G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
Encyclopedia
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a military
-themed line of action figure
s and toys in Hasbro
's G.I. Joe
franchise. The toyline lasted from 1982 to 1994, producing well over 500 figures and 250 vehicles and playsets. The line reappeared in 1997 and has continued in one form or another to the present day. It was supported by two animated series as well as a major comic series published by Marvel Comics
.
The toyline continues to play a large part in Hasbro's G.I. Joe
franchise. This version of G.I. Joe is still much recognized by many people who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, overshadowing the original G.I. Joe.
brand of the 1960s and '70s. After the 12" figure had been absent from toy shelves for a few years, G.I. Joe was re-introduced in a 3+3/4 in action figure format following the success of the Star Wars
and Micronauts
3 3/4" scale toylines.
The genesis of the toy line came about from a chance meeting in a men's room. According to Jim Shooter
, then editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics
:
Prior to G.I. Joe's relaunch in 1982, Larry Hama
was developing an idea for a new comic book
called Fury Force, which he was hoping would be an ongoing series for Marvel Comics. The original premise had the son of S.H.I.E.L.D director Nick Fury
assembling a team of elite commandos to battle neo-Nazi terrorists HYDRA
. Shooter approached Hama about the Joe project due to Hama's military background, and the Fury concept was adapted for the project. Shooter suggested to Hasbro that "G.I. Joe" should be the team name and that they should fight terrorists, while Archie Goodwin
invented Cobra and the Cobra Commander
; everything else was created by Hama. Hasbro was initially uncertain about making villain toys, believing this wouldn't sell. Marvel would also suggest the inclusion of female Joes in the toyline, and to include them with the vehicles (as Hasbro again worried they wouldn't sell on their own).
Each G.I. Joe figure included a character biography, called a "file card". Hama was largely responsible for writing these file cards, especially for the first ten years. When developing many of the characters, he drew much from his own experiences in the US military. The overall premise for the toyline revolves around an elite counter-terrorist team code-named G.I. Joe
, whose main purpose is to defend human freedom from Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world.
Every year, Hasbro and Marvel would meet up to discuss the upcoming toys and marketing. Larry Hama was given a free rein by Marvel's editorial here. Both the toys and the comics would become a great success, the comics being Marvel Comic's most subscribed title at one point, but Jim Shooter has said sister company Marvel Productions, who handled the cartoon, overspent on production and had "a critical success but a financial disaster" with the show.
In 1994, Hasbro transferred control of the G.I. Joe toyline and brand name to the newly acquired Kenner division, who promptly cancelled the A Real American Hero toyline and replaced it with the new Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles toyline instead. After brief revivials in 1997 and 1998, the toyline was revived as the "Real American Hero Collection" in 2000 to the mass market. In both cases, previous molds were reused and some characters had to be renamed due to copyright issues. Another relaunch was made in 2002 under the theme "G.I. Joe vs. Cobra" and new designs and characters were introduced.
Hasbro.com officially announced a new line of "25th Anniversary" 4" G.I. Joe figures on January 18, 2007. The line is primarily based on the characters and designs from the early part of the Real American Hero line.
s were 3+3/4 in tall, at roughly 1:18th scale. Throughout the original toyline production from 1982 through 1994, figure construction remained relatively the same. The most notable changes were the second series' addition of "swivel-arm" articulation in 1983 which allowed the forearm to rotate above the elbow (initial figures could only bend their elbows), and the fourth series' ball joints replacing the former swivel necks, both dramatically increasing a figures poseability.
Hasbro also released various vehicles and playsets to be used with the figures. Many of the vehicles and playsets were based on, or influenced by, real or experimental military technologies that were deployed or being developed during the 1980s. Some examples of this amongst the vehicles released were the G.I. Joe Skystriker XP-14F
fighter plane based on the F-14 Tomcat
; the Cobra Rattler, which has similarities to the A-10 Thunderbolt II
; the Dragonfly attack helicopter which was nearly identical to the Bell AH-1 Cobra; the Cobra Night Raven S3P inspired by the Lockheed D-21/M-21
; and the M.O.B.A.T. tank which was modeled after the M551 Sheridan
. The Mobile Missile System (M.M.S.) playset was also strikingly similar to the MIM-23 Hawk
surface-to-air (SAM) missile system. However, certain toys were completely original and in-story
incorporated technologies that were unavailable at the time such as the H.A.L. laser artillery, and J.U.M.P. jet pack.
For the enemy characters, most of the details are dispensed with, usually leaving only the picture, code name, function, descriptive paragraph and the quote.
The file cards for the first eight or so years were primarily written by comic book writer Larry Hama
. Originally, Hama created "dossiers" as a way to keep track of the characters he would be writing. Representatives from Hasbro saw these "dossiers", and figured they would be an additional attraction to the action figures' blister packs.
They were known for giving much needed details about the characters, such as their specialties, education and training. So detailed were the file cards, that they even mention the military schools the G.I. Joe characters attended. The 1982 to 1984 file cards contained information on weapons specialties, but this was removed afterwards with due to concerns that children may be being given knowledge on firearms and the feeling that a character would only be limited to what he knows to use.
The file card information would later be reprinted in a G.I. Joe comic book mini-series Order of Battle. The mini-series contained all new art by Herb Trimpe
. The first two issues focused on G.I. Joe, the third on Cobra, and the fourth on their vehicles and equipment. The mini-series also corrects some of the grammar and misspellings from the original file cards.
The 1987 G.I. Joe toy line saw the release of Cobra hypnotist Crystal Ball, whose file card was supposedly written by bestselling horror novelist Stephen King
. By 1988, the file cards no longer contained details about education, and focused more on the character's upbringing, or what he or she did prior to joining the G.I. Joe Team
. In addition to the regular information, this new design of card also included a listing of which vehicle the character is licensed to operate. This would remain largely unchanged until 1991.
In 1991, in a major overhaul of the file card format, the paragraphs and the quotes were replaced by a short quote from the character him/herself, followed by a paragraph that hypes up the character's abilities. This would be the general format for all the file cards that followed.
With the success of the first line of toys, Hasbro expanded the line the next year with new characters and more original body part designs. In 1983, "swivel-arm battle grip" articulation and some extra tweaks were added to the new characters and the existing figures in order to make them more poseable. In 1985, the base of the action figures' heads were given a ball joint which gave the figures' heads the ability to look up and down.
The years from 1983 to 1985 are considered by many to be the golden years of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero as many of the most popular characters were introduced around this time. Vehicles and playsets became bigger and seemed to top the design of the previous year, culminating in 1985's impressive USS Flagg
playset, an aircraft carrier
that measured 7 ½ feet long.
Like Hasbro's other main franchise at the time, Transformers
, G.I. Joe saw its popularity peak around this time. This year is also notable for the overhauling of toy packaging, which the background artwork being changed from the familiar explosion background to a pixilated pattern of a red, yellow and white explosion.
In toy stores, two of the largest playsets of the entire line were introduced: the G.I. Joe Defiant space shuttle
and the Mobile Command Center. Before the end of the year, the G.I. Joe special team Battleforce 2000
was introduced in time for Christmas.
The toyline continued to sell well, despite its lack of multimedia support. A new enemy, Destro's Iron Grenadiers
, was introduced. The new Cobra line-up was composed mainly of Viper
-type henchmen. Issue #86 of the comic series celebrated the 25th anniversary of the G.I. Joe toyline in general. Another G.I. Joe sub-group - Tiger Force, a line of classic characters and vehicles re-colored with tiger-striped camouflage patterns - was introduced before the year's end.
Classic character played a factor in 1989. The relative success of Tiger Force the year before led to the introduction of Slaughter's Marauders and Cobra's Python Patrol
.
The lackluster performance of 1989 convinced Hasbro to scale back on production. They concentrated on the action figure line-up and reduced the number of new vehicles for that year. The logo for the toyline was slightly redesigned as well.
Hasbro concentrated on action figures rather than vehicles and came up with new gimmicks for them. Special teams such as Ninja Force
, Eco-Warriors and Star Brigade
were introduced.
In the final two years of the line, characters who were not part of any sub-group were branded as part of the all-encompassing Battle Corps. The background artwork for the cards was replaced by a design featuring laser-like lines. The Star Brigade sub-series was revamped with a more science-fiction storyline involving an extraterrestrial enemy, the Lunartix Empire.
The characters from the Street Fighter II
video game became part of the G.I. Joe line up in 1993, as Hasbro bought the toy rights to the characters.
Although the line would officially end in 1994, design elements of the G.I. Joe figures and vehicles would continue in later toylines, such as a line based on the Street Fighter
motion picture, as well as another based on the game's equally popular competitor, Mortal Kombat
. 1985's A.W.E. Striker vehicle was also converted to accommodate larger figures for Hasbro's Stargate line.
One of the rarest G.I. Joe figures, the so-called "Pimp Daddy Destro" (or PDD for short), was released in 1997 in the Cobra Command Team pack. It was immediately replaced by a standardized version of the Destro figure. The PDD figure was so named for the fact that it had leopard-print accents on Destro's legs and his famous open collar. Only a handful were released into the market, with only one verifiable version mint in box and two loose versions known to be in existence. It is believed that the versions of PDD That made it to market were production samples (as opposed to true variants) that were changed prior to release and thus and were not meant to be seen by the public.
In 2002, the line was limited to one wave, which was only available to online retailers. Also in 2002, a set called the Sound Attack 8 pack was released as an exclusive to BJ's Wholesale Club and Fred Meyer stores.
franchise with G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero it was supported by a Marvel Comics
series. The comic book
history of G.I. Joe
: A Real American Hero has seen three separate publishers and four main-title series, all of which have been based on the Hasbro
toy line of the same name. The first series was produced by Marvel Comics
between 1982 and 1994, running for 155 issues and spawning several spin-off titles throughout the course of its run; the second and third series, published by Devil's Due Productions from 2001 to 2008, totaled 80 issues and included several spin-off titles as well. The fourth series has been published by IDW Publishing
since October 2008, and various spin-off titles as well.
A television commercial for the cereal depicted a boy making his way to a bowl of cereal led by the character Duke. After eating the cereal, the boy flies into the air following another G.I. Joe character named Starduster. Of interesting note to G.I. Joe fans and collectors, this was the only time that the action-figure Starduster appeared in animated form. He was never part of the cartoon television series. Starduster was also featured in three out-of-continuity mini-comics packaged in Action Stars cereal.
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
-themed line of action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s and toys in Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
's G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
franchise. The toyline lasted from 1982 to 1994, producing well over 500 figures and 250 vehicles and playsets. The line reappeared in 1997 and has continued in one form or another to the present day. It was supported by two animated series as well as a major comic series published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
.
The toyline continues to play a large part in Hasbro's G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
franchise. This version of G.I. Joe is still much recognized by many people who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, overshadowing the original G.I. Joe.
Origin
"A Real American Hero" was brought about as a revival of the original 12 in (30.5 cm) G.I. JoeG.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
brand of the 1960s and '70s. After the 12" figure had been absent from toy shelves for a few years, G.I. Joe was re-introduced in a 3+3/4 in action figure format following the success of the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
and Micronauts
Micronauts
The Micronauts comic books feature a group of characters based on the Micronauts toyline. The title was published by Marvel Comics, Image Comics, and Devil's Due Publishing. Their first comic appearance was in Micronauts #1 with characterizations created by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden...
3 3/4" scale toylines.
The genesis of the toy line came about from a chance meeting in a men's room. According to Jim Shooter
Jim Shooter
James Shooter is an American writer, occasional fill-in artist, editor, and publisher for various comic books. Although he started professionally in the medium at the extraordinarily young age of 14, he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comics' ninth...
, then editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
:
The President or CEO of Hasbro was at a charity event that Marvel’s President was also at. They ended up in the men’s room, standing next to each other peeing, and I think that’s how they met. They were talking about each other’s respective businesses, and it came up that Hasbro wanted to reactivate the trademark on G.I. Joe, but they were trying to come up with a new approach. [Marvel’s guy] was like ‘We have the best creative people in the world! Let me bring in this Editor-in-Chief of mine and we’ll fix it for you!
Prior to G.I. Joe's relaunch in 1982, Larry Hama
Larry Hama
Larry Hama is an American comic book writer, artist, actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s....
was developing an idea for a new comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
called Fury Force, which he was hoping would be an ongoing series for Marvel Comics. The original premise had the son of S.H.I.E.L.D director Nick Fury
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...
assembling a team of elite commandos to battle neo-Nazi terrorists HYDRA
HYDRA
HYDRA is a fictional terrorist organization in the Marvel Universe.Despite the name's capitalization per Marvel's official spelling, the name is not an acronym but rather a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra...
. Shooter approached Hama about the Joe project due to Hama's military background, and the Fury concept was adapted for the project. Shooter suggested to Hasbro that "G.I. Joe" should be the team name and that they should fight terrorists, while Archie Goodwin
Archie Goodwin (comics)
Archie Goodwin was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is best known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work...
invented Cobra and the Cobra Commander
Cobra Commander
Cobra Commander is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe franchise. He appears in the toyline, animated series , comic books, video games, and movie as the usual principal antagonist. He is the supreme leader of the terrorist organization Cobra, and archnemesis of the Joes...
; everything else was created by Hama. Hasbro was initially uncertain about making villain toys, believing this wouldn't sell. Marvel would also suggest the inclusion of female Joes in the toyline, and to include them with the vehicles (as Hasbro again worried they wouldn't sell on their own).
Each G.I. Joe figure included a character biography, called a "file card". Hama was largely responsible for writing these file cards, especially for the first ten years. When developing many of the characters, he drew much from his own experiences in the US military. The overall premise for the toyline revolves around an elite counter-terrorist team code-named G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe Team
G.I. Joe is the code name of an elite covert special forces unit operating under the control of the United States Military in the fictional G.I. Joe universe....
, whose main purpose is to defend human freedom from Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world.
Every year, Hasbro and Marvel would meet up to discuss the upcoming toys and marketing. Larry Hama was given a free rein by Marvel's editorial here. Both the toys and the comics would become a great success, the comics being Marvel Comic's most subscribed title at one point, but Jim Shooter has said sister company Marvel Productions, who handled the cartoon, overspent on production and had "a critical success but a financial disaster" with the show.
In 1994, Hasbro transferred control of the G.I. Joe toyline and brand name to the newly acquired Kenner division, who promptly cancelled the A Real American Hero toyline and replaced it with the new Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles toyline instead. After brief revivials in 1997 and 1998, the toyline was revived as the "Real American Hero Collection" in 2000 to the mass market. In both cases, previous molds were reused and some characters had to be renamed due to copyright issues. Another relaunch was made in 2002 under the theme "G.I. Joe vs. Cobra" and new designs and characters were introduced.
Hasbro.com officially announced a new line of "25th Anniversary" 4" G.I. Joe figures on January 18, 2007. The line is primarily based on the characters and designs from the early part of the Real American Hero line.
Toyline
The action figureAction figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s were 3+3/4 in tall, at roughly 1:18th scale. Throughout the original toyline production from 1982 through 1994, figure construction remained relatively the same. The most notable changes were the second series' addition of "swivel-arm" articulation in 1983 which allowed the forearm to rotate above the elbow (initial figures could only bend their elbows), and the fourth series' ball joints replacing the former swivel necks, both dramatically increasing a figures poseability.
Hasbro also released various vehicles and playsets to be used with the figures. Many of the vehicles and playsets were based on, or influenced by, real or experimental military technologies that were deployed or being developed during the 1980s. Some examples of this amongst the vehicles released were the G.I. Joe Skystriker XP-14F
Skystriker
In the fictional world of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Skystriker refers to two things: a jet fighter and a character.-Toys:The Skystriker XP-14F is a variable wing fighter aircraft, which first appeared in the 1983 edition of the hit cartoon series and toyline...
fighter plane based on the F-14 Tomcat
F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...
; the Cobra Rattler, which has similarities to the A-10 Thunderbolt II
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
; the Dragonfly attack helicopter which was nearly identical to the Bell AH-1 Cobra; the Cobra Night Raven S3P inspired by the Lockheed D-21/M-21
Lockheed D-21/M-21
The Lockheed D-21 was an American Mach 3+ reconnaissance drone. The D-21 was initially designed to be launched from the back of its M-21 carrier aircraft, a variant of the Lockheed A-12 aircraft. Development began in October 1962...
; and the M.O.B.A.T. tank which was modeled after the M551 Sheridan
M551 Sheridan
The M551 Sheridan was a light tank developed by the United States and named after Civil War General Philip Sheridan. It was designed to be landed by parachute and to swim across rivers. It was armed with the technically advanced but troublesome M81/M81E1 152mm gun/launcher which fired conventional...
. The Mobile Missile System (M.M.S.) playset was also strikingly similar to the MIM-23 Hawk
MIM-23 Hawk
The Raytheon MIM-23 Hawk is a U.S. medium range surface-to-air missile. The Hawk was initially designed to destroy aircraft and was later adapted to destroy other missiles in flight. The missile entered service in 1960, and a program of extensive upgrades has kept it from becoming obsolete. It was...
surface-to-air (SAM) missile system. However, certain toys were completely original and in-story
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
incorporated technologies that were unavailable at the time such as the H.A.L. laser artillery, and J.U.M.P. jet pack.
File card
A file card is cardboard packaging with profile information, that accompanies most G.I. Joe or Cobra action figures. The owner of the action figure is encouraged to cut out the file card and save it. Over the years, the file card has evolved, but they generally contain the following information:- a picture
- indication of allegiance
- code name of the character
- function
- File name - the real name of the character
- SN, his/her serial number
- Primary military specialty
- Secondary military specialty
- Birthplace
- Rank grade
- A paragraph detailing the background of the character such as his/her education, upbringing, training
- A quote from an unidentified source, usually giving us an idea of the character's personality
For the enemy characters, most of the details are dispensed with, usually leaving only the picture, code name, function, descriptive paragraph and the quote.
The file cards for the first eight or so years were primarily written by comic book writer Larry Hama
Larry Hama
Larry Hama is an American comic book writer, artist, actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s....
. Originally, Hama created "dossiers" as a way to keep track of the characters he would be writing. Representatives from Hasbro saw these "dossiers", and figured they would be an additional attraction to the action figures' blister packs.
They were known for giving much needed details about the characters, such as their specialties, education and training. So detailed were the file cards, that they even mention the military schools the G.I. Joe characters attended. The 1982 to 1984 file cards contained information on weapons specialties, but this was removed afterwards with due to concerns that children may be being given knowledge on firearms and the feeling that a character would only be limited to what he knows to use.
The file card information would later be reprinted in a G.I. Joe comic book mini-series Order of Battle. The mini-series contained all new art by Herb Trimpe
Herb Trimpe
Herbert W. "Herb" Trimpe Herbert W. "Herb" Trimpe Herbert W. "Herb" Trimpe (b. May 26, 1939, is an American comic book artist and occasional writer, best known for his work on The Incredible Hulk and as the first artist to draw for publication the character Wolverine, who later became a breakout...
. The first two issues focused on G.I. Joe, the third on Cobra, and the fourth on their vehicles and equipment. The mini-series also corrects some of the grammar and misspellings from the original file cards.
The 1987 G.I. Joe toy line saw the release of Cobra hypnotist Crystal Ball, whose file card was supposedly written by bestselling horror novelist Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. By 1988, the file cards no longer contained details about education, and focused more on the character's upbringing, or what he or she did prior to joining the G.I. Joe Team
G.I. Joe Team
G.I. Joe is the code name of an elite covert special forces unit operating under the control of the United States Military in the fictional G.I. Joe universe....
. In addition to the regular information, this new design of card also included a listing of which vehicle the character is licensed to operate. This would remain largely unchanged until 1991.
In 1991, in a major overhaul of the file card format, the paragraphs and the quotes were replaced by a short quote from the character him/herself, followed by a paragraph that hypes up the character's abilities. This would be the general format for all the file cards that followed.
A Real American Hero (1982-1994)
The first eleven characters were introduced in carded packs while four others were bundled with vehicles. The first series of action figures had straight arms with elbow joints. While it is common for many characters to share the same mold for producing a body part, it was much more noticeable in the first year as for the original thirteen G.I. Joe figure, only six head molds were created. Three unique molds were assigned to Stalker, Snake-Eyes and Scarlett, while the other ten characters utilized one of three generic heads. Despite these limitations, the new toyline was a success.With the success of the first line of toys, Hasbro expanded the line the next year with new characters and more original body part designs. In 1983, "swivel-arm battle grip" articulation and some extra tweaks were added to the new characters and the existing figures in order to make them more poseable. In 1985, the base of the action figures' heads were given a ball joint which gave the figures' heads the ability to look up and down.
The years from 1983 to 1985 are considered by many to be the golden years of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero as many of the most popular characters were introduced around this time. Vehicles and playsets became bigger and seemed to top the design of the previous year, culminating in 1985's impressive USS Flagg
USS Flagg
The USS Flagg is a fictional U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier from the toy line, comic and cartoon series, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. It is the G.I. Joe Team's primary sea going vessel...
playset, an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
that measured 7 ½ feet long.
Like Hasbro's other main franchise at the time, Transformers
Transformers: Generation 1
Transformers: Generation 1 was the original Transformers toy line that produced from 1985 to 1992 and actually lasted longer than the G1 1980s television series itself...
, G.I. Joe saw its popularity peak around this time. This year is also notable for the overhauling of toy packaging, which the background artwork being changed from the familiar explosion background to a pixilated pattern of a red, yellow and white explosion.
In toy stores, two of the largest playsets of the entire line were introduced: the G.I. Joe Defiant space shuttle
Defiant (G.I. Joe)
The Defiant is a fictional space shuttle complex vehicle and station from the G.I. Joe series, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, line of toys, comics and cartoons.-Toys:...
and the Mobile Command Center. Before the end of the year, the G.I. Joe special team Battleforce 2000
Battleforce 2000
Battleforce 2000 is a fictional sub-team from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline and comic books. First released in late 1987 , they represent a hi-tech unit of the Joes using experimental weaponry under battlefield conditions.-Toys:The toy line was made up of 7 action figures, with the 6...
was introduced in time for Christmas.
The toyline continued to sell well, despite its lack of multimedia support. A new enemy, Destro's Iron Grenadiers
Iron Grenadiers
The Iron Grenadiers are a faction from the military-themed line of action figures and toys known as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.-History:They are a private army owned and maintained by the arms dealer Destro. The Grenadiers are composed of Destro's castle guards, personal bodyguards, and...
, was introduced. The new Cobra line-up was composed mainly of Viper
Viper (G.I. Joe)
A Viper is the code-name given to a large majority of the soldiers/troops in the Cobra Organization, which are found in the G.I. Joe A Real American Hero universe. For the most part the code name Viper is followed or preceded by their area of expertise....
-type henchmen. Issue #86 of the comic series celebrated the 25th anniversary of the G.I. Joe toyline in general. Another G.I. Joe sub-group - Tiger Force, a line of classic characters and vehicles re-colored with tiger-striped camouflage patterns - was introduced before the year's end.
Classic character played a factor in 1989. The relative success of Tiger Force the year before led to the introduction of Slaughter's Marauders and Cobra's Python Patrol
Python Patrol
The Python Patrol is an elite unit within the fictional Cobra Organization. They have special uniforms that masks their presence to electronic detection systems...
.
The lackluster performance of 1989 convinced Hasbro to scale back on production. They concentrated on the action figure line-up and reduced the number of new vehicles for that year. The logo for the toyline was slightly redesigned as well.
Hasbro concentrated on action figures rather than vehicles and came up with new gimmicks for them. Special teams such as Ninja Force
Ninja Force
Ninja Force is a fictional sub-team from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series.-Fictional history:Led by Storm Shadow, a group of ninjas affiliated with the Arashikage clan form the Ninja Force as a part of the G.I. Joe Team, in order to combat Cobra. Its...
, Eco-Warriors and Star Brigade
Star Brigade
The Star Brigade is a fictional sub-team from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series. With specialized space suits and accessories, these high-tech astronauts were designed to protect the universe from Cobra and the Lunartix Empire.-Toys:All of the Star Brigade...
were introduced.
In the final two years of the line, characters who were not part of any sub-group were branded as part of the all-encompassing Battle Corps. The background artwork for the cards was replaced by a design featuring laser-like lines. The Star Brigade sub-series was revamped with a more science-fiction storyline involving an extraterrestrial enemy, the Lunartix Empire.
The characters from the Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
video game became part of the G.I. Joe line up in 1993, as Hasbro bought the toy rights to the characters.
Although the line would officially end in 1994, design elements of the G.I. Joe figures and vehicles would continue in later toylines, such as a line based on the Street Fighter
Street Fighter (film)
Street Fighter is a 1994 American action film written and directed by Steven E. de Souza. It is based loosely on the same-titled video games produced by Capcom, and stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Raul Julia, along with supporting performances by Byron Mann, Damian Chapa, Kylie Minogue, Ming-Na...
motion picture, as well as another based on the game's equally popular competitor, Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (series)
Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
. 1985's A.W.E. Striker vehicle was also converted to accommodate larger figures for Hasbro's Stargate line.
Stars & Stripes Forever - TRU Exclusives (1997–1998)
In 1997, G.I. Joe returned in a limited Toys "R" Us exclusive line. The Real American Hero Collection, as it is called, included Team Packs of three figures grouped together by a common theme such as Commando and Cobra Command, and Mission Packs, which featured classic figures packaged with a small vehicle like a Cobra Flight Pod or Silver Mirage motorcycle. The "Stars and Stripes" boxed set was also released, featuring members of the original thirteen Joes from 1982. The line continued as a Toys "R" Us exclusive in 1998.One of the rarest G.I. Joe figures, the so-called "Pimp Daddy Destro" (or PDD for short), was released in 1997 in the Cobra Command Team pack. It was immediately replaced by a standardized version of the Destro figure. The PDD figure was so named for the fact that it had leopard-print accents on Destro's legs and his famous open collar. Only a handful were released into the market, with only one verifiable version mint in box and two loose versions known to be in existence. It is believed that the versions of PDD That made it to market were production samples (as opposed to true variants) that were changed prior to release and thus and were not meant to be seen by the public.
A Real American Hero Collection (2000–2002)
In 2000, The Real American Hero Collection continued, this time in wide release. Figures were sold in two packs and continued using the original molds as well as 'kit-bashed' figures made from parts of various molds. The wide release of The Real American Hero Collection continued through 2001.In 2002, the line was limited to one wave, which was only available to online retailers. Also in 2002, a set called the Sound Attack 8 pack was released as an exclusive to BJ's Wholesale Club and Fred Meyer stores.
G.I. Joe vs Cobra (2002–2006)
The A Real American Hero concept was relaunched in a newly-sculpted design as G.I. Joe vs. Cobra, subsequently becoming the Spy Troops, Valor Vs. Venom and "Direct-to-Consumer" (or DTC) lines.25th Anniversary (2007–2009)
Hasbro announced the release of G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary Edition figures, which features figures primarily based on A Real American Hero designs but with updated sculpting. The line continued through 2008, and Hasbro has revealed that it will continue into 2009.G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
In July 2009, a series of figures based on the movie G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra were released in the United States.G.I. Joe: The Pursuit of Cobra (2010-2011)
In 2010, a new series of figures is being released, based on four battlegrounds: Desert, City, Jungle and Arctic. The packaging will be an update to the 25th Anniversary design, featuring cues to the vintage era as well as a modern look. Also, the figures will have non-actor based heads.30th Anniversary (2011-present)
In 2011, a new series of figures are planned to be released, including characters from both G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon series and the G.I. Joe: Renegades cartoon series.Animated series
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1985 TV series) - a 95-episode animated series, produced by Marvel ProductionsMarvel ProductionsMarvel Productions Ltd. , last called New World Animation, was a television and film studio subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment Group , based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, then New World Entertainment and News Corporation/Fox...
and Sunbow ProductionsSunbow ProductionsSunbow Entertainment was an animation studio, founded in 1980 and owned up until 1998 by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in New York. The first animation efforts by Griffin-Bacal were producing the animated commercials for Hasbro's G.I...
to follow the success of the toyline by HasbroHasbroHasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
. The cartoon had its beginnings with two five-part mini-series, then became a regular series that ran in syndication from 1985 to 1986. Included a short public service announcementPublic service announcementA public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
cartoon at the end of every episode, in which a few of the G.I. Joes would instruct children on good behavior or how to be safe. Ended with the catch-phrase: ... And knowing is half the battle! - G.I. Joe: The MovieG.I. Joe: The MovieG.I. Joe: The Movie is a 1987 animated film spun off from the animated series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, based on the original Hasbro toyline. It was produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions and was animated in Japan by Toei Animation.Created at the height of the G.I. Joe craze in...
(1987) - Created at the height of the G.I. Joe craze in the 1980s. In the film, it is revealed that Cobra was created by Golobulus, the ruler of an ancient race of part human/part snake/part insectoid people who were the rulers of the Earth before humanity, but their culture was all but wiped out by the ice ageIce ageAn ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, and they fled to the HimalayasHimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
as humanity evolved and developed its own technology. Biding his time to retake the Earth, Golobulus sent a Cobra-La citizen, who turns out to be Cobra Commander, to go out and destroy humanity. When Cobra Commander fails, he is de-evolved into a snake in favor of Serpentor; it is also revealed that Golobulus implanted a psychic motivator into Dr. Mindbender's brain to inspire him to create Serpentor. The other Cobra heads, Destro, the Baroness, Dr. Mindbender and the Dreadnoks agree along with Serpentor to help Golobulous take over the world in exchange for their preserved humanity. Golobulus wants the human race's Broadcast Energy Transmitter (or BET) so that he can accelerate the maturity of his space spores, which will shower the human race upon ripening and turn them into mindless animals, while all those in Cobra-La are protected by the Ice Dome. Only G.I. Joe stands in their way. - G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1989 TV series)G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1989 TV series)G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a half-hour American animated television series based on the successful toyline from Hasbro and the comic book series from Marvel Comics. The series was produced by DIC Entertainment and ran from 1989 to 1991....
- a 44-episode animated series, produced by DIC EntertainmentDiC EntertainmentDIC Entertainment was an international film and television production company. In addition to animated television shows such as Ulysses 31 , Inspector Gadget , The Littles , The Real Ghostbusters , Captain Planet and the Planeteers , and the first two seasons of the English adaptation of...
. The cartoon ran in syndication from 1989 to 1991.
Comics
In 1982 when Hasbro relaunched their G.I. JoeG.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
franchise with G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero it was supported by a Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
series. The comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
history of G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
: A Real American Hero has seen three separate publishers and four main-title series, all of which have been based on the Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
toy line of the same name. The first series was produced by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
between 1982 and 1994, running for 155 issues and spawning several spin-off titles throughout the course of its run; the second and third series, published by Devil's Due Productions from 2001 to 2008, totaled 80 issues and included several spin-off titles as well. The fourth series has been published by IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
since October 2008, and various spin-off titles as well.
Action Stars Cereal
In 1985, a cereal based on G.I. Joe was released called Action Stars Cereal. There were multiple variations of the cereal box, each featuring a different character from the G.I. Joe collection drawn in an action pose. Among the characters pictured were Duke, Gung-Ho, Shipwreck and Quick Kick. The cereal itself was a collection of oat / grain pieces shaped like hollowed-out stars. The cereal was said to have tasted like Cap'n Crunch.A television commercial for the cereal depicted a boy making his way to a bowl of cereal led by the character Duke. After eating the cereal, the boy flies into the air following another G.I. Joe character named Starduster. Of interesting note to G.I. Joe fans and collectors, this was the only time that the action-figure Starduster appeared in animated form. He was never part of the cartoon television series. Starduster was also featured in three out-of-continuity mini-comics packaged in Action Stars cereal.
Legacy
In 1989, the last wish of a West Virginia boy dying from brain cancer was to be a "G.I. Joe" for a day.See also
- Action figureAction figureAn action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
- Action ForceAction ForceAction Force was a 1980s range of European action figures initially based on Action Man, and later used to introduce G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toys to European markets...
- Cobra Command
- G.I. Joe TeamG.I. Joe TeamG.I. Joe is the code name of an elite covert special forces unit operating under the control of the United States Military in the fictional G.I. Joe universe....
- List of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero characters
- List of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero playsets
- List of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vehicles
External links
- Official website
- G.I. Joe at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- G.I. Joe at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...