Re-Assigning The Team: MEGA-MARINES
By the 1990's, the G.I. Joe Line had several different sub-groups splintering off from the main group. The group - the Mega-Marines, made a lone appearance in 1993 as part of the 12th Series. The figures and vehicle included all have new molds and no repaints. The sub-group title, “Mega-Marines,” encompasses both Joes and the Cobra enemies that they were up against.
The Mega-Marine assortment consisted of six standard figures (4 Joes, 2 Cobras), two deluxe figures (the monsters) and one vehicle. The six figures came with what the package called “moldable bio-armor”, which was basically playdoh. The figure included a mold and you could give the character a chest piece of playdoh armor. Then you could pretend to add battle damage to it. You could also mold bigger warheads for the missiles that went with the spring-loaded launchers.
Clutch (v3), who returned as the team’s vehicle driver (though he was sold separately from it) and two new characters - Mirage - the Bio-Artillery Expert and Blast-Off - the Flamethrower. Their vehicle was a heavily-armed troop transport called the Monster-Blaster A.P.C.
This team was assembled to find and stop the “Mega-Monsters”. These were hideous creatures mutated from Cobra Troopers by Dr. Mindbender.
On Cobra’s side of the fence, they had 2 standard style figures. They had the Cyber-Vipers, who were Cybernetic Officers and the Mega-Vipers - the Mega-Monster Trainers. The Cyber-Vipers job was to maintain Dr. Mindbender’s laboratory. The Mega-Vipers were to manage the dreaded monsters themselves by entering the battle with them. For all his involvement, the Cobra forces for the Mega-Marine assortment did NOT include Dr. Mindbender…?
There were two different kinds of Mega-Monsters. They were deluxe figures as they were much bigger than a typical G.I. Joe figure. The Bio-Vipers were sea creatures that were mutated from Cobra Eels (Cobra Frogmen). The Monstro-Vipers were werewolf-type monsters that were mutated from Cobra Range-Vipers (Cobra Wilderness Troopers).
While the Monsters did not have the “moldable body armor” feature, Monstro-Viper still included a container of the Playdoh compound. Instead of armor, you could mold a “gut bomb” in his chest. You could then place it in his hand and his spring-loaded arm could throw it. Bio-Viper was the only character in this line to not utilize the Playdoh, his feature was his "grabbing" tentacles.
The 90’s saw Hasbro competing with several other toy-lines. In this case, it seemed they were competing with Kenner’s "Aliens" toy-line which started in 1992. There were several similarities between the two. First you had the names - Colonial or Space Marines vs. the Mega-Marines. Both teams had ground troop transport vehicles. Both teams also made use of helmet cameras. Furthermore, Blast-Off’s file card mentions the Mega-Monsters are vulnerable to fire, well so are the Alien creatures.
Another correlation between the two toy-lines is the use of the term "bugs". Both the Mega-Marine’s package description and Gung-Ho’s file card make mention of a “bug hunt”, yet neither of the monsters were bugs or bug-like. They had an over-sized werewolf and Creature from the Black Lagoon, but no insects. The creatures in Aliens, however, did have an insectoid look AND were sometimes referred to as “bugs”. In fact, one of the Space Marine Sgt. Apone wore a shirt that said "no bugs" on it. This all made it painfully obvious where the competition was aimed at.
The Mega-Marines never really got much exposure - aside from some live-action commercial spots, the team made no appearances in the comic or cartoon. Most likely they were overshadowed by Ninja Force and Star Brigade. Thus they were limited to the one and only first wave of figures.
The colors were a little much though. While it was nice to have a new Clutch figure, the bright orange was not good! And Mega-Viper??? Seriously, how could you not notice this guy stepping onto the battlefield? Neon yellow??? I think Cobra's idea was that rather than conceal the trooper, make it so the Joes could not look directly at him!!
If I was to suggest any improvements, that’s where I would have to start - the colors. The Joes needed a standard, normal color palette that they all shared, something similar to the Slaughter’s Marauders - a universal camouflage that showed they belonged together and yet separated them from the main group. Something with a more military color scheme. As for Cobra, they just needed their colors tamed down a bit…
I think… get rid of the Playdoh and find another gimmick. The battle damage armor is a good concept, but maybe something else would have been better. Maybe snap on armor??? They could have a normal piece or a battle damaged piece… similar to the panels on the Rattler jet...
It would have been neat if they could have had battle damage features like the Masters of the Universe “Battle Armor He-Man and Skelator” that had spring-action chest plates that could change to show battle damage. There would probably be a loss of articulation on that one though...
The 90’s saw Hasbro competing with several other toy-lines. In this case, it seemed they were competing with Kenner’s "Aliens" toy-line which started in 1992. There were several similarities between the two. First you had the names - Colonial or Space Marines vs. the Mega-Marines. Both teams had ground troop transport vehicles. Both teams also made use of helmet cameras. Furthermore, Blast-Off’s file card mentions the Mega-Monsters are vulnerable to fire, well so are the Alien creatures.
Another correlation between the two toy-lines is the use of the term "bugs". Both the Mega-Marine’s package description and Gung-Ho’s file card make mention of a “bug hunt”, yet neither of the monsters were bugs or bug-like. They had an over-sized werewolf and Creature from the Black Lagoon, but no insects. The creatures in Aliens, however, did have an insectoid look AND were sometimes referred to as “bugs”. In fact, one of the Space Marine Sgt. Apone wore a shirt that said "no bugs" on it. This all made it painfully obvious where the competition was aimed at.
This isn’t the first time G.I. Joe took inspiration from the Aliens franchise though. Many think Dodger from Battle Force 2000 has a Colonial Marine look. Also, the machine gunner, Repeater, uses a steadi-cam machine gun similar to the ones used in the Aliens movie. The similarities between toy-lines appear to begin and end on the Joe’s side. There is no connection between Cobra and Aliens.
The Mega-Marines never really got much exposure - aside from some live-action commercial spots, the team made no appearances in the comic or cartoon. Most likely they were overshadowed by Ninja Force and Star Brigade. Thus they were limited to the one and only first wave of figures.
There must have been some thought to continuing the sub-group though. There is concept art of Barbecue as a Mega-Marine floating around on the internet. It would have been interesting to see what creations Dr. Mindbender would have unleashed a second year.
I thought the Mega-Marines were okay. It was a concept that had potential. I can't really think of any characters to add or subtract to "re-assign" the team. The characters included were good… Mirage probably being my favorite in the group. I also thought the Monster-Blaster APC was an awesome vehicle, maybe the best vehicle in the last few years of G.I. Joe!!!
The colors were a little much though. While it was nice to have a new Clutch figure, the bright orange was not good! And Mega-Viper??? Seriously, how could you not notice this guy stepping onto the battlefield? Neon yellow??? I think Cobra's idea was that rather than conceal the trooper, make it so the Joes could not look directly at him!!
If I was to suggest any improvements, that’s where I would have to start - the colors. The Joes needed a standard, normal color palette that they all shared, something similar to the Slaughter’s Marauders - a universal camouflage that showed they belonged together and yet separated them from the main group. Something with a more military color scheme. As for Cobra, they just needed their colors tamed down a bit…
I think… get rid of the Playdoh and find another gimmick. The battle damage armor is a good concept, but maybe something else would have been better. Maybe snap on armor??? They could have a normal piece or a battle damaged piece… similar to the panels on the Rattler jet...
It would have been neat if they could have had battle damage features like the Masters of the Universe “Battle Armor He-Man and Skelator” that had spring-action chest plates that could change to show battle damage. There would probably be a loss of articulation on that one though...
The last thing to improve the Mega-Marine’s is simple… ease up on the Aliens references. Especially the “bug” comments, erase that… it makes no sense! The monsters are nothing like bugs. Focus on the Joes battling mutant Cobra creatures and we are on a much better path.
What did you think? Did you like the Mega-Marines? How would you improve this team? Does anyone have any other information about what might have been conceptualized for a second wave?
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