1993 Mutt

Hasbro originally planned for the DEF sub series to carry over into 1993.  It was going to include several newly sculpted characters as well as some repaints of the 1992 series.  For some reason, though, the DEF concept was retired and the figures who were planned for the subset were released under the standard Battle Corps umbrella.  This was a likely function of the 1992 figures not being strong sellers (they had a much higher retail price point) and 1993 already having 3 other large cardback format subsets.  (Mega Marines, Armor Tech and Street Fighter)  While the new sculpts planned for DEF continued the strong tradition of the 1992's, the repaints were a bit more brazen.  Gone were the muted colors of the originals: replaced with bright, eye catching colors to attract the kids of the day.  The repaint of Mutt stands out.  His dark vest is now bright orange.  Despite that fact, the figure still works and is a nice match up for his contemporaries of the day.

As I hunted down the dregs of the Joe line at  retail in 1995 and 1996, the DEF figures haunted me from the cardbacks of other figures.  The Headhunter and Headhunter Stormtrooper were simply figures I was never going to find.  But, seeing Mutt among the characters also intrigued me.  Mutt was a childhood favorite character.  So, getting a new version would have been a nostalgic treat.  But, no DEF figures were to be found.  Even as I'd find representatives of all the other figures on the cardbacks of 1993 and 1994 figures, I never found Mutt or his casemates.  I did find a Gristle or two at out of the way outlets.  But, I never bought him as I didn't like the figure.  A friend of mine did manage to find Muskrat and Mace hidden on old endcap of his local K-Mart.  And, those were the only two DEF figures I'd manage to track down.

As I got more serious about collecting in the late '90's and early '00's, I spent an inordinate amount of time chasing down lots of loose 1990's era figures.  They weren't easy to find as it was the '80's figures who were ubiquitous at toy shows, flea markets and online marketplaces.  But, I did manage to get quite an assortment of figures from the line's later years.  But, the DEF figures were rarely among them.  I went on a quest to find this Mutt at some point.  All of my avenues, though, turned up empty.  Eventually, I found a seller in Malaysia who a carded Mutt and some Funskool figures for sale for a good price.  I bought them, paid and waited a month for a box to arrive at my house.  Inside was my first Mutt and my first real foray into Funskool.  (Just two months later, YoJoe would start importing cheap Funskool in February of 2001: making them much more accessible than they had ever been before.)  I didn't actually get around to opening Mutt, though, until either 2001 or 2002.  And, even with a loose sample in hand, I rarely used the figure.  The 1992 version was just so much better.

When I emerged from my dark period of collecting in the early to mid '10's, I had a new appreciation of this Mutt.  I found that he photographed well.  And, there was a contingent of younger collectors who had grown up with the 1990's Joes and considered them the classics.  So, this Mutt started getting more use.  In fact, he ended up surpassing the 1992 figure as my go-to coloring when I wanted this Mutt version to appear.  In recent years, I've used him nearly exclusively when I want a Mutt who will blend with other '90's figures.  I've really grown to appreciate the different colors.  I'm at a point where uniquely colored figures are more interesting to me than multiple figures all in the same color scheme. That's not an opinion shared by many collectors.  But, it's how I find value in offbeat figures like this Mutt. 

The one detail I love and hate about this Mutt are the dog biscuits that are sculpted onto his vest.  On one hand, it's a fun little detail that shows Mutt's devotion to his K-9 pal.  On another level, it's a bit of cheesiness that makes the figure into a borderline joke.  (Kind of like the 1993 Bazooka's fishing gear ensemble.)  I waffle between the two.  The treats likely kept this torso from being considered for other characters at any point in the line's history.  So, that's a nice way to keep Mutt unique.  It also takes away from the seriousness of the figure.  Though, you can kind of see a law enforcement type taunting some poor sap with the dog biscuit in an attempt to dehumanize them.  So, there's that.

The 1993 Mutt and 1992 Mutt share similar green colors on the figure's undershirt and arms and similar browns on the wrist and boot protectors.  After that, they differ, starkly.  The 1993 version uses the bright orangish-red vest.  I call it orange.  Though, others my describe it as more red.  His pants are also a brighter blue that is just a shade lighter than the 1992 figure's vest.  Somewhere, there's a weird custom of the 1992 torso on 1993 legs.  The 1992 version is a nice match up to the 1989 Slaughter's Marauders color scheme.  The 1993 stands more on it's own.  Both are visually appealing.  I prefer the 1993 as a crew member on the Shark 9000.  But, I also gravitate towards him most other settings, too, since the brighter colors are more photogenic.

The 1993 Mutt's accessories are fairly different from the 1992 release.  He does include a cool, small pistol that debuted with the 1992 figure.  It's a solid look for the figure and remains my default choice for his use.  There is also the requisite Junkyard dog.   The amazing net launcher from the 1992 figure is gone, though.  It is replaced with a solid red, spring loaded missile launcher and a gold missile.  The 1993 DEF figures got paired down spring loaded weapons: likely a function of their standard retail price point for 1993.  So, the launcher is a downgrade.  The final accessory, though, was a surprise to me when I opened a 1993 Mutt off the card back in 2001 or 2002.  He also includes the golden rifle from Headman.  As Headman was missing form the 1993 assortment, you can read whatever you want into Mutt's possession  of the rifle.  (Especially in light of the Headman dying in the cartoon.)  But, I was surprised to find it included with the figure.  And, it's not uncommon to find dealers missing this accessory with loose Mutts just because it's so out of place and forgotten.

When it comes to this Mutt, the figure got three uses.  The 1992 original figure is the best.  This 1993 repaint is fun.  And, there is a 2004 Convention Tiger Force release that's interesting.  None of them, though, have taken off in the collecting world.  If you're a carded variant hunter, this Mutt was released on a real DEF cardback in Australia.  These were once the darlings of the collecting world.  But, now, they're more of a footnote.  There are several existing examples of this figure on a Hasbro DEF card, too.  Those were never actually released.  But, many of them survived and now exist in private collections.  It remains a shame that this figure didn't get at least one other use in the repaint era of the early 2000's.  It would have been great as an inclusion in a Toys R Us exclusive 6 pack.  The mold has some potential.  But, alas, it went unfulfilled.

Many of the 1993 repaints, especially those who were planned for the 1993 DEF series, are kind of hard to find.  These days, left to the open market, a mint and complete version of this Mutt will run up to $30.  Carded figures, though, don't sell for much more than that.  And, if you avoid professional sellers or are willing to sacrifice an accessory or two, the figure falls pretty precipitously in price.  But, it's always taken me a while to find a sample of this figure.  And, none of the DEF figures from 1993 tend to be overly common.  So, maybe the price is justified.  But, as supply loosens, this is an unlikely figure to retail his lofty pricetag.  The real question is whether you can wait out the market or just want one now.