Mechs have been a part of the GI Joe universe since 1983, when the SNAKE armor debuted. Things got more active in the 90s, with offerings like the Armor Bot (okay, not technically a mech, but close) and the 1994 Power Fighters. Both were space-oriented, a natural extension of military vehicles suited for the Star Brigade sub-team. In 2004, both
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I’m a sucker for interesting repaints. The Walmart exclusive Valor vs Venom two packs paired some of the more mundane molds with a couple of the better figures of the era. The Cobra CLAWS I found to be an odd concept. The toy itself features a unique character design, but bears the mark of many new sculpt era figures–weird proportions.
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Here began Hasbro’s infatuation with Heavy Duty, which continued until the GI Joe: Retaliation film pulled Roadblock back to the forefront of the brand as the team’s heavy machine gunner. Some fans at the time surmised that Hasbro was having some sort of rights issue with the name a la Hawk and others, but Roadblock appeared (alongside a later version
Read moreA while back I talked about the famous early 80s tan repaints of Grunt and Clutch. Here’s another continuation of the venerable desert repaint theme, along with a bit of new sculpt era Frankensteining. Duke was a member of one of three Walmart exclusive Valor Vs. Venom two packs. Each pack had an urban camo Cobra and a desert tan
Read moreThe Sand Viper concept is an interesting update of previous Cobra desert operatives. These newer arid attackers are even more effective at functioning in high desert heat. Not only are they chosen for their innate ability to withstand the rigors of the environment, but they’re also given a high-tech uniform to aid them. The outer body armor is resistant even
Read moreGI Joe vs Cobra
Read moreThere weren’t too many laser-focused homage type figures in the first series of Joe’s 2002 relaunch. Old faves like Duke, Snake Eyes, Cobra Commander and Destro incorporated some elements of their former selves, but also diverged in new, and sometimes interesting ways. The Moray took cues from the vintage Eels, but injected a modern style that continues to impress me.
Read moreI still find that the relaunch era of GI Joe has quite a few figures with a certain degree of charm. As each new assortment of figures were released, I awaited my favorites to be released in the new format. The same thing still happens in the current era, and so it’s funny to think back ten years ago to
Read moreFirefly, what more can be said about the man? He’s been in almost every version of GI Joe from the 80s till today. He’s been a plain old mystery man, and he’s been a ninja with ties to Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. I think I preferred him as the mystery man who made select appearances. It’s kind of like
Read moreWhere the first Wet-Suit figure looked like a sport diver to me, this one goes for an all-out science fiction/comic book influenced garb. Par for the course with the 2002 series, to be sure, as the first series’ packaging was heavily inspired by a more graphic design scheme than the fully painted packaging deco of the 1980s and 1990s. At
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