G.i. Joe Classified # 108 Cobra Shadow Tracker
A concept character originating from the 3.75” “Pursuit of Cobra” subline from 2011, Shadow Tracker works for Cobra as a wilderness expert. Preferring to use traditional weaponry instead of loud conventional firearms when hunting his prey, Shadow Tracker silently stalks the jungles to take down his targets.
I can’t say I like the design choices they did for this figure. His vest really limits a lot of articulation, and the skirt makes it worse. I wish the designers prioritized poseability instead.
Even his dreadlocks get in the way of his neck articulation when you have the backpack in place. The figure is just .. messy.
Shadow Tracker comes with two alternate masks that you can clip onto his default mask.
I’m not entirely sure what’s up with this variation of his mask, but I guess there’s some supernatural voodoo component to it? It does resemble something from the Predator movies, so, it’s cool I guess.
For ranged weaponry he comes with a compound bow. I was expecting a reuse of Storm Shadow’s bow, nice to see Hasbro actually did fans a solid and gave us an all-new bow accessory here.
Quiver backpack with removable arrow. The bow can be clipped onto the backpack
I’m not sure why there are a lot of extra loops in the backpack. You can’t place any of his bladed weapons in there, though.
Of course, since Shadow Tracker prefers silently taking out his prey, getting up close and personal is the best way to go. He either takes them out with his axe or his Kukri knife.
His axe can be stowed on his right leg when not in use.
Lastly, Shadow Tracker also comes with his Kukri short sword. I had to look this up, so the Kukri originates from South Asia (India?) and its earliest use dates back to as far the 7th Century.
The Kukri can also be sheathed onto the right leg when the axe is taken out.
Overall, a bit of a let down and not really what I expected, the articulation is heavily weighed down by the design of his vest amd skirt. Shadow Trackers’ accessories are kind of limited too. Which is a shame, since Shadow Tracker seemed like a solid addition when he was introduced back in the Pursuit of Cobra line, as we never really got a proper Cobra wilderness expert to take on the likes of Outback and Recondo.
Hasbro’s oddball codename for Shadow Tracker is WES Milton. He was released as a Target Exclusive in the US.
Gold
