2005 General Hawk (Comic Pack General Abernathy)

The Comic Packs were an inspired idea that lacked proper execution.  That's a thesis statement that I've held true for 20 years.  Because, yes, the first Comic Packs debuted in the summer of 2004: 20 years ago.  And, this poses the fundamental issue with figures like this Hawk that debuted a year later in 2005.  If you were around upon his release, this figure doesn't feel anywhere near as old as vintage Joes felt back during that time.  So, despite the advanced age of this figure, he still feels new enough that his flaws are accentuated and his attributes are left behind.  So, with fresh eyes, I took a look at this figure because the 1986 Hawk was a childhood staple and this updated look for the Joe general seemed like it should have been a great figure.

One of the issues I have with all Comic Pack figures is the heads.  While I appreciate the attempt to update the heads to better match their comic appearances, the heads didn't quite match up to the bodies of the figures with which they were matched.  The more modern sculpting done on the Comic Pack heads was in too great of a contrast to the figure bodies on which they were placed.  So, you have a hyper detailed, stern Hawk face set against the softer details of a sculpt that was done with technology of 20 years prior.  It's one of the reasons most Comic Pack figures feel just a bit "off" to me.  The early 2000's Hasbro wasn't so much interested in creating a perfectly aligned figure.  They were just about smashing together whatever was good enough to quell backlash and sell some toys to desperate collectors flush with their first real money in their lives.  And, the result are heads that, on their own, look nice.  But, they really stick out when posed among vintage Joes.

And, that's how you get this Hawk.  From afar, this mold amalgamation looks ok.  But, when in hand, many of the limitations become apparent.  The Talking Battle Commander waist and legs are long.  They seem too long for the resculpted 1986 Hawk chest.  (We'll talk about that, later.)  The TBC arms are also too puffy for the torso.  So, the whole figure looks improperly proportioned.  While all Joe parts are interchangeable, they are not always aesthetically compatible.  This Hawk proves that out.  The new head is well detailed...too detailed to match the sculpting appearance of the rest of the figure.  But, the blonde flat top is a great look for Hawk and finally gave collectors a figure that featured Hawk's signature look from the comics.  Hawk also features blue eyes.  There are not many other figures in the line with blue eyes.  But, it's a super subtle detail on the figure that most people will miss.  Beyond that, the colors are nice and the details are painted.  The green and brown are much brighter than those of the original 1986 figure on which this is based.  But, the colors work and do create a stark visual when the figure is photographed.

The biggest issue with the figure, though, is just the overall quality.  Many figures from this era will  have legs that stick out and waists that don't align.  Hawk is a perfect example of this.  It can be difficult to get the figure to stand up on his own just due to the poor materials used for the o-rings and t-hooks.  O-rings from the early 2000's are notoriously breakage prone, even if you never remove the figure from the package.  Some of the wonky legs might be fixed with better o-rings.  But, that seems a lot for a figure like this when you could just get a 1986 figure at the time for about the price of the comic 3 pack.  These Hawks aren't as prone to discoloration as many of his contemporaries.  But, you will see arms and torsos whose coloring doesn't always match.  This was a factory mismatch during production, though, and not later discoloration.  Overall, though, the plastic used in this era was not good and your vintage figures will likely age better than these 2000's releases in the coming years.

In 1997, Hasbro reused the entire 1986 General Hawk mold for release in the A-10.  This well painted figure is fairly obscure.  But, Hasbro had the full mold and made a cool figure with it.  In 2002, the mold was planned for the collector-friendly Wave 1.5.  However, for some reason, Hasbro could not locate the mold, despite it being used just 5 years earlier.  So, instead, the Talking Battle Commander mold was used instead.  That lead Hasbro to, in 2005, resculpt the 1986 Hawk torso.  This was common practice by this time.  But, there was no rhyme or reason to which figures got newly sculpted parts.  Hasbro made new molds for this Hawk, Lady Jaye (despite the mold being used sans issue in 2003), Scrap Iron (whose mold was in use in India at the time) and Mutt: among others.  Missing from this list, though, are fan favorite molds like the V1 Cobra Commander, 1985 Snake Eyes, Shipwreck and even Destro.  I will give Hasbro credit for re-doing the Cobra Trooper, Officer and Crimson Guard.  But, you can't help but wonder why so much of the vintage Joe budget went to remaking 2nd tier characters or molds that were recently used instead of hitting just a couple of the missing classics.  A V1 Cobra Commander could have been repainted 10 times with minimal collector pushback.  Instead, we got the Talking Battle Commander mold (flat back and all!) multiple times.  At least factory customs have finally filled some of those gaping holes.

One item of note is the figure's name.  While I call him General Hawk, the official name is General Abernathy.  Hasbro's name copyrights of the early 2000's were all over the place.  And, the Comic Packs are full of oddball naming conventions where you see some characters released under their original code names, some given additional qualifiers to their old name (Double Clutch) and lots of figures released under the character's file name: like this General Abernathy.  To me, he's just Hawk.  And, that's how most will refer to him.  But, the official name is General Abernathy which is much less of a mouthful than Lonzo R. Wilkinson.

Comic Pack accessories weren't great.  They were too generic to the later figures.  Hawk is no exception.  He includes a newly sculpted M-16 rifle that debuted in 2004.  It's a nicely designed weapon that does work well with many other figures from that era.  And, while, as a kid, I have the 1986 Hawk the M-203 from Leatherneck, I just don't see this M-16 rifle as a good fit for Hawk.  It is nice, though, to have a few extras lying around.  He then includes a pistol that's oversized and has a grip that is so wide it will permanently disfigure Hawk's hands and a knife that, again, is OK even though it's out of character.  Hasbro did sculpt a new helmet for Hawk.  It's skinny and narrow and barely fits over Hawk's hair.  And, on the figure, it makes his head look squished.  It's very soft.  So, it won't rub paint when applied to the figure.  It was a noble attempt.  But, the execution was lacking.

Hawk was released in the first wave of Direct to Consumer sales.  This meant that collectors were initially excited by his release.  But, they quickly moved on and the entire comic pack was available at clearance prices for a long time.  I bought several extras for gear and custom parts because, even after shipping, you were paying under $2 per figure.  You'll find some flattering reviews of this figure from the time.  But, the lack of photography of the figure and it's relative absence among collector usage today is a telling sign that the figure fell pretty flat in the collecting world.  The blonde hair was universally lauded.  But, the rest of the design just didn't resonate.  The figure wasn't an upgrade over the original and simply couldn't overtake the vintage design.

It has long been rumored that there will be an updated 1986 style Hawk figure that will be released by Hasbro at some point as part of their Transformers Cross Over line.  So far, the figures in that line have been disappointing because they tread no new ground and don't really offer cheaper alternatives to now expensive vintage Joe figures.  So, while I'm not really in favor of Hasbro releasing any more o-ring Joes, I will hope that, if the Hawk figure comes to be, that Hasbro takes a cue from this Hawk and finally brings a proper 1986 style Hawk to collectors.  While I'd love a black jacket figure from issue #50 of the comic, I'll take just a 1986 Hawk homage with blonde hair.  That little detail will be enough to make a new Hawk figure worthwhile.  

The 1986 Hawk mold was released by Hasbro in 1986 and 1987.  There is a very rare mail away General Hawk from 1992 or 1993 that includes the golden rifle from the 1991 Cobra Commander.  It's one of the more difficult bagged figures in the line to find.  The entire figure was then released in Brazil and India.  Both the Estrela and Funskool figures are very similar to the Hasbro releases with the Brazilian figure featuring darker green and the more common Funskool versions featuring lighter green.  Hasbro got the mold back and released a repainted figure in 1997.  The full Talking Battle Commander Hawk was released in 2000 and 2002 before the parts were cannibalized for this 2005 Comic Pack figure.  This newly sculpted head and torso, though, never appeared again.  There is an alternate Asian variant of the figure that features a completely green torso.  But, that was the end of this Hawk mold.

All the Comic Pack figures got caught up in the market hype of the pandemic collectible world.  Now, you will still see high prices for individual figures and carded sets just due to incredibly low supply.  Collectors are holding their items, hoping the prices continue to rise.  But, they have not only leveled off, but actively fallen on more common and less desirable items...like this Hawk.  While dealers will still ask $40+ for a loose, complete figure and over $70 for a carded set, the reality is that the figure sits unsold for $20.  Carded sets are worth between $35 and $45.  You can argue over Flint or Hawk being the top figure in the set.  But, really, they're both about the same level of usefulness.  So, don't fall for the dealer hype and overpay for this figure.  In hand, he's kind of disappointing.  For a couple of bucks, that's OK.  But, for dealer prices, you'll feel cheated.