Shark (The Bad Guys)

How do you know when your toy line is a big success? When other companies scramble to catch some of your lightning in a bottle of their own. Sometimes it’s successful, sometimes it isn’t. Remco’s Sgt. Rock line, based on the long-running DC war comic, sought to capitalize on Hasbro’s small  scaled GI Joe relaunch. The company even went as far as to introduce a line of bad guys for any 3 & 3/4 inch toyline to fight. The name of the series was, funny enough, The Bad Guys. Actually, the concept was ingenious, as the Joes only had a few Cobras to fight early on.

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The figures were repaints of the Sgt. Rock molds, but done up in black uniforms with snazzy highlights like gold, blue or silver helmets and boots. Oh, and most of them had facial hair. Your basic bad guys always have facial hair. Being a budget Remco toy, don’t expect much in the way of articulation or even in the figures’ ability to fully interact with their weapons. I can barely get Shark to hold his M-16, and you can forget about the Bazooka. But such is life when you venture into the world of cheaper toys. Heck, the same rules still apply today.

I’ve always wanted to pick up some of these figures, ever since I spotted them in a Christmas catalog all those years ago. They certainly have a charm all their own. Thanks go out to Joe bud Flag Points Dave for sending a care package of these guys to JAD HQ. They made me feel like I just went to K-Mart with Grandma and picked them out after seeing that all the cool Joes were sold out.

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11 comments

  • I had this guy! Unfortunately he was lost an arm in action.

  • I think they’re cool. Its a pity Palitoy’s 5 point articulated Action Force figures didn’t have knee joints like these did…as a kid I really wanted them to be more posable…

  • I had a bunch of these guys as a kid. It always bothered me how short their dang arms were.

  • I think I have one of those M-16s. This guy really looks like a eastern European knock-off of a Kmart figure.

  • What’s the other G.I. Joe-like line from the same era that had G.I. Joe-level articulation (and wasn’t The Corps)? I had one that was a guy with an eyepatch.

  • Seeing this reminds me of the Mego Eagle Force diecast figures. I wish you would review some of those!!

  • I remember having a couple of these as a kid, and even way back then I thought they sucked compared to Joe.

  • My brother and I had a few of THE BAD GUYS: The Ultimate Enemy. They filled out enemy ranks okay, but were like Sgt. Rock figures…far too prone to breakage. I mean the torso’s could shatter if you did something bold like move an arm or leg. One second series figure just completely came unglued. It’s funny they had more accessories than the Sgt Rock good guys, the baddies got big radios and bazookas….though, Sgt Rock figures had the kid-sized plastic dog tag.

    You had to have them hold the bazooka by the top handle in the left hand with the right hand holding on the end of the tube…which make zero sense, but that’s the only way. Second series had rocket launchers they could hold better.

    Yes, facial hair. Back then only old beatnicks, thugs and creeps wore van dykes and goatees. Even full beards were less common, mustaches were cool then, at least the 80’s style staches.

    Funny how Remco didn’t do any villains for all their American Defense/US Forces/Commando Force lines, which last much longer.

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