Super Cop - Funskool Exclusive Packaging

In late 2001, a large cache of unknown figures were uncovered in an Indian warehouse.  This included a set of vehicles in a box and a carded figure as well.  This single carded oddball which used parts from the 1986 Hawk, Iceberg and Sgt. Slaughter was named Super Cop.  Almost immediately, collectors enjoyed the figure and were willing to shell out 3 or 4 times the cost of a current Funskool figure to acquire Super Cop.  He was ubiquitous for a time.  But, slowly, he somewhat faded out of memory as collectors moved on.  Once he had been absent for a while, he came back as new collectors discovered both the figure's overall quality and relative scarcity.

When the Super Cop discovery was made, the figure became instantly available in the US.  In short order, you could get them for about $12 or $13 from most US dealers of the day.  But, the stock was limited.  And, while collectors in late 2001 and early 2002 were easily able to get a Super Cop, the figure sold out and became a bit tougher to track down in fairly short order.  Within a decade, you didn't see too many Super Cops for sale.  And, now, they are a rare sight, indeed.  Even with a large number of them in the hands of collectors, they haven't permeated the collecting aftermarket.  This is likely due to the collectors who have them, deciding to keep them.  The figure is odd while also being a near perfect rendition of what it set out to be.

This particular Super Cop was produced on February 14th, 1996.  The card has a 1994 copyright.  So, it's likely that Super Cop was manufactured for at least that duration.  We know that most of the parts that were used for Super Cop were recalled by Hasbro for use in the 1997 G.I. Joe series.  So, Super Cops were not made after those molds were returned to Hasbro.  This release window is long enough that Super Cops should exist in decent numbers.  But, we've also learned that Funskool figures produced in the 1990's have not become commonplace and remain substantially more difficult to track down that their production numbers would suggest.

The main point of interest on Super Cop's card is the unique artwork.  Super Cop looks like he's kind of dancing.  It's a weird pose, but not too far removed from many vintage Joes.  The main difference is the quality.  Funskool's later unique card artwork was less polished than Super Cop.  So, this card better fits with the aesthetic of the time.  You'll note the gun barrel peeking out behind the Cop on the title of the card.  It's an unnecessary, but fun little detail.  Super Cop is also drawn to match the figure parts that were used.  You can see Iceberg's arms and Hawk's legs.  The chest is a little different and isn't a perfect match for the figure parts.  And, Super Cop's head is thinner than Sgt. Slaughter's.  But, Slaughter's head is a perfect look for what Super Cop is supposed to represent.

While the figure's card art pretty closely matches the parts that were used, his weapon does not.  Super Cop features a larger rifle on the card while he only included the tiny Chuckles pistol.  The weapon looks like a cross between the rifle included with the Talking Battle Commander Cobra Commander and the rifle included with Crazylegs.  We know Funskool had the Crazylegs rifle at the time.  And, it was pretty unlikely they had the 1992 Cobra Commander figure.  The figure does, prominently, have a pistol in his chest holster.  So, this is likely the source of the smaller pistol actually being included.  

Another point of note is the smaller bubble space on the card.  This is because Super Cop was actually posed in the bubble.  Instead of just standing like all other Joe figures, he was actually posed so that he was kneeling down.  And, his arms were raised up with the pistol glued into his hand.  This glue wasn't strong and seems to fall out of the hand rather easily.  But, this was a completely new orientation and presentation for a Joe figure.  It was a bit awkward, for sure.  But, it's another thing that makes Super Cop stand apart from his Joe brethren.

One key point of Super Cop's card is that it has no mention of G.I. Joe.  This is the likely reason that the figure was not found sooner than 2001.  With other Funskool promos (like Streethawk), the G.I. Joe name was branded on the card.  So, enterprising sellers in India knew where to market the figures.  Super Cop lacked that Joe connection.  So, it wasn't until people were scouring Indian warehouses, looking for older, more valuable Funskool releases to sell the growing ranks of American dealers that the figure was "discovered".

The cardback features the great little write up that Super Cop is a weapons expert who always gets his man.  It's not much of a characterization.  But, most people are going to use the figure either as a different Sgt. Slaughter or something completely new.  The main tidbit on the cardback is the cross sell for the police jeep and Super Cop bike.  Both of these were available in the 4 vehicle back that also included a Super Cop figure.  The Police Jeep was available into at least 2020 and is one of the few Funskool vehicles that remains affordable today.  Super Cop's bike may have a few variants and has gotten harder to find since it was mostly available in the boxed set.  

This figure cost Rs48 in 1996.  That's about the equivalent of Rs240 today.  Or, a little over $3.00.  During the Funskool import era, figures cost between Rs65 and Rs72 in India.  So, the $4.00 we paid in the US was a substantial markup.  (Especially since US dealers bought the figures for less than retail.)  But, it was still a good deal when you consider shipping and loss during transit.  It also shows how cheaply Joe figures could be made.  It's tough to swallow a $20 price point for new figures when you know that most of that is just a collector tax that falls directly to Hasbro's bottom line.

In the two decades since this figure was discovered, made available and aged out of the collecting community's general conscience, he's gotten super expensive.  Mint and complete figures will run in the hundreds of dollars these days.  (Though, I think $450 is excessive.) and even the cardback will cost you more than $20.  But, Super Cop's short supply from 2001 has caught up with him.  And, it is hard to find a sample.  I'm grateful to have been around and kept my figure from 2001 as I'd otherwise not own him.  It's a great figure, though.  And, it's unfortunate that he's priced out of the reach of many modern collectors.

Supercop (Funskool Exclusive)

A little over a year ago, an online friend of mine sent me an email asking if I had ever heard of a Supercop figure from India and if I had any idea as to what it might be. At the time, I had not heard of the figure. I thought it might be a figure mold from the short lived toy line called Cops in the US. However, as Funskool had made the now infamous Superhero figure, I also hypothesized that it could be something completely different. A few weeks later when the first Supercop figure had its coming out party in the US, I learned that it was the second (and less constraining) suggestion that turned out to be the truth. After the initial furor over the figure died down, though, I realized that Funskool had actually put together something incredibly nice. The Supercop figure, while not really a part of the Joe mythos, has since become a vital part of my collection.

For foreign Joe variation collectors, Supercop is the best of both worlds. Not only does he utilize the parts from several different figure molds to create his amalgamation, all of those parts are also recolored from their original incarnations. The figure uses Sgt. Slaughter's head, Iceberg's arms and Hawk's chest and legs. He is totally recolored in a deep blue hue with white and gold accents. The end result is a figure that looks like a cross between the stereotypical small town sheriff you see in movies and an MP. It truly is a perfect blend of figure parts and colors that creates a figure whose purpose is immediately deductible from his appearance.

Based on the card markings, it appears that the Supercop figure first appeared around 1994. How long he was in production is really not known. However, all of his parts save the head were returned to Hasbro in 1997 and used to create the 15th Anniversary figures from that year. As such, the longest this figure could have been in production was for about 3 or so years. Aside from this carded version, though, Supercop was also available with the Super Cop Rescue Squad. This is a set of 4 recolored vehicles (Devilfish, Fang, Vamp, and Silver Mirage Motorcycle) to look like police vehicles. Like the carded figure, this set was widely imported in 2001. From this variety of sources, though, have arisen several variations in the Super Cop figure. Most of them are colorations and they are relatively minor. There has also been a waist piece variation as well. I would suggest you visit TNT's Web Camp. It is an excellent resource for both foreign and domestic Joe figure variations.

11/1/02 Addendum

The following information on SuperCop variations is courtesy of Ron Conner from TNT's Web Camp. So far, there are four versions of the SuperCop figure that he has confirmed. They are as follows:

* dark blue outfit - Flint waist - unknown upper arms (found carded) * dark blue outfit - Flint waist - Hawk upper arms (found in the box)

* dark blue outfit - Hawk waist - Hawk upper arms (found in the box)

* very dark bluish black outfit - Hawk waist - Hawk upper arms (found in the box)   The 5th version is picture on the box, but it might just be Funskool's prototype/mock-up. So there are no confirmed sightings of one in collections....yet.

* dark blue outfit - Scrap Iron waist - Hawk upper arms (found pictured on the box).   I would like to extend a bit thanks to Ron for the work he has done cataloging Funskool variations and for sharing that information so freely.

In my collection, Super Cop is a long running character. when I was a child, I once took apart my Dial Tone and Mainframe figures. I then gave Dial Tone Mainframe's chest and had him be a new character. (While some of my ideas were complex, others were horribly uninspired.) I used this figure most often as a security commander who was in charge of criminal investigations. He lead my two normal Dial Tone figures who were the security troopers. This purpose stuck to the figure and when I first returned to Joe collecting in the mid - '90's, I found this figure and once again used him in this capacity. I even went to far as to give him a Chuckles' holster in which he kept a Tiger Force Flint's shotgun. (As an interesting aside, the figure also includes a version of Chuckles' handgun.) This was his trademark. I named the figure Captain Farkus and had him be a tough as nails law enforcement officer who was sent on the most dangerous assignments.

Shortly after I moved that figure to Arizona, though, his O-ring broke. While hardly a catastrophic occurrence, it was enough for me to relegate the character to a lesser role. I had become disenfranchised with the look of that old figure and wanted something new. As per my M.O., I waited it out and kind of forgot about the character. However, the minute I saw Super Cop, I knew that Captain Farkus had returned. The look of the Super Cop figure was exactly what I was looking for in a Captain Farkus figure.

As soon as I opened my Super Cop figure, I attached the holster with the shotgun still in it and Captain Farkus returned to my collection. Now, he spends his time tracking down characters like those portrayed by the Funskool Red Dog and Funskool Cross Country figures. It is great fun and allows for some great expansion upon the traditional G.I. Joe themes. I think this is why I enjoy non-traditional figures like this guy so much. He allows me to expand my Joe world with traditionally produced figures that are not bogged down in "canonical" background stories.

While Supercop figures are not really that hard to find, they are also not that common. A great deal of them was imported to the U.S. in 2001. However, prior to that, this figure was pretty much unknown. As such, in the grand scheme of things, I think this figure will become relatively hard to find. Right now, though, he is still readily available for under $15 for a MOC specimen. As there is some serious bias against Funskool figures, though, I don't ever see this guy becoming a key to any collection. He is a great addition to any collection and is a figure I highly recommend. I know that others have no use for a figure like this, but I have found him to be very nice. Should an opportunity to add this figure to your collection arise, I would highly suggest that you seriously consider adding Super Cop to your collection.

If you have any questions, or comments, email me.