My best G.I. JOE figure list by year...

[Felix]

1982: Cobra Commander and Grunt.

1983: Destro and Duke.

1984: Zartan and Storm Shadow.
Baroness, Firefly, and Blowtorch are outstanding runner ups.

1985: Snake-Eyes and the Crimson Guard.
Tons of great figures...Snow Serpent, Quick Kick, Barbecue, Airtight, Alpine, Bazooka, Shipwreck, Dusty, Eels, Torch, Crimson Twins, Frostbite, Lady Jaye and Flint.
This was a good year!

1986: Viper and Beach Head.
Strato-Viper, B.A.T., Monkeywrench, Zarana, Zandar, Serpentor...
lot's of great characters on both sides, just not a big fan of the Joe figures from 1986.

1987: Jinx and Techno-Viper.
Falcon, Outback, Tunnel-Rat, Gung Ho, Techno-Viper, Croc Master, Mercer, Ice-Viper, Chuckles, Dodger, Raptor, Crystal Ball, Chuckles, Fast Draw the rest of the Renegades.
So many good figures.

1988: Storm Shadow and Road Pig.
So many great figures in 1988; Shockwave, Destro, Iron Grenadier, Star-Viper, Hit & Run, Sgt. Slaughter, Hydro-Viper, Secto-Viper Repeater, Muskrat, Spearhead, Lightfoot.

1989: Alley Viper and Snake Eyes.

1990: Metal-Head and Salvo.

1991: Major Bludd and Dusty.
Desert Scorpion, Interrogator, Hawk, Snow Serpent, Crimson Guard Immortal, Low-Light also look cool.

1992: Destro and Roadblock.

1993: Cobra Commander and Duke.
UK Spirit, Mega Marine Gung Ho, Headhunter Stormtrooper, Zartan, Cross Country and Dr. Mindbender are all worth noting they're great figures.

1994: Ice Cream Soldier and Predacon.

1997: Storm Shadow & Snake-Eyes.

1998: Vypra and Shipwreck.

2000: Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow...I just like how they looked in the 2-pack a lot.
Lots of good figures; Cobra Commander, Chameleon, Major Bludd, Rock Viper, Hawk, Undertow.

From here on, about the only thing I like are the comic 3-packs, but I don't really want to include them on this list.

[Bravo]

We've run out of stuff to post again. You threw me off on 1984 by choosing two villains.

1982: Cobra Officer and Grunt (it's a hard choice for the Joes. Officer's torso is better than Cobra's, but Cobra has better lower arms)

1983: Destro and Airborne (Duke is close, but Airborne's helmet fits better. Destro beats Bludd by an arm, literally.)

1984: Firefly and Thunder (If Recondo posed better, I'd pick him.)

1985: Snow Serpent and Heavy-Metal (1985 is a year when some drivers were better than some carded figures, I almost picked Lamprey, too)

1986: Strato-Viper and Low-Light (Tough calls, some good JOES with some big heads in 1986)

1987: WORMS and Falcon

1988: Iron Grenadier and Hit & Run (Destro almost got this one again...Dodger is listed as 1987 by everyone or he'd have it, too)

1989: Gnawgahyde and Backblack (Lot of enemy troopers, but I don't love any of them...all have flaws, including Night Viper)

1990: Laser-Viper and Airborne (Airborne was the best Sky Patrol guy, reuse of Lift Ticket's body was less recognizable than the others and he looked like a security trooper from TOTAL RECALL, plus good new head sculpt)

1991: Crimson Guard Immortal and Big Ben (Interrogator, Red Star and Heavy Duty were great, too.)

1992: Headhunter and Shockwave (It's cliche for Joe fans to love Headhunters now, but I liked them since 1992.)

1993: Gristle and Battle Corps Duke

1994: Blackstar and Ice Cream Soldier

1997: Baroness and Stalker (cheating, I've never owned that Stalker)

1998: Cobra Officer and Colonel Brekhov

2000: Rock Viper and Dusty

2001: Sub-Viper and Tripwire

2002: Shock Viper and Big Ben (the super common wave 1.5 one)

2003: Python Laser Viper and Wreckage

2004: Cobra Infantry Trooper (6-pack) and Roadblock (Anti-Venom)

2005: Night Watch Cobra Officer (red mask) and "Short Fuze" (winter operations)

2006: CLASSIFIED (Nam Snake-Eyes) and Cobra Trooper (gas mask)

2007: Ice-Viper (club) and G.I. JOE DOC (Club con set) (I own neither)

2008: Long-Arm and Gristle (Con set...I've never owned either)

2009: Snow-Job (target exclusive...the last ARAH mold to appear in stores)

2010: Big Lob (Clubs's final ARAH offering, I think)

[Felix]

Technically Storm Shadow turned into a good guy, I had to think of way that figure ended up on the list at the time. I may have to go back and revise some of my choices....I'm not feeling super about Storm Shadow in that 1984 Joe slot. While the card art is incredible, the figure rreally isn't that great. Too many vintage ones heads are way too big...he's one of them.

I like Cobra Officer for the silver emblem, the AK-47, and the awesome card art. I prefer the trooper for a couple of reasons though....used for my Felix De Cobra custom :-) and I like the laser pistol on his chest web gear.

I also had Big Lob down, but pretty much had nothing listed for the last 15 years for G.I. JOE, so I ended it at 2000. I like nice even numbers.

This all started as I was thinking about going through my figures and deciding if I should keep the ones I think are the best....not necessarily by year or anything, just in general. I know I want the 1988 Storm Shadow, 1987 Jinx, 1985 Snake-Eyes, the Renegades, Zartan, 1993 Cobra Commander, 1992 Destro, 2001 Major Bludd, Chameleon, Vipers, Crimson Guards...and probably my own custom Original 13 team.

Also in going through the whole line, I've discovered I really need Ice Cream Soldier.

[Felix]

BEST LIST REVISED

1982: Cobra Commander.

1983: Destro.

1984: Zartan.
Storm Shadow, Firefly, Baroness, and Blowtorch all great runner ups.

1985: Crimson Guard.

1986: Zarana.

1987: I'll give this to Falcon.
Jinx is my favorite though. Dodger and Tunnel-Rat are runner ups worth noting.

1988: Storm Shadow. Like 1985 Snake Eyes, I didn't have the 1984 Storm Shadow either, so when I got this I was absolutely thrilled. I do think the backpack should have been painted in the same urban-camo too.
*I can't do Iron Grenadier because one thigh is massive and the other looks too small. Probably would look perfect with Star Viper or Destro's legs.

1989: Snake Eyes.

1990: You've convinced me, Laser Viper. It's nice to have a COBRA looking Cobra Trooper :-)

1991: Crimson Guard Immortal.

1992: Duke.

1993: Cobra Commander.

1994 Ice Cream Soldier.
*I think Mega Marine Gung Ho would be good on this team :-)

1997: Stalker. He deserves a win. I wish he had a better figure though .

1998: Vypra.

2000: Baroness/Chameleon.

[Johnny Turk]

Here's what I'd say.

1982: Cobra Officer and Flash
1983: HISS Driver and Gung-Ho
1984: Firefly and Mutt (Depending on day of the week, it could also be Storm Shadow and Spirit or Scrap Iron and Roadblock)\
1985: Ripper and Footloose
1986: Sci-Fi and Serpentor (Serpentor is one of the highlights of the line)
1987: Falcon and WORMS
1988: Hydro Viper and NF Crazylegs
1989: Snake Eyes and Track Viper
1990: Metal Head and SF Tunnel Rat
1991: Crimson Guard Immortal and Big Ben
1992: Slice and Duke
1993: Firefly and NF Snake Eyes
1994: Astro-Duke and fuck I dunno, Blackstar
1997: Stalker and Storm Shadow
1998: Firefly and Wet Suit
2000: Rip It and Duke
2001: Wet Down and Double Blast
2002: Serpentor and Wave 1.5 Big Ben
2003: Con Go-Go Boot Firefly and Blue Snake Eyes
2004: Comic Pack Cobra Trooper and Anti Venom Roadblock
2005: Avalanche and Comic Pack Firefly
2006: Classified and Cobra Mortal
2007: Shipwreck and Clutch
2008: Nothin'
2009: Black Major Urban Trooper & Black Major Crimson Trooper
2010-2016: Probably some more Black Major figures!
2017: Red Laser Army Snake Eyes and Red Laser Army Baby Blue Bombardier

[Bravo]

See, that pistol on Cobra trooper's webgear is why I prefer the officer. The pistol never used in any media, if it's even drawn/animated. Apparently it was grenade pistol and the large shells on his shoulder are ammo for it. Odd. And strangely, in modern style of removable gear...it's still stuck molded on!

I'm thinking I should've picked DOC over Airborne now...but the pacifist medic was less useful. And that strecher's poles are fragile.

I forgot about Night Force and Mission Brazil...that metallic Wet-Suit is pretty cool.

I like Techno-Viper but at the same time associate him with the trend of Cobra's new troops looking like supervillain robot space men in bright colors.

Hydro-Viper never got a recolor and that's a damn shame. Anyone remember the club's proposed Cobra diver set? They couldn't decided to make it ARAH or modern, so they never made it at all. Or something.

I'm not crazy about 1989 Snake-Eyes, maybe it was all the repaints or that it appeared when the comic book started to get lame. But I think it was his asymmetrical head...that ear piece.

1990 Metal-Head annoys me. I had both thin and thick thigh peg versions, both broke off or at least on one side. It was just a bad design on Hasbro's part. Salvo's pretty great, though maybe the legs belts are a bit too much...but hey, it's GI JOE.

Headhunter Stormtrooper is neat, but his shoulders seem set too low.

I like Astro Duke except his awkward helmet connected to his pack thing. Maybe if they'd just used Space Shot's helmet in green?

2005 Avalanche was really...Backblast or some shit...absurd, but if that's what it took to get a BF 2000 mold used during the "no dead character" era...so be it.

[Felix]

Nice lists you guys :-)

[Johnny Turk]

Haha, I like to participate, even though I barely own any figures with a ball jointed neck. I'm allowed to make value judgements

Bravo, the Diver 2-pack, was supposed to be a Hydro Viper and someone else, right? Done up in 1985 Eel colours? I like the Hydro Viper, even though his helmet was awful, it's a shame he wasn't repainted at some point, because it's a great mold. Also thanks for the Avalanche tip. That's a pretty stupid rule, especially because by 2005 the Comic packs had tossed that thing out the window.

One thing I learned while doing this, is that 1986 had some super popular and memorable characters, but holy shit are a lot of those figures iffy to downright bad. Bravo's right about all the big heads!

[Felix]

Big heads are a problem that plagued the line from the beginning. What I've learned is that there are only a handful of figures I care about, and happy with my customs, and wanting to do some more customz for Scarlet, Snow Job, that concept design of Headman AKA Buzzer, and an LBC 90's Zartan/Firefly.

Also similar to Bravo's conspiracy fact about Firefly and Zartan being the same character *See the Conspiracy Theories thread*, I noticed in going through the series that Mercer vs. 2 and Interrogator share very similar features, which lead me to believe they are also the same guy.
Interrogators file card says he may be a RENEGADE psychologist and that they suspect he uses a voice modulator.

[Bravo]

Oct 15, 2017 17:24:32 GMT -8 Johnny Turk said:

Bravo, the Diver 2-pack, was supposed to be a Hydro Viper and someone else, right? Done up in 1985 Eel colours?

Best I can find so far is a text image from TNI's coverage of 2009 convention, but there was a mock-up of them later.
MANTA Squad, Cobra Divers and Hydro-Vipers. I cannot remember what the divers would be, probably Wet-Suit bodies.


Edit: 2010 con they showed images. (TNI keeps better archives than HISS TANK!)

When looking at doing Mantis Squad figures they are still trying to determine if they should be done in O-Ring style or 25th Anniversary style. According to Brian Savage most of the molds for O-Ring figures and ARAH vehicles have been destroyed and so they only have parts to do a few more figures in the O-ring style. That is why O-Ring figures are being done as 2-packs and not larger sets because they don't have enough O-Ring molds left to do box sets.

- These older sculpts have been destroyed because it was no longer cost effective to keep these old molds in storage.

- Cobra Diver Commander and Demolishion Specialist are a 2-pack along with a Manta Squad 2-pack they are CONSIDERING doing as Collector Club exclusives.

- The images shown below of these 2-packs are conceptual and Photoshop mock-ups and could end up as 25th type sculps. It's not been decided which way they want to go with these, O-Ring or 25th Anniversary. They are asking fans here and club member to decide which style of sculpt they should use.

7 years later and no decision!

That was also the con where fans learned the old ARAH molds were scrapped and...

Molds in India are a no go either. Funskool is not willing to work with them and they don't know what the condition of that stuff is anyway, probably not in very good shape.

- The vehicle that was going to be made for the "Moth" figures was going to be the Cobra Hurricane, but the mold was destroyed by the time they were ready to make it.

[Johnny Turk]

Yeah, I remember those now! It's a shame the Club did a bunch of the dumb shit they actually did. Who was clamouring for a MEGA VIPER repaint, anyways?

[Bravo]

Oct 18, 2017 8:06:45 GMT -8 Johnny Turk said:

Yeah, I remember those now! It's a shame the Club did a bunch of the dumb shit they actually did. Who was clamouring for a MEGA VIPER repaint, anyways?

Yeah. I know, right?

(Removes convention Swamp Viper from want list)

I kinda thought the Cobra Commander and Firefly figures were the weak entries there, not because they were bad releases per se, but because both had seen recent retail at the time and would go on to be used even more. It was like a joke that every Toys R Us ARAH-style set had to have Firefly or Tunnel Rat or Roadblock or Storm Shadow in it.