SCC Figure Spotlight - DR. MINDBENDER (Version 1)

"I get a real CHARGE out of shocking G.I. Joe!" - Dr. Mindbender, 1993.

MASTER OF MIND CONTROL - DR. MINDBENDER  (Version 1)

    In 1986, the Cobra Organization finally got something they seriously needed - a mad scientist!  In various media, the role had often gone to Destro, who would introduce his "latest invention" which would be something like his Creeper Vines or the Weather Dominator.  As an inventor, though, Destro was a more level-headed and a fairly normal (did I say normal?) character.  Cobra needed someone with a little more crazy on their side to push the envelope and make the impossible - possible!  We got all this with Dr. Mindbender!

    Dr. Mindbender was Cobra's Master Of Mind Control.  In other words, he was their interrogator.  When Cobra needs to extract information from prisoners, this is the guy they put to the task.  Mindbender gets credit for the creation of the B.A.T.s (Battle Android Troopers) and also the clone Cobra Emperor - Serpentor!

    His file card tells that Mindbender was once a nice, kind man and respected orthodontist.  While experimenting with "electric brainwave stimulation" to effort to relieve dental pain, he tried it on himself.  Unfortunately his personality was completely altered and he became evil and corrupt.  He joined up with Cobra and devoted his time to changing his "brain scrambling" device into a weapon that can be handheld.

    Unlike most Cobra agents, Dr. Mindbender is not masked.  He is bald with a black moustache and he wears a monocle.  His uniform, or lack there-of, is a black cape with a large, silver Cobra symbol on back and no shirt.  He has silver suspenders, purple pants and black boots.  He also has purple gauntlets on his wrists with some kind of silver detail on them.  Mindbender can pull off the shirtless look though, he's pretty ripped.  He must spend a lot of time at the Cobra gym when not working on his next experiment.

Dr. Mindbender card from the 1991 Impel Series!

    So he can enter battle or defend himself, Mindbender carries a grey pistol.  He also has a silver electric prod weapon with a hose and black generator.  What is awkward with the generator is that there is no way to transport it.  It is not a backpack and it doesn't have any handles.  Basically, he's going to drag it along if he really needs it.

    Dr. Mindbender was an odd but welcome addition to the G.I. Joe line.  It was nice to have that "mad scientist" element on Cobra's side.  You knew Destro might invent that new weapon, but with Mindbender among your figures... there were no limits!  Who knew what the heck they would do next?

    My Mindbender was a homebody.  In other words, he stayed back at the base, working on his next wacky idea.  If my Joes were ever on Cobra's turf though, this was not someone you want to come across!  Even worse would be to get taken prisoner by Cobra and then sent to THIS guy, because you may be next in line as a guinea pig for his latest experiment!

    The figure was a little strange looking, but one comes to expect that when dealing with members of Cobra.  The accessories were fitting, but I wish there was some way to transport that generator.  The file card was also good... kind of channeled a Jekyll and Hyde vibe with the nice guy turned evil.  So for a rating, I would give Dr. Mindbender 4 out of 5 Sets of Braces.

Mindbender even got the Funko Pop treatment!

    Mindbender was used quite a bit in G.I. Joe media, making multiple appearances in both the comic and cartoon.  Unfortunately, in the comics Cobra Commander had several people he considered traitors, buried in a landlocked freighter underneath a volcano.  Dr. Mindbender was among them!  So he died.  Or did he???

    What are your thoughts on this figure?  Did he come up with any crazy ideas for your Cobra army?

More brain-rattling information about Dr. Mindbender...

---  It's strange that Cobra would eventually add other "information extractors" - Crystal Ball (1987) and Interrogator (1991) later on.  Was there a big need here or could they just not find anyone that was good at the job???

---  Mindbender came up with some wild ideas, but in the cartoons, he turned Iceberg into a killer whale for awhile.  That was just freakin' weird!!

---  The picture from the top is from my Cobra Island diorama I had set up in my basement years ago!