GI Joe Toys

The GI Joes Scarred Cobra Officer and the Cobra Elite Trooper comic pack bring an interesting perspective to the Cobra enemy force. These two action figures represent the multitudes of troops that serve the Cobra Commander.

This particular comic pack is one of my more favored that I have purchased so far. I enjoyed the comic A Day in the Life of Springfield very much as it brought a bit of understanding to how a massive and evil organization would function in our every day society without law-abiding Americans catching on. They blend into our people and culture and manage to keep their forces ready for action at all times.

This GI Joes comic book features many of the Cobra upper ranks to include Cobra Commander, Destro, the Baroness and Zartan. It is also the story of the origin of the crazy Dr. Mindbender. This is a good read for you folks that like to know the story behind the GI Joes action figures; which I do.

GI Joes Action Figure - Scarred Cobra Officer

The Cobra Officer are the low level leadership amongst the ranks of the paramilitary organization. These officers do many day-to-day tasks like training troops, administrative duties, driving the Cobra Commander and the leadership around as well as security, fighting GI Joes and a slew of other necessary tasks to keep the bowels of the Cobra organization running smoothly.

A closer look at this particular GI Joes action figure will show his scarred face as notated in the title of his name. Pardon the blurriness of my photo as I’m still learning to use the digital camera and focus isn’t something I’ve caught onto yet. But, I will.

This scarred face is evidence of a very tough past. Who know where this fella could have come from. Maybe he was a mercenary or a criminal of some kind before joining Cobra.

GI Joes Action Figure – Cobra Elite Trooper

These are very interesting characters as they have quite the education and history. These troopers are also known as the Crimson Guard as the red uniform denotes. They are very educated, commonly in accounting and/or law. They hail from all over the world and their backgrounds before Cobra are highly classified.

The strange part about the guys is that they undergo a plastic surgery so that their features can match exactly to one another. They are all known as “Fred” after that to disguise their identity. Then it gets very interesting. After recovering from the surgery, they are dispatched all over the world to live in new cities and take on new lives. They are expected to blend in and become valued member of the community to fool the GI Joes team and the rest of the world.

Thoughts About These GI Joes Action Figures

I really like both of these GI Joes. I think the detail and design is excellent and I have few complaints. All of the accessories are very cool and detailed nicely, especially the Crimson Guard’s rifle; which is obviously an M1 carbine rifle. Very cool.

The only complaint that I think I can lodge is about the Crimson Guard. He suffers, like many of the other 25th anniversary GI Joes, from the skinny leg syndrome. I guess it is proportionate more or less, but I feel like a bit of muscular detail should be added. The Cobra Officer looks fine, but he does have those cargo pants on with the large pockets making the legs look a bit stockier. Anyway, this complaint is very minor.

Great job on these GI Joes action figures Hasbro!

Tags: GI Joes Comic Book, Gi Joe Toys Action Figures by Cole
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The Destro vs. Cpl. Breaker comic pack is a good one simply because it features one of my favorite bad guys, Destro, and one of the original GI Joes, the famous Cpl. Breaker.

In the included comic “Destro Attacks”, Destro’s name is revealed for the first time after his first glimpse in issues #11 and #13. This is also where he first shows his silver-masked head.

Another awesome addition to this comic, is Ace, the top gun pilot makes his debut.

This Destro GI Joes action figure is not a bad one, but definitely not my favorite job that I think could have been done on Destro. His legs are a bit scrawny and he stands awkwardly it seems to me. I don’t know if scrawny legs are the norm for this new 25th edition GI Joes line or what, but I’m not liking it. Maybe it will grow on me.

I do like his torso and his silver head. Both of these parts were done in great detail and look pretty good. His arms demonstrate a bit of muscle as any weapons dealer oughta have if he wants to be able to survive in the trade. You have to stay in shape to show that you’re no pushover. Right?

Just to take you back a bit, the original Destro was released in 1983. Also, if you are lucky enough to own a mint condition Destro still in the sealed package, it can be worth about $300. A loose Destro goes from around $12 to $15. Mine old Destro is buried in a dirt hill around Midland, TX somewhere most likely. /p>

I do like the GI Joes Cpl. Breaker action figure to some extent, but as usual, I do have a few quirks that I would like to see fixed. Or maybe someone out there in the World Wide Web has an idea or two to make him a bit better.

Cpl. Breaker will not hang on to his pistol. What kind of commo man can’t keep a grip on his sidearm? The pistol will not stay in his grip and any nudge will knock it loose. I hate to glue it in place because I like to change things around every now and then. Maybe I’ll want his pistol in the holster one day and gripped in his hand the next.

A couple more things that I believe need to be tweaked with Breaker is his beard. It was originally very dark. The GI Joes 25th version can barely be seen. And, last but not least, the bubble gum, or I think that’s what that is. I guess you stick it on the end of the mic boom.

All in all, I do like Cpl. Breaker. He does remind me of my younger days. I had him along with Flash and a few of the other originals. Man what I’d do to have those back!

I haven’t read the comic yet to be honest. I wonder why they pitted these two in the same comic pack, anyone? They are definitely from different eras as far as the originals go. I guess I’ll just have to read.

Tags: GI Joes Comic Book, Gi Joe Toys Action Figures by Cole
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I just finished reading the GI Joes comic Security Shield, the Shipwreck vs. Copperhead comic book that comes with the Shipwreck and Copperhead comic pack. It was a pretty good read. I always liked the Shipwreck character although I have limited experience with the Navy types aside from my granddad who was a WWII Navy man stationed aboard the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier.

This is one of the great GI Joes battles at sea that puts Shipwreck up against Copperhead. There are some great hand-to-hand scenes in all the comic style glory that you can imagine. Up in the skies above the USS Flagg, Ace wards off the Cobra aerial assault. The comic features some other Joe appearances that you will just have to read to find out. How about that for a sales pitch?

“Shipwreck” or Hector X. Delgado is from Chula Vista, CA. His primary military specialty is a gunners mate and his secondary specialty is a machinist. His hardest tour of duty was along the Mekong Delta where hand-to-hand fighting with river pirates was a daily routine. This is one tough sonuva….

The Cobra enemy, Copperhead, in this comic pack has a classified name. Don’t they all? His specializes as a swamp vehicle driver. He was born somewhere in the Mediterranean on an island. It is believed that is a native or very familiar with the Florida Everglades. It is believed by intelligence sources that he raced speedboats in Monaco and Japan. It is also believed that he sold his services to Cobra to pay off some gambling debts.

These are two rough cut soldiers that go at it bare knuckled. Of course, the GI Joes always come out victorious. I hope that wasn’t a spoiler for you. But fear not, Cobras never die either. Always the happy ending.

This was a great read and the comic pack GI Joes are very detailed and impressive. I really like Shipwreck and his parrot Polly. This may be bumped up on my favorites list of the new 25th anniversary GI Joes.

Stay tuned for my future project for the GI Joes blog. I intend display my current collection of the 25th Anniversary GI Joes. I don’t have many yet, but the collection is growing. (BTW… I’m on the hunt for the first 25th Anniversary Flint should anyone see one at a good price.)

Once I display my little collection, I will throw together my list of favorites from my collection and my list of overall favorites from the 25th edition. These can always change, so you’ll just have to stay tuned. Subscribe to the RSS.

Tags: GI Joes Comic Book, Gi Joe Toys Action Figures by Cole
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IDW has released the first cover of the upcoming GI Joes comic #0. This particular comic book will be released in October before the ongoing series kicks off in January.

I’m looking for to devoutly reading this series of comic books and that is why I thought I’d throw this bit of news out there. This GI Joe comic book series is looking good.

Tags: GI Joes Comic Book by Cole
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