Cobra Commander – Super7 vs. Classified

I love collecting Ultimates-style figures of my favorite cartoon bad guys. I share pictures of them all over my Instagram and I’ve even posted an article here about which figures I want to be released (Get on them NECA!) The thing I never understand though, is when multiple companies are making similar figures. NECA and Super7 have been simultaneously releasing TMNT figures for years, and Ramen Toy and Super7 also released Silverhawks figures at the same time.

Hasbro’s been doing a line of their own high-end figures in the 1:12 scale with their Classified series for a while now, but when they started, they were updated designs. I wasn’t interested in them since they didn’t look much like the cartoon designs, but Super7’s Ultimates Cobra Commander totally scratched that itch.

So when the Classified series started doing retro cardback figures, it caught my attention. More than just upscaled versions of the original 3.75 inch figures, they were given some details to make them match the cartoon appearances. Now that I have both, it’s time to compare the two to see which is the best Commander. I’ll rate the two figures on 3 categories: Design, Articulation, and Accessories.

Let’s look at the obvious thing first – Super7’s is bigger than Classified. They’re technically in different scales; 1:10 and 1:12 respectively (7” vs 6”). It doesn’t look like a huge difference when they’re next to each other, and some of my other Ultimates figures are the same scale as Classified, specifically NECA’s Shredder, but he does look a little too small compared to some others.

Alright, let’s look at their design. Both of them look very close to his cartoon design, but Classified has a distinct advantage – the chrome faceplate. Super7’s Destro has no problem shying away from Chrome, but their Cobra Commander is almost a matte gray. His blues are closer to the cartoon color but I don’t think it’s as noticeable as the chrome. Both have the light blue collar, the Cobra insignia in the right spot, and has the belts on his waist and leg (though Classified’s leg belts are removable). Super7 also has a smoother design to look more cartoonish, being a perfect representation of the animated series, while Classified’s has more realistic clothing wrinkles, and is a great mix of the cartoon and original action figure’s designs.

While the looks of the figures are pretty similar, the articulation is very different. In fact, I’ll be the first to admit Super7’s articulation is almost always disappointing. They’ve gotten better since doing their MotU figures, but I still think they could improve. It’s like they’ve never heard of double-jointed elbows or knees. Hasbro sure has though, and the arms and legs have a ton of range, although on my figure they’re incredibly stiff. The downside of the double-joints is they’re a lot more visible in Classified’s arms, while Super7’s elbow joints are less noticable (the knees are a lot cleaner in both figures). Both figures have a chest crunch and waist swivel, but fittingly, Hasbro’s waist does more than just turn, allowing for a slight bend. Classified’s hips can extend down and have a thigh rotation. One cool consideration is that both figures’ gun-holding hands have wrists that rotate up and down instead of side-to-side. Before I move on, I must say I have trouble getting both to stand up, as the Super7 figure has fallen off my shelf more than any other Ultimates figure I own, except maybe for the decrepit Mumm-Ra.

Last is the accessories, and this is where Super7 has ALWAYS shined. The Classified figure does a decent job, including 6 swappable hands, a pistol, a knife (and the removable sheath), a backpack to hold the pistol and a display stand with a nice Cobra insignia. But come on, Super7 included so much stuff – 10 hands, two pistols, a rifle (which doesn’t have a handle for some reason), a cape, two little handheld devices, a pair of binoculars, some kind of scanner, a staff, a snake/globe thing (which one of the hands is made just to hold it), and an extra head without the stripe on top. In fact, there’s so much stuff here, it’s almost a problem because I’ll never display him with half of the accessories. They’re just stuck in a bag in my desk (the same goes for all my Super7 figures though).

Of course, the biggest difference between the figures is their price, with Super7 costing about $20 more than Classified. Whether all those extra accessories are worth the additional $20 is up to you. I personally feel Classified is the better deal, but Super7 is the better figure overall. It just needs a little chrome to be perfect.