The Characters Of G.I. Joe - OVERKILL

THE ANDROIDS NEED A LEADER!

THE CHARACTERS OF G.I. JOE

    "B.A.T.s attack!" - Overkill, 1991.

COBRA COMMAND

B.A.T. Leader - OVERKILL

File Name - None

Birthplace - A Cobra Research Lab somewhere...

Specialties - Destruction, giving orders to androids, removing tight lids off jars for Dr. Mindbender...

BACKGROUND INFORMATION...

    As Cobra Technicians were finishing their work on a prototype for a third generation of Battle Android Troopers, the project was soon brought to a halt.  The advanced technology that was being utilized for the prototype, alone, was determined to be much too costly for mass production.  So the prototype was mothballed and basically left in a closet somewhere to gather dust.

    Seeing the potential in the near-finished prototype, Cobra Commander decided to use it as a battlefield commander for the B.A.T.s.  He also came up with the idea to give the android, now named Overkill, a voice synthesizer.  This way, as it led the android army against the Joes, it could repeat commands at ear-piercing volumes that would be demoralizing for their foes to hear.  Overkill can often be heard shouting "destroy" and "wipe-out" as he approaches his enemies.

    All B.A.T.s are well-armed, but Overkill was given an even wider array of weaponry.  As a handheld weapon, he often carries a flamethrower into battle.  Stored within his chest is a pair of .50 caliber machine guns that activate when his torso panel opens.  He has a hidden flamethrower on his leg and wears a "psychic sensor" backpack.  Finally, Overkill can remove his right hand and swap it out for a "mind control, memory drain" unit.  

    Though the B.A.T.s are technically mindless - Overkill can direct them to some degree.  They will blindly follow him as he leads them into any kind of firefight.  In addition, Overkill was strangely programmed to operate the Cobra Earthquake.  This was a large, armed bulldozer-type of vehicle that Overkill could use to cause even more chaos and destruction!

THE ANDROIDS NEED A LEADER...

    The idea for the B.A.T.s to have a special "leader" was certainly an interesting one!  Especially coming from the angle that Overkill was a shelved prototype that was put into service.  As for the original figure itself, was okay, Hasbro had just given him colors that were a little too loud.  Who knows, maybe he needed to stand out so the B.A.T.s could easily follow him...?

    Overkill made his debut in 1991 with the Talking Battle Commander assortment.  As such, he was outfitted with an enormous backpack that could say phrases and make battle sounds for the figure.  While the figures of this assortment were visually pretty cool looking, I was never really into the "talking/sound" feature.  I didn't need the help.  Making the situation worse was the backpack was screwed on and not easy to remove.  With it, the figure couldn't sit in vehicles and the weight would often cause the figure to fall over backwards.  Personally, I thought the backpacks should have been removeable like the Sonic Fighter's ones.

    The built-in machine gun was a clever idea, but it didn't function very well.  You had to crank his left arm back to get the clearance for the chest piece to swing open.  The hinged chest seemed too big and bulky to be effective!

    Overkill here is represented by the Overkill from the 2003 B.A.T. Army Builder set.  This mail-away item included 6 repainted figures from the 1982-1994 line - Overkill, 2 Inferno B.A.T.s, and 3 standard B.A.T.s.  I think the colors of this Overkill are much better then the gold, red, lime green, and yellow of the original.  The 2003 repaint ditches the big backpack, which saves him a lot of falling over and gives him a cooler, new paint scheme of dark blue, black and green.

    (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.)

Continued chatter about Overkill...

---  Despite wherever the B.A.T. Army Builder set fits in the G.I Joe storyline by 2003, it doesn't mean anything to me.  In my eyes, these figures were better replacements for my Overkill and B.A.T. 2's.  The Inferno B.A.T.s were just a bonus! 

---  By 2003, Overkill's story had changed.  Two more versions of Overkill had been released in the later lines and the file cards told a different tale stating that now he was a cyborg.  Someone that had over 50% of his human body replaced with mechanical parts... like Robo-Cop or General Grievous.  This version here shares the cyborg story, even though the mold is borrowed directly from the original figure.  Between the two origins, I prefer the original idea of him being a B.A.T. upgrade prototype.