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Favourite figure, each year...


DPrime

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Thought this might be fun on an otherwise boring day off. Someone's favourite might turn up as a hidden gem for the rest of us, who knows?

 

1982: Stalker - I was going to pick Grunt, because he's a great, basic soldier, but Stalker really is the standout figure from this year. First off, he's got that great camo job, which was pretty rare in the early days, and the beret. He's also the first African American on the team. It's funny, but even as a kid I think I appreciated the team's diversity... I wasn't really thinking about this when I started writing it, but I think that Hasbro made a positive influence on us kids of the Eighties by actively including minorities and females among the GI Joe ranks, and in positions of leadership,etc. (Take Doc as another good example.)

 

Anyway, I digress - he's a cool figure.

 

1983: Snow Job - I loved this guy, mostly because of his accessories, I think. Never actually had him as kid, but I do now. He was one of those guys I always wanted but never got, for whatever reason.

 

1984: Spirit - This was a hard year, but I think Spirit might be my favourite because of his cool accessories and Freedom the eagle.

 

1985: I'm just gonna go mainstream on this one and say Snake Eyes!

 

1986: Viper - Love 'em. Hawk's a close second.

 

1987: Falcon - Loved to see that some GI Joes were still part of the military in an ever-increasing bright and neon universe...

 

1988: Hit and Run - ditto. Don't have him yet though! :(

 

1989: I was pretty much out of Joes by then, but I love the couple of Night Vipers I've managed to acquire since then.

 

I actually don't know a whole lot about the later years, and don't care about them that much anyway, so I'm only going up until '89, but feel free to go up to JvsC, VVV, DTC, etc...

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As a kid my first GI Joe wasn't until 1985, but since as an adult I've picked up a lot of stuff I never had as a kid, I can go back to 1982 for my year-by-year favorites.

 

1982: Flash - I never had any of the original 13 as a kid. I only discovered them after the debacle that was the 1997 Toys R Us set. Luckily I passed on this boxed set and went for the originals on eBay not much later. Going back and discovering these figures for the first time, picking up the Marvel TPBs and reading the original comics gave me a whole new appreciation. Out of all the original 13, Flash obviously stands out as one of the most unique in terms of appearance. Everything about him - the uniform, the cool laser rifle, and the way he was characterized in the comic make him my favorite of the original 13 in 1982.

 

1983: Duke - I know the boards are full of Duke haters. But as a kid, Duke was my holy grail. My cousin had him, one of my friends had him, but I never did. And since my first exposure to the world of GI Joe was through the cartoons, the absence of Duke left a signifcant void in my Joe universe. Duke was one of the first figures I picked up when I got back into Joes, and while he is no longer the grail he once was, he still takes that spot for 1983.

 

1984: Zartan - Hands down, one of my favorite characters and figures as a kid. I still have vague recollections of the swamp skier in my Easter basket... But, the combination of cool vehicle, that funky mask the fit in his backpack, and the color change plastic was unbeatable.

 

1985: Dusty - My all time favorite figure and character to this day. I don't know what it is about him, but Dusty was always my favorite. Even in a year widely regarded as the best year of GI Joe (Flint, Snake Eyes v2, etc.) Dusty always stood out for me.

 

1986: Hawk - Once again a tought call, but this figure is just too cool. The bomber jacket and cool helmet with the goggles, plus the fact that this is the General of all the GI Joes made him a really cool figure.

 

1987: Tunnel Rat - One of the all time greatest figures. I still remember picking him up with a bunch of other 1987 figures. All of his accessories, the bandana, cool facepaint, and just an overall great figure help Tunnel Rat take the highly contested 1987 prize. Make no mistake - he had stiff competetion from the likes of Falcon, Fast Draw and Outback...

 

1988: Iron Grenadier - Technically, this was my brother's figure. We only had one, and the original got lost along the years, but looking back now at the rest of 1988 I'd have to say that the Iron Grenadier stands out amongst the rest. I really dug Shockwave as a kid, but making the call now the IG takes it.

 

1989: Rock N Roll - I never owned this figure. I really, really wanted it as a kid, but somehow I missed it when it first came out and couldn't find it later. It kind of lost its appeal to me now which is why I still don't have one, but as a kid I really liked this figure.

 

1990: Ambush - The renaissance year of GI Joe. I remember the new DIC cartoon and marketing blitz of these new GI Joes, and Ambush was one of the first ones I got. With his ghille suits and tent he was miles ahead of the other figures that year.

 

1991: Tracker - He came with an inflatable raft. That was the hook that got me.

 

1992: Duke - I know, I know... he's on the list twice now. But since I never had the '83 Duke as a kid, this was the next best thing. With the hardass looking new headsculpt, I finally had a leader for my Joe team (I didn't have the appreciation for Hawk that I do now)

 

1993: Duke - Insult to injury, I know... but do remember this wasn't long after Desert Storm. I was just so excited to see a realistic looking military figure in an ever-increasing land of neon.

 

1994: Stalker - I passed on this figure when it first came out, but made a mission to find it after I got back into GI Joes a few years ago. The perfect black-ops figure. Simple, cool, tough looking.

 

So there you have it.

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I was just thinking about this the other day.

 

1982: CLUTCH

 

I know a lot of people like the 3 unique characters of '82 (Snake-Eues, Stalker and Scarlet) but I like the more uniformed figures. Clutch is the best looking IMO. I like the brown on his chest. The VAMP is cool too.

 

Battle Helmet Cobra Commander is a close second.

 

1983: AIRBORNE

 

I was going to say the Silver Pads Grand Slam but ultimately I think I like Airborne better. Now if only I had either figure.

 

1984: RECONDO

 

Another tough choice. As much as I like Storm Shadow I had to go with Recondo. He's one of the best Joe figures ever made IMO. Most of my Joe battles always took place in a jungle setting so he is the perfect character.

 

1985: CRIMSON GUARD

 

Great figure! Love the idea of a Cobra Elite Infantry and the uniform on this guy goes perfectly with it.

 

Dusty was a close second here though.

 

1986: BEACHHEAD

 

Beachhead makes a great addition to anybody's Joe team. You gotta love the guys with the facemasks.

 

1987: FALCON

 

My favorite figure of all time. Who cares how he was portrayed in the cartoon? This is a solid figure who is 5,000x better than Flint and his pea-shooter shotgun.

 

1988: MUSKRAT

 

This was a close choice between him and Hit & Run. Ultimately I think Muskrat just works better with his "swamp fighter" specialty in my jungle battles than Hit & Run's mountain climbing gear. The camo on Hit & Run's face and hands also is a bit much. I mean does he wear it all the time?

 

1989: BACKBLAST

 

I feel weird picking this guy but 1989 had a pretty crappy line up for both the Joes and Cobra. This guy looks the most millitaristic so he get's my vote.

 

1990: AMBUSH

 

Salvo was my favorite figure from this year as a kid but in retrospect it's clear Ambush was the best Joe. Cobra's line up this year was again kind of funky.

 

 

 

Hell I forgot about the Iron Grenadier. I think that one actually beats out Muskrat in '88 for me.

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Tough call on these.

 

1982-Breaker. Just liked him from the first time I saw him in issue 1. I mean a guy in the Army that chews gum? How cool was that? Figure was cool too.

 

1983-Destro. I loved those little wrist rockets he had. I could not tell you how many times I wished I had them myself.

 

1984-Now it starts to get tough. Going to go with Storm Shadow. Just loved the fact he came with all of those weapons. Loved the backpack as well.

 

1985-This was the year I got into Joes. So I'm going with the one that started it all for me,Eels.

 

1986-B.A.T.S. What's not to like about these? BeachHead is a really close second.

 

1987-Cobra Commander. Just one of my favs.

 

1988-Hit & Run. Just loved this figure. Hardball is a close second.

 

1989-Rock & Roll. Man,I loved those machine guns he came with. Still trying to figure out why they gave him a shotgun though.

 

1990-hmm....got it narrowed down to Metal-Head,Pathfinder,Top-Side,Sub-Zero,and Stretcher.I'll give it to Top-Side and his double rocket pack.

 

1991-Heavy Duty. The last time this guy didn't come off as lame. Crimson Guard Immortal is a close second.

 

1992-My last year into the Joe line.Seeing as how I only had Big Bear and Duke I'll go with Big Bear.

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82/83 swivel Cobra Commander

83 Duke

84 Storm Shadow but Spirt is close

85 duh Snake Eyes

86 Hawk

87 Falcon but Tunnel Rat is close

88 Spearhead and Max

89 Night Viper

90 Range Viper

 

after that I did not care till much later.

Draven

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1982: Scarlett - Really, the figure itself kinda sucks, but I've always loved Scarlett as a character in the toons and comics. There's also something to say about a woman who's weapon of choice is a crossbow. @cool@

 

1983: Tripwire - Yet again, what made this figure for me was his character in the comics, and his filecard...a clumsy explosives expert...gotta love it. @lol@ Gung-Ho would definately come in a close second from this year.

 

1984: Storm Shadow - The first awesome year for GI Joe. There's so many cool and classic characters in '84, but I've gotta go with Stormy. The weapons have always been what made this figure so cool for me, and the fact that you can fit all four of them onto his backpack is even cooler.

 

1985: Eels - Another great figure who is made even better by it's accessories. The mouthpiece/breather, along with the head sculpt make this figure shine, and I've always loved diver action figures (except Deep Six...yuck!). I had a hard time deciding between this figure and Alpine from this year, as Alpine is possibly one of the coolest figures from '85 as far as accessories go, but had to go with Eels, because of the great sculpt, color sheme, and accessories on this figure...the perfect package.

 

1986: Low-Light - Along with Sci-Fi, the first GI Joe figure I ever owned, given to me by my parents on Chistmas Eve of 1986. I remember reading his filecard when I was younger, and loving the story about him being afriad of the dark until being lost in the woods, and found three weeks later with a flashlight and gun, with a smile on his face. Nostalgia aside, the black and gray outfit, along with the red goggles and shoulderpad, really make this character stand out over any other figure from 1986. His sniper rifle with the bipod is also one the best GI Joe weapons ever, IMO. My favorite GI Joe as well.

 

1987: Outback - This year really has quite a few turds in the lineup. Boring specialties, strange characters, and crappy accessories all around, except for a few characters. Outback is the only really awesome figure from this year as far as I'm concerned. I love his accessories, and the figure itself just looks mean. I also remember thinking how badass it was that his shirt said "Survival" across his chest when I was a kid. @lol@

 

1988: Hit & Run - When I first started filling in my RAH collection, and buying figures off of ebay, this was one of the first figures I bought. One of my friends had him when we were little, and I could never find him in stores, but always wanted him. The duffel bag, which houses his knife and grappling line, really makes this figure great, and like Low-Light, his color scheme makes him stand apart from all other figures in '88 as truely awesome.

 

1989: Night-Viper - The flip-up face mask with the monocle is a beautiful accessory. His color scheme, and the fact that he's the perfect opponent for my favorite Joe, help make this figure even better. @wink@

 

1990: Bullhorn - Surprisingly, it's hard for me to pick a favorite figure from this year, because there's just so many cool ones, but Bullhorn has to be it, just because of his backpack that holds the rifle you can break down and store inside of it. Brilliant accessory.

 

Beyond 1990, not much really impresses me, except for a few figures here and there, so I'm stopping here. :)

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88 Spearhead and Max

 

@puke@

 

@smilepunch@

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'82 - Scarlet just edges out Stalker

'83 - Airbourne

'84 - Zartan (man, this is where it starts getting really tough @hmmm@)

'85 - Snake Eyes

'86 - Hawk

'87 - Gung Ho (Dress Blues)

'88 - Shockwave

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Ohhhh nice topic. We need a favorite vehicle by year thread as well.

 

82: Battle Helmet CC

83: Destro

84: Storm Shadow

85: Buzzer

86: Viper

87: Tunnel Rat

88: IG

89: Night Viper

90: Rock Viper

91: Incinerators

92: Ninja-Viper

93: ??

94: ??

97: SKIP

98: Viper Mold

00: Rip-IT

01: Sub-Viper

02: Neo-Viper (O-Ring)

03: Tele-Viper

04: Cobra Infantry Trooper

05: Snake Eyes

06: ??

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1982: Snake Eyes

1983: Destro

1984: Roadblock

1985: Shipwreck

1986: Low-Light

1987: Techno-Viper

1988: Repeater

1989: Night-Viper

1990: Topside

1991: Incinerators

1992: Wet-Suit

1993: Duke

1994: Shipwreck

1997: Baroness

1998: Snow Serpent

2000: Undertow

2001: Wet Suit

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Ok I'm going to list out every year I can think of LOL:

 

1982-1983: COBRA Commander. He's the best version of COBRA Commander out there and I like him only slightly more than the spytroops wave 8 version because he doesn't have that skirt hampering movement and you could put his gun in a hole on his back.

 

1984: Firefly. His mold is probably the least hated for getting released over and over again and he was a badass villain. Zartan would end up to be a close second place, mainly because his accessories were kinda easy to lose.

 

1985: Snake Eyes. This is the best version of him out there and has replaced my wave 7 VvV Snake Eyes as my default version.

 

1986: Viper. He's a great army builder and I got a thing for figures in armor(I don't think that came out right). @loll@

 

1987: Tunnel Rat. Like Firefly, not too many dislike his mold despite being re-released so many times. He also was one of the few mixed characters in GIJOE.

 

1988: Shockwave. No doubt his mold was one of the best out there and his accessories definitely fit his job-a S.W.A.T. specialist.

 

1989: I would say Shockwave again, but I dare not, and I save him for second place. Instead, I'll go with Charbroil. The Night Force version is the only version that was actually great. The other two don't cut the mustard.

 

1990: Stretcher. He came with a lot of accessories and that hovercraft makes an interesting vehicle.

 

1991: Snake Eyes once again takes the lead. He looks like a cool S.W.A.T. commando, and plus he looks a lot like the GIJOE arcade game version.

 

1992: Shockwave again takes the lead, with Headhunters in second place. I cannot find a flaw in either of these two figures.

 

1993: Headhunter Stormtrooper. This guy truly looks bad-ass and those spikes make him look extremely dangerous.

 

1994: Alley Viper. He's designed to sorta look like the original, but I think he's an improvement. Not the best for Urban Assault, but still looks better than version two, which is better suited for the jungle.

 

1997: Polar Force Firefly. He looks like a S.W.A.T. trooper and with the lack of a COBRA symbol, i'm even more convinced he can be one.

 

1998: COBRA Trooper. A great repaint of the original Viper(with the BAT legs) and he could be used for Urban Assault situations(although the 2002 Viper repaint looks more suited to that).

 

2000: Firefly. He doesn't have gray, but he was the best Firefly I had in my eyes until I got the comic pack version.

 

2001: Low-Light. I actually use him as my default version. The original version was good, but looked fairly generic without the beard.

 

2002: General Tomahawk. I use this guy as my default General Hawk and his colors were better than the 1992 version.

 

2003: Alley Viper. He's the best version of Alley Viper ever released, but the thin legs and the lousy gun choice were the only two flaws that kept him from perfection.

 

2004: COBRA Infantry troopers. These figures were so well made, and looked a lot like S.W.A.T. troops.

 

2005: Convention Iron Anvil. This guy is one of the best repaint figures I've ever seen and is my favorite villain of villains. He will play a role in an upcoming diostory as my main villain.

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82: (Individual) Clutch, (army builder) Cobra Trooper

83: (Individual) Airborne, (army builder) H.I.S.S. Driver

84: (Individual) Rip Cord, (army builder) Stinger Driver (the only one, actually)

85: (Individual) Footloose, (army builder) Crimson Guard

86: (Individual) Dia-Tone, (army builder) Viper

87: (Individual) Falcon, (army builder) W.O.R.M.S.

88: (Individual) Shockwave, (army builder) Toxo-Viper

89: (Individual) Shockwave, (army builder) H.E.A.T.-Viper

90: (Individual) Bullhorn, (army builder) Rock Viper

91: (Individual) Low-Light, (army builder) Snow Serpent

92: (Individual) Cutter, (army builder) Headhunter

93: (Individual) Law, (army builder) Headhunter Stormtrooper

94: (Individual) Dial-tone, (army builder) Viper

97: (Individual) Stalker, (army builder) Viper (the only one)

98: (Individual) Torpedo, (army builder) Cobra Trooper

00: (Individual) Major Bludd, (army builder) Undertow

01: (Individual) Sure Fire, (army builder) Laser Viper

02: (Individual) Dart, (army builder) Shock Viper

03: (Individual) Switch Gears, (army builder) Tele-Viper

04: (Individual) Slip Stream, (army builder) new sculpt Viper v2

05: (Individual) Bombstrike, (army builder) Medi-Viper

06: (Individual) Interrogator, (army builder) Viper (of course)

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Ok, my favorites from each year are:

 

1982: Scarlet, not the most feminine figure, but my favorite GIJoe chick.

1983: Cobra Commander, it is CC how i'm sure we all remember him.

1984: Storm Shadow, Cobra's very own Ninja bad ass.

1985: Snake-Eyes, yeah he of course is the popular choice, but he's such a great figure.

1986: B.A.T., it was a cool idea to have an Android soldier for Cobra.

1987: Gung-Ho, the Marine Dress Blues uniform is just simply a cool look for this guy.

1988: Shockwave, I thought it was cool that a S.W.A.T. team expert was on the Joe team.

1989: Rock 'n' Roll, a great new look for a classic character.

1990: Range Viper, just a cool looking Cobra Trooper.

1991: Mercer, nothing like having a mercenary of all people on the Joe team.

1992: Roadblock, although i liked the past 2 versions, this one actually captured him perfectly.

1993: Gen. Flagg, cool figure but i lost his cool M-21 Combat rifle @grumpy@

1994: Stalker, once again another good Stalker figure (i kinda liked the '89 version too).

 

Honorable mention for the great year of 1985 has to go out to my favorite Cobra Troops of all time, the Crimson Guards #joecool#

 

And that ends the original 3&3/4 in. run of our favorite Real American Hero.

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82/ Flash, the first figure I ever owned. Having that little hint of sci-fi in a military toy was what pulled me in.

 

83/ Gung-ho, the first GI Joe tough guy. You have to be tough when you walk around looking like the village people.

 

84/Recondo, I don't know what it was with him. He was just a great soldier that went on all my missions.

 

85/ Eels, please o please give us a great throw-back update of this great frogman.

 

86/ Leatherneck, his gun simply rocked.

 

87/ Outback, accessories can be key in making a great figure. Outback is a perfect example

 

88/ Repeater, by this time I was entering High School so last thing I wanted to due was be known as the kid that plays with toys. so I started to phase out. I had to get the man with the cool aliens gun though.

 

89-00/ the Gi Joe dark ages for me. Not that the late 90's didn't have some great re-releases though. I just didn't get back into joes then.

 

Joe vs Cobra/ I may catch some flack for this one, but I loved the T-crotch Gung-ho

 

Spy Troops/ Zarana, very cool looking figure.

 

Valor vs Venom/ Dr Mindbender, this is the way a mad scientist should look.

 

DTC/ Range Viper, couldn't stand him until I got him in hand.

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Great topic!

 

Here is my list:

 

1982: Scarlett. My first love! Nothing is sexier than a red head who can kick some butt ninja style. Loved her crossbow too.

 

1983: Tripwire. Their was just something about this guy that made him cool to me. Maybe it was the fact that when I played with him, he did all the dangerous stuff. You got to be crazy to be a mine sweeper, right?

 

1984: Blowtorch! Probably my #1 figure out of all the Joes, Blowtorch was awesome. Maybe I had a thing for fire. It was awesome to see Blowtorch walk up to some Cobra hideout and torch them all. Yeah, his suit wasn't very battle field friendly, but who needs it when you're spittin' flames?

 

1985: Airtight. I don't think this guy ever got a lot of respect, except for me in my battles. Airtight was calm, cool, and able to handle anything. I think he teamed up with Blowtorch a lot and took down all the bad guys.

 

1986: Sci-Fi. This guy was a futuristic butt kicker in my stories. He was a loner, but always got in the good graces of his team mates with his accurate laser shots. I almost went with Lifeline for this pick, but I never had enough roles for Lifeline in my stories.

 

1987: Cobra Royal Guard. This guy was a mean one. I remember using this guy in my stories as a ninja. He would always go head-to-head with Snake-Eyes and sometimes come out a winner. His big blade he used was neat too. He cut through a lot of Joe armor in his day.

 

1988: Shockwave. Everyone loved this guy. How could you not? This SWAT guy was the coolest looking Joe out there. Not too mention his uniform gave him this appearance of stealth.

 

1989: Recoil. This year was my last full year of "playing" with the Joes. This last figure was great for recon patrols and sneaking up on the enemy. I didn't care much for his blue weapons, but it just meant he had no problem borrowing stuff from other guys.

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Nice lists there, but if it were me I'd make one slight revision in the set-up. I'd have two figures each year--one for the individual and one for generic army builder. The thing is that I noticed in most of the lists the individual Joes reign with only about one army builder per list. I know that there are a lot of good army builders released during this prime period and they're being left off the charts because of it. For instance, with all these lists I only saw the classic CG appearing as the 1985 choice for one person (though it did get an honorable mention on another list). This makes for some tought choices, especially in the tough years like 85 and 86.

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82: Flash

83: Airborne

84: Firefly

85: Snake Eyes v 2

86: Beach Head / Low Light

87: Tunnel Rat / Outback

88: Shockwave

 

I think I stopped after that year. I have to think some more about the other years

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Just to continue I had to look them over.

 

I forgot that HitnRun was in 88 he's tied with Shockwave for my 1988 selection.

 

89 - Alley Viper v1

90 - Bullhorn

91 - Sci Fi (but i like Mercer v2 also)

92 - Barricade

93 - Headhunter Stormtrooper

94 - Battle Corps Flint

97 and 98 - NONE

00 - Dialtone

01 - Fast Blast Viper

02 - Snake Eyes black with O ring

03 - Chief Torpedo although there were a alot of good ones

04 - Duke v16

05 - Dreadnok Torch

06 - Interragotor

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