>>11452275To be fair, the Cobra soldier is standing like 2-3 feet to the side of the missile that's firing. So the artist is at least aware that missiles are dangerous to stand behind of.
How safe is it standing next to one? I guess it depends on the launch stages. Maybe Destro thought about making missiles safer, since the vehicles are so small.
Pic of a guy kneeling behind but next to a rocket launcher, so he's almost completely hidden by the exhaust plume.