Classified Center Stage - I NEVER HAD SPIRIT...

 CLASSIFIED CENTER STAGE

- SPIRIT -

BACKGROUND

    Spirit joined the G.I. Joe Team in 1984.  As the Team's Tracker, Spirit used his skills to pursue and locate individuals or gather intelligence.  He honed his navigation skills when he was younger, exploring the trails in and around the Grand Canyon and practically memorizing them.  He was a hunting guide through high school and later joined the Army, eventually transferring to the G.I. Joe Team.  Spirit is also an expert cartographer and can draw maps.

    On missions, Spirit is often accompanied with his eagle - Freedom.  The two have a tight bond and Freedom is always willing to help Spirit anyway he can.  From scouting regions, to retrieving items, to joining in the fight - Spirit can always count on his winged ally.

   In his time with G.I. Joe, Spirit has signed on with several of the sub-groups for various missions.  He joined up with Slaughter's Marauders in 1989.  His job was to lead the group through hostile territories, track down Cobra operatives, and capture them for questioning.

    Spirit's abilities have even been used to test new recruits!  In 1991, when the new member, Tracker, was so successful at the "Escape and Evasion" test, G.I. Joe Command decided to raise the level of difficulty on him.  They sent Spirit and Snake Eyes out as the quarry.  It was a true test of skill having these two out there as no one had ever picked up on their trail in the past.

    In 1992, Spirit took command of the Air Commandos group.  Paired with the Joes Skymate and Cloudburst, this small team would use gliders to accomplish their missions.  In this role, Spirit was tasked with spotting camouflaged enemy instalments or find signs of troop movement from the sky.

    Spirit was a part of the International Action Team in 1993.  Global leaders came together trying to find a plan to stop some of Cobra's schemes.  They assembled a group with members from all over the world.  Spirit was the American representative.  

    In his years on the G.I. Joe Team, he has volunteered for missions in environments of every kind and all over the world.  Furthermore, he has also taken on some of Cobra's deadliest operatives from the standard Vipers to the ninja - Storm Shadow.  Spirit has been a loyal and strong part of the Joe Team for a long time.  

I NEVER HAD SPIRIT...

    Strange but true.  Although a very popular figure, I never had Spirit when I was younger.  When the 1984 series was released, a neighborhood kid (note I did not say "friend") and I, found Recondo at Target.  Obviously we were excited to see the first new figure, but even better was to flip the cardback around and get a glimpse of the whole new assortment!!!  If you grew up collecting G.I. Joe in the 80's, you know that feeling! 

    From there my eyes went right to the Cobra Saboteur (remember they didn't put the code names on the packages back then).  I saw that character and said "That's the one I want".  The other kid I was with went right to the Tracker (Spirit).  That's the one he wanted.  He was pretty set on that figure and didn't often have money to buy G.I. Joe figures.  So I put it in my mind that I would avoid that figure, so to give him the chance to grab it first.  He eventually DID get it, but he had only a small group of figures total.  I decided to avoid Spirit, besides there were plenty others to go after.  

    Later, I was exiting collecting when Version 2 (Slaughter's Marauders) came out.  When I returned to collecting in 1993 I couldn't find Version 3 (Air Commandos) and I just never got around to ordering Version 4 (International Team).  Apparently, it just wasn't in the cards to have a Spirit figure!?!?!

    Though I thought the Classified Spirit looked cool, with limited money, I have mainly been picking up my top favorites.  My good friend Deathwish, however, grabbed Spirit and the Crimson B.A.T. at a good price.  He offered me an opportunity to pick one for a birthday present and I chose Spirit!  I finally had him!  Thanks Deathwish!

    This figure is amazing!  He looks like a slightly updated version of the original.  They got rid of the "dart gun" he used to have and gave him a cool rifle that could also be stored on his backpack.  He has a pair of knives and a pistol that can all be stored on the figure.  His backpack is awesome as not only can you store the rifle, but it also has a perch for his eagle!    

    And that's the best part - Freedom!  They gave the eagle interchangeable wings - he can either be at rest, or at flight.  He can perch on Spirit's backpack or on his forearm.  The wings move, the head and feet are articulated.  Most of all, Freedom gives you that same feeling when we got stuff like this when we were kids - it was like getting a bonus figure!

    It's details like this that make the Classified series such a winner!  Hasbro did a fine job on recreating Spirit and Freedom!  What will be nice is, I assume that eventually we will get a repaint of this figure in his Slaughter's Marauders colors!  I'll be keeping an eye out for that one too!

    Thanks again to Deathwish for hooking me up with this figure!  It's awesome!!!  While I was spending some downtime in beautiful Brown County with my wife, I took Spirit out and got a few great shots of him in the wilderness!