CLASSIFIED STALKER

 LET'S PARTY!

THE CHARACTERS OF G.I. JOE

    "Generals may win campaigns, but it's the sergeants who win the battles, mostly by yelling and kicking butt." - From the File card, 1992.    

G.I. JOE

Ranger - STALKER

File Name - Lonzo R. Wilkinson

Birthplace - Detroit, Michigan

Specialties - Infantry, Medic, Communications, Interpreter, Intelligence.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION...

    The G.I. Joe Ranger - Stalker, was once a gang warlord in Detroit City.  Looking to carve a new path in life, he joined the army and excelled in practically everything!  He graduated at the top of his class in both Basic Combat Training and Advanced Infantry Training.  In addition, he has graduated the U.S. Army Language School (he is fluent in multiple languages), Intelligence School, Ranger School, and he is a qualified jump instructor.

    While serving in Southeast Asia, Stalker found himself in the same Long Range Recon Patrol unit with future G.I. Joe members - Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow!  In 1982, he was one of the first Joes to become a part of the Team when the group was first assembled.  

    Stalker has led the Joe Team on countless missions!  He has had to deal with being outnumbered by enemy forces, adverse weather, and unexpected situations.  He has served alongside every type of soldier - the veterans, the inexperienced, the difficult, and so on.  Through it all, Stalker remains a diligent soldier that refuses to give up.  He will push forward with his Team, no matter what they face and he is ready for anything that can be thrown at him! 

ORIGINAL VS. CLASSIFIED...

    It's crazy, because Stalker is such a cool and important character in the G.I. Joe Universe - yet I missed most of the original figures from 1982 including him.  It was odd to be missing someone from my collection that showed up in the comics on a regular basis.  The second version wasn't released until 7 years later in 1989.  By that point I was done collecting, so I didn't get that one either.  So it's nice to have this Classified version which is modeled after the original.

    So what does one expect from the 1982 figure?  What key features stand out that SHOULD be included with this update?  To me it would be the camo uniform, the beret, the mustache, and his sub-machine gun.  Am I missing anything?

    Thankfully Hasbro delivered on all of this!  In addition to some extra weapons, Stalker's major difference from the original was that his camo was darker and more muted.  I'm okay with this, it looks good on him!  Reminds me of the G.I. Joe comic #39 where during a night mission, some of the Joes are putting on some bad guy's uniforms for disguise.  Stalker isn't putting on a uniform, and he is asked "why?"  His reply is something like "all camo looks the same in the dark."        

    This is a great figure!  Nice job Hasbro!  Now we just need to get them working on making the "Tundra Ranger" version from 1989!  Include the kayak and don't jack the price up too much! 

    Did you like this version of Stalker?  Or did you prefer the classic "retro" version with a brighter shade of 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.)