I was more of a MOTU fan as a kid, and 1987 Cobras like Raptor, Croc Master and Cobra-La were a nice bridge to direct the fans from the last year of MOTU towards G.I. Joe. At least it worked that way for 10 year old me, and maybe Hasbro was actually on to something with their outlandish designs that year. Also I didn't knew a word of English back then and couldn't read the file card, so I always imagined Raptor as a badass shamanic warrior with mystical powers. The fact that he later appeared as a flying boss in the awesome G.I. Joe nes game cemented him as one of my all-time favorites.

1987... the year cobra's specialists stopped using guns... Also, hawkman /barely/ pulled it off. And the michael wincott clip just got you a like.

Someone at Hasbro was a fan of Buck Rogers' bird buddy, Hawk, and wanted to bring that aesthetic to the Joe line.

How can you diss Big Boa and Croc Master??? Those two were heavily used and came out on top, a lot in our battles!!! They were the coolest!!!

One of my favorites. I always thought he was Native American and had him in a blood feud with Tracker.

I remember seeing him at the store. I asked my dad if I could get him. My dad took the figure out of my hand and he read the file card. My dad looked at me and said he is to stupid to buy. Then I got grounded for a whole month all because I asked for Raptor. Thanks Hasbro. Good review and bad memories for me.

condorman, i remember enjoying that movie, so long ago, not going to ruin that nice memory by revisiting it...

Honestly, I dont mind you reviewing the bizarre figures. After All, your goal is to review everything from the vintage line, and I like seeing these bizarre figures.

I never assumed it was for flying. I always assumed it was to make the birds think he was one too.

Love your reviews. I grew up playing with the 12" G.I.Joes from the end of the military line to the early days of the Adventure Team. I got my nephews into the smaller Joes and even my son. I bought a box at a yard sale for $20 and in it were over 100 Joes plus vehicles. I would often times be on the floor with my son playing with them and we even bought a book to identify them. He still has them to this day. He's 22 now. Keep up the good work.

In his appearance in the 80' s comic book he stated that he wore the suit to make his birds think of him as a big brother...he had multiple falcons in the comic.

Yes, I know he's silly. But, he was one of my favorites. I always had his falcon attack GI Joe and their vehicles.

Nice review and nice suit! My accountant is an owl freak, he has more than 250 items owl-shaped. I hope I'll trick him dressing like Raptor!

What a great idea for the next episode! I can't wait until Cobra Convergence!

I've been waiting for this review ever since I found this channel. It didn't disappoint.

See here is what happened he tried out for Gatchaman an was rejected. Hawkman didn't want him as a sidekick. The Vulture thought he was a joke too. I guess Cobra is all he had. Great Review.

M.A.S.K. reference = Instant Thumbs Up!

I don't know what people's problems with Raptor are. I think he's awesome. Not my favorite, for sure, but I like him immensely. Awesome sculpt. More detailed than figures you like, for sure. I'm not a fan of comics, and he wasn't in the cartoon, so as far as his background goes, or how he was used, I couldn't care less. I rate the figures on their own merit, and I think he's pretty awesome. You can pose him wonderfully, and that's a huge thing. Some Joe's you can hardly do anything with. Grunt, maybe, Crystal Ball even. Though, I think he's pretty cool too. Raptor can have cape on, or off, bird on either arm. Plus, you can train him to steal top secret documents from GI Joe headquarters, claw eyes out with the metal talons, drop grenades. I can find a ton of ways to use him. Excellent figure.

I think the figure is actually very cool and well done. It is the background that is suspect to me lol.

Wow, you have assembled an A list for next week. Looking forward to it.

When a Cobra agent comes from their former profession (ie accountant, dentist, ex-Navy SEAL) it shows that they had brains. However, when they hide their identity under a code name to shoot at good guys, working for a leader who sees them as expendable, and the money is good, that would make a good Cobra agent. Nice review.

Legend has it, there's thousands of Raptors buried in the desert.....next to all those E.T. Atari games.

I never once used Raptor for playing G.I. Joe. However, i didnt just use my Joes for playing G.I Joe. This was way before Toy Biz, so i used to use my Joes to play X-men and Raptor was my go to version of Archangel. In that regard he has a darkness to him with the Alice Cooper make up and the overall muted color scheme. I also used to use my Joes for my own invented Wrestling Federation. I used an old Rock Em Sock Em ring and Raptor teamed with The Fridge to be my erzatz Road Warriors with Fridge being the power guy like Animal and Raptor being the...ahem....high flyer like Hawk. He also made a pretty good Hawk for playing Buck Rogers too.

Every bad figure has a silver lining: 30 years later HCC788 does a great review.

I didn't mind these characters so much. I used to use those crazy characters and pretend they were super villains, have some of the sci-fi ones be superheroes, the tougher looking ones be gang members.

Raptor is a good figure and character if contextualized inside a fantasy universe. Inside such a realistic universe as gi-joe, he is simply out of place.

I have been waiting for this one!

The best yet!

next week is going to be freaking great!

Hamburgular Mask! Finally, after thirty years, that's it!

"Condorman is coolest than Raptor!!!" xD That buried Raptor.

I don't have Raptor yet, but Boa and Croc Master are phenomenal. Crystal Ball, is okay.

I love the Batman Villains line-up from 1987. To me, it made sense at the time. Each character had an extreme theme that he went by. If they made this guy some kind of aviator, or espionage specialist, it would have made more sense, but it is what it is! Also, they could have given him a Gotcha Man inspired outfit, but it was the 1980's man! Half the villains out there didn't wear shirts! They had nipples, and It's weird GI Joe characters don't, but who AMI to judge?!?

Big Boa, Croc Master, Crystal Ball, Raptor... None those guys were ever part of my Cobras attacking GIJoe... They were relegated to Springfield Championship Wrestling where they entertained the troops. Even made a championship belt out of cardboard for them and had wild story lines. But, yeah... That's all they were good for in my play scenarios.

Wow, love it!

great looking one here

You took the words right out of my mouth when you said his back was gross!!! Hey, maybe Raptor wears Filson Tin Cloth pants. Haha. That ending was awesome!!!! Great yo see you and Kevin on the same video!!! First time I saw Timmer.

Big Boa, Raptor, Crystal Ball, etc... these guys were so weird the Dreadnoks wouldn't even take them.

Best review you've ever done! But I can think of a 3rd good thing about Raptor: he's dead.

Raptor Is Top 5 For Me!

there was a second raptor figure released in the GI Joe collectors club.

I would never in my life imagine a man who dressed like a bird to be an accountant I’d assume he was a guy who escaped from the loony bin

This is going to be awesome.

Hydrovipers is yet a must-upload video

I remember those issues of the comic book. Larry Hama had to fit these stupid ass characters into the story and he did it well. First Cobra Commander kind of breaks the fourth wall by dissing him and asking why he isn't in an psychiatric ward. He also bitches about how he is fed up with other characters who have masks and weird clothes. Awesome! But Hama also used Raptor in a good way. He was presented as someone who was well aware of his goofy style and it was explained that the falcons would see him as a sort of big brother. Weak but that was what they could come up with. The best thing he did was using his skills as an accountant and knowledge of hacking. He hacked the G.I. Joe payroll to find out about their roster and where their bank/credit cards had been used to track them. I really liked that realistic part. I also liked when he helped Fred VII betray CC (or at least didn't stop him). Hama was handed a shit figure and was able to polish him as much as he could. If the figure had been designed in a more modest way like a combo of Cobra officer with falconer equipment or even as a yuppie with shades, a suitcase computer, pistol and a glove with a falcon it could have been pretty interesting even for a child. "Who is this smooth dude with a falcon?"

15:24 I almost started to cheer out loud and it's quarter to midnight here. :D

i had this guy as a kid.... he died alot!

always reminded me of the bird guy on buck rogers... :)

"There were no other versions of Raptor released, ...ever.......I wonder why" So who's gonna be the one to send him a copy of the Classified one to review when it releases? 😈

I can't believe Raptor was an actual boss in the NES game.

Raptor rules🤘

Raptor, Big Boa and Crock Master were the coolest characters. Zartan was cool too. Most of the cobras were. The Joes were dorks.

If they brought this guy back into the classified line, and made him proportionately muscular, and made him brown skin with a Mayan or Aztec warrior look, It would blow everybody away

I vividly recall having all those birds (2:01) in the tackle box where I kept my Joe accessories. To this day, I have no idea why I bought f!cking Raptor.

I can't remember if I got him new or at a yard sale, but whichever it was, I didn't have the wing-pack long. I didn't mind the rest of the figure too much, when I used him, I gave him one of those "Wolverine"-style wrist claws that came with some of the ninjas and made him Native American, his new backstory being that his disillusionment with the government led him to join Cobra.

Raptor kinda looks like that desert version of Flint. I have no idea why I bought this guy, but I used him a lot- though not as an accountant.

I like the Raptor figure without the cape

I bought it myself as a child. I don't know why. I don't even remember if I liked him at the time. Maybe there was nothing else on the shelves...? What does he do in Cobra? Accountant and falconeer? Maybe if his falcon was bigger. BTW his nose is a beak!

I loved Raptor

The later joes were sideshow clowns, they blended well with visionaries. Nothing Army about it. And we felt for it.

I was like 12 years old when this came out and I thought it was pretty cool my friend gave it to me for my birthday played with it for a while but he died in battle

Am I the only one who likes the weird figures? Big Boa, Crocmaster where my favorite.

The way I use Raptor and his bird in the way the army uses drones today. Talon would fly over G.I.Joe with a small camera and give a live video feed to COBRA field offices.

I like the gimmicky cobra bad guys of ‘87. I don’t care what anybody says!

I remember buying this guy for his bird......and that's about it.

Hey thats my favorite figure :(

Was cool

Maybe this character was inspired by the success of Silverhawks in 1986. They weren't as big as Transformers or GI-JOE, but they did have a level of popularity when the cartoon first started airing, and for a time had kids running around pretending to fly.

I didn't ask questions as kid, if Cobra is hired a bird man I figured they knew what they were doing. Looking back, it was a bizarre move I don't understand. I WONDER IF MODERN Zatarn was going to be Raptor with the falcon he came with.

I had Raptor as a kid. I remember playing and not knowing what to do with him. I had to pretend that his bird suit could make him fly to make him relevant. He'd always get killed by Tunnel Rat. I also pretended that Big Boa was a mindless berzerker on drugs. Sometimes you have to rewrite your toys as a kid in order to have fun with them.

Raptor's helmet should be something like Serpentor's helmet but fit better on his head. + whatever is on his other versions 2 the 1st version & + armor 2 his uniform & his falcon. His falcon winged cape should be like the Silver Hawk's wings & bullet & laser proof. Whatever feathers is on is uniform should be light plated steel armor.

HCC, You took one for the team, yet again! I like Falconer due to the weirdness factor....NAW, I can't lie to you. He is a goose eggs, a place holder, an item to complete a collection. Would you defend this guy, if he hired you're firm? He seems to be a toy short of a Happy Meal.

Loved his work with Gil Gerard in the Buck Rogers show and more recently on Rick and Morty.

I didn't even know he was an accountant. I pretended the red amulet gave him bird-powers like flight and talking to real birds and such.

How did you obtain your place between Hooded Cobra Commander #787 and #789, and what part do they play in the terrorist organization? Vintage G.I. Joe toy reviews seems pretty important to me. I thought it would have gotten you into the top 10.

Raptor was good in IDW, but there they did let him be insane and a cannibal.

Still waiting on the Cobra Mink Ranch playset...

I have to say, there is a Raptor-shaped hole in my head... canon that just can't be filled. I've come to appreciate and even like Croc Master over the years, but simply can't come up with a compelling concept for Raptor. I've tried to drastically re-imagine him as the leader of Destro's Nullifier and AGP wing (to play off of his ties to Destro, his physical build, and name), but that renders the figure (still) useless. I've wondered if perhaps he comes from a Native American lineage, so maybe his costume has some cultural connection (Disclaimer: No negativity towards Native peoples, nor any sinister implication about his uniform is intended. He may just happen to a bad guy who happens to have a particular ancestry and for some unknown reason mis-wears a ceremonial costume). He could be Cobra's answer to Spirit, Airborne I, and Altitude (deep cuts, kids!). But those little bits and pieces just won't come together in some way that makes any sense. Screw you Craptor!

Raptor is definitely in the top 5 of worst gi Joe figures made. Hasbro definitely jumped the shark when they produced him. But on a better note I'm freaking stoked about next week's video, so cool how you got formbx257 and half the battle timmer to do videos as well. This will be legendary.

The best things about this review are low light, top dollar and Condorman.

The hook on his glider wings....its a tow hook, like a glider tow hook. But why he would need one....leave it up to Cobra lol

He reminds me of Zartan

yep, raptor needs to team up with, zandar, crystal ball and undertow to form their own misfit alliance. excellent menton of condorman, great b-movie. you forgot to call in hondo maclean with the firecracker, or dusty and gator. but being cobra month miles mayhem with switchbalde or vanessa and manta would be better.

Raptor appeared in the GI Joe Nes Video Game.

YES I BOUGHT THIS FIGURE when it came out and man, im so glad he got killed in the comic....he did didnt he? oh god please let his character be dead...

I remember being enamored of this figure based on the card back art. Then I actually found the figure and got it. Huge disappointment. He always was one of the first to die.

I use to have this guy I liked him he was different

Yep, Raptor was kind of a lame character, looking back, but I still liked him quite a bit. As a kid, I really didn't care why he may not have been the most credible type of Cobra soldier, because he had a different look, he wasn't just another generic trooper, and Larry Hama actually made him interesting and somewhat credible as a character. Regardless of how cool or lame Raptor was, he easily made the keeper portion of my collection when I decided to purge my O-ring figures a few years ago, in favor of the modern era Joes. Don't get me wrong, because I still have a good many of said O-ring figures, but I had to make room for new stuff, so I kept only the figures I enjoyed the most as a kid or that had good memories attached to them, such as going to the hardware store with my grandfather and buying a particular Joe figure that I really wanted. With that being said, yes, undoubtedly Raptor has his issues, but he is not a hopeless character...at least not to me anyway. I always imagined that once he had managed to join Cobra, he was probably mocked and picked on because of the bird suit. So, I thought since he was an accountant, (and the Night Creepers were ninja accountants), that perhaps he approached them for some martial arts training, so he could not only defend himself, but kick some butt if need be. Since he had the boot claws and was skilled with falconry, the Night Creepers gave him training and helped him develop his own unique fighting style built around his particular aptitudes and interests... Flash forward to the GI JOE PoC line Zartan and Jungle Viper figures. I saw a new Raptor, and one that with a little work and the right accessories, would fit perfectly as the Raptor I had envisioned as a kid... Flash forward again to the GIJCC FSS 5.0 exclusive Raptor images...basically, my custom Raptor with a few minor differences, such as the hand claws for weapons and the fact that I swapped the forearms and hands from PoC Zartan for those of the PoC Jungle Viper for his falcons to perch on, which they do perfectly. The fact that the GIJCC guys had such a similar concept as I did, for what an updated Raptor should be, was sort of an acknowledgement that I had been on the right track with my own version. The only thing that would make the character complete for me would be if they too had altered or updated his file card to include my back story for him, especially with those clawed boots from Pilot Destro. Fun review as always! Look forward to more...got through most of the Dreadnoks but haven't found Zanzibar, Burnout, Crusher, Demolishor and Gnawgahyde just yet to watch those.

Question: What is the name of the falcon bird of Raptor?

Aw Raptor isn't so bad. Hmm you mentioned being a lawyer by day. Is that spiffy suit what you dress like when you're not being the HoodedCobraCommander? :)

Condorman!!!!

between 1999 and 2008 I obtained several Raptors but never a complete one through ebay and real life lots, I never had one as a kid. To me this is one of the few completely useless figures in the lie there isnt anything you can use even for custom fodder. The only thing I ever did with one desperate to find a use for one of the dozen or so I had was make a custom Zartan. It wasnt easy, I removed the bird cowl and had to dremel the back smooth I then sculpted a cowl, shoulder armor, and some armor to resemble Zartans out of greenstuff. It turned out ok but was a time consuming job lol

"accountant"? LOL at least HARVEY Birdman was an Attorney

First off, funniest review ever! Your distaste for this figure is hilarious! Second, Cobra mink ranch!??! 🤮

... Just gonna say it... DAMN Hoodie Coco looks fine in a well tailored suit ! But then most men do... when they are WELL TAILORED. But what I'm really saying is that I'm glad Bryan didn't go for the bare chested falconer look instead...

I'm all brown from here down...

Raptor is amazingly goofy but I have a sort of like for him. I like the idea of a Cobra Accountant and I like the idea of a Falconer but the execution is all wrong. While as a comic guy I can deal with the outfit sans the helmet, it should have been played more serious and his specialty should have been more military. Birds have been used in the military for centuries so it could have been played as a throw back alternative or as a spy model instead they just went straight comic book. I don't hate Raptor but I understand why most people do...he is absurd and you can't argue that. Good video as always.

i started my collection by buying cheap ebay lots, so i have several of these...

FALCONER needed a solid glider like jetpack, that cloth one makes the figure weak and his head gear should be removable.

Hahaha great review, i forgot about this guy, i wouldn't be suprised if hasbro re releases him in a two pack sometime soon, maybe with crystal ball, how clever are they, LOL, maybe with the egg this time haha