NECA’s TMNT Cartoon Usagi Yojimbo and G.I. Joe Classified Spirit Iron Knife were duking it out for my favorite figure of 2022 for a good part of this year when an obnoxious, pink-haired Dreadnok roared in on her chopper and snagged the top spot from out of nowhere.
The Dreadnoks are my favorite subset of G.I. Joe characters and I was excited to see them in G.I. Joe Classified, but also a little worried about how these incredibly ’80s punks would translate into a 2020 toy line. Modern interpretations tend to water down some of the more extreme design elements of ’80s characters, but Classified Zartan and now Zarana have shown me that the Joe team has a great sense of what to update and what to keep classic. I feel like the Dreadnoks are in good hands.
I love that they give you options for her classic pompadour or a more modern undercut that also calls to mind the Sunbow cartoon. The portrait is hands down, my favorite of this line so far and while I usually prefer a closer to neutral expression, the snarling snear here is perfect for Zarana and the face print amplifies the sculpting work wonderfully. The articulation moves really smoothly and I especially love how expressive the head and torso ball joints make posing.
The weapons are also super fun and the hot knife fits in perfectly with the destructive weaponry you see with the rest of the Dreadnoks. She comes with a good chunk of stuff and relatively feels like a great value for the money. The Classified line in general found the sweet spot between complexity and simplicity. There are a bunch of display options, tons of articulation, and a good amount of accessories, but it doesn’t feel overly fiddly. It’s a solid toy, but with enough detail to keep it interesting. 2022 was filled with great figures and I almost didn’t want to include Zarana since she arrived so close to the end of the year, but ultimately it comes down to fun and this is the most fun I had with an action figure this year.
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Source: Fwoosh
