The Characters Of G.I. Joe - ZARTAN (Cobra Convergence 8)

 HE CHANGES COLORS RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES!

THE CHARACTERS OF G.I. JOE

    "My personality changes as often as my looks... and they're both BAD!" - Zartan, 1993.

DREADNOKS

Master of Disguise - ZARTAN

File Name - Unknown

Aliases - Too Many!!!

Birthplace - Unknown

Specialties - Master of Disguise, Infiltration, Martial Arts.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION...

    Zartan is a mysterious mercenary that is frequently hired by Cobra Commander.  He has many talents and abilities but his primary specialty is as a Master of Disguise.  He is highly skilled in the ability to alter his appearance to infiltrate installations or top-secret bases.  He is an expert with make-up and disguise and he can speak multiple languages with various dialects.  He is adapt at using high-tech holographic technology to change his appearance.  Furthermore, Zartan has the unique ability to change his skin color to blend in with his surroundings.

    Zartan is the leader of the Dreadnoks - an extremely volatile and destructive biker gang.  Despite their wild and reckless behavior, Zartan is somehow able to successfully give direction to this group and channel their "abilities" to his or Cobra's benefit.  Among the members of the Dreadnoks, are Zartan's brother - Zandar, and his sister - Zarana.

    When not working for Cobra, Zartan and his Dreadnoks typically hide out in the Florida swamps where they have a hidden lair.  Though it appears as an old decrepit cabin, like Zartan, there is more going on under the surface.  The inside is extremely high-tech with multiple traps and defense mechanisms in the surrounding area.

    To get around in the swamplands, Zartan has a vehicle he uses called the Swampskier.  Though small, the Swampskier is extremely fast and maneuverable.  It can blast a powerful burst of water from the front cannon to capsize other watercraft and it can emit a thick fog from behind to disorient anyone taking chase.  It has the ability to change color to help Zartan evade his enemies, or as another disguise tactic, it can be easily disassembled to appear as random junk.

    It is rumored that Zartan has also studied some mystic martial arts at some point, somewhere...

MY THOUGHTS...

    The original Zartan figure was a homerun by Hasbro!  Wow!  There was a lot of play-value wrapped up in this one single figure!  You had the color-change gimmick, the disguise, the awesome laser pistol, the Swampskier and it's take-apart and/or color-change feature!  A lot of creativity went into the creation of this figure!

    I remember seeing Zartan in the catalog and the commercial as well.  My friends and I were super-hyped for this figure!  I still remember my friend, Greg, calling me up and saying he had seen Zartan at the nearby K-Mart.  I jumped on my bike and rode over there as fast as I could to see it!  Did ANYONE that could own this figure simply pass on buying it?  I think not!

    My Zartan took a lot of wear and tear battling my Joes.  I lost a shin pad, accidentally broke the handlebars on the Swampskier, and the figure was soon all wobbly-loose.  I took him out in the sun constantly to watch him change color.  I got my money's worth out of that figure though!  They don't make 'em like they used to.  

    I don't have my poor worn-out, original Zartan figure anymore, so Zartan here is represented by the 25th Anniversary figure released in 2007.  It is made to be similar to the original figure from 1984.  This figure is cool-looking, he has the backpack and mask, and it was nice to get him single carded - but there are some things amiss here!

    We got some strange rifle instead of the cool laser gun.  I have no idea why this decision was made, but I outfitted this figure with my original Zartan's pistol!  There was also no color change and no Swampskier.  The face detail appears a little sloppy.  This is weird... how in the world was the paint so crisp in 1984, yet in 2007 it is worse? Shouldn't the technology have improved so that this awkward paintjob doesn't happen?  Lastly, I am not crazy about the Cobra symbol on his chest.  He is not a Cobra agent.  

    Again, the figure still looks pretty cool.  I don't mind the slight "updates" to the uniform and he has great articulation.  There are a few missteps, but I do like this figure.  It could have been worse... they could have shrunk his Swampskier and tried to stuff it on the carded package with him....

    This 25th Anniversary Zartan is going to catch a rating of 4 out of 5 Copies of KISS' Creatures Of The Night album!  Oh come on, we all know he is a KISS fan... look at that make-up!  He is a hardcore fan too, as Zartan's own make-up looks strangely like Paul Stanley's "Bandit" make-up from some of the early days of the band!  I'm not kidding, look it up!  

The original Zartan from the 1984 catalog!

    (Information on the character's lore was taken from the Sunbow and DIC cartoon series, including the Movie and the figure's original File Card.)