Spirit (1992)
As much as I appreciate and enjoy the figures from early in the Real American Hero period, some of those older figures don’t quite fit in when displayed alongside some later releases. As the line went on, sculpting styles, proportions and color palettes evolved. I like to think of it as a natural progression, much like changes in fashion. You just can’t expect a 1984 figure to look all that similar to one made ten years later.
While the orignal Spirit always held prudence of place in my collection, I wanted to see a new version later in the line. After all, many of the earlier Joes were redesigned at later points. I got my wish with the Air Commandos Spirit. Adding a top tier character to the glider figures was a good move, and it provided enough interest for me to pick it up back in the day. I was especially happy to see Spirit in command of a sub-group. He’s always seemed to have a stoic, yet commanding presence to me. Overall, the glider figures are pretty amazing original figures, and I also don’t recall much parts reuse in their makeup.
Spirit here is outfitted in a much more modern battle ready uniform than his old cavalry inspired look. He retains elements of his original figure with boots and headband. The proportions of the figure are beefier, in keeping with the style that developed in the 90’s. His colors are bright, but not glaringly so.
He’s equipped with an impressive new rifle, that appears share some design elements of his old dart firing weapon. It’s a more compact armament that makes a lot of sense for fast moving air insertion attacks. Unfortunately, his eagle, Freedom, did not make the transition to the 90’s.
The rifle would later be reused twice–once for the Battle Corps Viper (in red) and once for the 2005 General Mayhem figure (in grey). And of course, the entire Spirit figure would be reused for the International Action Force version a year later.
I wonder what a figure would look like if you mixed the head, waist and legs of this Spirit with the torso and arms of the ’93 version?
I waited years for an updated Spirit given that he never lost prominence in the comic series, but by 1991 I had given up on Joe collecting. I vaguely recall seeing the Air Commandos on the shelves, but then again, G.I. Joe figures of the time weren’t in production for two or more years like their earlier brethren.
This version of Spirit did a great job of bringing him into the 90’s. The Air Commandos provided some very innovative sculpts, with Spirit being the highlight in terms of character selection. I always thought he would make for an interesting squad leader as well.
I always kind of liked this version of Spirit, but I never added it to my collection as a kid because I didn’t really like the gliders. I played with my Joes mostly inside and an expensive glider that I probably couldn’t use much really didn’t appeal to me. It’s a great update to Spirit, but it’s just never one I got into because of how he was sold.
A great mold!
I’ve never liked this figure very much. The chest is too “busy” and the bare arms just look odd. The color choices are strange.
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I had plenty of opportunity to pick this one up as a kid, but I could never bring myself to. I just don’t really see Spirit when I look at this figure. If they had given him a different name, I probably would’ve got one. But, to me, Spirit wouldn’t load up a bunch of grenades on his chest and legs. Spirit’s too smart for that. And to me, the head looks like some other guy, not Spirit. Also, I’m always disappointed when a version of a character I associate with having a pet doesn’t include said pet. It would’ve been cool if this had included Freedom. As I said, I think this one would’ve been alright as a different character, but not as Spirit.