SOA

SOA at Youtube

Game Trailers at Youtube

A game I picked up in a Walmart bargain bin, Soldiers of Anarchy/ SOA, a game I found fun.
It was, I guess one would say, "buggy," but I liked the music and the backgrounds, I like post-apocalyptic stuff, too.
I really liked being able to select different characters, each of whom could be given more training, different weapons, and gain experience, and then being able to select the characters I wanted to go out on a mission.
Not only that, but being able to choose vehicles AND outfit them for missions was huge fun. Not to mention having to actually repair the vehicles after a mission, or re-arm them.
And having to trade for different munitions and vehicles added to some fun.

Actual story line and game play aside, this game really captured my imagination as to how I might like a GIJOE video game.
I suppose just a few years later, I wouldn't mind this still.
I like xbox Mercenaries quite a bit, too, but I think I would like to have more characters to control. With Mercenaries as inspiration, I could easily imagine running and gunning, and driving, through a GIJOE world.

I think I would like to try something closer to S.O.A., I think my speed would be the slowest thing, though; I can only do so many things before the game action starts to feel slow.

Still, just browsing these uploads makes me want to put some Stingers, STUNS, and FANGs in there and load them up with VIPERS.

Cobra '91 /09

1991 has some nice stuff. I remember getting the BAT from the store back in the day, and that thing was always in action, it joined two BAT I's.
The Talking Battle Commander Cobra Commander was a Christmas present, this was my first "hooded" Cobra Commander. A "hooded" Cobra Commander is a necessary thing, previously I was using a second hand battered '87 battle armored CC.
Also, the Talking Battle Commander Overkill was a Christmas gift at the same time. This was pretty cool, a super BAT so advanced. I thought it was pretty cool, except for those sound packs on the back. (that was a poor idea, and I don't give low opinions on a lot of stuff) It took me awhile to take the packs of these guys, everything really got taken pretty good care of and taking things apart was contrary to my M.O.

Eco-Warriors were out this year, I bought these on clearance at the Childrens Palace in Duluth, probably in 1993 or 1994, when that store closed. They were the bulk of what was left of that stores stock by the time I got up to that store. Sludge Viper hasn't been that interesting to me, maybe the colors are the detractor, but the Toxo-Vipers I feel are a perfect complement to the '88 Toxo Vipers. I may do a squad build on these guys at some point, they have a nice blue and green overall.

Now the battle helmet Cobra Commander here got some use, I think I bought this one myself. I still totally dig his gun, and the overall style is not too far out there, I think the arms kind of killed the fun on this guy for me. Yeah, a lot like that '91 Duke, the arms won't get close enough to the body...something in the shoulder/ torso design. Hard to fit guys like this in older vehicles.

That brings me to the rest of the figures that I've picked up in more recent years. The Snow Serpent and Desert Scorpion are a couple awesome figures I always wanted. I would like to squad build these quite a bit. The Snow Serpent in this fashion is a little more light infantry to its older '85 regular infantry counter part, and I like that. Desert Scorpions are pretty cool, and there's no other desert trooper in the classic sense. And the naming is nice so that it's not all "x" viper this or what not. Sort of how an Eel could have been simply a Diver Trooper, or something.

Interrogator is a major "modern" player in the CobraVerse here, serving as a sort of mysterious henchman that does the Commanders bidding. A sort of quiet character that has a presence that terrifies the Cobra forces. I'll have to expand on this guy at some point.

Night Vulture is a trooper, but, aside from the orange detail, really says commando to me. And instead of building a squad of glider troopers, this figure has become an individual character. A commando for Cobra, as Firefly can't be trusted here, Night Vulture has taken his place.

Helix

Technically, it's Agent Helix, but I don't care for the "agent" addition to the names. Is it due to some proprietary naming rights infringement potential problems? I don't know. If it's not lawfully required, why use it, though? At least without explanation?


As for Helix, being a new character/ figure, looking cool, and being a female, I had to add this one to my classic-oriented figure collection. I actually went out of my way to shop for this figure, which is something I haven't done since those ARAH-style army builder packs and OCS sets were available at retail. I didn't have to look too hard for Helix, unlike those army builders, for goodness sake. Anyway, Helix looked very interesting, and indeed, is a pretty cool figure. But beyond the superficial, I haven't really felt any character from the figure. That could be from the poorly limited file card biography, but that's been the modern GIJOE product for a couple years.

Giving more thought to the possible background of the character gives a great insight to that figure. Think about how Low-light was afraid of the dark as a child, or a guy with a passion for gourmet food becomes a machine gunner. Someone could have just said, these guys are big, bad, and the best, and leave it at that. Personality goes a long way. (this makes me think of the movie Pulp Fiction, with the chat about the pig Arnold on Green Acres.)

So, with Helix, we automatically don't get much biography personality. We get an expert marksman with advanced martial arts training that has a special finishing move. (Sounds like a video game..heh.) Now, does the video game or one-shot comic add anything to this? Helix has a total mental picture and can calculate everything going on in a situation?

That's where Helix has been stuck in my little JoeVerse corner. There's been some good discussions and inputs as to other peoples uses. I'm thinking something along these lines now, which could change, but here's my addition to a file card for Helix.
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"Often bullied and picked on at school, Helix turned into a loner. Labeled as a "difficult child," Helix's upper class parents sought out many therapists, psychologists, and many other medical professionals for "solutions" to their perceived problem child; even going so far as to undertake questionable off-shore experimental medical gene "treatments." Her upper class parents also forced every trendy extra-curricular activity and high-priced private lesson possible on her. It wasn't until a martial arts course where Helix found a natural talent and an outlet for her overt lifestyle of too much input and forced conformity.

Martial arts helped Helix find an inner calm and sort out priorities, as well as give her self-confidence and the ability to fend for herself. With her new found inner focus, she was able to re-focus much of her former yuppie activities to her advantage; particularly displaying levels of Olympic-class gymnastics and marksmanship. Her training reached new levels upon joining former GIJOE team members at a private martial arts studio in California."

1987 Cobra

1987, a named Cobra operatives with wild costumes and THREE army builders with removable helmets.


I have to follow up 1987's GIJOE team with the 1987 Cobra group.


I must say there is a lot of purple. And brown. The only guy in the mix that really blends with say, a 1986 Viper, is Big Boa. But that's just me. And it's still all good, but when thinking about how I always wanted a Cobra "blue" army... well, was there really that much "blue" to choose from? Battle armor Cobra Commander isn't here, either, I have a 2000 release of that figure, though.

I included the "sub-group" figure of Nemesis Enforcer in this picture (taken in 2009). That's the only "sub-group" figure I have for Cobra, and the figure doesn't do the GIJOE cartoon movie's Nemesis Enforcer justice. This is a figure I would like to get the 25th anniversary version of. A taller and more disproportionate (to the old-style toys) would make this character stand out. As is, he kind of feels like Serpentor's butler hanging in the background up there.

Of everybody else up there, I would say it's a toss up between Croc Master and the Techno-vipers for any use of Cobra's from 1987, or re-appearances, or discussions online. The Techno-vipers are pretty decent army builders and have a nice selection of wild accessories. These guys have become the techie-troopers of Cobra in some ways and seem to have a good acceptance by fans, myself included.
Croc Master reappeared, and that's why I think he comes to close to rivaling the Techno-vipers in popularity. The 1987 style mold isn't bad, it's a tough looking figure, he even made comic appearances. The 2005 Croc Master made it sound like their was a rivalry to be the number one Croc Master among many...something I didn't by into.

1987 had a good number of single named Cobras, but they don't really get much attention. They are fairly out-there characters. But I think they all have potential. Big Boa is the guy I think has the most potential. It's like Dress Blues Gung-ho (forgot about him...), this is Big Boa in training mode only. Look at the difference in Sgt. Slaughter from 1985's drill wrestler to the combat marine in 1988; much more useful. I have an earlier post elaborating on Big Boa and also on Raptor. Raptor, well, I'll say this figure is one that really needs an update.

Crystal Ball is near the bottom in most respects, too, all around. After playing the Command and Conquer Red Alert II/ Yuri's revenge, the character of Crystal Ball came alive inspired by that games's Yuri character. Yuri is a very bizarre guy, but mind controlling battlefield units or hypnotizing an opponent over the phone are some crazy feats. So, I've injected some of that games character into how I view Crystal Ball, but Crystal Ball is another guy that could use an update to reflect this more sinister angle of mind control/ hypnotism. I'm surprised that with the Zombie craze that Crystal Ball didn't pop up in at least a comic somewhere, experimenting with some black magic crazy powder from Haiti (see movie: "Serpent and the Rainbow"). Either way, as is, a fairly weak figure with a hologram shield = not very exciting.


I've mentioned the Techno-vipers, now for the rest of the new Viper-corps recruits in 1987.

In my collection, one can see the Sea Slugs taking up most of the back row. I'm still surprised I have this many of these guys myself. These were actually close to my most numerous army builder Vipers for years. Originally I had one Sea Ray, but the tabs that joined the two sections together snapped, now it became two vehicles permanently. And the canopy's hinges snapped so this is a vehicle that disappeared from my collection. And it seems a good buddy's Sea ray went the same way, but I inherited his Sea Slug figure. Past that, I have to do some personal research, but I really can't remember how I acquired the rest. Without the Sea Ray, these guys became deckhands on one of the Hydrofoils that I've had, or the Cobra Piranha operator. With one pistol and mostly a shade of red-purple, these guys only really had big biceps going for them. While I haven't been a huge fan of them, they really have something that appeals to me in hand that I can't explain. They are up-trained Eels, too... I think I used that info and battle-pack accessories to make them more diver-like to take on '86 Wet Suit back in the day....

I have found Gyro Vipers very useful for manning my Cobra FANG and Fang II's. I had one MAMBA for awhile, but the rotors were somewhat flimsy feeling and it had a snapped elevator, and it was big. With the open cockpit Fangs, these guys seem a natural fit and fairly well-suited for that open-air operation. I like the removable helmets quite a bit and their tan suits are fairly color neutral so it doesn't become an issue.

Of removable helmets, the Ice Vipers have this, too, and I think it is more interesting than their two ice picks. I guess this is a army builder that could be pretty close to being popular next to the Techno-vipers, but the Snow Serpent seems to reign more favored in snow-collections. A very environment specific Viper, much like snow Joes, only really fits in so many imaginative play-battle scenarios, where cool as they and Wolf vehicles are, kind of all end up sitting on a shelf more often than not. Still a nice figure, but with out my Wolf's, they have to go on foot for the time being and without any snow-shoes or skis they don't seem as action-oriented as either of the Snow Serpent versions.

That's leave's the WORMS. I had one very nice MAGGOT for a short time, I don't think I even got it in a picture, and one very nice WORMS (the one with the antenna in picture). I just didn't feel the need for a big artillery piece and another color scheme (light blue and yellow) to add to my non-uniform Cobra army. The WORMS was pretty cool, I thought he would be good to go with my HISS tanks, as they only had one Track Viper. With vehicles sold for cash, I bought two more WORMS with some of it, but I've been mostly on the fence with whether or not they look more higher ranking, more officer-looking than simply tank crew members. I very much like the removable helmets, a very tank-feeling feature on them, but, perhaps I can use them as the commander of a two-man tank? Do I need a commander in a two-man tank? So, where I thought I would get much more use out of these guys, it just hasn't happened..., yet.


1987 as a stand-alone Cobra year? It really seems like a specialty-heavy group to me, nothing that says huge force of something. IN many respects, this was almost more a vehicle year for Cobra with 4 Viper-corps "drivers."

Think Cobra had the upper hand over the Joes in 1987?

1987 Joe team

If Duke had died, would this be the team?

This picture is how my GIJOE team members from 1987 looked back in 2009. They still look the same a little less than a year later.

I've had the thought of how a "one-year-only" collection might look every once in awhile. It's kind of like how some fans might only collect up to certain years, or collect everything and anything. Or only HISS tanks, or only VAMP jeeps. I don't think I've seen anyone do a one single year only in the online world, or at least let it be known, or I've come across it.

What year would it be? Would it be split with one year Cobra, another different year GIJOE?

Either way, or any way, not important. Just a random thought.


On to 1987, GIJOE.

I think Tunnel Rat is the most re-occurring figure/ character that originates from this year. And he's had some changes here and there, but he's survived all the way to the newest "Renegades" cartoon. Would I be wrong in saying he's stayed fairly close to his original characterization? He was in Sigma Six, Yojoe.com has 11 versions of the guy. This figure says army guy no matter how I look at it.

From there, Chuckles, Jinx, Lt. Falcon, and Outback seem to have made a good number of appearances since 1987, as well, in some form or another. Chuckles really got big in a comic-sense, and in my head, a very spy-like guy. He's the undercover cop in some ways, un-assuming, but tough-as-nails. I have Chuckles and Mace together in imaginary battles.
Jinx has popped up in various ways. I like Jinx, but a red ninja hasn't been a highly used MOS in my world lately...I've actually grown to using the Vypra '98 re-use in her place, to bring the ninja-ness to a more combative type of role.
Outback just hasn't seemed to be brought out as much as I thought he would as of late/ modern era: a survival expert and a figure that could just about fit anywhere for any battle. I put him in the mountains in my "squads" play-project, but here's a guy that could get huge with a little extra biography work and new take on the toy.
IF there was to be a generation 2 takeover after the GIJOE movie in 1987, DUKE would be dead and Lt. Falcon would be in his place now. I really think it. The team would have needed a first shirt and Falcon would have worked well. The figure is nice and simple, one I always wanted back in the day, especially when I saw another kid with one. A backpack with a radio and knife and a cool simple shotgun.


Psyche-out, Sneak Peak, Law, and Crazy Legs haven't really stood out as having much presence over the years, other than more brief appearances. They may have, but I just barely noticed them, mostly comic notations I suppose. Law is probably the strongest stand-out of the bunch, he's a guy that can be pretty useful. Crazy Legs is a nice figure, but all red doesn't appeal to me, this is a figure I would much rather have the NIGHT FORCE version of, same for Sneak Peek. Sneak Peek could really be a pretty good figure with better colors. As is, Sneak peek is a vehicle crew member/ field station kind of GIJOE. Psyche-out is great in his MOS but comes out a little too "sci-fi." Other than his "techie" appearances and uses in the comics, he doesn't add that much to the team; even though he does bring a lot of technical knowledge.

Aside from a missile-laden modern figure being re-used in online discussion, Fast Draw hasn't been apparent to me. He's kind of been on the very edge of the radar. He's a little too padded for casual use, sounds funny, but he's a walking weapon system. The guy doesn't feel versatile, and he's pretty much become a field station or vehicle crew member.

Really, off the radar from 1987 are Back Stop and Steam Roller. I suppose being vehicle drivers it makes sense. I don't have Hardtop or Payload here, but their vehicle's spotlight shines on them pretty good.

The Persuader is a vehicle I don't think I've seen much discussion of online, ever. I had the chance to buy one that I saw in person, but, I was just underwhelmed by it. Back Stop sort of goes that way, too. Not a particularly interesting guy, but I have been able to use him as an armor driver in my world. I like the upper body armor and helmet in that where most GIJOE vehicles have a lot of exposed seats and what-not, Back Stop works on these well. With the file card indicating a hockey background, the figure really looks it. I can imagine Back Stop jumping off a tank and taking the fight to an enemy hockey style.

Steam Roller is a tough looking character. One knife. Coming with the Mobile Command Center I would think he would stand out more, but, perhaps having non-rare Hard top-style accessories limits his depth. In my head, he almost seems like a tougher version of Cross Country. I've been able to use Steam Roller in a lot of vehicle situations, mostly armor. He comes in with iron, but this guy looks like a guy that would be more than willing to jump out and go hand-to-hand with a Dreadnok group.

Of course there are the trio Renegades from 1987, and Battle force 2000, I know that, but I was going more main-line when I was looking at individual years. HOWEVER, as I'm typing out thoughts, I realized that Rumbler was no where near my radar, much like his vehicle.