A true American hero – reinterpreted

Gary Collinson relives his childhood with Hasbro’s GI Joe’s Classified Series…

In 1964, the company introduced young boys everywhere to the concept of the “action figure” with its groundbreaking 12-inch military-themed dolls; two decades later, the 3.75-inch A true American hero Relaunch proved to be equally influential and was the successor to Kenner’s groundbreaking war of stars line with improved articulation, accessory packs and a hit Saturday morning animated series and Marvel comic series to complement it; and now, after another scale change, Hasbro’s iconic GI Joe – The Movie The brand celebrates its 60th anniversary amidst perhaps the best incarnation of the IP in the 6-inch GI Joe: Secret Series.

Since I come from the UK, my entry into the GI Joe – The Movie Brand came in the early to mid 1980s when the figures were introduced in the British Combat Force Comic and invade the shelves of Palitoys Original Action force Cardbacks. This would quickly lead to a complete Hasbro relaunch of US characters and cartoon series across Europe under the name. Action force Brand, by this time I was already hooked. Soon my beloved X-Wing, AT-AT and Ewok Village had to make way for a Skystriker, Cobra Stinger and a transportable tactical combat platform, and while I experimented with other toy lines over the next few years, Action force / GI Joe – The Movie remained my main collection and my favorite action figures for the rest of my gaming days (and frustratingly, not a single accessory made it into adulthood).

The brief for Hasbro’s GI Joe Classified series was to give our beloved heroes and villains of the 1980s a modern, updated spin, but still containing enough of the Real American Hero mood to pluck the strings of nostalgia for those adult fans and collectors who long for the carefree days of GI Joe versus Cobra, the enemy. Although I am on the GI Joe – The Movie toy line some three decades earlier (after digging through the YoJoe! archives, I believe 1989’s Snake Eyes V3 may have been my last “new” figure before I gave up as the brand drifted into increasingly outlandish designs and got lost in a sea of ​​sub-teams), my affection for the ’80s figures was enough to pique my interest in this new 6-inch line, and so with the line’s launch in 2020, I picked up my first GI Joe – The Movie Figures in over 30 years.

My reaction to the first wave of Classified Series figures was a bit mixed; sure, it was great to have Joes back in hand (or in the box, as they still were at the time), and the figures themselves seemed to be of excellent quality in terms of detail, sculpting, and articulation, with a decent selection of weapons and accessories. While I was impressed with Snake Eyes and Destro in particular, some of the design choices for Scarlett, Duke, and Roadblock were a bit too “modern” for my tastes – a trend that seemed to continue with the already announced upcoming figures in the line. And so, with a mental note to grab a few of my favorite figures when they eventually come out, my first GI Joe – The Movie The figures I had purchased as an adult collector went into storage, and I soon forgot all thoughts of switching fully to the Classified Series.

Let’s fast forward about a year and browse through a small selection of Snake Eyes: The Origins of GI Joe While browsing action figures at a local toy store, I came across two figures from the eighth wave of the Classified Series – Storm Shadow and Cobra Officer – two absolute childhood favorites, gorgeous 6″ scale sculpts complete with all the weapons and accessories you could want. Not only were they instant buys, they were instant opens (as an adult collector, I don’t take a figure out of the box lightly) and with an incredible Storm Shadow figure in hand, it was naturally time to get Snake Eyes and the rest of the first wave out of storage. And sure enough, after joyfully releasing them from their plastic prisons like a child on Christmas morning 1986, my thoughts quickly turned to finding new recruits for my Joe and Cobra lines.

Catching up on Classified Series releases since those early waves, two things are evident: First, Hasbro has obviously listened to fan feedback, with many of the newer figures being redesigned into the traditional ARAH looks and character quirks rather than the modern style we’ve seen on figures like Duke and Scarlett (some of the early releases have since been re-released in repainted/remastered versions on “retro cardbacks” that replicate 80’s packaging); and secondly, the Classified Series design team not only knows their target audience, but clearly shares the same love and reverence for the brand. So the Classified Series has quickly evolved into an incredible line that just oozes nostalgia, and when Hasbro kindly offered to send a few Classified Series figures to Flickering Myth, I was quick to leverage my rank and jump at the opportunity with a shout of “Yo Joe!”

First up we have the Action Soldier (Infantry), a deluxe figure released this year along with the Action Sailor (Recon Diver) as part of the line’s 60th anniversary celebrations, appropriately shifting the focus away from A true American hero to honor the original 12-inch GI Joe action figures that first hit shelves in 1964 (we can probably expect the Action Pilot, the Action Marine—and maybe even an Action Nurse?—before the anniversary year).

If, like me, you were always particularly excited when a new figure came with accessories as a kid, you’ll be in your element with these 60th anniversary releases, as Hasbro has pulled out all the stops to make sure the Action Soldier has all the necessary gear and weapons he needs to fight for freedom wherever there’s trouble. Along with a fabric poncho, hood, helmet, backpack, walkie-talkie, hood, dog tags, and tactical vest with removable and interchangeable pouches, the Action Soldier comes with a pistol, double-barreled assault rifle, and LMG, as well as an M2 Browning heavy machine gun to provide plenty of firepower to take on the Roadblock-style Cobras.

It’s a good looking figure in its own right, but the wealth of accessories and variety of possible looks (the 60th Anniversary figures also come with interchangeable heads and hands to switch between black and white skin) means that the Action Soldier represents a great opportunity for army builders to mix and match the ranks of their GI Joe “greenshirts.” Whether you want to support Dusty and company on those dangerous desert missions against Cobra, expand the loadout of your other Joes, or just add a cool looking infantryman to diorama backgrounds, the Action Soldier is a recruited addition to your team.

In fact, new recruits are needed, as Cobra is bringing in the Cobra HISS Techno-Viper & HMS (HEETSEEK MISSILE SYSTEM), a modern 6-inch version of the classic 3.75-inch Cobra SMS (which itself was a repaint of the Joes’ MMS Mobile Missile System, which was used in the very first A true American hero wave of figures, vehicles and accessories from 1982 onwards). Complete with a Classified Series Techno-Viper repaint to match the “Cobra HISS” color scheme, the HMS is essentially a big piece of black plastic with wheels on either side and big red plastic missiles on top. If you haven’t already stopped reading this to place your order, then I can assure you that it is as awesome as it sounds.

Of course, “big hunk of black plastic” doesn’t do the HMS justice, as it’s solidly built, sturdy, and very detailed, serving primarily as a towable extension for HasLab’s 2022 Cobra HISS set. The designers did a great job of recreating the original missile system from the 3.75″ range, and the launcher looks enlarged in proportion to the figures (if I’m not mistaken after all these years), making it an impressive standalone playset/centerpiece for those of us who missed out on the HISS (the upcoming Cobra Stinger will no doubt be a nice alternative). But honestly… there’s such a strong nostalgia to these big red plastic missiles that I can even forgive the lack of explosion effects and just make the sounds myself.

As I said before, I never imagined going “all-in” on GI Joe Classified when the first wave arrived in 2020, but I’m certainly glad I decided to browse through these Snake-eyes otherwise I would have missed out on this fantastic range of action figures that really took me back thirty years. With the Action Soldier, Techno-Viper and HMS now joining the ranks of my growing Joe and Cobra forces, I want to encourage anyone with fond childhood memories of GI Joe – The Movie It’s worth checking out the Classified Series if you haven’t already; it’s gone from strength to strength over the last few years, and with around 150 figures available from OG Joes to sub-teams like Tiger Force, Night Force, Python Patrol, and Mad Marauders (not to mention a number of highly anticipated fan-favorite releases coming soon or yet to come), there’s bound to be at least one or two (or five, or ten…) that will make you feel like that kid again at Christmas.

Are you a GI Joe – Classified Series Collector? Were you a fan of the figures back in the day? Be sure to let us know on our social media @FlickeringMyth…

Many thanks to Hasbro Pulse for kindly providing us with the Action Soldier (Infantry) and Cobra HISS Techno-Viper and HMS (HEETSEEK MISSILE SYSTEM) figures for this article. The other figures and accessories in the photos are from my personal collection.