2002 Shock Viper (Wave V Internet Exclusive)

In the next couple of weeks, you are going to see and hear a lot about this figure. Some people will love it. Others will hate it. Many, many more will complain about the manner in which the sale of this figure was dictated by Hasbro. To me, all of that will be inconsequential. Why? Simple. I had the opportunity to get another classic repaint for my collection. When it all comes down to it, that's what I want. It is figures in this style and this articulation that are the basis for my Joe collection. Any opportunity to acquire another new figure like this is welcome. As such, I present to you my take on the latest Cobra army builder: the Shock Viper.

Like just about every new figure that has been produced since 2000, the Shock Viper's filecard sucks. If they wanted to make them flame throwers, they should have just used the original Incinerator mold and code name. As such, in my collection, the Incinerators will remain the only Cobra flame throwers. With that firmly in place, I was left with the problem of what to do with my Shock Vipers. The mold, originally used on the infamous Ice Cream Soldier in 1994, is excellent and is of a color scheme that just begs me to use it. However, they don't fit the traditional military soldier role that are so well defined by other Cobra Troopers. They are also not conducive for use in urban settings either. What, then, was I to do with this new, cool figure?

The more I thought about it, this guy's purpose finally hit me. With a name like Shock Viper, he needed a function of some importance, but also some mystery. What better use for a Shock Viper than as Cobra's internal police? I always figured Cobra to be chock full of people of incredibly shady character. As such, crimes against their own would be rampant. Cobra would need some sort of internal police force that would keep their own members in line. As I thought about this function for the Shock Viper,though, it dawned on me that this guy seems a bit more elite than a base security trooper would be. Rather than making them the base police force for Cobra, I envision these guys as more of a secret police force. They are a gestapo who serve at the will of Cobra Commander or his cronies. They help keep the Commander's political enemies at bay as well as gather intelligence about his rivals.

As with most of my figures, though, I foresee these guys being less loyal to the Commander than they are to the character portrayed by the Flying Scorpion figure. I see these guys acting as his personal police force who will ensure that his rivals don't get the opportunity to plot against him. Like most people with large egos, this character has just taken another step towards what will either be total achievement of his goals, or complete and utter failure. In the long term, I actually see this figure taking the role for the Flying Scorpion that the Funskool Desert Scorpion plays for Cobra Commander. They will be his personal bodyguards as well as the secret police. If you are not a member of his small cabal of commanders, then the Shock Vipers are not a group of people you want to see!

There are a lot of rumours and innuendos circulating about this wave. I wish I were in a position to debunk them, but I'm not. Time will be final factor in determining the extent of these figures' popularity. In the short term, though, Hasbro did not have any major retailers who wanted to purchase this wave of figures. This was mainly due to the fact that the new Joe vs. Cobra resculpts were already available. (I still think these were rushed to the shelves post Christmas so that Hasbro could get Episode II figures into production.) Without major retailer support, this line was doomed. Fortunately, online retailers stepped up and kept this wave from being cancelled. That meant that while collectors got an opportunity to buy this wave, it also provided a chance for scalpers and speculators to swoop in on what they perceive will ultimately be a valuable wave of figures. As such, you will find people charging (and paying!!!) outrageous sums of money for these figures. Once the full production run is out in the market, though, I don't think the prices will stay that high for long.

I'm sure this is the part you've all been waiting for: this figure's availability. I will be blunt. If you are currently paying upwards of $25 for this figure MOC, you are an idiot. That is the bottom line. At least two major online retailers who are stocking this wave have yet to receive their shipments. After they have gotten their figures, mailed them out, and ensured they are, indeed, out of stock, then you might start to get a little nervous. Personally, I think that you should wait until at least May before you panic if you don't yet have these figures. As anyone who attempted to order these figures from SmallJoes.com on Feb. 15th knows, there is a high demand for these guys. You can be sure, though, that the demand is fueled by the perceived scarcity of this wave. When all is said and done with this wave, I imagine that it will have been produced in greater quantities than many other figures from even the vintage line. It will be the fault of speculators and hoarders if an amount close to the full production run doesn't make it to the collectors who want them. In the end, though, the stigma of this wave will always persist. As such, they will, most likely, remain as some of the most expensive members of the repainted Joe club. It is unfortunate, but, if you are informed and know where to look, I think these figures will be available in the future. Speculators lose money if they hold something too long and hoarders eventually have to sell. When they do, I think the opportunities to acquire these figures for reasonable prices will be there.

I like the Shock Viper. His purpose in my collection also lends itself to a smaller number of them. Still, I would like one or two more. If you have any Shock Vipers you are willing to trade, email me.

1992 Roadblock

Much has been made of the new Joe releases. While everyone has their opinions of the figures made between 1997 and now, most people agree that classic characters seem to retain the most popularity. It seemingly makes no sense that an immensely popular character like Roadblock would not make an appearance in these new releases. Sure, we got Double Blast, an original Roadblock mold. But we never got to see a new version of one of the most recognizable and popular characters to ever grace the Joe world. (Roadblock was another rare crossover character that has appeal to both comic and cartoon fans.) The speculative reasons for this are many. Hasbro may have lost the copyright to the character's name. As was proved with the '00 Tomahawk, though, simple problems like that can be creatively worked around. The real reasons for Roadblock's disappearance may never be known. It could be oversight. It could be that a high ranking executive has it in for this character. We may never know. For some, the slight is an injustice that taints the integrity of the line. For others it is just a footnote as the line matures and attracts a new generation of fans.

I've long liked the Roadblock character. From the earliest days of 1984 when he first graced my collection to my unending search for his 1994 Star Brigade version, Roadblock has been a staple of my collection for a long time. The character's complexity and unique attributes allowed him to transcend most other Joes in terms of characterization and popularity. As such, his various figures were always featured in my collection. (In 1988, I had all but quit Joe collecting. I only bought 2 figures that year: Hit and Run and the Tiger Force Roadblock.) Usually, though, it was the original mold of the figure that I used. In recent years, though, I've moved away from using any figures made prior to 1985. The smaller, less detailed molds just don't interest me the way figures from the line's later years do. I hate the '86 Roadblock and have never used that figure. The Star Brigade figures have always been army builders as rescue personnel, firefighters, or pilots. That really left me with only one choice if I wanted to use Roadblock, this '92 version.

Like many people, though, I didn't really have a use for this figure. I thought the mold was cool, (Most of the 92 molds are. 1992 is really a great year for Joes, but too many people just overlook it.) but hadn't really associated the figure with the Roadblock character. As has happened many times, though, it was another Joe fan whose showcasing of this figure brought him to my attention. In General Hawk's fabulous dio-story Power Struggle, he uses this mold of Roadblock. Seeing this figure used in that capacity opened up a new mold for me. I pulled out my '92 Roadblock and armed him with the accessories from the Tiger Force Roadblock. At that point, I had a new figure to represent Roadblock in my collection.

Since then, I've found this figure to be a nice addition to my collection. While the classic Roadblock mold is still a great version of the character, it is this later mold that allows for him to be better utilized with the later year figures that tend to see the most use in my collection. This, of course, raises another issue. For me, the newest Joe figures are the most interesting. Frankly, most of the pre '88 figure molds have been played out. I consider them boring and overused. When I see some of the lists of figures who are planned for release in 2002, I am excited that it appears that many later characters and molds may see production. The reasons for this are many. Personally, I'm sick of having the same figures repainted over and over. I want some variety. If you look at a snapshot of '92 figures, you will see some very realistic paint jobs, but they still offer stark color and contrast. The newly sculpted Joes bring that feeling back. The repaints we have been getting are just the same color scheme applied to very boring and mundane molds and frankensteins.

I won't lie to you and tell you that the recalled version of this figure isn't hard to find. It is. Some collectors put the total number of recalled Roadblocks at around 10,000. However, he came out at a time when lots of kids still opened, broke and lost their toys. As such, whatever the production numbers on the recalled version of this figure, you can be sure there are far fewer than that today. Carded, a recalled Roadblock can fetch $100 or more. Loose, well, the interest just isn't there and you see a significant drop off. Without the recalled accessories, though, this figure is pretty easy to find. He was shipped in ample quantities and can be found in many lots of later year figures. There are two important things of note about this figure, though. As far as the figure itself goes, there are absolutely no differences between the recalled version and the corrected version. The figures are identical, only the accessories are different. (There is also a repaint of this figure that was released in 93 that has some neon highlights. This is from a different year and not, in any way, related to the '92 version you see below.) While talking about the accessories, a couple of years ago, the machine gun itself was the most desired of the "rarer" accessories that came with this figure. The recalled version was the only figure ever released with this gun in the U.S. In the past year, though, Funskool figures have become quite common. The very cool machine gun that came with the recalled Roadblock is currently available with several different Funskool figures, including a repaint of this classic '92 mold, for very cheap prices from a number of online Joe dealers. With this advent, the desirability of the machine gun has gone down as Funskool offers a cheap way to acquire it. (Much the way I did. The gun you see in the figure's hand below is taken from a Funskool Red Dog.) With all that in mind, this guy is still my most used version of the Roadblock character. Given a chance, I think you will find him in a similar role in your collection as well.

I like this version of Roadblock. However, I'm not really into accessory variations. As such, I don't need any more. Also, Roadblock never had an really interesting foreign variations made, so I don't need any of those, either. What is your favorite version of this character? Do you think Hasbro should attempt to bring back the Roadblock name to the new Joe line? Let me know.

2002 Cobra C.L.A.W.S.

Since these figures were first found at retail, it seems that everyone and his brother has had an opinion about them. The nature of my site being what it is, it is fitting that I, too, offer my opinion of these newly sculpted Joes. My problem is that so many others have already done this that anything I have to say seems like it's been done. However, I have this figure and still think my opinion of him is something poignant, if not uninteresting. I'm not going to pay attention to packaging, or accessories. Frankly, I could care less about stuff like that. Packaging is opened to get at the figure and accessories can, and will, be changed. All I'm concerned with is the figure.

I've decided to do things a little differently with this profile. Rather than my usual diatribes, I'm going to offer pragmatic looks at what I like and what I don't like about this figure. After that, I'm going to let my overall opinion be known.

First off, what I like about this figure:

1. The Color Scheme.

Let's face it, the repaints that we've gotten since 2000 have been poorly colored, at best. While the molds have changed, we've gotten the same Joe figure several times. Why does every Joe from Duke to Big Brawler have to be colored the same. Back in my profile of Sidetrack, I said that his color scheme was great, but it didn't need to used on every other figure. That's what Hasbro has given us. What collectors have forgotten is that vibrant colors are not always unrealistic. Look at 1986 or 1987. Those figures are classics that are held as the pinnacle of the line. Look at the colors of those figures. Tunnel Rat, Falcon, Outback, Dial Tone, Hawk and Beach Head are all excellent figures that feature vibrant and eye-catching color schemes. When I look at my box of re-release figures from 2000 and 2001, all I see is drab, boring color schemes that aren't exciting.

When I saw these new figures, the first thing that jumped out at me was the bright, vibrant colors that they featured. This figure has 5 different colors on him and they blend perfectly. The red, gold, black, and brown create a realistic body with highlights that accentuate the incredible details on the mold. The best part about the figure is the green eyes. It is a small feature that adds some depth to the figure and shows an attention to detail that has been lacking since at least 1992.

2. The details.

Love or hate these figures, you can not deny that they are super-detailed. Each figure features tons of pouches, armbands, details and strappings that make the figure seem more alive. In some cases, the detailing has been overdone. However, this amount of detail shows a dedication to the line that has been missing. It shows there is some creativity being applied to these guys. While some may think it is misapplied, just having some creative minds behind the Joe product bodes well.

3. Working holsters.

For a lot of people, this might not be a big deal. For me, this is awesome. When Hasbro first had a working holster on Cantina Han Solo figure back in 1998, it was a grand harbinger of things to come. Since then, I've bought several Star Wars figures just because they had working holsters. Back in 1986, I wanted to hollow out the holster on Hawk's leg so that I could have it work with his pistol. Now, 16 years later, Hasbro has finally given me a play feature I've wanted. I love the look of the working holsters and think them a great addition to the toy line.

4. The Joe Vs. Cobra packaging.

I am an army builder. Everyone knows it. Why would an army builder espouse a packing strategy that is inherently detrimental to army building? Simple. I see the collector favorite army builder packs as a detriment to the hobby as a whole. Here's why. If Hasbro ships a case of 12 figures with 2 of them being an army building pack (Don't fool yourself with the thinking that, "well, they should ship army builders in a higher ratio". If they do this, then you have shortpacks. Suddenly you have otherwise mundane figures becoming hard to find since people buy up shortpacks to sell at a profit on Ebay. This is a blight just as bad as the army builder packs themselves.), those 2 packs are quickly purchased by the first collector who happens by them. Now, you are left with 10 less desirable packs sitting on the shelf. Multiply this by the number of cases a typical toy retailer receives and you have instant pegwarmers. In order to get more army builders, the stores order more pegwarmers. Then, the shelves clog with the pegwarmers and the new waves of figures are ordered in much smaller quantities thereby creating an artificial shortage. This is exactly what happened to Star Wars figures in 1998.

Hasbro shipped cases of Imperials that were about 50% army builders. These figures quickly sold out and retailers ordered more figures. This was fine until the buying public had had enough of the Emperor and Grand Moff Tarkin figures. Suddenly, these figures, plus a couple of other non-army builders in the same case became overwhelming pegwarmers. As such, after June of 1998, almost no new Star Wars product shipped to stores. Collectors and parents got frustrated because the only figures that were available were ones that had been out for months and no one wanted anymore. Suddenly, the figures that were scheduled to come out in late 1998 became incredibly scarce and demand soared. The final wave of figures was cancelled until the Fan Club stepped in and offered it for a very high mark up to the serious collector. The only way for the stores to clear the pegwarmers was for them to massively discount the figures and take huge losses. Thus, the retail confidence in the Star Wars brand was heavily damaged. The final insult occurred in early 2000. By then, the stores had cleared most of the pegwarmers. That finally allowed the cases of late 1998 figures to come to market. Toys R Us bought the figures for a song and sold them for a drastic discount. Imagine a collector's surprise and anger when he walked into a TRU store and found hundreds of the "rare" Mon Mothma figure he had spent $20 for on Ebay staring him in the face for a paltry $2 price tag. This is the aftermath of the army building two pack. Packaging one Joe and one Cobra together will not deter serious army builders. It will deter the casual army builder, though, and allow for kids to actually find figures they want on the shelves and allow for new waves to be sorted into the retail market in the most efficient way possible. I've had no trouble finding all of the new Joe packs and I live in toy hell. That shows the distribution system is working.

Now, the section most of you are probably interested in, what I don't like about the new figures:

1. The new construction.

Like this one is a surprise. I was the one who called the day the pictures of the prototypes for these figures were released "Black Thursday". That was a bit melodramatic, but I do miss the O ring. From the torso up, these guys aren't bad. I don't even mind the swivel waist. What I can't stand is that the legs don't allow the figure to sit. I like to put my figures in vehicles, or at base stations. This new construction really hampers my ability to do that. However, with the return of the O ring imminent, this criticism will go away. I'm anxiously awaiting the first photos of the new sculpts with the O rings. I think they have incredible potential.

2. The "buff" look and proportionality.

Frankly, the heads and chests of these figures aren't too bad. I don't mind some figures being broader in the chest since that's the way real people are. You can see from the photo below that the most of the figure fits with the original figures. He is slightly differently proportioned, but not so much that he can't fit in with older figures. Some guys, like the Heavy Duty that comes with CLAWS, though, are just too wide. The feature that is poor across the entire wave, though, is the arms. Every one of these figures would have arms bigger than most body builder's legs! The arms are just way too big and hinder proper movement. They must be corrected. Once again, though, I refer you to the Star Wars line. Back in 1995, all the figures were released in this same style where they all looked like they were on steroids. After collector backlash, the buff style was toned down. By 1998, most of the original figures had been resculpted in a less buff style. I'm giving this time. I think this wave was rushed to retail so that it wouldn't be delayed by the release of Episode II figures. As such, there is still work to be done. I would imagine that by wave III or IV, this problem will be solved to collector's satisfaction.

3. The accessories.

This point is kind of moot. As I said above, I think these guys were rushed to retail. As such, there just wasn't time for new accessories. It has been stated by Hasbro that Wave II will have new accessories. That is certainly welcome news.

4. Figure choice.

Almost every figure choice Hasbro has offered since 1997 has been second guessed by the collectors. I like some of the choices in this wave, but others are more problematic. Does Cobra really need a new character like CLAWS when there are so many awesome Cobra troopers that have never been remade? The preliminary names for Wave II of the new sculpts seems to have more classic names in it and should include some characters that have desperately needed a remake.

5. The Joe Vs. Cobra angle.

While I like the Joe vs. Cobra packaging, I don't like the angle. It will get old and tiresome very quickly. I don't really care why Gung Ho and Destro are mortal enemies. I can come up with more on my own. I'm afraid the creative minds behind this are going to get pigeon-holed by this gimmick. Perhaps, though, that will change with 2003. Hasbro seems to like changing its packaging every year or so. (I wonder how much they paid to get that bit of marketing genius?) As such, next year could offer a different packaging style that would not be so confining.

One thing you may notice in the above write up is how often I refer to Hasbro's Star Wars line. I think the comparisons are apt for a number of reasons. The largest reason, though, is that Star Wars is a mature toy line. The people who have been into Star Wars since their childhood are moving out of their 20's and into a different phase of their life. I think we are seeing it run its course. After Episode III is done, I wouldn't expect to see any Star Wars toys on shelves any longer. Joe is a very young toy line, from a "collector" standpoint. As such, many of the growing pains that afflicted the Star Wars line have yet to manifest themselves in the Joe line. They will happen and these new sculpts are the first signs of it. I think the POTFII line is a great blueprint for what this new Joe line will experience. Hopefully, we the collectors, have learned from previous mistakes. (Beware of what you ask for. You just might get it.) If Hasbro has learned some, as well, then the future of Joe looks bright and I see more potential for the coming years than there was back in 1982.

I don't know if it's obvious or not, but I don't mind these new figures. However, I think much of that is because they have already announced the return of the O ring and the other construction problems can be easily fixed with more experience by the designers. I think Hasbro is putting some money behind this line. That always offers hope. As for the CLAWS figure, though, I don't think he'll ever be an integral part of my collection. I could one day see the 10 figures that are currently shipping being on display in my toy room. I don't see them lying in my base after seeing some use. I don't have the army building bug with these guys like I do with classically articulated figures. We'll see if that changes when the next wave of new sculpts come out.

CLAWS are currently available. They will only become more available as the year moves on. However, Hasbro has a very large plate of toys for the year 2002. As such, you probably aren't going to see long shipping lives for most of these figures. Buying them now is probably your best bet to avoid future Ebay price gouging. Remember, there are tons of Joe figures and little thing called Star Wars Episode II coming this year. There are going to be lots of figures that are shipped to retail. In order to do this, other figures will have to have production halted. Most of us collectors were caught off guard when the Firefly/Undertow pack was pulled from production. If you are looking to build armies of any of the new Joes, that would be a lesson well remembered. Beyond that, to each their own. If you don't like the figures, fine. If you do, that's fine, too. I don't have the problems with these guys that most others out there seem to. It's a toy line and I'm past the point in my life where I take a toy line seriously. That being said, I think 2002 will still be the most interesting year ever to be a Joe collector.

2001 Funskool Red Dog - Indian Exclusive

We all know that there are newly sculpted Joes coming out. In fact, the first wave of O Ringless Joes is currently hitting retail outlets all over the country. We have all heard rumours and innuendo about the future of the line. How much of it is fact, and how much is speculation will be determined in time. At any rate, though, the classic look to Joes is no more. I'm not, though, going to get into any feelings about the new figures. Personally, I have yet to see them. When I do, I will make the determination if they will be become part of my collection or not. That being said, what is the fan of the classic Joe figures to do? Hasbro has kept us interested for the past year with the re-releases. Beyond that, though, there is only one other outlet for collectors to get a classic Joe fix: the figures produced in India by Funskool.

Funskool released some great new figures in late 2000 and early 2001. They offered fantastic repaints of General Flagg, General Hawk, and the Desert Scorpion. With that track record, I figured the late year releases would continue that trend. When I heard the next figure to be offered by Funskool was Red Dog, though, I was disappointed. I've always hated the Red Dog figure. The original Slaughter's Marauders pack had three members, Red Dog, Mercer and Taurus. Of the three, only Mercer found a home in my collection. Red Dog and Taurus became afterthoughts who often filled criminal or civilian roles. The characters did nothing for me and I found the figures lame. I just didn't think that a version of Red Dog would interest me. How wrong I was....

The minute I saw a picture of this Red Dog figure, I instantly knew he would have a home and a very important purpose in my collection. The former Samoan was now done as a Caucasian. Unlike other race changing figures, Red Dog kept the facial features that had previously distinguished him. The pale skin just screamed "albino" to me. As such, this new Red Dig figure became a new criminal, an albino Dreadnok named ZinZan who has taken over the group now that Zartan has gone off to become a part of the Cobra hierarchy. He is a new, ruthless leader who runs drugs, guns, and anything else that will make him money. He is a character that is more deadly than other, established Joe characters, and has the law enforcement world very nervous. He has made the Dreadnoks a more powerful criminal element while keeping them true to their mischievous biker roots. Again, like so many figures that I tend to use often, it is the character I've made for this guy that is his drawing power.

If you are a long time reader of this site, you know that often times I acquire two figures simultaneously and those figures become forever linked. (See Interrogator and Night Vulture.) Such is the case with this Red Dog figure. At the time I acquired him, I also picked up the notorious Super Cop figure, also from Funskool. He is an amalgamation of Sgt. Slaughter, Iceberg, and Hawk. He is a very nice figure and an excellent example of a law man. Naturally, he and this Red Dog character have become mortal enemies. Once again, though, that kind of backstory makes this figure incredibly fun. He is very distinct from the American Red Dog and can be used as a totally different character without too much stretching of established Joe story lines. His color scheme is not too out of whack with what a villain like him would wear and isn't the typical over the top Funskool style. He is a perfect example of a foreign figure being utilized in a primarily American collection without losing anything in form, function or style.

As this figure is a relative newcomer to my collection, his role will mature with time. Unlike many of the figures I've recently acquired, though, I welcome whatever this figure will become. His unique nature really makes him stand apart from what Hasbro has offered the American market in the past year. Aside from a few gems, most of the new releases have been relatively uninspired and show a sameness to them that makes most of the Joe characters simply run together. Having figures like Red Dog available provides some fresh air in the Joe world. Sure, this figure doesn't fit the traditional role of a military based toy. However, Joe's success did not come from it's pure military roots, it came from the expansion of the line to more distinct looks and characterizations. When all the figures look the same, there is only so much you can do with them. When there is great diversity in the line, it really opens up and expands play options that make the line enduring. Hopefully, the new Joe sculpts will remember that. I don't want all olive drab Joes. I want some in some different type of uniforms that allow for them to expand upon their traditional military roles and allow them some leeway in use. I don't think I'm alone in this thinking.

Red Dog is easy to find. A number of online retailers are currently selling him for about $4.00 for a MOC specimen. He was just released this year, so he should be available for a good long time. With that in mind, I'd continue to look to Funskool for some nice figures releases in the next year. Sure, some figures like the Wild (Wacky) Bill are a bit out there, though cool in an the offbeat, innocent way toys should be, but others, like the Crimson Guard Immortal have become staples of most people's collections. Funskool seems to rotate the figures they offer. With any luck, 2002 will provide us with some old favorites as well as some new guys we are not expecting. They will, though, continue to be a great outlet for collectors to keep acquiring classically molded Joes. Personally, I've found the quality on this Red Dog figure to be excellent. His paint masking is sharp, the details are nice, his accessories work with him, and the figure is well constructed and moves freely. From a toy standpoint, what more can you ask for? I know that Funskool will be one of my primary focuses next year, regardless of whether or not I like the newly sculpted Joes. They offer interesting and fun figures with decent quality at an incredibly affordable price. That's all I look for when I'm after Joe figures and I know you will not be disappointed in Funskool figures at all.

I like this figure, and most of what Funskool has done. If you have any older (pre '95) Funskool figures available for trade, email me.

1997 Stormshadow

I've debated for long time as to whether or not I would profile this figure. When I finally decided to do so, I had another debate as to which year of this mold I was going to utilize. I use both the '84 and this mold about the same and couldn't decide if I should go with the classic, or keep with my original plan and showcase this later, less heralded use of this immortal mold. Finally, I let fate decide. I still keep my '97 figures ready and none have gone to the archive, yet. That is not the case with the '84 figures. All my original Stormshadows were packed away in baggies. As such, I took the easy way out and settled on the 1997 Stormshadow as my profile for this week.

There are some slightly more sentimental reasons why I wanted to profile this figure mold around this day. You see, back in 1984, Stormshadow was impossible to find. You couldn't get him even at the just recently opened Toys R Us stores. A friend of mine, in desperation, ordered a Stormshadow, along with 5 or 6 other figures he already had, in a figure pack from the JC Penny catalog. I, though, was a bit more patient. Finally, in mid October of '84, I found a lone Stormshadow at the aforementioned Toys R Us store. As October coincides with my younger brother's birthday, the only way I could convince my father to buy the figure was as a present for my sibling. I figured that as long as one of us had the figure, that would be okay. My brother's birthday came and went and I discovered that my plan had backfired. Instead of relinquishing the new Stormshadow figure our toy room, as was my brother's M.O. after the initial novelty wore off, he kept using the Stormshadow figure. I never got the opportunity to stash it into my collection like I had hoped. I watched in horror as my brother lost Stormshadow's accessories and left him in the mud in our backyard. I realized that by the time I was going to be able to commandeer the figure into my collection, the figure wouldn't be worth having. I needed a new plan.

By December, my thoughts had turned to 2 possible times when I could acquire the Stormshadow figure: Christmas and my birthday. I was hoping for my birthday as I was usually able to pimp my brothers for some insight into my upcoming presents. Christmas wasn't much of a challenge as I knew where the presents were kept. You can imagine my disappointment, though, when all my "sources" turned up no info that I would be receiving a Stormshadow figure of my own that holiday season. I let this slip from my mind, though, as I was preparing for my birthday party. For whatever reason, the weekend I had my party that year was unseasonably warm. We had a 65 degree day so all my friends and I could play outside. As such, my party ran long and I didn't open presents until much later in the evening. When I did, I found I had received a Stormshadow figure! One of my friends who wasn't really into Joe, but knew I was, had found it and thought it looked cool. We all then spent the rest of the evening in an epic G.I. Joe battle.

Just to show that this story has a point and that things do sometimes come full circle, there is one more little element to this tale. On December 15th, 1997, I decided to stop at a Toys R Us store on my way home from work. I always bought myself a present for my birthday. (It is a tradition to continues to this day, though now my wife buys me the toys. I've got a nice box of stuff coming from SmallJoes.com this year!) I was hoping to find the elusive Slave Leia from the Star Wars line. Of course, TRU was a bust for Star Wars, but I did see something very, very interesting. It was the Stars and Stripes set that contained 8 new Joe figures. At that time, I was not as involved in the online Joe world as I am now and didn't have any idea this set was being released. Naturally, I snatched it up. The figures weren't great, but it was enough to get me thinking about my Joe collection once again. (Oddly enough, I also stopped at the Wal Mart one freeway exit down from the TRU and found that Slave Leia. I've always had good toy luck on my birthday!)

Sadly, though, this about ends my fascination with the Stormshadow figure. When the '85 Snake Eyes was released the next year, Stormshadow had a brief opponent, but I just couldn't keep him near the top. My Joe world was changing and the need for ninjas had disappeared. Characters like Flint, Airtight and Footloose were the guys I liked to use. With them, I gravitated more towards traditional Cobra army builders like the Eel, Crimson Guard, and Viper. My Cobra Commander didn't need a bodyguard as he was rarely used. When I finally did pull him out for the '87 incarnation, the body armour precluded any further need of Stormshadow's services. The Cobra ninja then became an afterthought in my collection for many years. In the mid '90's, though, I did pull out both an original Stormshadow and an '85 Snake Eyes and had them engaged in a sword battle on one of the shelves in my room. Beyond that, though, this figure's uses were limited.

Now, little has changed. I still like the look of Stormshadow, but have no real use for the figure. In fact, the Stormshadow idea is kind of dated. Like the '80's ninja craze, Stormshadow's day has passed for me. I no longer have much use for the figure. However, he does still look cool. As such, I now have this '97 version displayed among my Cobra army. While Cobra Commander now has new bodyguards, Stormshadow is still there, just to keep everyone honest. It is a nice way to remember this figure, even though his days of heavy use are past.

This year of Stormshadow is a bit tricky when you talk about pricing and availability. While mint, complete 1984 Stormshadows are starting to consistently hit the $60+ price range, the '97 can still be affordable. However, again, this is problematic. I've seen this figure sell carded, along with the Snake Eyes and Lady Jaye figures, for around $20. Of course, I've also seen this figure, loose with no accessories, sell for $40! Like all the '97's, this figure was missed by a great many collectors. If you were wanted this guy in 1997 or 1998, though, he was very easy to find on the retail shelf. Basically, he is not a difficult figure to find, but you may have to endure many dealers who will try to convince you otherwise. Personally, I passed on this guy back in '97 and '98 because I was focusing on Star Wars figures and these Joes were just repaints of figures I already had. A couple of years later, I realized my mistake and started looking for them. You can see the search was successful. With that in mind, you should be able to get this guy without too much trouble. With the original mold reaching high price points, this figure is a great alternative and the one version of this original Stormshadow mold that I currently own that actually seems some use.

While I no longer need a '97 Stormshadow, I am really after the Satan and Ninja Ku repaints of this mold that were released in Argentina. I would also be interested in a Ninja Viper mail away figure. If you have any of those that you would be willing to trade, shoot me an email.