1991 Super Sonic Fighter Road Pig

First off, I want to make it clear that I hate this figure. I thought Road Pig was a lame figure and character to begin with. To color him in neon and give him a backpack full of lame sounds was one of the worst ideas Hasbro ever had. That's saying something.

Why, then, would I profile this figure here? The simple answer is that I scanned him in and had the picture available. The better answer is that, while I personally hate this figure, many people like the Road Pig character. Personally, after the original three Dreadnoks, I thought the idea was stale. On the bright side, though, Road Pig was the one new Dreadnok who had some individuality. Rather than being just a carbon copy of the others like Thrasher, Zanzibar, and Monkeywrench were, Road Pig had some characterization to him. Larry Hama, the one who created many of the personalities of the Joe characters, once said that Road Pig was one of the new characters he was most looking forward to. I think this is why Road Pig stands out as the one later Dreadnok who has some popularity. It also explains why many people still like the character, if not the figure.

The other issue here, besides, the character, is the Super Sonic Fighters crap. Why did this sound like a good idea? The bad thing is that the line actually had some very cool figures that were a part of it. I really like the Psyche Out and Falcon figures. The Dial Tone and the Viper were also pretty cool. This line, though, marked the beginning of Hasbro's neon fascination. I will admit that I like many of the neon paint jobs in other sub sets. I think the Eco Warriors and many of the Star Brigade figures that were done in neon are some of the best figures in the line. However, neon has no place in the rank and file world. Science fiction characters should wear neon. Soldiers who are trying to blend into the forest should not. The fact that this Road Pig is so grossly miscolored only makes me hate it even more. I would even go so far to say that this figure is the worst of the entire line. He even beats out immortals like Raptor and Big Boa.

Of course, I'm being overly critical of this figure. The real reason it's featured here is because this figure gets no press. Many people refer to the original Road Pig, but never even acknowledge this figure's existence. Because of its awful color scheme, and low sales, you don't see this figure featured for sale very often. He is very easy, though, to pick up in lots of figures and he is often found still on the card. Overall, I still hate this figure. I just have no use for him. I do, though, understand the character's popularity with Joe fans. Hell, if he weren't a popular character, he would never have had a second or (planned!) third version of him made.