Mole Rat (Stage 2) — G.I. Joe Classified Series #190

Overview

Mole Rat (Stage 2) is figure #190 in the G.I. Joe Classified Series, retail, 2025 at $27.99. The second Classified Mole Rat, following the Walmart exclusive #94 from 2023, with a Stage 2 designation that creates something genuinely new in the Classified programme: a variant figure defined not by colour scheme or sub-line treatment but by the implied evolution of the character between releases.

What Stage 2 Actually Means

Most Classified variants are easy to categorise. Sub-line figures (Night Force, Tiger Force, Python Patrol) apply a colour scheme to an existing character design. Retro Collection figures reproduce the vintage toy’s aesthetic. Origins figures represent a specific film continuity. None of these imply anything about the character changing.

Stage 2 implies change. The word staging comes from the idea of sequential development — Stage 1 is the initial state, Stage 2 is what comes after. Whether that means physical development, operational enhancement, or something specific to Mole Rat’s character arc in the wider franchise depends on context, but the designation communicates that this isn’t simply the same Mole Rat in different colours. Something has happened.

For display collectors, that’s a genuinely interesting premise. Displaying #94 alongside #190 creates an implied narrative — two versions of the same character at different points in his story — that purely cosmetic variants can’t achieve.

Stage 2 and the D.I.R.E. Connection

The Classified programme’s 2025-2026 period introduced the D.I.R.E. (Dread-Inducing Responsive Energy) technology thread through Ghost Viper & D.I.R.E. Beasts (#170) and Night-Creeper D.I.R.E. Tech (#202). Whether Mole Rat Stage 2 connects to this thread or represents a different kind of development is something the figure’s design communicates directly — but the timing places Stage 2 within the same programme period that was exploring Cobra’s experimental enhancement capabilities.

Retail Accessibility

The Stage 2 designation at standard retail gives collectors who missed the Walmart exclusive Stage 1 a way into the Mole Rat display without secondary market navigation. Stage 1 (#94) remains a Walmart exclusive, currently available through secondary market. Stage 2 (#190) is retail-accessible.

For completionists, owning both requires two different acquisition routes. The display reward — Stage 1 and Stage 2 together communicating character development — is worth the additional effort.

Mole Rat in the Cobra Roster

Mole Rat occupies an unusual position in the Cobra villain roster — not a named command figure, not a generic infantry type, but a specific creature-type operative whose appearance and capabilities are deliberately unusual. The programme’s commitment to producing two distinct versions of this character across 2023 and 2025 reflects consistent collector demand for the more eccentric corners of the Cobra universe.

Alongside Shadow Tracker (#108), Cobra Overkill (#201), and the D.I.R.E. programme figures, Mole Rat Stage 2 contributes to the Classified line’s coverage of Cobra’s experimental and unconventional operative types — the characters whose design communicates that Cobra’s ambitions extend well beyond conventional military operations.

Display Configuration

Position Stage 1 and Stage 2 together for the narrative progression display. If you only own Stage 2, he works in the context of any Cobra experimental operative cluster — alongside Shadow Tracker and the D.I.R.E. figures for the unconventional Cobra threat display.

Secondary Market

Standard retail at $27.99 keeps Stage 2’s secondary market accessible. Secondary prices typically run $28–38. Stage 1 (#94) commands higher secondary market prices as a 2023 Walmart exclusive.

Verdict

Mole Rat Stage 2 #190 is the Classified programme’s most conceptually unusual variant — a figure that implies character development rather than simply offering a colour alternative. Whether you’re completing the Mole Rat narrative arc or just adding the experimental Cobra operative to your display, Stage 2 is worth owning.

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Part of G.I. Joe Classified Series | Retail 2025. Related: Mole Rat #94 | Cobra Shadow Tracker #108 | Ghost Viper & D.I.R.E. Beasts #170.

Mole Rat in the Wider 2025 Cobra Wave

The 2025 retail programme gave Cobra’s more experimental operative types meaningful representation: Grim Viper (#176) in the new specialist infantry tier, Mole Rat Stage 2 (#190) with its evolutionary variant concept, and the ongoing D.I.R.E. programme thread. Together they communicate a 2025 Cobra that’s not just rebuilding its conventional military strength but also investing in unconventional capabilities — specialist types and evolved operatives whose value lies precisely in being difficult to counter with standard Joe team tactics.

Mole Rat Stage 2 is the most conceptually unusual piece of that programme thread: a character whose Classified variant history implies that Cobra’s experimental operatives don’t stay static. Something changes between Stage 1 and Stage 2. The franchise has never been particularly interested in explaining exactly what — and the ambiguity is part of the appeal.

Where to Buy

Standard retail at $27.99. Amazon, Entertainment Earth, and major retailers at launch. The Stage 2 designation and retail accessibility make this a figure worth picking up promptly — collector interest in the evolutionary variant concept tends to drive sell-through faster than a straightforward character re-release would.

Quick Reference

Number: #190 | Line: G.I. Joe Classified Series | Year: 2025 | Price: $27.99 | Channel: Standard retail | Figure type: Single figure, Stage 2 variant | First appearance: No (follows Walmart exclusive #94) Standard retail availability and the stage-based evolutionary concept make this a figure worth adding at launch — the Classified programme rarely revisits a concept this unusual, and Stage 1 plus Stage 2 together create a display argument that neither figure makes on its own.

The Stage 2 concept is the most original figure variant the Classified programme has produced — own both stages, display them together, and let the implied evolution speak for itself.