That Figures: REVIEW: GI Joe Slaughter's Marauders Battle Set

Produced by Hasbro | Released January 2012 [Big Bad Toy Store-exclusive]

Felix ''Mercenary'' Stratton is the only COBRA VIPER to defect to the GI Joe team and survive. He joined COBRA for the adventure and promise of material gain, but soon grew dissatisfied with the COBRA philosophy. To escape COBRA Island, he hot-wired a hydrofoil and outran his pursuers. He brings to the team a proficiency with small arms and explosive charges, and inside information about COBRA.

Mercenary

Mercenary - AKA Mercer - is another figure from the recently-released Slaughter's Marauders Battle Set. As you may have noticed, we've been stalling on getting through the remainder of the figures, because - truth be told - we've only so much time to dedicate to each Review and, frankly, we've had better figures to look at. That's not to say Mercenary is particularly bad, but he's just not massively exciting. However, it's also our goal to get the entire pack Reviewed, so to that end today we're presenting a shorter, Mini-Review of Mercenary and - later this week - the remaining figures from the pack.

So without further ado, it's on with the Review!

Sculpt and Design

*Pros*	*Cons*
Detailed head sculpt	No holster for pistol
Design echoes Cobra Trooper origins	Character design is a little bland
Detailed vest
Knife sheath can hold combat knife

Articulation

*Pros*	*Cons*
Standard range of GI Joe movement	No extra joints (such as wrist or ankles)
Joints are firm but not stiff	Hand has difficulty holding knife
Vest doesn't inhibit movement
Mercer holds his firearms well

Paint

*Pros*	*Cons*
Neatly applied	Colouring is somewhat comicbook/cartoonish
Tampo transfer is cool	Black knee joints look odd from behind

Extras and Accessories

*Pros*	*Cons*
Colour choice is lifelike	Nowhere to store pistol when not in use
Pistol is a nice tribute to the 1987 figure	Knife doesn't sit well in his hand
Stand is a good fit

Final Thoughts

To be honest, there's nothing massively wrong with Mercenary - but at the same time, there's really very little to get excited about here. I'm sure fans of the original figure - or GI Joe: The Movie - will dig that he's been given this update but to be honest, unless you're a collector who collects for nostalgia purposes, I don't think you'll really find much get fired-up about here.

Everything is fairly well done - the accessories look good and - knife aside - fit well into his hands. A holster would have been nice but I can just about live without that. The sculpt is fine for what it is and fans will certainly recognise this figure as Mercer but much as I hate to say it, he's just a little bit on the bland side.

Acceptable, but kind of dull.

Scores