Hasbro had a short break between the death of the Joe line in
1994 and its first reappearance as a collector themed line in
1997. But, really, 1997 Hasbro was a completely different company than the one that existed in 1994. The people who had made the vintage Joe line were gone. In their place were new people who lacked the connection to the brand. And, instead of trying to find a recipe that would have given them massive retail success, they fell upon a select few, elder members of the collecting community to guide their design choices. The result is a short era of safe, bland and uninteresting figures whose value is almost entirely tied up in the nostalgic ties that barely repaints evoked among a certain set of adults. The figures of this era aren't, necessarily, bad. They're just boring. They take no chances and don't challenge anyone's sense of comfort when thinking about their collecting habits.
This was the core problem with the A Real American Hero Collection (ARAHC) that was released in 2000 and 2001. Too many of the figures blended together. To uninitiated parents and casual collectors, the shelves appeared to be full of the same figure over and over again. Nothing stood out: either good or bad. The figures were, though, relatively good. Collectors liked them and bought a fair amount. But, the line couldn't compete with the adult collector driven but still kid supported Star Wars line. A few figures, though, really did work in the muted color schemes. Among them was the 2001 Tripwire.
You can make an argument that this is the best
Tripwire figure. (Though, you'd be wrong as the
Funskool figure is the best!) But, it's really not all that different from the
1983 version. The green is a little darker. The main difference is that the unique grey from the original version has been replaced by a more common black color. The color lacks the sheen of vintage black figures who still appeared shiny and vibrant and was, instead, a very flat black. This was the type of thing that the cool, hip adult collectors of
2001 pretended that they wanted. And, Hasbro gave us a whole line of figures who were almost exclusively the boring green and black colors. And, that line didn't last a year at retail.
2002 brought a ton more color to the line and it launched the Joe renaissance of the early 2000's where the brand had retail viability for a couple of years.
The thing about this figure is that the 1983 Tripwire is pretty much perfect. His lighter green gives him some distinction from some of his contemporaries. But, his grey highlights were a rarity in the vintage Joe line. For that reason, Tripwire stood out. A relatively boring figure became memorable with just a few design choices. For the 2001 figure, all of that personality was stripped away from Tripwire. Were he a lone release of this ilk, that would have been OK. But, most of the
ARAHC was ripping the soul from classic figures in order to appeal to a false sense of "gritty, military realism" that NEVER existed in the Joe line. It left a line of figures that people like. But, you don't see them used since, in pretty much every case, the vintage figure that was replaced by the later repaint is better. And, they are not different enough to warrant using the later design. It would be one thing if this was the only desert tan Tripwire that was released. That would have been safe, but also useful. Instead, it's the same ground we tread before: only 18 years later and not as good.
Of the ARAHC figures released in
2000 and 2001, this Tripwire remains one of the most frequently seen in various photos and dioramas (such as they exist in
2023). He's one of the few figures who often replaces the original. I suspect this is because this Tripwire is good enough and it offers the exact same aesthetic to a scene that the original figure provides. Tripwire is great as a vehicle operator or support figure. And, his covered head also allows you to use him as an army builder. (Fun fact, the 1983 Tripwire head looks amazing on a
Steel Brigade body if you have some part swaps you want to try.) So, you can have a couple of them if you want. But, most people like to use Tripwire as the lead: clearing the way for his team mates to safely navigate a passage.
The ARAHC started strong, gained momentum and then completely petered out in about 8 months. The first figures popped up in October of 2000 and by the summer of 2001, the figures were backed up all over the country. By October of 2001, the figures were showing up in discount and closeout outlets. The final wave was cancelled from retail and only salvaged by two online retailers because Hasbro was so far into the production process with the figure wave. (Despite the angry retorts to the contrary, I still fully believe the
Crimson Viper was planned for Wave V but was pulled from there and moved to the 2002 convention release.) Tripwire and his terrible packmate,
Big Brawler, were staples of closeout stores well into 2002. But, even at $5 for two figures, few people really stocked up on the set and even the army builders from this final retail wave were easy to find for more than a year if you frequented outlet malls or the offbeat closeout stores that still existed 21 years ago.
One huge upside of the ARAHC figures was that they, mostly, included the figure's original gear. The Joe design team of the 1980's spent inordinate amounts of time matching characters and their accessories. So, keeping the figure's paired with original gear worked well. This Tripwire includes his pack, three landmines and minesweepeer that debuted with the original release. Sans this gear, Tripwire is useless as a standalone figure. He can still work as a vehicle driver. But, Tripwire needs his gear to stand out among the other Joes. For some reason, I've never actually plugged the 2001 Tripwire's minesweeper into his backpack. I like the look of it still in its rigid, original form. This makes no sense. But, you can still pose the figure without this gear actually plugged into the pack as was intended.
Oddly, Tripwire is one figure that really got utilized quite well. The original 1983 figure is solid. He was sold all over the world and there are slight arm chevron variants to track down. In
1985, Hasbro went nuts and gave us the awesome red and orange
Listen & Fun Tripwire. It's completely ridiculous. Which makes it awesome! This darker figure appeared in 2001. From there, Hasbro sent the mold to India where the amazing Funskool Tripwire was produced. If you want a realistic Tripwire, you have options. If you want a surreal repaint, you can get one that fits that criteria. And, if you want a solidly colored but weird figure, the Funskool is there for you. Sure, a tan Tripwire would have been nice. But, you've got 4 distinct releases with two of them being something completely different from anything else in the line. (BTW, I forgot 2 releases, Blades and the Tiger Force Tripwire - Thanks to JRizzo in the comments.)
Tripwire figures aren't all that desired. While dealers will try to get $20-$25 for a loose, mint and complete figure, the reality is that you can get a carded set for less than that price. Open market figures are between $7-$10 with deals to be had by those who are patient. These days, it's far and away the cheapest Tripwire. And, as the colors are good, it's adequate for the character unless you want something weirder to represent the team's mine detector.
