One & Done - HIT & RUN

"I'm not running away from anything.  I'm practicing!" - Hit & Run, 1988.

LIGHT INFANTRYMAN - HIT & RUN 

    In 1988, G.I. Joe recruited Hit & Run into the group!  He was the Team's Light Infantryman, yet it was obvious that he was also qualified in mountaineering as he is clearly seen scaling the face of a mountain on the cardback.

    Hit & Run's file card tells that he was orphaned at a very young age after his parents were killed by a drunken driver.  This is a pretty heavy introduction to a character.  He became very skilled at escaping the home he was put in.  He was always running, but he insisted he was not running from anything - he was simply "practicing".  Eventually, he ran right into the armed forces and signed up.  Being an infantryman includes several different forms of running, so he was perfect for the job.  His file card lists Mountaineering as his Secondary Military Specialty.

    Following the bizarre year Hasbro gave us in 1987 (which included Cobra La) - Hit & Run, himself, was more of a traditional army soldier figure.  He was completely decked out in camouflage... including his face and hands which were painted green with black stripes.  He had black harness straps on his torso to help with his equipment and he wore a camouflage helmet with red goggles on top.  He even had an attachment above his belt buckle you could loop his rope through for climbing.

    For accessories, Hit & Run came with a black rifle, an olive drab knife, and a duffle bag with a shoulder strap.  The duffle bag had a grappling hook and rope attached to a spool mechanism inside.  You could unwind the rope to have him do some climbing, or wind it up for storage.  Additional, the knife could be stored on the side of the duffle bag.

    One thing I would have liked to see more of in the G.I. Joe Team was mountaineering experts!  These accessories were always so much fun to add into my figure's adventures!  We got Alpine in 1985 who was a dedicated Mountain Trooper.  He was a great figure with great accessories, but that was basically all we got until Hit & Run came along.

    Hit & Run was a welcome addition to the Joe Team as his normal uniform was like a return to their military roots.  For me, this was one of those "must have" figures and I picked him up rather quickly!  My collecting was slowing down, but I wasn't passing up this figure.

    This was a great looking figure with cool accessories!  You couldn't go wrong with Hit & Run.  The only gripe I can think of is that the poor guy is named after the same type of tragic accident that killed his parents.  I think he should have told the Army - "Hey, can you please give me a different code name?  Like ANYTHING else???"

    That's the only negative I can come up with!  Even that can't hold a good figure down!  Hit & Run therefore is going to catch himself a beautiful rating of 5 out of 5 pairs of Adidas Track Shoes!!!  It doesn't get any better than that!

    Did you like Hit & Run?  Is there a better code name you would have given him?  Who did you prefer - him or Alpine?  Let me know in the comments below!

More running at the mouth about Hit & Run:

---  A Target exclusive of Hit & Run was released the same year.  Same figure, same accessories - only this one also has a bonus, working parachute pack.

---  Hit & Run's gun and knife saw plenty of re-use as Hasbro often included them with figures from the 90's with the rehashed gear on the weapons trees.

---  Hit & Run saw a second release in the UK with a Tiger Force version.  One thing that stands out about that version is his face no longer has the camo on it.  Seeing his face with a normal skin color is odd! 

Hit & Run Impel card from 1991!