over at Amazon and Entertainment Earth.

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.