Cobra was a pretty faceless organization with Cobra Commander leading a bunch of masked thugs, but when Destro joined the party, Cobra seemed a lot more intimidating. It wasn’t like a lot of villains were running around in silver masks back in the early 80s. For the Classified Series, Hasbro decided to mix things up and have Destro be the first Cobra representative in the series.
I didn’t want Destro going one on five against the Joes so I waited until I got the Cobra troopers to give him some help before I reviewed him. As one of the more impressive looking figures from a blend of old school Real American Hero and modern style, I’ve been looking forward to checking Destro out. Let’s see if he lives up to my expectations.
Package: The big difference with any of the Wave 1 is the side corner and left side image. Destro’s portrait looks incredible. I never got that his collar was designed to channel the Cobra logo and I love the sinister look in the main image. Some of the CS package images could really be sold as separate art pieces and that’s certainly the case here.
Destro’s bio sums him up well: A brilliant businessman, weapons developer, CEO and engineer, Destro strictly adheres to a quiet personal code that places war, profit and the success of his own family above all other things. He excels at brokering deals, clandestine negotiations and double-cross missions. The refined and highly advanced weaponry produced by his company, M.A.R.S. Industries, continues to reshape modern warfare.
Destro’s gets top marks in mechanical engineering and weapons developments with 4s in both categories, 3 in black market and a 1 in light weapons.
And I spent a solid 10 minutes on this and I’m sure you’ll have some fun too:
Likeness: Destro’s helmet mask needs to have an ominous look to it since it’s not a flexible material that allows him to show emotion. The head sculpt is great with its stern expression.
The studded collar, high collar, chain and medallion lend that immediate RAH visual. Who cares if that design is crazy? It’s arguably the most essential aspect of Destro’s original design and I’m thrilled it remained intact.
While there’s more texturing, piping and extra details like the shoulder and chest pads as well as the signature Classified Series kneepads, Destro works so well because the figure retains the core visual of the RAH figure. Not that the stuck in the past mentality for designs should be the go-to approach for the line, but for some characters reinventing the wheel just isn’t necessary. It’s hard to improve upon that classic design and as the CS design team realized early on tweaking is much better than overhauling.
Destro’s holster adds just the right pop of color without being distracting and I love that the wrist rockets still made the cut even though the grenades on the left gauntlet were cut.
In various takes in the comics, figures and cartoon, Destro had boots that flared up around the knee or thigh and the kneepads still hint that visual while giving him more practical combat boots.
Paint: Destro has more paint than you may initially expect. His silver mask/helmet is clean, but the real impressive area is the green eyes, which are deep enough to give a little sense of depth of the mask.
The gold chain application was cleaner than I anticipated without any slop and the medal is mostly flawless save a mark at the bottom portion.
Destro’s gray patterns throughout the outfit with the shoulder pads, the chest pads, kneepads and a lighter shade of gray at the boot tops. There’s some missing red along the sides of the rockets, but for the most part the paint work on Destro is very well done.
Scale: Destro was one of the taller Cobra agents and should look down literally at Cobra Commander so it’s nice that Hasbro gave him a little extra height. He doesn’t need to be Roadblock height, but it’s fine for him to be taller than the average Joe…hmmn, no pun intended.
Articulation: Destro doesn’t break the Classified Series’ streak of mixing amazing sculpting with superior articulation. You probably know what to expect at this point, but he is every bit as fun to pose.
Destro 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: Cobra’s weapons designer needs to have a decent amount of weapons.
Destro has a nice main blaster. It comes with a scope and has some terrific red detailing.
Next he has a smaller golden gun, which also looks really good. I like the nod to both James Bond and Destro’s eventual evolution to striking out on his own and leading the Iron Grenadiers.
Finally, he comes with a Cobra embossed briefcase. I like the idea of Destro and M.A.R.S. tossing a label for their respective clients on their various materials.
Worth It? C’mon, there’s not a better value than the Classified Series at the $20 price point.
Rating: 10 out of 10
It’s another home run from Hasbro with the Classified Series, which really hasn’t had a terrible figure yet. Destro is one of the strongest additions to the line yet and has me very excited about what’s in store for 2021.
Where to Get It? Target (and some Wal-Marts) have Wave 1 in stock, but Destro tends to be one of the first to go. I ordered mine from Amazon. Entertainment Earth has him available for pre-order with a January release.
