G.I. Joe Vehicle Showdown, Part 14 - 1991

    In my eyes, 1991 was the beginning of G.I. Joe's "cartoon-era".  With a brand new animated show out, the toyline began to lean into some of the trendy things going on at the time like environmental awareness and the War on Drugs.  Hasbro was also prepared to go head-to-head with other successful entities like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Captain Planet.

     Let me add that I'm not saying this was BAD!  It was just different.  I didn't mind the colors necessarily.  I didn't mind the repeat characters either.  The only thing that bothered me with these changes, is that I felt it splintered everything!  The Joes were one unified team before, but now everyone's got their own "group".  You have Ninja Force, the Air Commandos, and so on.  This shift to multiple sub-groups would continue till the end of the line.

    Again, this was a year I was not into action figures anymore.  So I didn't have a firm grasp on what was going on with my former beloved toyline.  Eventually, I would tune back in and picked up a few of these vehicles, but they weren't easy to find.  Let's see what Hasbro did with G.I. Joe in 1991.  

    But, we gotta get that pesky 'ol rating scale out of the way... 

10 - Awesome, Fantastic

9 to 7 - Various levels of Greatness

6 to 4 - Various levels of "Okay"

3 - Mediocre

2 to 1 - Levels of Crappiness 

1 - AIR COMMANDO GLIDERS  (w/ Skymate, Cloudburst, Sky Creeper, and Night Vulture)

    I'm going to lump the 4 of these together because they are all basically the same just with different colors, designs, and weapons.  These are a major improvement over the foam gliders from 1983.  These are a thin plastic and more durable than the originals.  They could really fly, so that's nice.  Add in the fact they all looked cool, they were unique from one another, AND they all had a brand-spankin' new figure with 'em!  Nice improvement!  These all get a 9!

2 - BATTLE COPTERS  (w/ Major Altitude and Interrogator)

    Like the gliders... these things could really fly, and they did it well.  Hasbro had some clever ideas to add some more fun into these toys.  However, the Battle Copters themselves pale in comparison to any Joe or Cobra copter.  Put one of these up against a FANG and it will lose.  The FANG has a cannon, 4 missiles, and a bomb.  The Battle Copter has nothing... only the gun the pilot manages to hold while flying with one hand.  They are still decent though.  I'll give them both a 6 each.

3 - ATTACK CRUISER

    First of all, dull name...    Otherwise, I have never owned or SEEN this thing.  I do think it looks unexpectedly cool though...  Even with the neon green.  The glider and mine dispenser are clever ideas and I really like the black color for a Joe vehicle.  Other than Night Force, I'm not sure we saw a lot of that.  Anyways, despite the fact I have never seen this, I feel I would like it.  I'm giving it a 7.

4 - BADGER

    I was totally out of Joe toys in 1991, but I was still picking up the comic.  When this thing showed up I was thinking "what is that???"  Again, this is another one I have never had or seen.  Up till now, I thought I would like this one.  As I researched it though, I'm not so sure.  That is a lot of neon green!  A little too much for a squatty jeep with one figure (the box-art shows Dusty riding on the side and he looks like he's going to fall off).  Also, the only weapon is 1 missile  launcher?  This thing better be fast, because the driver is going to need to high-tail it outta there after he fires that 1 missile.  It's gonna get a 5.

5 - COBRA PARALYZER

    I still have this in my collection!  On the surface, I like the looks of it.  If you turn it upside down though, unfortunately it looks very hollow and incomplete.  I'm also not too sure how much advantage there is to the treads raising as they do.  I'm on the fence on this one, but I suppose it will get a 6.

6 - ECO-WARRIORS COBRA SEPTIC TANK

    This one is hard to look at.  Eco-Warriors in general were a little odd, but not horrible.  This vehicle though... ugh.  It's got ugly orange, the goofy cockpit cover, and the oversized cannon.  Plus, I feel this one needed a driver - Crap-Viper.  HA HA!  This is going to catch a piddly 2.      

7 - BRAWLER

    Yet another one I have never had.  This one looks interesting though.  With the size though, I really think this one should have had a proper driver.  Going off the looks... I'll say a 7.   

8 - SONIC FIGHTERS DESERT APACHE

    Never had it... BUT I do recall seeing this in the stores a lot when I returned to collecting in 1993.  It was HCC788's review though, that opened my eyes to the fact that this vehicle is actually from another toy line and can't even properly hold a G.I. Joe figure.  What is the point if this thing can't even interact with the figures?  On that fact alone, this vehicle will take a sad, sad 1.

9 - COBRA ICE SABER

    I DID have this one.  I acquired this somehow in my collecting days.  I like it BUT...  #1. A vehicle this size needs a proper driver.  #2. It is slightly oversized.  #3.  There is TOO MUCH neon orange on this thing.  Furthermore, the driver-switching thing is a weird idea.  What do the other guys do while they wait?  They can't even reach any controls for the other weapons.  This could have been an epic vehicle.  It was a noble attempt, but it fell a little short.  This will get a 7.

10 - BATTLE WAGON

    I actually had this one too.  Very cool, though maybe slightly oversized.  It was motorized, carried multiple figures, and it had the cool missile launcher thing.  I'll say it again though - it needed a driver.  The other Joes have specific jobs to do.  We need a dude that his gift in life is to drive something like this!  Didn't happen though...  So some random Joe has to toss his gear aside and get behind the wheel.  Anyways, this one was great - how about a 10? 

    So the cartoon-y era of G.I. Joe had begun.  Yet, there was some really cool stuff in this series.  The cartoons themselves were quite bizarre, but at least the toyline could still hit a home run every now and then.

    This year, NONE of the major vehicles came with a driver.  I feel this was a major mistake.  I don't want Desert Scorpion or Incinerator driving my Cobra Ice Sabre!!  They have other jobs to do!  This driver-less trend would continue into 1992 as well.  Hasbro would finally pull a reverse on that in 1993.  

    But what do you think?  Did you like the cartoon era of Joes?  Did you like the cartoons themselves?  Let me know your thoughts on the situation in 1992.