Hey, Eddy, this is Stalker... for real... I played Stalker and Iceberg and of course DESTRO... So you like the Holy Trinity, eh? YOOOO JOE!!!!!! arthur b (Ngai) See ya...
Breaker was my first Joe and the fact that he was from 30 minutes from my home in East Tenn just made it connectable for me. I'd never had a toy or knew of a hero that was from where I was before so that always kept him at the top of my list of favorite Joes.
@angusmacfrankenstein7227 Breaker was also my first one. I was also coming off of Star Wars, and G.I. Joe seemed more "real" to me. Breaker just looked cool to me, cool enough to overcome not having a weapon. Clutch was also a favorite, because he looked like my dad, with the dark hair and beard. The first figs were iconic to me, and will always be some of my favorites.
Now that I look back at it, I see that the writers/artists of Issue #1 of the G.I. Joe comic book took great effort to show EVERY character doing something in the story. This was a brilliant way to showcase the characters and ensure that fans of the toys could find appeal in those action figures and vehicles. 🤔
Stalker was my first as well. They were all on the peg at the time, and thats the one I picked. I got Zap next and basically just picking the bazooka over the lazer. Had no connection yet with Snake Eyes, so at that point in my childhood, he was just the guy that didn't come with many accessories. My sister had Scarlett, and aside from getting Rock n Roll for Xmas or something, the only other 1st gen I had was Clutch. 2nd gen, I'd saved my money and ended up with most of them
1. Flash 2. Snake Eyes 3. Steeler 4. Clutch 5. Rock n Roll 6. Stalker 7. Hawk 8. Zap 9. Scarlett 10. Short Fuse 11. Breaker 12. Grunt 13. Grandslam (silver) My ranking is based off the figures, my first joes was 82 straight arm Rock n Roll, Breaker, and The motorcycle, got them all at the same time at Ventures.. Still have them all 3, broken thumbs and all. Sold and rebought, and sold some more.. but will never let the original 3 go.. I will always keep and rebuild around those 3. I have other favorites Rock n Roll V2, Salvo, Hit&Run, Firefly, Zartan, just I handful of Originals from my childhood. 👍💯
Oh yeah. Obsessed. It was more important to me than Star Wars as a kid. I met him at a convention and told him the impact the story had and he acted like I was an alien. he seems to see it as a work for hire job that took over his life. He had no idea the impact it would have
I was lucky enough to have all these as a young kid . This introduction made my love for Joes as my all time favorite 80s figure line . That and wrestling figures lol ! And I still have a great love for both .
There are so many fantastic individual figures but this set of 13 did so much to create a world for children to play within. The addition of Cobra provided the perfect foil for GI Joe. If the line had been cancelled after series 2, it would still have been a wonderful toy line.
Bro! Completely agree with this list and your feelings ... completely. Totally forgot how badass my Stalker with white canoe and Rock n Roll with double gats were, thank you! Still have Stalker and Snake Eyes with gray glasses -- he came with so many swords. When my friends and i acted GIJoes someone always had to be Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, any little sister around was automatically Scarlett. About to go watch her film scenes now. Waxing nostalgic. Thank You again and as always and Go JOE! PS -- Love your Destro still in the box there. I remember being in a mall in Anchorage around 5 or 6 years old and mom bought me him when he came with a ship and i went out to the car and played contently for hours while the two of them shopped -- our childhood's version of ipads but with creativity and zero brainwashing or radiation. Aloha!
Well said. I’ve been dropping by your channel and enjoying the content. Back in the day I had purchased snake eyes but was moving away from toys. Still read the first 25-30 Joe comics. Great fun listening to a fan and collector. Thanks
you are actually right about seniority: Staller was an E-5(sergeant) like half of the team, but he was more decorated and had more combat experience than the others except Snake Eyes and Hawk so he was #2 on the team…Snake Eyes had as much experience and better decorations but he had to take a break from the military for a while(the whole disfigurement and training with the ninjas) so was behind Stalker in seniority
Man, this Channel is fun. I love this dude. The original Joes were hard focused on military, like the very early comics. Olive drab, organic weapons. I always think of issue #1. Drives me absolutely nuts that NOBODY can seem to make a good G.I. Joe movie. The material is so rich with drama and action. I think the idiots keep starting the franchise later than it should. Start with the basic original Joes and issue #1. By the way, the Mortarman MOS in the Marine Corps is 0341, and they are still useful for smaller footprint infantry. In fact, with air support stretched ridiculously thin in Afghanistan and in Iraq, often enough times call-for-fire was about artillery and indirect mortar fire.
Thanks! Yeah, I think the reason the movies continue to suck is they don't use the source material. They think it doesn't matter and it's just a toy. What they don't realize is it has it's own well-developed mythology/ world
The movies have been lackluster. I think if they did one that concentrated more on military instead of comic value, then it would make a better movie. It looks like live action animated movies. Make the characters real and relatable, and they would probably have more success. I think they tried a little bit with Snake Eyes but not enough. Make it a modern day story with the characters as their personas.
Such a great and fun video, thank you! I was a fan of the GI JOE cartoon, and didn't get to know most of these characters. They are so much more interesting to me now as an adult.
Thanks! Yeah, the comic developed them a little more, whereas the cartoon gave us more Shipwreck, Quick Kick and others that barely get any attention in the comic.
Really enjoyed this. Would have switched a couple around ‘cause these lists are always based on our personal nostalgia and memories. I love how your history includes both the comic and cartoon continuity - mine does as well - great job!
Short-Fuze was my first GI Joe figure. 40+ years later I still have him, well what's left of him. Could never find my "great white whale" Snake-Eyes. Great video topic giving good perspective on the original 13. Your top 3 is spot on! I am looking forward to more future Classified releases of the 13 over time.
One thing about Scarlett is she is literally in every iteration of GI Joe. All the different comic lines, animated productions, Sigma 6, Renegades, etc. I think its good they always kept her in every version for a female lead.
He's spot-on with his analysis of Snake Eyes in particular, pointing out the things that made him so great. The SE movie was horrendous because they made him into an unlikable jerk.
Hi, I am from India and grew up in the mid-80s and was totally fascinated with the action figure line, our version was considered spiritually substandard than the US one, but boy...we loved it....
Unfortunately I have been out of the loop on tons of classified figures . But every one I have seen look awesome ! I wish you could do a ranking or tier list on all of those ! Mainly just so I can see them all , nerd out and be jealous I don't have them !! If I won the lottery I would buy them all on the first day .
I just found your channel. I’ve been out of touch with G.I. Joe for several years. Where did the figures at 0:07 on the video come from? I’ve never seen the original figures with painted belts. I’d love to have a set of those.
The 2000s line reused the Sonic Fighters Stalker mold in a Toys R Us Tiger Force multipack (without the annoyingly massive backpack) and was a favorite of mine. As soon as I got my Steel Corps figures, one of the JUMP packs got immediately slapped onto my Classified Stalker. Just need to get a flight stand for him now.
Even though most of these figures looked a lot like each other the file cards really brought out my imagination plus some of the accessories made them more exciting than others. Here is how I am ranking them as to my nostalgia: 13. Steeler - although the MOBAT is so iconic I never had this vehicle (one of the original few that I didn’t have) as a kid so I never had this figure so I place him at the bottom of my list. 12. Colonel Hawk - he never really stood out to me as a kid, the MMS was what I really cared about but he was pretty awesome in the early run of Marvel comics but personally never one of my favorites, Duke was always my leader when they released him. 11. Grunt - Even though they made him an actual person and not just some random trooper made him pretty cool, his card art was epic but he was not utilized much as a kid but his Classified figure is very nice and one of the better releases of the line in my eyes. 10. Breaker - Hasbro was smart to release him with the RAM (not the most exciting figure) but I actually really like the figure although his head sculpt reminds me more of a Clutch than Breaker, they should have made him more clean shaven and gave him the bubblegum bubble to attach to the helmet mic. Now he was actually very utilized in the comics which was nice to see. 9. Short-Fuze - I was an angry child so with his file card saying he is prone to anger it made me like him even more, and also all my battles were like battlefield fights so he was the guy in the back launching mortars on Cobras heads, bring back a lot of memories. 8. Zap - he and Short-Fuze in my head were always buddies launching rockets and mortars at Cobra which made him more likable and utilized than most other figures in my epic couch battles. 7. Clutch - this figure got more attention after his Marvel appearances, he was an early favorite of mine in the comics and the VAMP is such a badass vehicle in general how could you not like this figure, trying to steal Snake-Eyes’ girl 6. Grand Slam - although him and Flash look alike, that silver look was just so awesome to me plus he came with the JUMP which made him even more playable and fun to use in battles, just wish he were given more exposure in the comics/cartoons (if he was even in the cartoons) 5. Flash - I highly agree with you that his laser rifle was about as SCI-fi as I wanted G.I. Joe to go, I always like the more military aspect which was the inspiration for me to spend 25 years in the Air Force. Flash’s backpack and rifle were awesome as a kid and how they used him in the comics was perfect, even though he like Grand Slam should have gotten more exposure. 4. Stalker - his green camo fatigues are still one of my favorites as a kid, the. Classified version is really nice but he really deserves the retro treatment and I am happy they didn’t make the dreadlock version as that isn’t the Stalker that I know and like, plus the beret is such a nice touch to the figure. He was never my second in command but was leading a lot of my missions as a kid. 3. Rock N Roll - this was so high on my list because his M-60 was my favorite weapon as a kid and the bandoliers gave him such a unique look as with the golden hair and beard. The Classified figure is actually one of my top 5 favorite figures released as I love the addition of tattoos and the rock n roll hand gesture. His Classified head sculpt is top 3 to me right after Outback and Snow Job. 2. Scarlett - her and Snake-Eyes relationship in the comics was the epic tale of love and devotion and it is still going strong in the comics with Snake-Eyes coming back from the dead. The figure may not be the best but her strong presence in the comic and willingness to sacrifice herself for the greater good makes her very iconic and beloved in my mind and I am with you when you say she is probably the best female character ever created. She was my second in command as a kid because I considered her like a female ninja (hopefully they release Ninja Force Scarlett soon) with her shurikens on her gloves plus who doesn’t like a crossbow with Rambo exploding arrows. 1. Snake-Eyes - after my aunt gave all my Star Wars figures away as a kid the next action figure I picked up was Snake-Eyes at the nearby Ben Franklin store, his all black appearance just stood out so much and this figure is the reason I love G.I. Joe and when they released Storm Shadow and I found out they were both trained ninjas I wanted to be a ninja so bad as a kid. I have equal love for the commando and ninja versions but him being that silent killer always resonates loudly with him. In Resolute I liked how he wasn’t the main protagonist but was used when least expected and he should have always been used as that sort of last resort when you needed someone who you could count on to get the job done and set all morales aside and give you everything they had to complete the mission and that is what Snake-Eyes embodied to me. Larry Hama utilized him well in the comics, but killing him off was one of his worst mistakes as a writer, thankfully he figured a way to bring him back, he is a true badass to the end!!!!!
Well as a veteran and a mortarman in the marine corps, heavy mortars is 81mm mortars are a battalion commands pocket artillery. Short fuse is a 60mm mortar witch is a company commanders hip pocket artillery we are still very much used in battle and with new innovation and types of rounds we are even more useful
My grandfather gave me the H.A.L. with Grand Slam for Christmas and that started my obsession with G.I. Joe. Such wonderful memories! My top 3 are the same as yours. All are great.
I honestly can’t fault any of your logic here with your list, it’s solid. Breaker is the only standout among the original 13 not named Scarlet or Snake-eyes to get multiple major appearances in the cartoon, the others only got one-offs as the focus or in the case of Steeler, Clutch, and Grunt: a two-parter with Steeler as the main focus. Hawk and Grand Slam got screwed, Hawk made it back with his second figure and was the leader in the second season onwards but Grand Slam never got in at all! and as crappy as it may seem, never underestimate a mortar: there’s thousands of soldiers who can attest to the deadliness of them, especially Ukrainian soldiers currently fighting Cobra…I mean Russia
Agree with the usefullness of the mortar in a strike force especially to take out entrnched Cobras after Snake Eyes and Stalker infiltrate the enemy lines.
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimal not much has changed, it’s the same tech as then: long tube, bipod, heavy baseplate. and recalling the comics, he was used like any other infantry because he was never able to use the mortar…same for Zap and Flash, they were specialists but never used their specialty in the comics!
Great video!. I always liked the cartoon rivalry of my favorite Joe, Spirt IronKnife vs StormShadow. They were enemies but had a deep respect for eachother. Plus Spirt had ol Freedom and Any Joe's with pets are cool. SnakeEyes/Timber Shipwreck/Polly Mutt/Junkyard CrocMaster/Fiona
Dude. I saved a couple dollars in 1982, and I went to Jewel/Osco with my parents on grocery day excited I was going to buy a Joe in the Osco toy section. The only one there was Short Fuze. I bought it, but yeah, what you said. Also, I want to say one of coolest things was when they released weapon accessory packs, in an alternate universe Kenner did the same for Star Wars weapons.
I was a kid walking around Kmart when I first saw them. Flipped out and they were all there. Mom said I could only get one!! So after about 30 minutes I ended up getting stalker. The reason was I was into the camo gear he wore. But trust me it was a very hard decision. Next was Snake eyes. So I guess my ranking would have them 1 and 2.
I was born in 81 I missed the first Joes. The second batch were the joes I always remember. Even though I always wished I'd been able to collect those guys army building was always my thing
I wasn't familiar with the original 13, so this was a very insightful and engaging look at these characters. I only had a few joes growing up (mostly collected M.A.S.K., TFs & HeMan in the 80s), which makes it somewhat odd that I have nearly every classified figure released. Seeing images of the H.A.L. (8:38), the M.M.S. (9:22), the Ram Cycle and the V.A.M.P. brought back memories, as I definitely had those "vehicles" but don't remember playing with those figures. Odd seeing Cobra manning the H.A.L. 23:04... Bought some of the discounted yellow buzz lightyear cranes to sit in as them since it'll likely be some time before classified does them.
When I watched the Snake Eyes Origins movie my thought was "Bad Snake Eyes movie, kinda of a cool Storm Shadow Origins film though." I think I pretty much agree with your list, there was something special about that first batch of Joes.
My first Joe was Breaker. While he may have been "dull," he was important. He was the radio operator. Plus, he's from Gatlinburg, TN which is an hour-and-a-half from where I was born, grew up and still live.
Where I lived back in the day we only had a few channels on TV. Every year at Christmas time, one of the stations would have an hour long GI Joe cartoon. To my friends and I it was the equilivant to the Super Bowl. We'd get so amped up for the GI Joe toys we were hoping for on Christmas Day! This time of year alvwaysmakes me think back to those days!
1. Flash 2. Snake Eyes 3. Steeler 4. Clutch 5. Rock n Roll 6. Stalker 7. Hawk 8. Zap 9. Scarlett 10. Short Fuse 11. Breaker 12. Grunt 13. Grandslam (silver) My ranking is based off the figures, my first joes was 82 straight arm Rock n Roll, Breaker, and The ram cycle, got them all at the same time at Ventures.. Still have them all 3, broken thumbs and all. Sold and rebought, and sold some more.. but will never let the original 3 go.. I will always keep and rebuild around those 3. I have other favorites Rock n Roll V2, Salvo, Hit&Run, Firefly, Zartan, just held onto a handful of Originals from my childhood. 👍💯
I didn't pay attention to the file cards, for the longest I thought Clutch was the team leader. Him and the VAMP was my first Joe toy; he had the black beard, shoulder holster, and came with the coolest vehicle. He was spot of for the old 12 inch GI Joe Commander, or Eagle Eye GI Joe. It wasn't till I started getting the comics did I learned different. But for a while. On my team, Clutch was the Commander. The Cartoon. I liked the first mini-series withe the MASS Device. But then came the second one. I hated all GI Joe Cartoons when it came out. Specifically, the scenes with Snake-Eyes and Shipwreck. Timber and Polly. To me they turned GI Joe into Scooby Doo. I still refuse to watch the cartoon.
Finally a Joe channel that looks good and isn't hosted by some hillbilly. Subscribed. Comments: It was always hard to play with Short Fuze without doing the Thurston Howell voice because of his pointy soy face. Always hated the receding hairline monkeyface characters. The new figures for the original 13 still look a little too futuristic for me. Fingers crossed Grunt and Breaker will appear in the retro line with a more traditional look. Steeler got a two parter in the cartoon. He stayed behind in an alternate dimension after being bitten by some kind of bug. One of the more memorable episodes.
Thanks! Yeah, Short Fuze face doesn't work. Of the originals that have gotten a Classified figure so far, the Rock N Roll is incredible. Looking forward to CLutch
Thanks for sharing! I like where you've placed most of the Joes in your rankings, and why. For me, however, Grand Slam makes my top five, and for one reason only: Marvel's GI Joe Issue #17. Grand Slam beats the ever-loving snot out of Major Bludd, who had hijacked a city bus full of civilians. Grand Slam saved the bus and put Bludd in the hospital... and earned my respect, even as a kid. This is getting long (sorry!) but one more honorable mention: Breaker. As a kid, I hated the figure. He didn't even come with a gun. But as an adult, I re-read his file card. He was a part of Project Gamma (presuming in Vietnam/Cambodia)... which was HIGH LEVEL stuff - CIA, Green Berets... and a terrible controversy. Nevertheless, if he was a part of THAT, theres a LOT more to Breaker than bubble gum ;)
I like the Commando version that came with Timber. It's got a nice look. Some updates, but recalls the original and came with the Uzi. The first figure they made is also great looking, but had dumb guns, no Uzi, and mine had some QC issues (foot broke) What about you?
I like the new Retro carded Snake Eyes. The head on the alpha commando one looks weird to me. Like he's wearing a helmet and not an actual mask. But that's just me
I just got into buying GI Joe toys because of Black Friday when they were discounted and I love the Classified series! Back in the 80s, I only had three of them, Cobra Commander, Cobra Commander in blue armor with the trapezoid helmet (apparently he's from the comic), and Dusty. I got to watch the cartoons but not that frequently, so I thought Duke was always the main character. I didn't even know about the comics and the original team. I also thought Snake Eyes was the bad guy and Storm Shadow was the good guy simply because of the color they wear! My knowledge of GI Joe is still limited so whenever I buy Classified, I mostly pick based on which ones look interesting to me and then I'd try to read up about who they are. To think that I made Snake Eyes cut off Zarana's arm in a little video story I made was probably something the "real" Snake Eyes wouldn't do lol!
After Them I Got Destro. 1984/ Now I've Gotten Some I Had As Az A Lil Kid Growing Up In Detroit Michigan. I Have Some Of The Classified Series. Storm Shadow Snake Eye's Scarlett And Baroness 3/3. OR Four. / Ninja Force Storm Shadow Sgt Airborne G1 Edition/ Destro G1/Baroness G1/ Before They Redid Her Over In 84/ Major Bludd G1/ And Bazooka G3 Or G4 Edition And Psycout G1 Edition. / Had A Few In My Younger Years. Sgt Slaughter With The Warthog Tank/ Battle Force 2000 Blaster And Avalanche. Crazy Legs Zander Zarana G1's / Mutt G1. G2 Storm Shadow/ Zartan G1 Buzzer G1. / Rock N Roll G2. Sepentor G1. Wet Suit G1 Silver Edition Torpedo G1. And Trip Wire Reissue Destro Reissue. 25 Anniversary EDITIONS
My first two Joes were Breaker and Snake-Eyes. Short-Fuse was also available in my local Hudson's Bay but I didn't ask my parents to buy him for me (possibly because he hadn't been featured prominently in the comic book). It was about a month later that Grunt and Stalker turned up on a local store. I recall cutting lawns to raise the money to buy them. It was still several months after that I first saw Flash, Zap, Rock'n'Roll, and Scarlett on shelves.
Forgot to include my rankings: 1. Scarlett 2. Snake-Eyes 3. Stalker 4. Flash (for me, the most visually dynamic of nine original Joe who were sold separately) 5. Breaker 6. Clutch (I love the Springsteen connection--Asbury Park, NJ) 7. Steeler 8. Rock'n'Roll 9. Grunt 10. Zap 11. Hawk (obviously an important character, but a very unimpressive original figure) 12. Grand Slam 13. Short Fuse Thanks for the fun video.
Stalker was my first Joe figure. Got him for the green beret. Hes always been my favorite character, even more than Snake Eyes. Flash was my second figure and the Cobra Officer my third. I was the only kid in the neighborhood with the MMS and Hawk. So i always got to be in command lol. Didnt start reading the comic until #9 then i got hooked
I first saw original 13 on Saturday morning cartoon commercials while we lived in FL in 1982. I saw them on turnstile rack at Montgomery Wards after seeing that commercial, Rock and Roll was one stuck in my mind that night. I did not get any Joes til 1983. Some older kids in 3rd grade made fun of my friends and I on the playground for playing with Star Wars guys and they had Joes (we had moved back to upstate NY by this time). One night my parents went to get groceries and early Christmas shopping. I had been asking for some Joes and mom picked out Snow Job and Destro. I loved those figures but really was excited by the military look of the original 13. I was hooked and got a to. Of Joe toys til 1987 or so. Was detrimental to getting transformers or any other stuff that came out then, I only asked for GI toys for birthdays or Christmas etc. I really loved those toys though, and took wayyyyy better care of them than I did my Star Wars figs when I was 4 to 7 years old. I wish I had my Joes still because I kept them so nice they would be great to display now. I acquired replacements in the early 2000’s but the figure and vehicle lots were never as nice as mine (except for a funskool sky striker that was sealed and my dumb ass opened it).
Everything I just said was just erased by one negative keystroke. So, to reiterate, I said that it'd be too cool for you to do a follow up to the 1984/85 line of figures and vehicles since that was the best line
😂😂😂 no. Totally agree with your countdown. Snake and Breaker were my first guys with the RAM. I still lament the day a buddy accidentally snapped Stalker’s left arm off… He eventually became a cyborg… but I still am sad…🤣✌️🤘🇨🇦
No problem! So is Shipwreck. Although he is never portrayed that way, but his name (Hector Delgado) would assume that. Gi Joe was always really diverse, even from the first line.
100% on adding filecards/bios to Classified. The biggest hole in the line is the lack of character development and weapon/loadout definition. They are relying on nostalgia to give people a reason to care about these figures.
They don’t need file cards because they put the information that would be on a file card in the product description for Hasbro Pulse. For example, “While Cobra headhunts top scientists and researchers from across the globe, less-qualified recruits wind up as Mole Rats, quarriers and miners seeking new energy sources to power Cobra’s war machine. Extracting deposits of volatile Dark Energon has sparked certain troopers to become mindless husks bent on destroying anything in their path.”
Check out the GI Joe Order of Battle comics, each page reprinted a character's file card info with a profile picture... Steeler's was re-written to be more distinct.
My rankings are just a bit different. 13. Snake Eyes 12. Scarlett 11. Stalker 10. Clutch 9. Breaker 8. Grunt 7. Steeler 6. Rock n Roll 5. Grand Slam 4. Zap 3. Hawk 2. Short Fuze 1. Flash
You’re right doing a video for three wouldn’t be a big video. I was kind a hoping they would’ve been in that video that you were done but doing one for may be the first two seasons wouldn’t be too bad.
Snake is my favorite since I was a kid when he save Scarlett while being burnt and not able to talk writes in dirt cm to complete the mission and kept going very strong yet not going into that paranormal over power type superhero a much need selfless will sacrifice himself for his team
