Retaliation Ninja Showdown 3-Pack

The Ninja Showdown 3-pack from Retaliation is a pretty decent set, probably the best of the two sets. There are some exceptional figures in this set and it comes loaded with gear. I don't have all the gear showing in the picture. The ninja rope thingy is somewhere. i really don't care much about the extra silly bits. And I think I have already lost one of Snake Eye's swords. The tiny one. Of course.

Let's take a look at each figure, starting with Storm Shadow.

I first have to state that I really do like Stormy, but I am just so tired of him. I know, I know - fan boy blasphemy. There have been so many different versions of him and a lot of them have been a bit on the lame side.

I'm really not impressed with this representation of Stormy. It's just weird looking. I don't know how movie accurate he is - and I have to wait 8 MONTHS to find out. Dammit.

The figure, as it is, is actually pretty damn cool. He has the extra wrist articulation and the swivel/pivot joint on the ankles. Very nice! The added articulation allows for some awesome ninja-ey poses. I'm just not really impressed with the uniform. I don't know exactly were my problem with him lies. Maybe the puffy pantaloons?

Now the red ninja that is included is excellent. He's actually a direct reuse of the Renegades Storm Shadow figure - which is not a bad thing, because Renegade Stormy kicked all sorts of ass.

The contrasting color palette used for the red ninja just works very well together. A nice contrast between the red and black.

Well, not quite a direct reuse of Renegade Stormy. The lower legs have the new swivel/rocker ankles.

The single pack red ninja is basically the same figure - another reuse of Renegade Storm Shadow. No complaints here.

The 25th Anniversary Red Ninja has stood up for so long and this is a worthy successor to that great figure.

I need more. 

But I have to wait 8 MONTHS!

Snake Eyes, Snake Eyes, Snake Eyes... A personal favorite, but again, so many different versions. And so many weird, semi-lame versions. Can anything compete with the POC version? This one can. Well, almost.

I am reminded of version 23 from 2005 - an exceptional figure for its time. I don't know if Hasbro intended on the nod to version 23, but it works.

Hey! Arishakage logo! The web gear is new for this version and is a great bit of gear. I would love to have more samples of just the web gear to use with other figures.

A very cool figure, but still not quite POC Snake Eyes cool. Almost.

Oh yeah, there's also this great cone hat for the red ninja. Yeah, okay. Whatever.

And really, can this movie version of Storm Shadow compete with the Renegades version?

Of course the bigger question is - can retaliation compete with the lost potential of Renegades?