1985 Torch - Around The Web

It's pretty non-controversial to say that Torch is the least popular of the original 3 Dreadnoks.  And, you'll see that played out in the content below.  Instead of seeing Torch as the main focus in many of the photos, you'll actually see him in the background.  He's integral to the theme of the 3 Dreadnoks.  But, he's rarely the focal point of the action.  He's just kind of there.  But, he's also conspicuous in his absence.

Some of Torch's obscurity is elevated by the fact that he did not appear in the repaint era.  Buzzer, Ripper and Road Pig were available from Funskool during the early 2000's.  And, starting in 2004, Buzzer and Ripper became available as convention figures and, eventually, a retail release. Zanzibar, Road Pig and even Thrasher would get releases during this time.  And, there were convention figures meant to emulate Gnawgahyde.  Torch, though, was left behind.  It's likely because his mold was gone.  He did get one of the better figures in the JvC style of releases, though.  But, as everyone has forgotten that those figures even exist, it didn't help his popularity.

Torch did get 4 distinct figures, overall.  He has variants released in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.  But, all three figures are pretty much the same as his Hasbro release.  So, there's no even the cachet of a rare foreign coloring (like the Red Buzzer or Purple Ripper from India) to bump his status among collectors.  

So, he remains the lost Dreadnok.  But, because the full set of original 3 Dreadnoks remains so popular, there's tons of content on him out there.  He's just rarely the full subject of the photo.  But, you can clearly see the value of the figure within the context of his original team.

1985 Torch Profile

Comic #30 Profile

1985 Torch at the Attica Gazette

1985 Torch by thedustinmccoy

1985 Torch by joesandtoys

1985 Torch by 73larebear

1985 Torch by u.n.i.t._gijoe

1985 Torch at Joe A Day.com

1985 Torch by cobra_rules_cybertron

1985 Torch by themexicangriswolds

1985 Torch by viper_space

1985 Torch by gi_joeisthere

1985 Torch by gijoe_c4_panama

1985 Torch by powervsdreams2000

1985 Torch by mrmikevinthepit

1985 Torch by Evilface

1985 Torch by thedustinmccoy

G.I. Joe #30 - Marvel Comics

I bought my first Joe comic at a drug store in June of 1984.  I immediately sent away for a yearly subscription to the book.  My first issue received through the mail, #29, arrived in August of 1984, a few days after it had shown up on the comic rack at said drug store.  As September arrived, school started again.  I hadn't seen much of my friends that summer as we lived fairly far from my school and pretty far away (in kid terms) from any of the kids in my class.  So, it was great to be back in class and have recess and down time to discuss the latest Joe comics with friends: both good and casual.  The first comic to arrive for that school year was #30: Darkness.

Darkness starts with the cover of the Dreadnok Buzzer slicing the tail off of a Skystriker while Ripper and Torch do additional damage on the ground.  It's a striking cover, full of action.  And, it shows the bad guys actually "winning" in that they are destroying the good guys' equipment with no Joes in sight.  The story inside actually pertained to the cover, too.  As a kid, it annoyed me when the cover was a tease and unrelated to the events of the comic behind it.  So, it was cool to see the Dreadnoks in action inside.  (The beat up version you see if my original copy I got in the mail back in 1984.  It hadd a good life.)

The basic plot is that Zartan and the Dreadnoks convince Cobra Commander that the secret Joe base is on McGuire Air Force Base.  Learning his lesson from the failed frontal attack in G.I. Joe #19, the Commander opts for a small strike force to carry out a sneak attack.  The premise is rather weak, but it helps contain the action.  The memorable item from the early pages is Zartan turning himself into Hawk and interacting with the Joes.  The scene was somewhat recreated in a convention exclusive 3-pack of figures in 2004.  It was an imperfect homage.  But, those figures were meant to invoke this early use of Zartan's disguise capabilities.

There's a couple of things of note in this issue.  First and foremost was the introduction of the Hiss Driver.  For some reason, the comic never showcased the unique driver of Cobra's iconic tank: despite the fact it had been in the comic for year at this point in 1984.  And, they weren't Hiss Drivers.  Instead, they piloted the SNAP helicopters.  The SNAP choppers are actually FANGs.  This, again, is odd since the FANG had appeared in lots of issues on the comic in the previous 18 months and there was really no reason for them to get the vernacular wrong.  But, here you have Hiss Drivers flying misnamed helicopters.  Nothing is more Cobra than that.

Billy also makes an appearance in this issue.  He is caught by Major Bludd and the Baroness as he rifles through Cobra records.  This begins the Billy assassination attempt on Cobra Commander plotline that would culminate a couple of months later with the revelation that Cobra Commander is Billy's father.  As a kid, I didn't much care for the Billy storyline.  While I liked some of the intrigue within Cobra, I didn't care for the Billy character.  In G.I. Joe #10, he worked as a plot device.  But, I'd have much rather that Kwinn or Dr. Venom had survived into the later issues rather than Billy.

Of course, the Dreadnoks muck up the attack by alerting the authorities after they destroy a Skystriker.  This brings the Joes running and they quickly defeat the small Cobra force.  Cobra Commander returns to lick his wounds and the story deverts back to Snake Eyes for the next couple of issues.  One point that sticks with me, though, is how well the story between the early comics moved along.  There were elements of the issue that would come back later and loose threads from prior (and later) issues would come together as the year ended.  This was why I found G.I. Joe such compelling reading.  There was always an open plot to get you to come back.

No look at a comic from 1984 would be complete without the ads.  The most notable entry in this issue was a full two page spread from NBC showcasing their Saturday morning lineup that would have started airing the month this comic was released.  You see the classics such as Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks and the Amazing Spider Man.  But, there are also completely forgotten shows like Kidd Video, Pink Panther and Sons and Going Bananas.  As a kid, I'd flip between the three channels on Saturday morning to find the shows I liked.  I watched some Mr. T, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Spider Man and His Amazing Friends.  The notion of a kid friendly cartoon lineup being a weekly event is so antiquated that my kids can't even understand the concept that we didn't really have a way to watch a show whenever we wanted.  It's completely foreign to them to not have whatever entertainment they want at their fingertips.

Like pretty much all comics released by major publishers in the 1980's, G.I. Joe #30 is worthless.  You can get a mint copy for a couple of bucks.  The issue was reprinted through the years and you can find those with relative ease for even cheaper.  It's too bad that Hasbro never looked at this issue for a comic pack.  While it would have been a way to get the Dreadnoks out (they appeared with a later issue comic) it would have also been a good way to release an updated Hiss Driver (whose mold they had at the time) or another Joe character.  I'd have preferred either of these offerings to the Thrasher figure that was included in the later pack.

This issue really is the harbinger of the year to come for me.  As I was back in school, all the events of the comic were points of discussion and the basis for many Joe adventures.  The fall of 1984 was an awesome Joe time as some new kids had just moved in down the block and I had someone nearby to play with every day.  It was through them that I first saw the Dreadnoks in December of that year and was blown away by the amazing offerings coming in 1985.  The Joe mini series cartoon aired this month and introduced Shipwreck, Lady Jaye and Flint, too.  So, while I was enjoying Stormshadow, the Whale and even new Dreadnoks, I had great anticipation for what 1985 would bring.

I've completely lost that season wonder as an adult.  Now, I'm happy when school starts since it's a much easier routine with my boys.  But, the fall and holidays bring work and planning instead of overwhelming anticipation.  I don't see a unifying set of toys that resonate with kids today.  Even among my three boys, each has a specific toy interest that bears little in common with their brothers.  The idea of a one or two toy lines dominating a generation is pretty much gone.  In some ways, that's too bad since you could pretty much bond with any kid over Joe or Transformers in 1984.  But, my kids are also exposed to a much broader array of items and have a greater spectrum of toys than I ever did.

1985 Dreadnok Torch

Back in late 1984, Hasbro gave G.I. Joe aficionados everywhere a nice, early Christmas present when they released the first three figures from the 1985 figure assortment, the Dreadnoks, early. I managed to find all three Dreadnoks at a Sears store just after my birthday. Of course, being much younger at the time, I was only able to buy one figure for myself to have so close to Christmas. While Buzzer and Ripper looked very cool, I wanted a cutting torch like I had seen in G.I. Joe #29. As such, I bought Torch as my first Dreadnok figure.

Back in 1985, Torch's look was tough and intimidating. It was the perfect ensemble for a character like him. In more modern times, though, Torch now looks very dated and cliched. As such, he is kind of a joke among contemporary collectors. While Ripper and Buzzer still have some referential basis that keeps them semi-realistic, Torch's look has taken on a whole next context since 1985. Does that make the figure any less cool? I would have to say that, yes, it does. Of the original three Dreadnoks, Torch is far and away the least popular. Buzzer and Ripper have eclipsed him as have some later Dreadnoks such as Road Pig and Gnawgahyde. His sculpt is decent enough, but lacks the defining characteristics like Buzzer's ponytail or Ripper's mohawk. It has left Torch as the forgotten original Dreadnok.

In his heyday, my Torch was a one man wrecking crew against the Whale. (I acquired them around the same time.) His torch destroyed the hovercraft's attached weapons and left the crew defenseless against the attacking Rattlers. As I acquired the rest of the Dreadnoks, his destructive tendencies only increased. He joined his compatriots in escalating sprees of senseless destruction. Often, these were aimed at Joe convoys or bases. Everything finally culminated in early 1986 when the Dreadnoks took on a Joe team out in the snow. While the adventure was fun, I lost Ripper's gun in white wasteland. With this accessory gone and the '86 figures starting to show up at retail, I started to lose interest in the Dreadnoks as a whole. When I found Ripper's gun after the thaw, not even that was enough to return the Dreadnoks to prominence. Zarana, Zandar and Monkeywrench were of the different construction that helped push the original sculpt Dreadnoks into obsolescence.

As characters go, Torch is pretty basic. While Buzzer had the type of characterization that allowed for some storytelling, Torch and Buzzer were one dimensional foils who were interchangeable except for their look and their accessories. They were uneducated (actually, downright dumb), illiterate thugs who made the perfect blind follower for a charismatic leader like Zartan. In that capacity, Torch works as a supporting character who makes Zartan and Buzzer more complex and complete characters. However, it does not make him all that interesting on any level beyond as a member of his gang. This is not a bad thing, as it shows that part of Joe's overall complexity was heavily rooted in having simple characters. Using archetypes allowed people to use figures in different ways and develop a Joe universe of their own. This, above all else, was the key to Joe's enduring legacy.

In the mid '90's, I had very few Joe figures available to me. Among my newly acquired '92-'94 figures, I also had one small box of old, beat up figures. Among these was a Torch figure. This guy became my standard criminal fodder as I developed my security forces. He was either a quickly killed pawn in some criminal scheme or a malcontent rogue who was forced into flight by the relentless pursuit of my Joe security teams. Either way, Torch often ended up dead or in jail. It was a fun way to still use the figure without having him be a long standing Joe character. Beyond that, though, my use of the figure is limited. I like the Dreadnoks but find my Joe world gravitating towards Cobra and their military armies rather than smaller subgroups that don't have a military aim. From time to time, I'll take advantage of the Dreadnoks as a break from the standard Cobra fare. However, those breaks are fewer and farther between now. While the figure remain nice, they just no longer really mesh with my hierarchy.

Torch figures are pretty easy to find. Even complete, you can easily get them for under $10. However, the figure is prone to discoloration as well as paint chipping, especially on the skull necklace. As he was released during the height of Joe's popularity, though, I don't think there will ever be glut of Torch figures. He was released in both Argentina and Brazil, but in a color scheme very similar to the American version. He is one of the few Dreadnoks, though, who was not released in India. I've always found that odd and think the mold must be gone since he never appeared there. Regardless, Torch figures are never considered a key component of a Joe collection and are priced accordingly. For me, the original three Dreadnoks forever define their genre. As Torch is a part of that small group, he does have a place in my collection. However, it is just not a very prominent one, anymore.

I like Torch, but have all of them that I need. I would like to see him make an appearance in the new sculpts, though. Would you?