 788 here, and for this video I am dressed as an accountant. Why? You may ask because for this video I am reviewing the Cobra Accountant. A Cobra Accountant you might say that sounds pretty boring, but the fact that he was an accountant was one of the better aspects of this character because in addition to him being an accountant he was also a bird man. Oh my god it's raptor. It's raptor. Oh yeah, it's raptor. Raptor. Cobra Month, what are you doing to me? Who makes these decisions? Who? Who? He was Cobra's Falconer from 1987, so HTC 788 presents... This is Raptor, the Cobra Falconer from 1987. This figure was available in 1987 and 1988 and was discontinued for the year 1989. There was no new Cobra Falconer released in 1989 or any other year. The figure closest to Raptor in 1989 was maybe Nagahide, the Dreadnock poacher, but only because they're hunters. Beyond that there's really no similarity. There were no other versions of Raptor released ever. I wonder why. The Cobra Falconer was released the same year as the G.I. Joe Falcon. That's weird. Falconry is the practice of hunting wild prey using a trained bird of prey. So Raptor comes with a trained Falcon. There have been other bird companions in G.I. Joe. A couple figures released before Raptor that came with birds include 1984 Spirit and the 1985 Shipwreck. Let's take a look at Raptor's accessories and they are really something to see. First and most important is his Falcon, which the card contents call Talon. I assume Talon is the bird's name and it's sculpted really well in brown plastic and it has a lighter brown paint wash on the bottom. Really pretty good. The feet of the bird are in this shape so they can clasp the wrist of the action figure and so he can hold his Falcon that way. Unfortunately those feet are often broken off so if you really want a complete Raptor figure make sure the bird still has his feet because if he doesn't the figure can't hold it. I think this bird is supposed to be a Lanner Falcon. The Peregrine Falcon is more commonly used in Falconry but the coloring is different so based on the sculpt and the coloring I think this is supposed to be a Lanner Falcon. The bird is sculpted with crisscross straps and those are very well done but I have not been able to find a reference to these kinds of straps in real Falconry. Trained Falcons wear hoods when they are at rest. That helps keep them in a calm state and they wear leather straps called Jesses tied to their legs. Raptor's other accessory fits on him like a backpack but it's not a backpack. This the card contents call an ultralight airfoil frame. The airfoil frame consists of a brown centerpiece with sculpted feathers and a backpack and a pretty large cloth wings and a tail that are printed on one side and in another context this might be a really cool accessory. Since they call it an ultralight airfoil frame that suggests this is really supposed to fly but it has a sculpted on hook with a line here coiled up and so that kind of suggests that he would hook this onto something and that he would swing from it. The thought of Raptor swinging around on his big wings is about the goofiest thing I can imagine. The wings have two holes one right there and the other one right there and you're supposed to fit the action figure's hands in these and there is Raptor with his wings open. Don't he just remind you of the majestic bald eagle. Let's take a look at the articulation on Raptor. He had the standard articulation for 1986 GI Joe action figures that means he could turn his head from left to right and look up and down. He could swing his arm up at the shoulder somewhat hindered by the feather sculpting on the shoulder but he could swivel his arm all the way around. He could bend at the elbow about 90 degrees. He had a swivel at the bicep that allowed him to swivel his arm all the way around. The figure was held together with a rubber o-ring that looped around the inside that allowed him to move at the torso a bit. He could spread his legs apart about so far. He could move his leg at the hip about 90 degrees and bend at the knee about 90 degrees. Let's take a look at the sculpt design and color of Raptor starting with his head and oh my goodness his head is special. He is wearing a very large falcon headdress in brown plastic. It's pretty well sculpted nicely sculpted feathers but again it is very large. It's like a human sized bird head. The falcon head has red and black eyes and I guess it's done well enough but this really shows that Raptor doesn't just like birds and train birds but he dresses like one and maybe wants to be one. There is a remote possibility that Raptor's headdress was inspired by ancient Aztecs. Aztec warriors did wear animal costumes like this but there's no indication of Aztec inspiration on the file card or in any of the other GI Joe media in which Raptor appeared so I don't think that's the source. Under his bird face is his human face and he's not going to win any beauty contests anytime soon. He's wearing a brown mask that just goes around his eyes kind of like the hamburger. That mask is sculpted on it's not just painted you can feel an edge to it. Moving on down to his chest we have a bare chest a very muscular chest and no nipples apparently he worked out so much that his nipples disappeared. He's wearing a red necklace with what looks like a sculpted cobra head although on the file card with a closer look at that necklace that doesn't really look like a cobra there but on the figure itself though I think I think that's supposed to be a cobra. His shoulders feature sculpted feathers and those feathers continue all the way around to the back and his entire back is covered with feathers. What is this supposed to be? Is this supposed to be a feather shawl? Does he have feathers growing out of his back? I don't really care what it's supposed to be it's gross. The best thing about this feathery back is when he's wearing his wings you can't see it. Those sculpted feathers continue down his arms they cover his upper arms and below that his arms are bare and again muscular. Then we have his gloves. His gloves are brown and it looks like he has feathers sticking out of them like he took a handful of feathers and stuck them in each glove. These wristbands on his gloves are about the right size if you get them at the right angle to clip on his falcon. His waistpiece while being a little bit more subdued still finds a way to be crazy with a huge silver bird shaped belt buckle. I mean look at that thing it is monstrous. He has a black belt that goes all the way around it looks like he didn't miss any belt loops so good for him. Then he has this black strap that hangs down and connects to his pistol holster. His trousers are brown and they are pretty plain these are just plain brown trousers these could be dockers. On his left leg he has a silver holster and pistol and since it is on his left leg it implies that raptor is left handed. On his lower legs the craziness does not stop we have some sculpted feathers here and they're just sticking straight up looks like he's got feathers sticking out of his socks. He has a couple straps on each shin and between those straps we have more sculpted feathers and it looks like those feathers should be painted the lighter feather color up here but instead that's all brown from here down. That's not exactly an unpainted detail but it looks like an improperly painted detail. Finally we get to his feet and yes he has talons on the toes of his boots it looks like he's painted his toenails. This is the feature that really got me. I thought raptor looked ridiculous before I got the figure but when I saw his silver toes that's when I lost it. Stitching along the soles suggest these are moccasin style boots. Take a moment to look at the similarities between raptor and DC Comics Hawkman. They both have bird headdresses and bear chests and red symbols in the center of their chest and of course wings that are supposed to make them fly. The main difference is Hawkman actually pulls that look off. Raptor here looks like a bad Hawkman cosplay. Hey everybody be really quiet I'm gonna see if I can startle him. BOOM! AHHH! Let's take a look at raptor's file card and his file card has his faction as cobra. It has a portrait of raptor here in which his nipples do appear in case you were worried. It has his codename as raptor and he's the cobra falconer. It says filename unknown it should say filename who cares. This section says raptor was a yuppie tax consultant who took up falconry as a pastime and soon became obsessed with the avian blood sport. A hobby that becomes an all-encompassing obsession sounds pretty unrealistic to me. He discovered that by breeding bigger and stronger birds and equipping them with steel-tipped talons they were capable of attacking much more profitable game. Caught poaching on a cobra mink ranch by Destro, raptor joined the ranks of the cobra legions and began work on developing a bird of prey strong enough to attack a GI Joe. So cobra mink ranch is apparently a thing. The card says yuppie tax consultant but the comic book does specify that he is an accountant. This quote says raptor doesn't have any delusions about what he is, even if he dresses up in that bird suit of his and spends most of his time in a giant bird cage. Those are means to an end and the bottom line for raptor is his non-taxable profit margin. So of course he's in it for the money. I mean just take a look at this guy. One look at him and you can tell he's in it for the money. Step one, dress in bird suit. Step two, profits. Behold the most absurd, get rich quick scheme ever devised. In GI Joe media raptor was only animated for commercials. He didn't appear in any TV episodes. He came out in 1987 the same year as the GI Joe animated movie. If the TV series had continued for another season he likely would have appeared. There was a gap between the end of the Sunbow animated series and the beginning of the lesser quality deke animated series and raptor just fell into that gap. Since there are no animated TV show appearances the comic book and the file card provide the only source for his background and personality. Raptor did make some significant appearances in the GI Joe comic book. He first appeared in issue number 59. Fred Seven who was an undercover Cobra Crimson guardsman said raptor was an accountant. Cobra commander who had gone underground after the disastrous attack on the pit enlisted the aid of Fred Seven and that's how he met raptor. Cobra commander's first reaction to raptor was one of scorn and ridicule. This sequence of events leads to Cobra commander being shot in the back and assumed dead. Fred Seven takes his place and raptor helps Fred bury Cobra commander's body. The comic book origin appears to be different from the file card but not necessarily. It is possible raptor was found poaching by Destro and then was attached to Fred Seven for his bird project. Even though raptor wasn't directly responsible for Cobra commander's death, his abetting of Fred's deception turned out to be a bad decision. Cobra commander was not dead. Another crimson guardsman dug up his body and got him medical attention. When Cobra commander returned to take his rightful place at the head of Cobra he purged the organization of anyone who had betrayed him. That included Fred Seven, Zartan and raptor. In one of the most badass revenge scenes ever Cobra commander locks all of his enemies in an old landlocked freighter and uses explosives to bury the freighter under a volcano. Some of the buried traitors managed to escape but not raptor. Raptor dies. Wow that's the best thing Cobra commander has ever done. Maybe Cobra commander ain't so bad. Looking at this figure overall, he's a f***ing bird man what do you expect? 1987 was a weak year especially for Cobra. In that year we got a hypnotist, a reptile trainer, a boxer and the infamous Cobra law. And in a weak year raptor was one of the weakest. It always amazes me when I have to give a negative review to a figure. How many people come out and say hey that's my favorite guy? And well most of the time I can at least kind of see and I can understand even if I don't agree I can at least understand where they're coming from. But if raptor is your favorite GI Joe figure well first of all good I am glad that you found an action figure that you like something you love and you enjoy you should not let me dissuade you from that but I don't understand. A bird of prey themed villain could be really cool but not when he has the oversized headdress and the hamburger or mask and the bear chest with no nipples and the the dockers and the feathers sticking out of his socks. Bird themed characters have been done well. DC Comics Hawkman is cooler than raptor. Condor Man is cooler than raptor. Even if raptor were cool for instance if he didn't have those disgusting feathers growing out of his back in a universe with machine guns and missiles and lasers a bird man just isn't a very powerful force. This isn't needed for GI Joe. Why does the GI Joe need this guy? The GI Joe universe did not have a bird shaped hole in it that raptor needed to fill and I regret using that metaphor. Trying to think of something positive to say about raptor and I can only think of two things. One he's an accountant and that may not seem like a great thing but it does add another angle to his character. The GI Joe comic book tended to associate certain professions with villainy lawyers, intelligence agents, accountants, and for some reason dentists. That is not a worldview that I agree with but raptor did provide a good opportunity to build on the tone of the GI Joe universe in that respect. The other thing I can say is the sculpting is well done. The bird accessory is well made and on the raptor figure there's a lot of nice detail in those feathers which is something I never wanted to say about a GI Joe action figure except for spirit. Spirit did have feathers but spirits feathers did not grow over his entire body. So the execution on this figure is excellent. It was just a dubious plan that they were executing. That was raptor and that was week four of cobra month. Oh I got week four of cobra month. This is not working. I have to find some way to make cobra month this year even better than last year and raptor is not the way to do it. So with one more week of cobra month I'm left with no other choice. I've got to call in some help. Computer engage. Computer online. Assemble GI Joe reviewers most capable of taking on cobra. Personnel selected. Agent Kevin. Location. Canada. Channel name. Form BX 257. Finally some vacation time. I suppose I should take this time to clean every single one of my GI Joe figures unless I get interrupted for some reason. That's right. I said I have to clean each and every individual GI Joe figure I own unless I get interrupted. Oh thank god. Form BX 257 reporting in. Agent Kevin. Agent Timmer. You have been selected because you have the skills to produce truly great GI Joe reviews. Our mission is to make cobra month a mind blowing experience by each contributing a cobra review. Are you ready? Ready. Ready. Then commence operation cobra convergence.