>>9942797I always saw, and used, the Troopers as the main line, mass army, basic grunts of the Cobra operation. You would start as a Trooper and be put anywhere they needed you. Whether that be as a guard, a mechanic, a pilot or in direct combat. Vipers are more direct combat specialists, Troopers who excelled at fighting and were given better training, gear and support to do the heavy combat. While still very much "Infantry". they're the ones at the front leading Troopers into the heaviest fights.
Though from being a basic Viper, individuals can then specialize into more specific Viper roles. Taking their experience and training, and getting even better gear and training for exact situations others wouldn't be capable of handling.
Basically, it goes from Troopers > Vipers > Specialized Vipers, with Crimson Guard being a side branch upgrade taken from the best of the best.
>>9943228While I understand the discomfort of making that comparison, I will agree it's a very accurate one. As I've mentioned before, G.I. Joe is at it's best when it has that "One foot in the future" tech added to realistic military concepts. And MGS does this perfectly, combining gritty real world military drama and conflict with psychics, and bee keepers and cyborg ninjas. That's kind of why the PoC/30th stuff was so well received, as it had tons of figures that look like they just stepped out of a MGS game, but still felt right at home in the G.I. Joe universe.
It was a line where we got great modern updates to characters like Sky Dive, Beachead, and Dusty while getting new characters like Shadow Tracker and the Shocktrooper. All of which used new designs that were very much futuristic, but not absurdly so. I can only hope Classified gets to a point where it can do things like that, putting out modernized, updated versions of classic characters, or even new, original characters to build on the world overall.
