The 1993 Duke is really a great figure. It's got a strong mold, great colors and cool accessories. The sad part is that the mold had a ton of potential that Hasbro never even bothered to explore in the 2000's. This mold would have worked great in various color schemes. But, it was not to be. At least, though, we got one great use of the parts.
I tend to use this figure quite often. In older days, he was actually one of the most important characters in my Joe world. He wasn't Duke, of course. Because Duke sucks. Instead, he was the chosen one who was anointed by the brass to take Hawk's place. But, that type of character gets old. So, he was set up to take the fall for some military failures and, ultimately, was sent to die in prison. The characters who replaced this failed idea were more complex and had issues that made them more interesting. They were also more successful as they had histories of failure that gave them the growth and maturity needed to overcome the most difficult situations.
For now, here's some photos of the figure in action. I'm sure he'll appear many more times as he just works so well.
A removable helmet would have done a lot of work to make this release so much better. I honestly don't understand why it wasn't.
ReplyDeleteI gave mine a removable helmet by swapping a 92 Duke head on him. Makes the figure almost perfect.
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