1987 was the swam song of my childhood collecting days. I only bought a couple of figures in early 1988 before "growing up" and moving on with other parts of my life. My younger brothers, though, still bought Joes. And, slowly, they acquired most of the 1988 basic figure line. When they brought home a new figure, I'd check it out. And, in many cases, I found the new assortment of characters to be the type of figure I'd have simply loved were I still playing with toys. Among the figures my younger brother acquired was the 1988 Iron Grenadier.
Upon his entry into our home, I found the Iron Grenadier fascinating. First, I loved the name. It conveyed strength and ability. Second, the figure was amazing. He looked like the a cross between the original Cobra Trooper and the later Cobra Viper. Third, his Uzi was the type of weapon I always wanted Snake Eyes' Uzi to be. It was bigger and bulkier and just seemed more substantial than the original version of the weapon. Fourth, the figure's colors were great. Black wasn't a common Cobra color for figures. So, seeing it on a trooper was really different from the other figures that had been the staples of my childhood. Finally, the figure included a sword. Sure, it was kind of ornamental. But, it was like the swords that Cylon Warriors from BattleStar Galactica had used. They made no sense at all. But, the mere presence of the sword was a cool visual and a constant reminder of quick death by a sharp blade.
I felt that the details on the figure were just excellent. They implied a ton of great uses. The figure had the cool helmet and accessories. But, he had a gas mask covering his face. So, I could use the Iron Grenadier as an elite guard for Cobra's leadership. Or, I could use him as a standard field commando who was better equipped than most of the Joes of that time. So, he was an upgrade from the final Cobras who comprised my childhood collection.
During the rare occasion that I was home alone and could actually get my Joes out for one "final" battle, I'd use my brother's Iron Grenadier. Usually, he was among the last survivors and had often taken out more than one Joe. His newness afforded him this opportunity. But, the overall quality of his mold pushed him over the top. Really, though, I never felt like the adventures I created for the figure could live up to the coolness of the mold. So, he ended up being a figure I'd appreciate from a visual perspective. Though, had he been released in 1986, he's probably have been the backbone of my Cobra army. I was just too old to really get the figure into the down and dirty adventures that cemented earlier figures as my favorites.
In the early 2000's, I had quite the Iron Grenadier army. He was, for a time, the most common figure in my collection. This wasn't due to anything other than the dynamics of the time, though. I was among the few collectors who bought lots of 1988 and 1989 figures. And, those lots always included an Iron Grenadier because even the army building sensitive collectors of the era wouldn't remove him from a collection to sell on his own. So, just through acquisitions of bulk lots, I ended up with nearly a dozen Iron Grenadiers. But, I really didn't do anything with them. So, during my purge of the early 2010's, I sold off all but a lone Iron Grenadier. And, while I have many regrets over the figures I liquidated at the time, the Iron Grenadier is not one of them. I took one photo of them in 2000. They didn't come out again until one photo shoot in 2007. And, then, they don't appear again in any of my photos until I dusted one off for a shoot in 2023. The figures just didn't matter to me and I didn't use them at all. So, I'm glad someone else is able to enjoy that early army I had acquired.
One of the things that plagues all long running IPs is bloat. In order to keep things fresh, new concepts and characters have to be constantly added. Over time, the IP becomes too large to manage. And, you have to retcon certain aspects. Or, just outright ignore significant events that occurred in the past. That's how I view Iron Grenadiers. While I enjoyed their introduction in the comic, there really wasn't any place for them to go. Destro didn't work as a third faction in the story. Him seeing himself as Cobra Commander's equal or better was a more interesting place to keep him. But, eventually, the second in command has to make a play for leadership. And, that's a fun story for a time. In the real world, people like are killed. In fiction, you don't waste a valuable character. So, you figure out a way to put them back into their standard place and start all over again.
This is where Joe found itself in the 1990's. Hasbro started the decade with a slew of new characters and excellent toys. But, by the following year, they were bringing back classic characters. In the comic, the story was "getting the band back together" and heading towards a consolidation. The upside is that kids of the '90's got to enjoy classic characters that were still appearing in old cartoon re-runs to go along with the new life that Hasbro was still breathing into the line. The lost years are 1988 and, to a lesser extent, 1989. Those figures and characters don't have the zealous following of the prior years and have not really found the later life that many of the brighter figures from the '90's have found as youngsters of that era have grown into adult collectors.
So, the shelf life of the Iron Grenadier is short. And, in reality, it was. Hasbro released the bulk of their faction's items in 1988 with some updated toys in 1989. There were a couple of figures in 1990. But, then, the concept didn't really appear again. Destro was brought back into the Cobra fold with his 1992 release and the Iron Grenadiers didn't show up until the early 2000's when Hasbro was mining the vintage line for any character they could find. The entire idea of Destro being an army unto himself may have been re-examined in more modern fiction. But, as I've grown to find the character of Destro to be overly problematic (there is no noble villain), my interest in Iron Grenadiers as whole has fallen away.
I do think that part of the reason for the relative short time that Iron Grenadiers appeared in the line was due to timing. There was no cartoon in 1988. So, there was no cross sell among kids of the day to get them interested in the toys. Instead, kids of that era were treated to re-runs of the original series. So, they are more likely to see Destro as a Cobra instead of this weird third faction that appeared on retail shelves. The Iron Grenadiers as a concept were also meant to be a foil to BattleForce 2000. Both had futuristic designs for their vehicles. But, this idea was never fleshed out and it's difficult to even find relics of their past alignment among the toys that were released. BattleForce 2000 fizzled as a concept, too. Had there been a new cartoon in 1988 that focused on their antagonistic dynamic, the two sub teams would likely have near fanatical support among a group of fans who aged during their heyday. Instead, we're left with some cool toys that don't really fit with the overall theme of G.I. Joe vs. Cobra.
In general, 1988 figures are pretty common. Hasbro expected big things from the G.I. Joe Movie. But, that didn't work out. I've never been sure if my perception of the fate of 1988 figures was based on the fact that I happened to age out right when the movie failed. But, in 1990, I could still find the entire 1988 Joe line at Kohl's stores around my city. They had given up on Joe after 1989, likely due to the massive unsold stock that lined their shelves. So, this has always left me thinking that Joe got a lot less popular starting in 1988. But, a focus shift away from the core along with the end of the syndicated cartoon series both also contribute to my feeling this way. As my local hobby shops still had pegs full of 1986 Joes on their shelves as late as 1988, I do think that my perception is just related to the kismet of me happening to age out of Joe right as the other things were happening.
The Iron Grenadier mold was used just twice. The first was for this Iron Grenadier. It was then sent down to Brazil and released in nearly identical colors as Terrork. Terrork is a great name. Even if the figure, itself, is just the standard Iron Grenadier. The club wanted the mold for the 2005 convention set. But, they didn't find it. (Hasbro had it since Terrork's Brazilian contemporaries were all under Hasbro control at the time.) They resculpted a new head to resemble the 1988 figure's and put it on a new body. Around 2017, or so, a new factory custom maker named Letal Toys produced an Iron Grenadier mold. The first wave included a green, tan, white and crimson versions. Later, a light blue convention exclusive was released. There were many more planned waves that included a Cobra Blue version and a classically colored version with more paint applications. But, there were some mold shenanigans at the factory and no further Iron Grenadier factory customs were produced. Black Major did resurrect the Uzi from the figure and included it with his Worms figures around 2020. There's lots of life left in the mold. And, a factory custom maker could make a go of it with the Iron Grenadier as his base. But, those days are probably past.
Iron Grenadiers remain pretty easy to find. It's tougher to find figures with perfect gold these days. But, even that is doable as long as you're prepared to pay a premium. High quality figures tend to run between $20 and $25, now. Dealers will sell an appalling amount for $35, though. There are bargains to be had, if you're willing to sacrifice the pistol and some of the gold paint. But, the days of getting a few of them for three or four bucks each are long gone. I don't think I'd pay a premium for this figure. He was never important enough to me to justify a high price. But, I also have a figure left over from my army building days. So, I don't have to make a decision on a more expensive purchase.
