HCC788 - 1989 ALLEY VIPER - Cobra Urban Assault Trooper - Vintage G.I. Joe toy review!

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Special Thanks to:
Geoff Adams, Sean Dowling, Jason Galligan,
Droidwhisperer, Jeff Mills (Biggypines),
Ryan Wagner, James Swindell, Brian Zahn,
Byron Kellogg, Michael Johnson, Ben Penserga,
Mike Smith, Tyler Levens, Shaun Drefahl,
Raz Holly, David Tejerina, William J. Stelmack,
Philip Hanks, Todd Humphrey, Kurt Kesler,
Martin Day, Venetian Snares, Magnus Lauglo,
Mike Murdock, Daryl Beck, Chris Piers,
Brad Williams, Troy Smith, Hector M. Martinez,
Brandon Knight, David Fitchner, Mark Taylor,
John Logan, Judson Mabee, Donald Koehne,
Brent McMillan, Dennis Pederson,
Abomb Justice of the Clan MacDonald, Hikaru,
C.S. "Chuckles" McKee, Chris Lucero,
Jason Malvuccio, Jason Youngberg,
Jeffrey Sharp, Gazz, Daemon Donigan, Ryan Sweeny
steve, Bradley A. Good, Armen Nakashian
Robert Hawkins, dacca, the baron, Chris Mc.83,
Robert Bone, William Phillips, Lachlan McLeod,
Joseph C. Melli, Daniel Mullin
Sources and Information:
Alley Viper on YoJoe.com:
www.yojoe.com/...
Alley Viper on 3DJoes.com:
www.3djoes.com/...
Riot protection helmet:
en.wikipedia.o...
Image:
By Charles de Jesus -
www.flickr.com...,
CC BY 2.0,
commons.wikime...
Riot shield:
en.wikipedia.o...
Image:
www.ice.gov/gra...
Alley-Viper on Halfbattle.com:
www.halfbattle....
Alley Viper on Joepedia:
gijoe.fandom.c...)
Music:
Your Voice is American by Letter Box
Yacht Stomp by Spazz Cardigan
Future Gladiator,
by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution license
(creativecommon...)
Great Hope by Vibe Mountain
G. I. Joe is (c) Hasbro.
All copyrighted material is used for the purpose of
comment and criticism, which constitutes a fair use
of such material
This video is (c) Bryan Lower.

[@Chris.Mc83]

This guys was definitely a favorite of mine. The gear he came with was cool, and his look was wild! With that said, the colour selection obviously screams extreme shock and awe!

[@JoeMotionVideos82]

Shock and Awe is my opinion too. They want you to know that they are coming.

[@PoptartsNinja]

The Alley Viper's colors make a lot more sense once you realize they're not designed to blend the Alley Viper in with his environment, but they're designed to make it hard to tell where the shield ends and the Alley Viper begins. Only the most skilled opponent would be able to target the Alley Viper's vulnerable spots in a chaotic close-quarters fight. Everyone else would probably just have to shoot for center mass and pray, leaving them much more likely to shoot Alley Viper's shield and not the Alley Viper himself.

[@Jimalcoatl]

This was one of my favorites as a kid. Not absolute favorite, but definitely top five. The bright colors make sense. Alley Viper is not a covert soldier. He's a fear inducing militant "cop". His role is to be seen so that he can menace those he's sent to oppress.

[@neobluemax]

Everything I like about gijoe and cobra is opposite of this toy and yet he somehow is a favorite of mine. It defies logic, but colors be damned, I love Alley Vipers.

[@5foldunderstanding547]

Almost Exactly what I asked in my new comment.. I even stopped by this video A second time. I do believe when S2 _"Operation Dragonfire"_ aired, many of were happily shocked-- i.e. "I own that figure, He's A Badass & OMG _Cobra Commander_ is A real serpent!"

[@sexcorpio6976]

My only complainment is that their crossbow is unremovable, and they lack baton

[@christianhafer9819]

It's an awesome sculpt.

[@STRAKAZulu]

ALLEY VIPER!! My favorite figure!

[@NerdGasims]

Finally HCC788 reviews Alley Viper!! This guy was my favorite Cobra figure and just one of my favorite GI Joe figures when I was a kid. Alley Viper and Night Viper were the first troops I used to army build when I was a kid, I had three of each and would team them up as Cobras assault troops

[@k-dawgbroadcasting5444]

From a practical standpoint, you were concise and exact. From an aesthetic standpoint, that shield looked awesome. It was just cool to have, many kids probably are happy just to have it. Definitely badass, and I can see how the splash of orange and blue attracts kids. He was definitely made with commercialty in mind...

[@CJDrischler]

The zigzag lines on the alley vipers uniform give me the vertigo 🤣😂🤣 legit lol

[@NobodyNewsNetwork]

I remember getting Alley Viper as a kid for Christmas and being on cloud 9!!! Definitely the coolest of all GI Joe figures in my opinion. I used to take my mom's black thread and tie it to the grappling hook on his backpack and used it kinda like batmans grappling hook. So much fun with that figure!

[@Jtr_ceral_killer]

I still love this figure regurdless of the colors. My Top 5 vipers. 1.techno-viper 2. Alley viper 3. Viper 4. Night viper 5. Rock viper

[@AceSWhyld]

Mine too. Next to the standard Viper.

[@dean4125]

you got to admit. range viper was a pretty sick mold. the colors werent that great. but I love the mold

[@AceSWhyld]

@@dean4125 agree. Never had that one so I keep forgeting about it. Nice none the less.

[@iamnostalgic9567]

Love the Vipers! Also, Night Creeper.

[@ZBR_ProXP]

Sonic Fighters Viper was my fav

[@gunnersmate7482]

This figure was without a doubt one of the best cobras of the vintage line. My friends had them but I never owned one. To me the bold orange and blue with the face plate, shield weaponry and story were awesome. Oevery now and then I find pictures of massive vintage cobra armies and clearly only 12 people own all of the vintage figures in the world these days. They e all been conscripted into private collections. Looking forward to the classified version, maybe I can finally own even just one

[@JoeMotionVideos82]

Maybe he dresses that way, because he got tired of being shot at while deer hunting.

[@roguishpaladin]

A soldier dresses that way to STOP being shot at? X3

[@ericgollinger367]

"I wouldn't be caught dead in that." Dick Cheney's last words.

[@JoeMotionVideos82]

@@ericgollinger367 He will never live that down.

[@frankjosephjaeger2675]

Alley Viper look more like a NFL Denver Broncos Team

[@tonyjackson1636]

Great video, you were fair and didn't slam it as much as you may have two years ago. That being said....I live for tier placement! I imagine middle tier, high middle tier....but I won't know until you make it official! Also, I love Alley Viper. It's bright, but let's put it this way, line up Croc Master, Crystal Ball, and even a good figure like the original Cobra Trooper with Alley Viper. Which grabs your attention? The guy with the cool facemask and shield!

[@turtle-tank8231]

my first Gi-Joe figure I ever got and is still my favorite. Ally viper. Night viper Toxo viper version 2 . AVAC Pilot . Night Raven Pilot . Crimson Guards. Cobra Moray hydrofoil & Lampreys. and for new figure's Cobra Vulture and Cobra retaliation Cobra Trooper. are my favorite Troopers and Pilots of Cobra

[@SylentEcho]

Man, the sculpt on this thing is excellent! Who's bright idea was it to paint him that colour? He could have been one of the best GI Joes toys ever.

[@rtd1409]

This is a really special review as I am about to go on a trip and made up my cadre of figures but at the last minute just added a few Alley Vipers inspired by the review! Thanks guys for the great crossover! I hadn't bought the Alley Viper when it was new I got a Night Viper instead. Buy later got a bare bones figure for $1 at a vintage toy store and restored the pieces and the boy is ready for deployment this evening! Stay tuned to GI Joburg for when I post my photos.

[@ralang999]

Alley Viper with a blue/blue camo color scheme like Shockwave's would be awesome

[@mrbluesteen]

Check out black Majors alley vipers. So many different colors

[@deadpoolshitlist8510]

I had a squad of 6 of these guys ( classic orange and blue) always battling over the family couch with the Joe SWAT guy Shockwave....

[@odracircomix7359]

MY FAVE GIJOE TOY I EVER BOUGHT WITH MY OWN MONEY AS A KID. ADORE THIS FIGURE

[@leadbones]

One of my favorite toys of all time.

[@markjanssens1658]

I love the colors though. Cobra always looked better, So excited for Gi Joe Classified figures

[@StormWarningHall]

I loved the alley viper action figure

[@cyberfrank-bx2nv]

imagine the visor to be tinted clear with the cobra logo red, and switch the orange for the dark blue trooper, and now you ve got a real good looking viper. orange was overkill. good show!!!

[@mwg500]

Well, the other vintage Alley Vipers also had loud colors, so they were consistent in that regard. They planned to reuse the 1989 Alley Viper in a more subdued blue camo scheme in 1997 (bundled with one of the tanks), but like a lot of other planned 1997 figures, they had to make substitutions due to lost molds. I think the "modern" version of the Alley Viper from a few years ago has an updated backpack with the whole grapple gun being removable.

[@hneugiii1245]

Great review! I think Alley Viper is a cool figure I never thought he was as cool as others. The original Viper will always be #1 to me but Alley is still a good one. CC788 should take a look there were some later issues in different colors. I think there is a dark blue version which is much better on the eyes.

[@racerxgundam]

one of my fav gi.joes....top tier all the way for me. as a kid i wished he had a different color scheme but over time this wild orange and blue combo grew on me. I think ur right, this isnt supposed to be camo...this is meant to be seen. It easily separates alley vipers from potential rioters or civil forces, thus in the midst of a chaotic shut everything down situation u can tell friend from foe easily. group some alley vipers with their shields together and the colors actually start to interfere with one's vision, distinct points in that orange and blue herd of death sorta blend in....grouped its hard to single one out to incapacitate or target specific areas of the body. i also think there is a psychological aspect to their designs as well...cobra WANTS you to know they are comming. They want u to see and cower in fear to the neon glow stick of the reaper. top ten figure in my book.

[@podcastfromthepit3132]

One of my favorite Cobra figures

[@phillipgatelein8591]

I enjoyed this one. I army built this orange Alley Viper using the yellow Alley viper as the field Sgt .

[@christianhafer9819]

He's an extremely popular figure. I can pose him just fine with his gun over his shield. I think he's awesome.

[@kennethmalone4689]

This is one of the few figures I didn't have that I actually wanted.

[@andrewandrew4568]

Thanks. Another classic video that is evergreen. Perfect to watch to get ready for the new Classified six inch version.

[@Alverant]

Given how neon was big in the 80s and 90s we shouldn't be surprised that Cobra got in on it.

[@seanpalmer2050]

One of my favorite figures.

[@Sammydx1]

Man. 1989 was a great year for me. I was 9 and I started to get an allowance. So every Saturday I have 10 bucks to spend at Toys r us. Sometimes more if I helped my grandparents with anything. So 10 bucks x52 weeks. That was alot of Joe's. But. For some reason.... the Alley Viper was my go to. When I had basically all the Joe's. I would get 4 cobra figures. I would rotate Alley Vipers/Night Vipers/ Python Patrol. By summer break I had a Cobra force of almost 50 !!!!

[@dmore454]

I got the v2 rerelease that came out in the early 2000s in a two-pack with Big Ben (?) He had gray, black and white urban camo and matte light blue trim/helmet/boots/body armor. I absolutely loved that figure, easily my favorite Cobra out of the ones I owned growing up because he looked so bad ass (especially toting the extra loose Colt 9mm SMG I had lying around from an old 90s figure weapons tree), and id argue the best version of the Alley Viper. When given a more realistic paint job you can see how great the actual sculpt is.

[@timothydurkan]

I shoplifted a lot of figures when i was in fourth grade. This was the first... stalker with the kayak was the second.... in the same day!lol.

[@njed9745]

Byron looked like a Super Mario Alley Viper SMH lol

[@JoeMotionVideos82]

Lol, I never thought about that! Good call, Ed.

[@Alverant]

I was thinking Fred Flintstone.

[@lo1bo2]

@@Alverant Me, too! Fred Flintstone.

[@njed9745]

@Alverant & lo1bo2 Fred Flintstone don’t have a mustache?

[@MrJotunar]

The poor guy seemed like he had COPD :(

[@WagesofCine]

I've had this figure since 1989 and I never knew his grappling hook was removable.

[@corbralang1351]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to create and share!

[@mourningstar11]

AlleyViper, Gold Destro and Crimson Guard were my faves

[@dovahkiintemplar8255]

Great video Bryan. This was one of my favorite figures. I just got back into collecting, I was in college and had a job to pay for them myself. 40 hours a week at a full service gas station, full time at college. Those were the days. I miss them .

[@glennrobbins2372]

My son had both v1 and v2 of the Alley Viper as well as the Night Viper although the Night Viper didn't have his visor and it looked like the pegs for it were cut off from the helmet. Despite the colors of both, they were interesting figures. He called them as well as both versions of Shockwave, the Urban Assault Team along with other Joe and Cobra figures

[@hillbillyharper4008]

Another great review. If they would have painted him red with the camo pattern that would have looked cool

[@giannistoysdios7152]

Another great and entertaining review!! Plus a very welcome "cameo"!

[@Fenris30]

First GI Joe figure I ever bought with my own hard earned lawn mower dough.

[@firefly44220]

This figure takes me back. I love it

[@DblodevianT]

loved this figure, was definitely one of my favorites as a kid. the visor, shield and gun were so cool but for some reason i loved the orange/blue mix. i had the 93 version too, may actually still have both in an old toy box at my parents house

[@petercsanady560]

My favorite Cobra or let say GI Joe figure with Night viper and Croc master ;) greetings from Hungary

[@bloodycard6314]

When I was a kid, the Alley Viper was quite popular amongs my friends and other kids at school, I still like the Alley even today :)

[@joshuacote4863]

Oooo was my favorite figure for along time

[@jamesconroy7030]

This is one of the few cool figures of the late 80s

[@cryptomnesiac]

This figure would be great in the Night Force palette of colors.

[@Pegwarmers]

Great review. I always liked him as a kid but wished the visor matched the card art.

[@WrestlingWithDerek]

Great video! I too am one of the fans of this figure. Awesome seeing Byron here as well!

[@BronzDano]

Am I the only one who caught the homage to “UHF”?! Badass! 🤩 Alley Viper was also one of my favorites 🤘🏽

[@theygone6962]

I did not have many Joes myself so the " Alley Viper" was a good guy from me. I was a bad kid I did not read the file cards :)

[@kcsnipes]

prob in my top 20 of joe figures i played with

[@OmegaViper]

This was my favorite figure

[@mokin-rui717]

I still love the Alley Viper. It was just so unique at the time. If it was just the color the put you off then there is model paint for that. "How does he see through this?" Lol, use the force Luke, sense your surroundings..

[@5foldunderstanding547]

Why do so many of us Love _Alley Viper_ ...... Is it because; • He is everything _Star Wars_ figures Never were. • He's Loud, Brash, has A Shield & A moveable visor. • When He appeared in S2. _"Operation Dragon Fire"_ many of us were like-- "I have him, I own that figure".. Hmmm... If you can put your finger(s) on [Exactly what] Hollar ↓

[@thomasfauvie1364]

Love this figure

[@christopherhoward8128]

Got to love that gun.

[@DukeAbacab]

The vertigo! Lol.

[@justinsixx90]

V2 wasy forst Alley Viper. Then picked up a couple urban camo in the Valor VS Venom, and those were some of the last Joes i purchased. I hated the V2 color scheme, but loved his mold, wish theyd do a Classified version of a V2 mold in urban camo and crimson or blue. They dropped the ball on the classifieds boots though. Im REALLY wanting a classified Night Viper!!!

[@Harshcore811]

Alley Vipor was cool in the cartoons.

[@manolisanastasiou6393]

when i first saw the retro version of this figure i originally thought it was one of those cobrala guys from the cartoon that go lalalalalalalalala

[@adamverwolf9499]

Orange and blue Camo, That's a first. Wouldn't work. I can see how they see thru the visor. The Blue pattern in his Visor is vision slots. Great Video as always

[@cobra-emperor6starwars665]

I love the Alley Viper he looks just like a viper snake, very cool design

[@sexcorpio6976]

Those viper troopers must be a counterpart of shockwave

[@danielherrin]

Alley Viper is totally awesome!!!! #brightcoloursmattertoo

[@rickdavis32]

You can hook the weapon barrell into the shield if I remember correctly! The barrel goes into a hole above the handle and you can use the gun as the shield prop.

[@jasondismuke4837]

This was my favorite figure as a kid. Other than the color, he's really cool.

[@demgutts]

Alley viper is my desert island figure. I love him so much

[@keldin9303]

I have Alley Viper and Range Viper displayed in my office. Waiting on your Range Viper :)

[@Krymzonthedemonslayr]

Still one of my favourite figures to this day.

[@AroundTheSouth327]

Good review and good to see Byron. Btw I'm 40 and just learned the hook comes put of the pack

[@NESADDICT]

Dude I had that Ally Viper! I loved his pull down mask! Pretty sure I still have his gun.

[@mikeching6374]

One of my regrets was that I only ever got one Alley Viper V1, really liked it. I used to think that he had the orange and blue to "Help the poor Joes actually be ale to hit him". He's also a very buff figure for his size. I can just imagine him loudly yealling "HELLO!!!" while kicking a door down... :D

[@dalesanteford7432]

Alley vipers are one of my all-time favorite Vipers and the range of vipers from the 90s I really like that mow some more gifts for my father and mother. My Ally Viper Drive a desert scorpion

[@THEWATCHERISLOOKING]

The figure and weapons were really good. Its the color and colors in the AV2. That done them wrong. If they would have done it in grey and black. It would have been a great figure.

[@Maverick-qz9oi]

I love this figure no matter how it's colored.

[@benwalsh1]

Colours are crazy but hes a top tier figure. Love him!

[@johnpaul8777]

I don't think the colors are hard to look at at all. Not only is it a beautiful orange, that was very much in style for the early '90s, but I think you answered your own question regarding the functional aspects of the color scheme. Alley Vipers are not intended to blend in with their surroundings. They are used for crowd suppression and control in urban environments. Meaning, they are intended to intimidate and scare civilians. In this context, the alarming colors would help to disperse crowds. I think the Alley Viper is meant to be seen, even at a distance. And the message that the uniform is intended to convey to civilians is "If I am here, you should not be". Just like a bright red fire truck, the colors on this Viper are warning civilians to get out of the way.

[@jamesstorey1206]

All Cobra vipers are cool,

[@poolee77]

Mine seems to hold his shields fine, just rotate the handle so it is horizontal in his hand, the thumb and fingers seem wide enough hasn't broken yet

[@FoxofMaysville]

I did not have an Alley viper. Sort of wish I did. Even with the colors, he looks like he could fight in an alley, and back lots of a city.

[@cobra-emperor6starwars665]

I have the Alley Viper in blue Camo as well as Black Camo as well as the first version :))

[@cowpuddles4851]

Grapnel hook? I always thought it was a crossbow! Huh. Well I still love this dude no matter what you say about his color scheme. Thanks Commander!

[@timcouture2307]

The modern version does come with a back pack with removable grapple rifel

[@sirkowski]

I had this figurine. These days I have a modern version, but in dark red. I can't explain why because I usually don't like neon Joes, but I prefer the orange camo.

[@joshuacote4863]

I used shockwave a ton too lolol aw man i gotta find my figures now

[@mrdonigan]

and the Oscar goes to......great stage falls!

[@mamunestor]

I loved Alley Viper, every incarnation. My favorite version though is the city strike version.

[@dean4125]

i actually never had this version of the alley viper. I ended up with version 3 of alley viper and my brother had version 2. I think the mold is actually cooler with the 2nd and 3rd versions.

[@supersho93]

Elbow Pads! Knee Pads! (and we all know how much you love pads) Highly sculpted details! Realistic accessories that make sense! He has it all! I am surprised that you that you don't like him. And like it has been pointed out by others, they WANT to be seen. They would draw out enemy snipers and easily take the pot shots with their armor and the Night Vipers would be able to easily take out the threats once they revealed themselves. Sorry HCC, but he is a top tier Cobra in my book. COBRA!

[@ericgollinger367]

I have to admit, I didn't understand the color scheme at first, until I thought of the fire rescue type of jumpsuit. Think urban, Rather than dark alley. I could see, perhaps less brutal tactics used against, potentially more sympathetic (& brainwashed) citizens of Spingfield. They could approach a protesting crowd, aknolage part of some grevience, just before pranking up dance music, handing out glow sticks and Martigras beads, or whatever. Devious tactics indeed, securing better public relations than a direct brutal confrontation. But this is if the crowd is already on Cobra's side, with some confidence that Cobra, or its' subsidiaries, can fix problems with some competency. By the way, reviewers often say one Joe "replaces" some other Joe, according to what cannon? Replaced by year of toy releas? Do we see retirement celebrations in the comics or something? With balloons delivered by a bear, whistling "for he's a jolly good fellow" per chance? Might fit in as a Christmas Special or something. Do they file change of station papers, and train their replacement for a week or two? What if it's more convenient for story writers to just combine a big team, of medics, for exampl?

[@CJDrischler]

typically when i hear urban assault i think of black, grays, and whites and the camo scheme. Which I think would have been a really sweet color schrme for the Alley Oop.

[@MUMSUniverse]

I've always thought this this was such a cool looking figure. 10/10 in my book 😊✔

[@ARCWuLF]

Alley Viper was my favorite Cobra trooper. If he had been gunmetal gray instead of orange and dark instead of light blue, I feel that he would have been a top tier figure.

[@gazz_N7]

Yes! Another Shockwave cameo! I love what Alley Viper is to Cobra. I don't like the color scheme, but it is a Cobra Trooper. But yeah, Swat and SAS aren't the same thing.. The modern, or rather the PoC version of Alley Viper has a much improved color scheme. Great review, and Byron looked great lol! Later Hoodie! YO HOODIE CO CO!