GI Joe Makes Kwinn the Eskimo a Reality !!

KWINN. I've been waiting a long time for this figure. The Eskimo mercenary that graced the pages of the Marvel GI Joe comics from issues 2 - 19 finally gets made into plastic reality.

 

While I am not a fan of the new figures, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get Kwinn. The packaging is nice. He sure is packed full of stuff and it will display well. Roadblock on the cover looks really weird to me .......

 

This Weeks Assignment for the League of Extraordinary Bloggers: What if?

 

This weeks assignment for the League of Extraordinary Bloggers; Brian over at Cool and Collected asks:

 

“What if…? — Write an alternate turn of events for a pop culture storyline.”

 

Well, I thought being that we are in a financial crisis in this country and all....

What if Cobra Commander had just saved his money?

 

Throughout the Marvel Comics, Cartoon series and ARAH figure line, the spending and waste of the Cobra Command is put on display.

 

A extremely well equipped army, marketing, Battle Android Troopers all cost money....

 

 

I mean, they made an ISLAND for God's sake!!!

 

 

I'll have student loans for the rest of my life and he sent a whole army of these guys to LAW SCHOOL!!!

 

 

.......and we know who would be out of business!!

 

 

So; What if?

 

What if the Commander just saved the MASSIVE amount of capital that was spent on equipping a largely worthless army and a bunch of wanna be mercenaries that never got the job done?

 

He could have still taken over a town called Springfield, but it may have just turned out just a little bit better for him..........

 

 

 

Check out what the rest of the League is wondering:

 

Random Nerdness asks the right question here: randomnerdness

 

 

 

 

Cobra's Crimson Guard, he'll do your taxes then do you in !!

Cobra's Crimson Guard, the Elite Troopers from 1985's fourth series of Hasbro's GI Joe line. They were the best of the best in the Cobra Organization. Each "Siegie" must hold a degree in either law or accounting and were under the command of Tomax and Xamot, the Crimson Guard Commanders, but completely loyal to the Cobra Commander. Many served as the Commander's personal guard but most served as deep undercover agents, with  complete undercover identities, even families. Most underwent plastic surgery to become part of a series of look a likes. The most popular is the Fred series.

Lets check out the figure:

Beautifully detailed, the Red uniform really gives him a royal appearance. The figure has alot of detail including medals and a great paint app on his arm.

Just a cool looking figure. He even has spurs on the back of his boots !

Watch out for the bayonet ! He not just for show !

 

The Siegies first appeared in Marvel issue #29. Unveiled by Cobra Commander as specialized deep undercover agents that will infiltrate the political infrastructure.

This is my best memory of the GI Joe Comics, and that saying alot cause I still read em to this day. Its the last page of issue 32 where Fred Broca is replaced by another siegie. His kids come running out to see their Daddy, but stop when they realize it's not him. The famous dialogue:

Kid: "Your not our Daddy."

Fred II: "I am now."

 

Classic!!

Fred VII is probably most infamous of the Guardsmen. He would pretend to be the Cobra Commander while in the battle armor. Later, after Cobra Commander returned and assumed control, he was buried in a freighter on Cobra Island and died.

 

I loved playing with the Crimson Guard. I wound up getting three or four of em and would use them as a crack entourage for Cobra Commander.

 

While alot of missions were going on, there would be a siegie among the background characters waiting to strike.



Destro, a Iconic Villian to a generation of youth

Destro. International Arms dealer. Weapons supplier to the most powerful Terrorist organization in the world: Cobra.

 

This is an Icon.

 

Destro's full name is James McCullen Destro XXIV and he owns a castle in Scotland. Destro is the head of M.A.R.S. (Military Armament Research System). He is in  love with Cobra's second-in-command, the Baroness,  Anastasia DeCobray. He wears a mask forged from beryllium steel  because an ancestor of his was caught selling weapons to both sides in a war.

 

Destro first appears in the Marvel Comics series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #11, but it wasn't until #14 where he was fully revealed. I still remember seeing that page where he is standing in front of the Baroness making her call him by name. The storyline with Cobra attacking the US Treasury in Washington to spread the Plague through the US currency, the Baroness blowing up and Destro choosing between shooting Hawk or Cobra Commander while suffering the loss of his love on the back of a Hiss tank.

 

Yes, dear reader, this is a child's toy and a story from a comic book. Now maybe you know why GI Joe rules............this #$&? is AWESOME !!!!!

 

But here's the figure.....

 

The first Destro figure was released in 1983, in the second line of GI Joe. Hasbro needed to bolster the bad guy ranks and they produced a doozy. Anyone who had this figure loved it.

Came with a pistol that could be stored in his backpack/briefcase.

 

To this day I remember pulling this guy off the pegs of Hills department store and being soooo excited. The Joes are cool and all, but the bad guys are usually more colorful. Besides I had this crack commando unit and only a Cobra Commander with a mickey mouse on his shirt, Major Bludd (mail order), a Cobra Officer and a Cobra Trooper to fight em. That's not good odds folks..... Destro and the second line of GI Joe gave me some more presence on the villain side.

 

With Larry Hama cranking out those awesome story lines at Marvel, I was deep into GI Joe mania. I hope that every one gets to have something like this in their childhood. Just pure unadulterated fun and imagination to fill your time as a kid, being able to act out adventures without parallel. To this day I am so glad for the day I discovered this toy line in K-Mart. I'll probably take all these memories to my grave without a moment of regret.

 

You just don't have that happen to you enough in life.

Look OUT!! Ninja attack on the League of Extraordinary Bloggers!!!

This weeks assignment from the League of Extraordinary Bloggers:

Who would you take in an 80′s character fantasy draft? Your team’s goal will be to defeat a shady conglomerate of Russian businessmen and their team of hired ninjas. It’s go time.

HERE WE GO!!!!

How do you combat a team of Ninja. With MORE NINJA!!!!

6 Ninja.
5 Different Genres.
1 goal.

First up:

TV: THE MASTER.

Lee van Cleef as John Peter McAllister.

The elder Statesman of the ninja clan. Wise. Protector of all knowledge. Master of all.
.......and if all else fails he knows Sho Kosugi !!

Next:

Cartoon: Nightbird the Ninja Transformer.

Silent. Deadly. And SHE can kick some serious ass!!

Next:

Movie: Seikura and Kyo (Seikura's Enforcer) from the movie The Octagon.

These two baddies would be the front line soldiers in this group. The path of destruction left by these two would be epic!!

Comic: Billy - Cobra Commander's son

He's a frikin bionic ninja who was trained by Storm Shadow AND Snake Eyes.

and this is his DAD!!!

Last but certainly not least:

Sports; Wrestling: Keiji Mutoh aka: White Ninja, Super Ninja, Black Ninja, Super Black Ninja

Why you ask?? He's THE GREAT MUTA!!! He's FRIKIN EPIC !!!!
Youtube his matches and try not to think "Holy S#*t" when you see this man perform!!

The Russians don't have a chance.

There you have it!
You think these guys and a gal are Badass..... check these guys out:

At monstercafesaltillo theres a list that I couldn't like more!
greenplasticsquirtgun puts forth a team that could take ALL of Russia!!
underscoopfire puts together a perfect team!!

Golobulus vs. Discobolus UFC 151 Cancelled but this fight will rage ON!!

UFC 151 was scheduled for September 1st, it was cancelled, but I will bring you a match to span CENTURIES!!!! These two figures of art have been itchin to get it on for some time now. Which is the REAL piece of ART!?!?! Lets find out.....

Here we have Golobulus:

Ruler of Cobra-La.

Mostly made of Bio-Technological replacement pats.

His original Brain and Central Nervous system is all that remains of him.

He leaves no Carbon Footprint.

This is Discobolus.

He is made of Marble, but originally was Bronze.

Created by Grecian sculptor Myron.

He was once owned by Adolf Hitler.

Golobulus has a tail.

Discobolus has no tail.

Golobulus has a torso covered with  a hard, chitinous armor, similar to that of crustaceans.

Discobolus has softer features.

Golobulus has a face that only Burgess Meredith could voice.

 

Discobolus speaks to your soul.

 

This is truly a tough one. One is a plastic representation of a character reviled by most fans of GI Joe and whom Larry Hama refused to write into the RAH continuity. The other is a priceless work of art from the Severe period of Greek sculpture, a copy of which resides in Jim's fish tank. Which one is the true piece of art? Which one is just a piece of ?!$%?

 

I've made my conclusion.

 

What is yours?

 



Cobra Mercenary Major Bludd GI Joe's First Nightmare !!!

Been on a GI Joe kick lately as it was my all time favorite as a child and still is...

So, here is one of the Bad Guys .... MAJOR BLUDD.

Cobra Operative, published Poet...

....and a damn cool figure too!!

.....and clearly the right arm was armored because of the rocket launchers thrust trail, not a cybernetic arm like I have read a few places!! The gun doesn't stay there too well though.....

Anyway.....I had the Cobra, the Cobra Officer, Cobra Commander (Mickey Version) , but this guy was the first bad guy with a face and personality I could capture. Got him as a mail order when he was first offered, then for some reason, I felt the need to get him again carded and wound up having two. He wasn't a faceless minion, he was a Bad Guy, a personality, a wild card that could give the Joe's a challenge.

I even had him challenge Destro for the Baroness's attention .....and she liked it :)

I've got B.A.T.s in my belfry!!!!!

Since my Cobra Viper post I've added a new addition to the Museum. Jboypacman at revengefromthecosmicark got me thinkin.....I need a B.A.T. !!! So a search of eBay and here it is. Took me a few years to finally get one, dont know why it took so long but...

He a bit battle worn but I dont want to shell out for a minty one....

Dig the holo decal though, a nice suprise !!

I gotta say...I'm impressed. I was getting out of Joe about the time the B.A.T. was released and never had one. Actually of the '86 series I only got Beachhead (a favorite) and Dialtone. I still remember going to Hills department store and buying them, then getting the maybe your getting too old for toys talk by my Mom, being on the cusp of  the teenage years. YEAH RIGHT!!

I've always thought they were cool and even when my Joe collection was at its peak, I never got one. Glad I have one now! Highly detailed and I really like the accesories for his arm. One thing, why only one arm with attachments? Couldnt have been that hard to make a right and left arm peg! Oh well....