To me the night Viper seems to specialized to be used other than recon or maybe sniper.

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well they are cobras finest.

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I've always used them as special ops in my verse.

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I always figured that since they train and live in permanently blacked-out barracks and their equipment gets trashed if a flashlight is shined into their optics that they weren't intended to be around stuff when it gets asploded. So yeah; they do night recon and maybe quiet throat-slitting of guards for regular COBRA teams coming up behind them; but they're not running around the actual field of battle, imho.

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I think that originally, in the ARAH days, I took the Night-Vipers at their face value. But as I've come to define my Joeverse in detail, I'm leaning towards a special forces or sniper team approach.

Of course, basing my Night-Vipers off the TRU Plague set does factor into this; the different highlight colors of the Plague team members allows mew to define the reds as snipers, the yellows as fire support (chain gun) and SpyTroops Snake-Eyes bodies as spotters / bloopers (using the drum magazine grenade launcher from the Tele-Vipers IIRC?).

I just swap heads out with standard bandana-clad faces and add cast NV helmets that I particularly like. Story-wise, it allows me to say that Night-Vipers are pulled from the Viper (marksman), SAW Viper (machine gun) and Frag-Viper - well CLAWS - (blooper) fields and given extra training. Indeed, much like an Infantryman or Cavalry Scout going to Ranger school.

So, after that rambling tangent -- I think of the Night-Vipers in a similar vein to Rangers.

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I dont consider them SF at all. They are just a different type of Viper with their own specialized job just olike all the other Vipers.

Also, in the cartoon, they were the most common Viper Cobra had on hand when they were battling the Joes and trying to turn CC back into human form.

I never really liked the Night Vipers, so I generally don't "consider" them at all.

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If I had to match Cobras up with Joe counterparts, I always tend to match the Night Vipers up with Snake Eyes. I see them as Commandos and recon guys, very similar to the pre-ninja Snake Eyes in the comic.

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It depends on your definition of special forces.

If you mean more pecialised training in a certain feild (ie Alley Viper for Urban warfare or Incinerators for flamethrowers or Rock Viper to mountain trooper) then quite naturealy they would be.

But if you mean special forces as the US armed forces describe (ie SEAL, Ranger) who recieve tons of special training and are considered elite troopers then obviously no.

I tend to think of this question as leaning to the latter rather than the former BTW. But really it would depend on what exactly you mean by Special Forces.

Thats it who would they use to kidnap the president, or take an airfield.

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Zartan and his siblings would be who would kidnap the president. Taking the airfield would be a contigent of different vipers. As someone else said and I like the idea I see the Vipers as the marines of Cobra and the Blue Shirts as the Army.

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Oh, I disagree. Zartan alone maybe, but his family and the 'Noks are far too loud and showy to kidnap the Prez. They wouldn't be able to get within 5 miles of him without the Secret Service clamping down and taking him off to a bunker someplace. To kidnap the Prez, you send Storm Shadow and a team of Night Creepers.

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what about both. storm shadow could kidnap the prez, while zartan pretends to be the prez thus foiling the entire thing.

and then the night vipers/night creepers would take out secret service along the way.

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