Barricade (1993)

Barricade brings new meaning to the term “door kicker”. His specialty of bunker buster also works within the context of urban operations, as his file card points out. I wonder why this figure was not included as part of the DEF sub-group.  He seems like a good fit. The later Battle Corps version of Law had a similar battering ram and was originally intended to be part of the DEF.

I really like the heavily armored look, and the sculpting is great. There’s an almost superheroic vibe going on, considering the Robocop helmet and Iron Man style gauntlets. So he’s not outfitted in green or grey;  stealth is not a major concern when you’re busting down doors. Wear hot pink if it makes you happy. Actually, the 1992 original release of the figure was a nice dark blue, which along with the gold armor made for a very nice color scheme.

Barricade’s head sculpt gets my vote as one of the goofiest looking vintage Joes. We wouldn’t see a head sculpt this dorky looking again until 2003’s Blackout, the cross-eyed sniper.

Large spring-loaded weapons were a standard accessory at that time, but here it really makes sense, as Barricade’s primary weapon is a large battering ram. The downside to this particular accessory is the position of the handle. The figure can’t hold it in a balanced pose without it dragging the ground.

5 comments

  • Barricade only looked cool to me in his original blue and gold colors. The helmet did make him look like Robocop. The wry look on his face might have worked better on a cocky fighter pilot like Ace or Ghost Rider.

  • The Gold and blue Barricade figure equals awesome. This gold and pink version should’ve never made it past Hasbro’s approval. I have no idea why anyone thought those colors on a GI Joe would be a good idea, and I hope someone lost their job over it.
    The accessories were cool. The battering ram is a bit unwieldly, but that is largely due to the apparent need for a spring loaded gimmick weapon.
    I really like Barricade as an addition to my Joe team, but this particular figure went right into the “custom fodder” box.

  • For me this guy is an updated versión of flash.

  • Dreadnok: Spirit

    I had the gold and blue version and always liked it. Probably one of the more underrated figures from the line. As much as there’s a Robocop thing going on, it also resembles Captain Power. The head sculpt always reminded my of Dan Fielding from Night Court.

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