It's really difficult to comprehend just how innovative the original Joe line was as a retail product. It's not just the quality of the toys that stands out. But, the manner in which the design team packaged and priced the toys was nothing short of novel. One of the most compelling innovations was the inclusion of exclusive vehicle drivers in their vehicles. I'm not sure if G.I. Joe was the first brand to do such a thing. But, Kenner had not done it for Star Wars...instead opting to sell all figures individually. Hasbro, though, created a slew of exclusive figures to operate their vehicles. And, if you wanted Hawk, Grand Slam, Steeler or Clutch, you had to buy a vehicle to get them. While the figures shared parts with carded figures it was Steeler and Clutch who featured original chest pieces that were not available anywhere other than on the vehicle drivers.
My affinity for Clutch began on the very first day that I saw a G.I. Joe figure in hand. It was my younger brother's birthday in October of 1982. On that day, he got an amazing amount of figures and vehicles...including some doubles. On that day, I learned that Joe gear was compatible across figures. And, very quickly, I took Grunt's backpack, Stalker's gun and a visor from, probably, Grand Slam and gave it all to Clutch. I now had the ultimate figure. I used this supercharged Clutch as my go-to figure for several weeks. Finally, at Christmas, I opened my very own VAMP that was under the tree and I had a Clutch to call my own.
That figure, though, didn't last too long. Not because of breakage. But, because Return of the Jedi toys appeared in the spring of 1983. Joe was dropped in favor of my long running Star War obsession. In July of 1983, though, I discovered the new addition of swivel arm battle grip. This opened a whole new world to me. And, with that one little change, Star Wars was forever second fiddle to Joe in our house. But, this also meant that any straight armed Joes were relegated to a junk box. But, this didn't really hold true for Clutch. Since he was a vehicle driver, I could still make him work as the driver of the VAMP. So, he was the only straight arm to remain viable. In fact, he still got use as late as 1987 as my childhood Joe days ended.
One thing I didn't have, though, was a swivel arm Clutch. If you read my first write up on this guy from January of 2000, I note that I still didn't have a swivel arm Clutch. In all my acquisitions of the late 1990's, a swivel Clutch was never among the scores of other original 13 figures I acquired. It was not until 2004 that one came my way. At the time, I had joined a start up company. There were just two of us. We were squatting in some office space of my boss's old colleague. As part of our agreement, I'd help out their IT guy with some issues. He was my age and we shared many interests. He had a Star Wars figure in his office and it opened up conversations about toys we still had. One day, he brought in a bag full of G.I. Joe figures and playsets. He wanted to raise a bit of cash. So, I sold most of them for him on JoeCustoms.com. In this baggie was a near perfect swivel arm Clutch. I told him I was interested in it and would buy it from him. He set it aside as I awaited some money from items I was also selling. When, the money for his items arrived, though, he gifted me the Clutch for helping him sell the other parts. It is the very Clutch you see in the photos below and the only one I still own today.
When I examine why G.I. Joe toys matter so much to me, it is stories like this stand out. The toys are a pneumonic device for me to recall events of my life. I have great recall from my childhood. A big part of that is because I'm able to associate memories with Joe toys. For other people, it may be music, TV or other pop culture influences that remind them of bygone days. For me, it's G.I. Joe toys. Those memories also extend into my adulthood. I don't remember sitting in that hot server room with a wire storage rack on the back wall because the networking error of the day was so compelling. I remember it because my friend and I would talk about old toys, cartoons and comic books. I used to get Amazon deliveries at the office. (Amazon sold inventory for Toys R Us, back then.) With each box, we'd look at the items and recall childhood memories from the various repainted figures. That was over 20 years ago. But, the memories are vivid because of their association with Joe and Star Wars.
Among my childhood friend group, Clutch was the most memorable character. I have a friend who can still recite the final stanza of Clutch's filecard. It was that impactful. Clutch's popularity was a function of him being the driver of the most popular and coolest vehicle from 1982, the most distinctive figure and a really fun character from the comic. Clutch is also the closest of the vintage figures to the iconic "G.I. Joe" from the '60's. The bearded head was an obvious homage to the guy who started it all. But, Clutch's black hair really cemented the tribute to the line's origins.
Aside from his uniquely sculpted torso, Clutch also features some extra color on his chest. 7 of the original 13 figures featured three colors on their torso. Clutch was one. Aside from the black holster and green base, Clutch also has brown padding near his shoulders and protecting the zipper on his jacket. It adds a nice layer of depth to Clutch's appearance and helps him stand out from his peers. The color also accentuates Clutch's collar. Most of the original Joes were wearing slight turtlenecks. Clutch appears to be wearing a hoodie: just without the hood on the back. It raises up to and you can see it protecting his neck since the VAMP doesn't have a windshield.
Clutch is criminally underutilized. He and Steeler feature the least used chest pieces of the original 13 figures. Clutch was released in his original form in 1982 with the swivel arm update coming in 1983. While he was originally only packaged with the VAMP, Clutch would become a mail away in later years. Hasbro repainted him in tan as the driver of the VAMP Mark II in 1984. And, then, the mold was done as far as Hasbro was concerned. While the VAMP travelled all over the world for exclusive uses in Europe, Japan, Mexico, Brazil and India, Clutch didn't really travel with it. A Tan Clutch was included with the Takara VAMP. But, there was no exclusive Clutch to accompany the South American or European VAMP releases. In the 1990's, Clutch did appear in India, though. He is one of the most obscure figures to get a full Funskool release. But, he and Hawk are also the only Funskool characters to be exclusive to vehicle releases. (All other Funskool vehicle drivers were random figures inserted into the box and not meant to be specific to their vehicle.) There are tons of Funskool Clutch variants. Some are great and others are pretty close to the Hasbro figure. Clutch didn't appear after his early Funskool years, though.
This left Clutch as a forgotten mold. And, as I'd argue that his chest piece was the best of the original figures, that seemed a shame. For years, customizers used Clutch's chest to great effect on original designs for both Joes and Cobras. It was not until 2018, though, that Clutch's chest would finally reappear. Red Laser Army recreated the piece and used it on a variety of figures. In some ways, the uses didn't create great figures. But, in other ways, we finally got some variety that showed the piece's potential. What we didn't get, though, was a Clutch to match all the various VAMP colors that are available. You could have credibly created half a dozen Clutch repaints before even stealing his chest for other characters. (Like a repainted General using his torso to match up with Hawk's appearance in G.I. Joe #16.) Not getting a Clutch is an omission that couldn't get corrected as Red Laser lost the molds after the 2018 series and wasn't able to continue his work.
As original 13 figures go, Clutch is surprisingly affordable. High quality loose figures can be had for under $15. And, mint and complete with filecard figures sell for around $25. Clutch not having a visor or exclusive weapon really helps keep the price down. And, the ubiquity of the figure shows just how many VAMPs Hasbro produced in the line's infancy. The production numbers that show the volume of vehicles versus carded figures for at least the 1982 line is out there, somewhere. It would be interesting to see how Clutch's production numbers compare to, say, Stalker or Scarlett. But, for a major character who didn't get an iconic sculpting upgrade for a decade, it's surprising to see Clutch remain an acquirable piece for any collection.
