A Real American Hero - "Storm Shadow" ... ...

This is Sideshow's G.I Joe Storm Shadow based on the comic book series and not the big screen version. I do like the Hot Toys's movie version but the thought of it becoming yellow stopped me from buying. However, for this, everything about it made me purchase this.

"In his original A Real American Hero incarnation, Storm Shadow's real name is Thomas S. Arashikage (トーマス・嵐影) (Arashi meaning "Storm" and kage meaning "shadow" in Japanese), a Japanese American. Storm Shadow served in the U.S. Army special operations group along with Snake Eyes, and later invited him to train as a ninja with his family in Japan. The duo have been everything to one another from the bitterest of enemies, to the most loyal of friends, who would fight and die for one another.
Storm Shadow can trace his family history through thirty generations of assassins. He is an 8th degree black belt in several martial arts, and can endure unimaginable amounts of hardship and pain. Storm Shadow moves with blinding speed, can scale sheer walls with bare hands and feet, and is an expert with a long bow, katana, throwing stars and nunchaku sticks. He usually wears a white uniform and mask. When out of his uniform, he is shown to be Japanese, with black hair and dark eyes.
In 2007, the character's creator, Larry Hama, revealed an alternate name for the character, Tomisaburo Arashikage (嵐影富三郎), in the solo series Storm Shadow. His tattoo is a hexagram of the I Ching named 既濟 (jì jì), or "Already Fording".
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_Shadow_%28G.I._Joe%29

Storm Shadow comes packed in good old Sideshow packing style. Open Flap box with window and pull out tray which houses the contents in plastic blister pack.

Did you realise the mistake on the box art? The bowstring isn't pulled back.

There's a nice artwork on the pull out tray but it's slightly misleading as it features 2 katanas while there's only one in this set.

The figure feels slightly better than sideshow crappy bodies but the ankle and the legs are still as horrible.

The head sculpt and suit are very nice done. The hood is wired so allows for greater realism.

The tattoo on the forearm means "Uniform and symbol"

Members of the Arashikage clan wore a tattoo on their right forearm, which is the eight divinatory trigrams（八卦） symbol for 'water' and 'fire', representing the 63rd hexagram of the I Ching.

Articulation is very good on this guy and the Shinobi Shozoku (ninja suit) does allow for more movement.

The kick pose can't be done independently because the ankle is very weak.

I stripped Storm Shadow to see what body did Sideshow put in this time and it's simply a modified crappy storm trooper body. The only difference are the arms.

The ninja suit comes in 3 pieces, 1 pants and 2 pieces of top.

The katana blade and it is very well crafted. Diecast blade with kanji inscriptions on the blade. Nice details to the handle and sheath of the sword.

All the weapons in this set can be either carried or held. Let's start with the katana which is nicely stowed away.

The shuriken comes with the throwing hand and they are fused together as 1 piece. Innovative approach.

The Tekko Kagi has diecast blades as well. I like the wolverine look on this.

All right, let's slap everything on him and see how he stands. The picture below shows a falling Storm Shadow as he has very bad CG and he just kept falling over; throughout the shoot.

The long bow and arrow accessories kind of nailed the pre-order decision for this.

You probably saw the Tonfas on the backpack; now Storm Shadows look like Kickass.

Take a closer look at the long bow. Very nicely engineered.

A suggestion to all Sideshow collectors; use the stand if you want your Sideshow figures to stay immortally in a fixed pose.