1992 Destro

Over Christmas break in 1992, I had a job working in the deli of a local grocery store.  I worked every day but Sunday as the three and half weeks I had off were my only chance to replenish my bank account until summer vacation.  As a rule, I didn't spend any of my earnings as they were more valuable back at school.  However, one lunch hour, I decided to take a trip to Toys R Us.  I don't really know what prompted me to do so.  But, I decided that I was going to look at the G.I. Joe figures and, likely, buy a few.  At that point, I had purchased exactly three figures since 1987. (Hardball, Tiger Force Roadblock and the Night Viper.)  I was actively buying the comic, though, so I had a sense of some of the new characters.  But, it wasn't enough to really give me a plan of which figures I wanted to find.

When I got to Toys R Us, the holiday crush of shoppers was significant.  More impressive, though, was the wall of Joe figures that greeted me in the action figure aisle.  Joe was still a retail force in 1992 and there were more figures than I could review stocked on the shelves.  There were multiple years as well as tons of, often higher priced, sub sets.  I pulled down a few figures and looked at the cardbacks to see if there was anything that interested me.  A few figures stood out.  Some, like the Headhunter, I simply could not find.  Others, like General Flagg, were very interesting and warranted purchase.  There was a figure, though, that surprised me: a new version of Destro.  This figure was very much like the classic 1983 version I had grown up with.  But, he was more detailed, newer and included a weapon that seemed more imposing than his paltry pistol from the Eighties.  So, with Destro, General Flagg and Bulletproof in hand, I went to checkout and promptly was greeted by a friend with whom I had been in business with in high school.  He had owned a sports card store and I had rented large amounts of space from him to sell my wares.  The store had closed and he was now a cashier at TRU.  He laughed at my purchases.  But, in the end. those toys are now worth more than any of the sports cards I had at the time.  So, I guess it's OK.  But, it was another moment at the Toys R Us where I ran into someone I knew when trying to buy some collectible.

When I got home and opened the figures, Destro didn't disappoint.  He was the large, over-sized villain from the comic.  He seemed like a comic book exaggeration of the figure I had grown up with.  And, that was a good thing.  The massive collar, heavily exposed chest and huge necklace were like the original character on steroids.  The red and black base also hearkened back to the original.  In short, this figure didn't take too many chances and is easily recognizable as Destro to anyone who grew up with the original.  The main detriment is that the figure's chrome head is painted instead of vac-metallized like the 1983.  Hasbro would fix this mistake in 1997.  But, the duller head kind of works and gives the figure more personality since you can see his eyes instead of chrome where his eyes should be.  The figure features two shades of red on the body.  So, he has more paint applications than you'd think upon viewing him.  But, the 1992 series in general was starting to skimp on paint applications in a cost saving move.  And, there's not a ton going on with the figure's painted details.

Destro's gear isn't bad.  Ostensibly, he just includes a large pistol.  The weapon, though, was what heavily sold me on this figure.  Again, the pistol seemed like an upgrade to his original weapon which always seemed too small for the massive 1983 sculpt.  As with many vintage figures, I only associate this weapon with this 1992 Destro figure and can not use it with any other figure...which was a real problem in the early 2000's as Hasbro started including it with many of their repaints.  In addition to the pistol, Destro included a spring loaded disk launcher.  This could hold a few disks and shoot them at incoming Joes.  As spring loaded weapons go, it's not bad.  The table is reminiscent of Scrap Iron's weapon from 1984, though bulkier and sturdier.  The table reappeared in 1997, too and is a solid addition to the Destro character.  The 1983 Destro's backpack was one of the great pieces of gear from the early years of the line.  So, it was a bit disappointing for Hasbro to not attempt to update it in some way.  But, for 1992, this guy's gear isn't bad.

Destro was portrayed in the comic as a villain with scruples.  He had honor and would view his opponents through the lens of shared respect.  At the time, I viewed this as depth of Destro's character.  But, in more recent times, I see this as Destro's greatest flaw.  His respect for those of opposing ideologies was not born of strength, but of weakness.  Destro was weak willed in that he let his desire for money override his moral compass.  He could stomach evil customers if they had the cash to pay for Destro's wares.  In this, Destro was able to sleep at night since it was "just business".  But, the reality is that Destro was the worst kind of evil as he could justify any behavior in the pursuit of bigger weapons sales.  This has left me cold to the Destro character.  But, I do now see him as more of a threat to Cobra Commander as Destro is the type of person who has no loyalty and, really, no honor.  His motives are profit and that Destro's pursuit of it justifies any behavior or action on Destro's part.  And, that is, truly, the most dangerous man in the world.

Time has largely ruined this mold.  After the figure's appearance by Hasbro in 1992, it was then repackaged in Chinese packaging in 1994.  Large quantities of these figures remain available today.  In 1997, Hasbro wanted the V1 Destro mold for their Toys R Us exclusive 15th Anniversary products.  When that mold could not be procured, they went with a repaint of the 1992 figure.  This was OK.  The 1997 figure featured different colors and a chrome plated head.  However, in 2001, Hasbro released the 1992 mold again.  This time, though, the figure was almost identical to the 1992 figure.  In photos, the two figures are nearly indiscernible.  Hasbro could have released the mold in Iron Grenadier colors, or something completely different.  But, they took a fairly cheap and easy to find figure and replicated it in a pack with a new army builder.  As if that wasn't enough, in 2005, the mold was released again, but with a new head, in colors very similar to the 1992.  The result is that the same, basic, figure was released 3 times.  It's an overkill that has left this mold sullied beyond the point of salvation.

This Destro is cheap.  Mint and complete with filecard versions can still be found for $5-$7 each.  The mold is both plentiful and unpopular.  You can get carded versions in the $20 range and even find the Chinese carded versions for $15 or so.  Every iteration of the figure is cheap and easy to find.  So, there's no reason for a modern collector to not have the figure aside from sheer apathy.  You will note the broken thumb in the photos below.  I took these pics on a cold day in the desert and the plastic was brittle.  The thumb snapped off while taking the photos below.  One of these days, I'll need to replace this figure.  But, for now, I'm good as I have little use for this Destro any longer and he will remain a cheap acquisition for a good long time.