Adventure Team Commander (2010)

I don’t have much recollection of 12 inch GI Joes from my youth. I was of an age at which the bigger guys were phased out before I reached a level at which I wasn’t simply chewing or throwing all my toys. Consequently, my parents didn’t buy me many toys with arms or legs that could be pulled off, or tiny bits that could be ingested or sucked up a nostril. I also didn’t have an older brother or cousin to share or pass down older toys. My earliest memories of action figures are the Fisher Price Adventure People, a 3 & 3/4 inch toy line. Later, I was introduced to some toys from a galaxy far, far away that took up most of my toy attention until the small Joes came on the scene.

My only childhood memory of 12 inch Joes goes back to a neighbor kid, a few years older than me, who had Adventure Team figures as well as the HQ. I remember being fascinated by the big strange figures, and especially the vinyl building in which they were hanging out. We played with the Joes together just one time, and actually I had forgotten about the experience just until I began to write this entry.

In my college days, my interest in the 60’s Joes was high, and I picked up quite a few figures. The 70’s era didn’t hold much interest for me at the time, but that has changed over the years along with my tastes. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that I have an appreciation for the more strange corners of Joe history. A lot of the Adventure Team appeals to that side of me. Some of it is the 70’s kitsch factor, but more of it is the sheer playability and imagination of the Adventure Team toys.

The collector club really struck a nerve with me by bringing the AT into the small scale. The 25th anniversary parts worked well in approximating the mod styles of the 70’s. The Commander is set apart from his teammates thanks to the longer safari style jacket of the vintage figure. At first, I didn’t realize that the jacket extension came from arctic Snake Eyes, an impressive reuse. The head sculpt is an excellent shrunken rendition of the old fuzz head. It’s too bad the series didn’t continue, as I’d love to see the AT

5 comments

  • The head is spot on right down to the scar. Same for the Kung-Fu Grip-ish hands. I was lucky enough to be around for Geyper Man while living overseas even as the Adventure Team was being phased out over here so I had some experience collecting the 12 inch stuff. I was also a huge Mego fan during the carded 8 inch superhero lines’ twilight years. Wouldn’t mind seeing the AT back myself. It’s one of those concepts that Hasbro keeps revisiting from time to time so I wouldn’t rule out more RAH-scale just yet.

  • Let me see…the construction consists of the following:
    New sculpt head
    25th Anniversary Viper torso with Arctic Snake Eyes coat piece
    25th Anniversary Wild Bill arms and hands (and vest)
    25th Anniversary Storm Shadow upper legs
    25th Anniversary 5-pack Shipwreck legs and feet
    25th Anniversary Airborne backpack
    2003 Spy Troops Cross Hair sniper rifle
    25th Anniversary Snow Job revolver

    I’m just curious–is the Adventure Team leader the same character as Joe Colton?

    • I always assumed Joe Colton was indeed the Adventure Team Commander since Larry Hama hinted at such when he re-introduced Joe and Jane into the comic.

  • I have this figure by default because I really wanted Dr.Venom. He looks great in the package, but what to do with that stupid plant?

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