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S.A.W.-Vipers are Cobra characters from the A Real American Hero and G.I. Joe vs. Cobra series.
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Cobra S.A.W.-Vipers are the heavy gunners of the Cobra army.

Fiction[]

Comics[]

A Real American Hero Continuity[]

Marvel Comics Continuity[]

On a mission into Trucial Abysmia, the Joe strike force sent to destroy Cobra's Terror Dromes is captured by the Crimson Twins. Misinterpreting orders from Cobra Commander to "get rid of them", the Twins believe that they are to execute the Joes but need a Viper to do the job. A Cobra S.A.W.-Viper named Robert Skelton[1] volunteered (with the promise of an extra two months pay) to execute the Joe prisoners. Doc was the first to be executed by the S.A.W.-Viper, followed by Thunder, Crankcase and Heavy Metal. Lt. Falcon was able to overpower the S.A.W.-Viper and escape in a captured Rage tank left behind for the S.A.W.-Viper.

The S.A.W.-Viper was later able to catch up to the Joes and attempt to finish his job in killing the Joes. Joe reinforcements later met up with the survivors and destroyed the S.A.W.-Vipers vehicle and while reaching for his weapon, Duke dares him to take it, but the S.A.W.-Viper refused citing that the Joes won't kill him in cold blood, being defenseless and can't take him prisoner since the Joes were out of their jurisdiction.

When the S.A.W.-Viper returned to Cobra-occupied Benzheen, Cobra Commander is at first furious with him, but he reminds Cobra Commander that he killed more Joes then any other Viper ever. Cobra Commander relents and decides to throw the S.A.W.-Viper a party, which is later interrupted by Ninja Force, which includes Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow and Scarlett. By the end of the operation, Storm Shadow presents the Joe team with the S.A.W.-Viper's machine gun suggesting that he was taken care of.

Devil's Due Comics Continuity[]

The original S.A.W.-Viper, Robert Skelton was recruited by the Coil during Serpentor's return to power in the second Cobra Civil War. We was later gravely injured and rebuilt as the cyborg, Over Kill.

Animated Continuity - DIC[]

During Cobra's plot to invade Chicago, Freefall snuck on board their Floating Fortress and donned the uniform of a S.A.W. -Viper, though admitted their choice of attire gave him the creeps.

Toys[]

Generation 1
S.A.W A Real American Hero (1990)

S.A.W.-Vipers were introduced in the 1990 series of A Real American Hero toys.


Appearance: dark red helmet with green visor and black microphone and chinstrap; black shirt with purple vest and dark red armbands and gloves; purple pants with dark red boots and leggings; black belt and boots

Accessories: reddish purple, rectangular backpack with tab on bottom for belt; enormous black minigun with thick stock, complex scope, angled forward grip, and detachable bipod; short, white ammo belt with hole on each end.


S.A.W.-Viper at YoJoe.com / Filecard

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The original mold was redecoed in 2003 and released as part of the Python Patrol Toys Я Us exclusive box set. Both figures featured the same accessories, albeit in different colors.

Python Patrol S.A.W. Viper at YoJoe! / Filecard

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In 2006, as part of the Direct to Consumer A Real American Hero line, a new S.A.W. Viper was produced, utilizing body parts from pre-existing new sculpt figures.

DTC S.A.W. Viper at YoJoe! / Filecard

Trivia[]

  • The original filecard states that S.A.W. stands for "semi-automatic weapons" and describes the S.A.W.-Viper as a heavy machine gunner. In the real world, the acronym S.A.W. is used for "squad automatic weapons". Which are types of light machine guns.
  • The codename is not hyphenated for the 2003 and 2006 figures.
  • The working name for this figure was C.L.A.W.-Viper (Cobra Light Automatic Weapons).
  • The original 1990 S.A.W. Viper was notorious for its drastically oversized gun accessory. This was a mistake on the part of Hasbro, who produced the weapon at two-up size rather than shrinking it down as intended by the designer.

External Links[]

Footnotes[]

  1. Originally unnamed, his name was revealed in the Devil's Due series.
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