Snoova's Top 10: G.I. JOE FIGURES
I have seen where several people list their Top Ten figures. I always enjoy reading their lists and why they chose who they did. It's funny to me why certain figures are so popular to us as individuals, especially if they aren't the high-profile ones. Maybe it was the only figure at the store, or we received it as a present or that there was just something about that figure we identified with...?
I usually leaned towards the more obscure figures. To me, G.I. Joe was all about the team! In other words, it wasn't just the Snake Eyes Show for me. Now I wasn't AGAINST the more famous characters. When we were kids and there was a new Snake Eyes or Storm Shadow - you HAD to get it!!! I guess I just enjoyed them all!
Choosing a favorite 10 is no easy task! I simplified it by separating the Joes and Cobras. Still, how do you choose? There are so many great characters from the comics, cartoons, or even figures that never got any media attention but got plenty in our imaginations… I think I finally narrowed it down to ten… sort of… These are simply listed in release date order. Not in the order of who I like best.
I used the character's pictures from various trading cards, Marvel's Order Of Battle comics and cardbacks in my collection!
Honorable mentions to a few that ALMOST made it - Hit & Run, Dusty and Rock n’ Roll (v2).
1.) Airborne - Helicopter Assault Trooper, Series 2, 1983
Upon seeing the second wave of Joes for the first time, I thought Airborne looked cool! The package art of him coming down a rope into battle from a helicopter was exciting! The figure himself had a unique, light green helmet with molded on goggles unlike the standard helmets from the year before. He had the cool M-16 with the bayonet and the big backpack, that as a kid, I thought was a parachute. So I used him more as a paratrooper!
Also, with only a small list of Joes on the roster at the time, Airborne was the perfect figure to fill in with other duties on the team. I often used him as the co-pilot to either the Dragonfly or the Skystriker OR... he was a good pilot for the Sky Hawk too!
He is still a favorite character of mine after all these years! A great looking figure with cool accessories and of course - G.I. Joe Team's first canine member - Junkyard!!!
Back in the early years of Joes, the question was always - “what are they going to come up with next???” Then we got a Mountain Trooper... such a cool idea! And Alpine just had some of the most awesome accessories ever! The pick-ax, the gun, the backpack, the grappling hook launcher and the two grappling hooks with the string attached! What kid wasn’t stringing those grappling hooks from their parent’s house plants or furniture in search of their next adventure?
A cool moment in the comics was when Alpine fired his grappling hook launcher at the Swampfire and Flint tied the other end to the Mauler tank, thus bringing the Dreadnok helicopter down!!!
4.) Beach Head - Ranger, Series 5, 1986
Beach Head looked cool right out the gate! We didn't get a lot of masked Joes! But he had that balaclava mask that gave him an almost sinister, sneaky look like Firefly, but he was a "good guy"!
His outfit utilized darker green and black, so he seemed perfect for any jungle or night missions. He also came with a cool submachine gun and a backpack that had some cool details molded onto it, like a crossbow and a grappling hook with rope… which was great fuel for the imagination!
5.) Dial-Tone - Communications, Series 5, 1986
Maybe part of the reason I like Dial-tone so much is because my first figure, Breaker, seemed limited… he had the small backpack and no weapon. Dial-tone came with a really cool rifle and a high-tech backpack that looked like he could send a message to the moon! The figure looks great and while he has some high-tech elements on his uniform, it is not overplayed.
Also, I remember picking the figure up on the way to my family’s first ever Florida vacation along with the Devil Fish and Beach Head. So the figure has always had sentimental value!
Ah Sci-Fi… the lime green and silver outfit... a new laser rifle trooper when the original, Flash, did not see much action…. To some, he was a little odd. But I liked this figure!!! I totally recall walking down our mall to go to Circus World, the toy store, to look around. I had no idea any new figures had hit the shelves yet. As I approached, I saw my friend Greg leaving and excitedly he said… “They got new figures! They only have two left - Sci-Fi and the Viper! They had Wetsuit too, but somebody already bought it.” Of course, I rushed in to see them!
There was always something special about seeing those new figures for the first time! Even if it was just one… you could flip the figure over and see the new line up and all the new code names and get an idea what the year was going to be like. Sci-Fi (and the Viper) stood out on the pegs like a bright beacon of light that day! It obviously left a lasting impression on me and both have always been favorites since!
When it came to snow troopers, Hasbro often gave them a wealth of accessories (except Iceberg for some reason??). Blizzard was no exception! He came with a helmet, two guns, a backpack, skis and ice shoes. Either the shoes or skis could be carried on his backpack OR you could even convert the backpack and skis into a little sled which had handlebars and a molded on machine gun! Add in the great sculpt on the figure and in my opinion - you have a figure that is tough to beat!
8.) Storm Shadow (v2) - Ninja, Series 7, 1988
Finally, a new Storm Shadow figure!!! Five years after the original. Storm Shadow was a prominent figure in the comics - starting out as a Cobra agent and Cobra Commander’s bodyguard, then separating himself from the evil organization, and eventually becoming a member of G.I. Joe. Storm Shadow has a long, storied past, but it felt, to me, that this figure left all that behind and started fresh.
This new Storm Shadow was on the Joes side. While he retained the predominantly white color, he now added a grey digital camo with it. His face is still concealed behind a balaclava mask, but now with a hood. The updated figure had a cool new assortment of ninja weapons - sword, compound bow, a scaling claw and backpack.
Another great addition was the tattoo of his ninja clan on his forearm! Such a great update to a popular character!
9.) Snake Eyes (v3) - Commando, Series 8, 1989
Another updated, well-known character! Like Storm Shadow (v2), it was nice to have a fresh start with the character. This time they took elements from both previous versions with some new additions as well. He is predominantly black as usual, but now he also features some silver highlights.
Some of his weapons are a little on the wild side! Along with the standard uzi, sword and backpack, he also had a blowgun and a 3-piece nunchuk weapon! Many folks prefer versions 1 or 2, but THIS is my favorite Snake Eyes!!
10.) Recoil - L.R.R.P. (Long Range Recon Patrol), Series 8, 1989
By the time I got Recoil, my friends and I had turned into “collectors” of G.I. Joe, meaning we were adding to our collections rather than having battles and playing with them. This was probably my final year for Joes before I lost interest and moved on to other things for awhile.
Recoil was such a cool figure… the digital camo outfit, the backpack with communication antenna, the mine pack, the rifle with bayonet and grenade launcher… But what put it over the top for me was the accessory probably no one else liked - the double pistol weapon! Yeah, that pistol that looked like it had another pistol attached to the underside of the handle... I thought it was cool looking! Maybe because it reminded me of a larger, crazier version of the over/under pistols they used in the sci-fi movie The Black Hole.
Well, that’s my Top Ten Joes! Wow... that was not easy to do!! There were so many great figures in this toy-line. I wrote them out in my notebook, then added some, crossed some out, added more, subtracted more, added some back… remembered another one I had forgot... But I think this here is a good round up of figures that really stood out to me then AND now!
Next Top 10... it's COBRA!!!
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