G.I. Joe

G.I. Joe is a cartoon soldier created by David Breger when he was asked to do a comic strip for United States military magazines during World War II. Breger came up with the title "G.I. Joe" from the military reference "Government Issue". His strip debuted June 17, 1942 in the military's YANK magazine and Stars and Stripes newspaper. In 1945, United Artists released a movie titled The Story of G.I. Joe [1], directed by William Wellman and starring Burgess Meredith as acclaimed war correspondent Ernie Pyle.

In 1964, the character G.I. Joe became a series of military-themed action figures produced by the Hasbro toy company. The toyline began with the aptly named G.I. Joe. Two years later, Hasbro began featuring members from all branches of the armed forces. The name, G.I. Joe, no longer referred to one specific character but to a toyline brand.

Incarnations

The following G.I. Joe toys came out:

• G.I. Joe (1964-1969)
• G.I. Joe Adventure Team (1970-1979)
• G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1982-1994)
• G.I. Joe: Hall of Fame (1991-1994)
• Sgt. Savage and the Screaming Eagles (1995)
• G.I. Joe: Hall of Fame limited exclusives (1995-1997)
• G.I. Joe Extreme (1996-1997)
• G.I. Joe: Toys R Us Exclusives (1997-1998)
• G.I. Joe: Classic Collection (1995-2004)
• G.I. Joe: The Real American Hero Collection (2000-2002)
• G.I. Joe vs. Cobra (2002)
• G.I. Joe vs. Cobra: Spytroops (2003)
• G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom (2004-2005)
• G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 (2005-Present)

G.I. Joe (1964-1969)

Hasbro toy company's first "action figure" was introduced with the name of G.I. Joe. They were 12" tall. The toyline was dedicated to one character named G.I. Joe. Later on, the line featured members from America's Armed Forces and some foreign soldiers as well.

The 12-inch G.I. Joe was licenced to several countries:

G.I. Joe Adventure Team (1970-1979)

These were the years of the Adventure Team and the Kung Fu grip. It was also the period where there is a departure from its traditional military settings and began wading in to more fantastic concepts such as the introduction of the Intruders, alien invaders who are the Adventure Team's arch nemesis. With rising oil prices in 1977, a cost-saving measure of "shrinking" G.I. Joe to 8 inches was implemented with the name of Super Joe. The Super Joe series had the characters turned into superheroes. Finally in 1978, G.I. Joe was discontinued for the same reason Super Joe was introduced, the rising cost of petroleum.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1982-1994)

After a few years of absence from the toy shelves and with the help of the Star Wars 3.75" figure successes, G.I. Joe was re-introduced in a 3.75" format. This toy series lasted through 1994, producing over 500 figures and 250 vehicles and playsets. Cobra was the main enemy force during this toy lines run. Each toy figure included a character bio, called a "file card." During the 12 year production, there were many "subsets" produced. There was also two series of cartoons, "Sunbow", and "DIC" produced with this toyline. There was also a Marvel Comic series that featured many of the toy characterizations.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero was renamed for the European market. The toyline and the accompanying television show and comics were renamed Action Force, presumably to make the toyline appear more international and less American-centric.

Sgt. Savage and the Screaming Eagles (1995)

Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles were put on the toy shelves in a 4" size, World War II-based theme. This was the only year Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles were produced. The series was not labeled G.I. Joe but it contains its themes. The enemy force was the Iron Army, cybernetically-enhanced WWII style criminals and robots. There was one cartoon featuring Sgt. Savage.

G.I. Joe Extreme (1996-1997)

G.I. Joe Extreme was introduced in a 5" tall, limited articulation format. These figures, as well as vehicles, took on a future premise storyline that had the Extreme team battling SKAR. Sgt. Savage is a part of this series. Dark Horse Comics produced the G.I. Joe Extreme comic. There was also a cartoon series that supported the toyline.

Toys R Us Exclusives (1997-1998)

Toys R Us began carrying a store-exclusive line that featured "re-produced" figures and vehicles from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line.

The Return of A Real American Hero (2000-2005)

Some original 1982-1994 3.75 inch line toys were "re-produced" in "collector edition" 2-packs, along with vehicles. In 2001, the Devil's Due publishing company bought the rights to produce new comics that continued the storyline from Marvel Comics. The comic series was helpful in bringing back G.I. Joe's popularity. The basic 3.75" sized GI Joe toy sculpture style was changed in 2001 with the introduction of yearly themes. Each year's 3.75" series had a slight change in figure production construction. In 2002, the theme was "G.I. Joe vs. Cobra" and featured new style figures that had "T-crotches" with no "O-ring." New characters were introduced in that period and new molds for both old and new. 2003 was themed "Spytroops" and had many figures produced with "O-rings" again. There was a direct-to-video "Spytroops" CGI movie. 2004 featured the "Valor vs. Venom" theme up until the first half of 2005. "Valor vs. Venom" also had an OVA CGI movie.

The 3.75" sized figures were removed from toy shop shelves early in 2005, and sold exclusively through online retailers and through a new Hasbro online store, Hasbro Toy Shop. These figures were designed with the adult collector in mind, and while retaining the sculpting style of the 2002-2005 "themed years," produced toy characters from the "original 1982-1994" G.I. Joe series, as well as new toy characters.

G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 (2005-Present)

In the fall of 2005, Hasbro re-introduced G.I. Joe on the toy shelves with 8"-sized action figures, G.I. Joe: Sigma 6.

The comic is produced and published by Devil's Due Publishing and there is also a cartoon series airing on FOX and produced by GONZO.

Historical Overview

• In 1943, a pigeon called G.I. Joe rescued over 1,000 people in Italy by delivering a crucial message.
• In 1945, a hit movie, The Story of G.I. Joe, about war correspondent Ernie Pyle in World War II, was released.
• Nearly 20 years later, seeing the market success of the Barbie doll, Stan Weston, toy creator and licensing agent, brought the idea of a soldier action figure to Don Levine at Hasbro. Inspired in part by the tv series " The Lieutenant", Hasbro saw the potential such an action figure for boys could have. Therefore, in 1964, they launched the G.I. Joe brand, naming it after the aforementioned movie. At that time, the G.I. Joe figures were about the size of the Barbie dolls (12 inches (305 mm) tall). In 1965, a Black Joe was introduced in selected markets.
• In 1966, soldiers of international armed forces joined the G.I. Joe line up, and Hasbro decided that the entire toy line will be named G.I. Joe.
• In 1967, G.I. Joe talking figures were introduced. Around this time the only full-sized female G.I. Joe action figure was produced - a nurse. It was not a success, the first real mis-step of the line.
• By 1970, the war themes of the original G.I. Joe toys were eliminated due to the growing controversy over war toys in the wake of the Vietnam War.

The line became known as "The Adventures of G.I. Joe" for a time, and featured G.I. Joe as a Aquanaut for example.

Now, G.I. Joe was the leader of the "Adventure Team", an adventuring/spy-like organization devised to fight evil. The look of the doll was also changed 1970, adding a flocked beard (an innovation developed in England by Palitoy's for their licensed version of Joe, 'Action Man') in most versions to further distance itself from the soldier version. A retooled black G.I. Joe was also introduced around this time.

• By 1974, Kung Fu fever had arrived in the United States, so G.I. Joes started to be produced with a "kung fu grip." This involved redesigning the doll's hands in a softer plastic that allowed the fingers to curl and better grip objects in a more lifelike fashion. * In 1975, after a failed bid to gain the rights to the Six Million Dollar Man, Hasbro issued a bionic warrior figure named Mike Power, Atomic Man sold over one million units. Also added to the Adventure Team was a Superhero, Bulletman. Both figures were not in the mold of the rest of team, and further confused the GI Joe line. In 1976, The Intruders, a line of outer space arch rivals, was introduced.

Around the same time, G.I. Joe was given "eagle eye" vision--a movable eye mechanism to allow the toy to appear to be looking around when a lever in the back of the head was moved. This would be the last major innovation for the original toy-line

• In 1978, the petroleum crisis directly affected G.I. Joes. Since the toy was produced with plastic and petroleum is a major component in the manufacture of plastic, the cost of producing the toy rose substantially, and after a failed attempt to produce a smaller version called "Super Joe", Hasbro decided to discontinue it although the licensed versions outside the US continued for a while.
• In 1982, the new figures were downsized to be produced at about the size of Star Wars action figures. The "Adventure Team" idea was modified and combined with the original military theme of the early action figures. This was the beginning of the 1980s G.I. Joe frenzy that would eventually lead to the production of posters, t-shirts, video games, board games, kites, animated movies, and even a cartoon series based on the characters. In 1983, Destro was introduced as one of the first characters at the service of the COBRA Commander.
• In 1985, both Toy & Lamp and Hobby World magazines ranked G.I. Joe as the top-selling American toy.
• In 1986, wrestler Robert Remus, aka Sgt. Slaughter, became the first real person to join the G.I. Joe forces. Football player William "Refrigerator" Perry followed suit in 1987. In 1988, Battle Force 2000 was introduced.
• In 1991, the G.I. Joe Ecowarriors line was produced to raise environmental awareness. 12" figures were also re-introduced as part of an exclusive contract with Target retail stores. In 1992, G.I. Joe joined the war on drugs by introducing the Drug Elimination Force (DEF) line of figures.The line declined with sci-fi themes again, notably the Star Brigade. G.I. Joe also jumped on the Jurassic Park bandwagon and had a set of Dino-hunters.
• In 1994 the 3 3/4 inch line was cancelled. Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles figures debuted. This was also the 30th Anniversary of G.I. Joe and accordingly, Hasbro released a series of 12 inch and 3 3/4 inch figures based on the original 4 basic services represented in the first waves of the 1964 toy-line.
• In 1995, G.I. Joe Extreme figures were introduced, along with a comic book, published by Dark Horse comics.
• In 1997, the original G.I. Joe returned via the G.I. JOE MASTERPIECE EDITION ([2]), a unique book-and-figure product. G.I. Janes were introduced in a series called the Classic Collection, the first 12-inch female dolls in the G.I. Joe line-up since 1967; this doll was a helicopter pilot. The Classic Collection harkened back to the original all military theme of G.I. Joe with fairly realistic uniforms and gear. Soldiers from Australia, Britain, and other nations, as well as United States Forces were featured. The line also presented an all-new articulated GIJOE figure that formed the basis of many offerings to the present day.
• In 2000, a Navajo Code Talker was introduced, one of only two 12-inch G.I. Joe talking figures (until this time) since the 1970s--The other being "Duke" from the Hall of Fame line. The figures included a toy bomb that "detonated" if handled incorrectly. The 3 3/4" G.I. Joe A Real American Hero Collection figures were also re-released.
• In 2001, G.I. Joe honored the events of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by releasing a line of Pearl Harbor figures. Devil's Due Productions bought the license to publish the G.I. Joe comic book and hired Scott Wherle as editor and freelance writer, Steven Kurth as artist, and real-life fan and active-duty soldier Brian Savage Peterson as Military Consultant and freelance writer. Eventually, the entire creative team changed, with newcomer Brandon Jerwa taking over as writer and Tim Seeley as artist. Sales were unquestionably altered, causing Devil's Due to miss its chance to purchase the rights to reprint the Marvel Comics line.
• In 2001 new 3 3/4" G.I. Joes were released under various themes including Spy Troops and Valor vs. Venom. The VvsV figures are the exact same scale as the original ARAH figures, while the Spy Troop figures are several mm's taller.
• In 2004 The direct-to-DVD feature film G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom debuted, as well as a new trading card game based on the G.I. Joe vs. Cobra storyline.
• 2005 brought a new size to the G.I. Joe team with a new line called G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, which is in no way related to the quality management program Six Sigma. These new larger figures are based out of the storyline that started in 1982, but are in a larger scale and will be accompanied by an Anime series made by Japanese animation house GONZO. The previous 12" and 3 3/4" lines were scheduled to go on hiatus near the middle of the year and replaced by Sigma 6. The 3 3/4" line resumed production after a very brief hiatus but is now sold exclusively on a direct-to-consumer basis, through Hasbro's website and select Internet retailers.

Additional Background

The basic premise of the series based on the figures is "good vs. evil". G.I. Joe is a highly capable branch of America's military whose purpose is to defend the world against enemy attack. Their main adversary is the COBRA Organization, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world.

The cast of each group is full of colorful and eccentric characters, each of whom have interesting abilities. The content of the animated show, although dealing with war and fighting, was still relatively mild as characters rarely, if ever, died even in the most dangerous circumstances. One example of this can be seen whenever an airplane was destroyed in combat; the characters inside were invariably shown parachuting out of the wreckage in the nick of time.

The show was also known for its public service announcements, where one of the Joes would give an important safety lesson to a group of children engaged in risky behavior. These PSAs always ended with the famous exchange: "Now we know!" "And knowing is half the battle".

There were several video game adaptations of G.I. Joe, some are Cobra Strike by Parker Brothers for the Atari 2600 (1983), G.I. Joe by Epyx for the Apple II and the Commodore 64 (1984), G.I. Joe by Taxan for the Nintendo Entertainment System (1991), Action Force by Virgin Games for the Commodore 64 (1987) and G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System (1992). [3]

G.I. Joe has also appeared as a comic book, with many of its characters being made into action figures. The comics, in contrast to the cartoons, were much more realistic in their portrayal of violence; some characters were even killed (but no major ones, except for one "special" issue in which more than a dozen named Joes were executed by a random Cobra soldier, an event which initially distressed Cobra Commander). Comic book writer Larry Hama is credited with developing most of the characters for the updated toy collection.

According to its 1980s animated series, "G.I. Joe is the code name for America's daring, highly-trained special mission force. Its purpose: to defend human freedom against COBRA, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world."

G.I. Joes represent characters of all branches of the United States military, both male and female, to fight against their "enemy", Cobra, also produced by Hasbro and marketed under the G.I. Joe brand.

The original G.I. Joe Action Figures (hitting the marketplace in 1964) were toys similar to Ken, Barbie's boyfriend, but with a much increased articulation range, and more rugged appearance. Joe stood 11.5 inches, with 21 points of articulation, making him the first 'Action Figure' (a title that Hasbro insisted on, to make Joe more palatable to parents reluctant to let their boys play with a 'doll')

Later, a much smaller G.I. Joe was created. These figures were almost four inches (10 cm) tall and also drove kids to beg their parents for new toys, but this time for a different reason. The main difference between the two lines was that the 12 in (30 cm) figure could change his clothes to meet any challenge, while the 3 3/4 in (10 cm) team had various figures who could each meet specific challenges. This time, instead of needing a wetsuit for G.I. Joe to wear, the G.I. Joe Team had a new member called Wetsuit whose military occupational speciality was a Navy SEAL. The smaller G.I. Joes also had a variety of additional weapons and vehicles which could be purchased to assist them on their missions.

In 1966, Palitoy Ltd. produced a British version of the 12-inch G.I. Joe line, under the Action Man name for the UK market. Initially these were the exact same designs as the American figures, and at first the same military theme which included figures from the Second World War. The line later expanded the line to include ALL men of action, like footballers and other sports figures. Later, they also adopted the Adventure Team line, calling themselves the 'Action Force'; the figures had the same appearance and codenames as the American G.I. Joes, but their identities and histories were international rather than purely American or British. In the 1980's sales in the UK fell off and by the late 80s UK production had ceased, replaced by G.I. Joe imports. Action Man under Hasbro has since made his reappearance.

The GI Joe line was also licensed to Germany under the Action Team name, including female figures - which were notably absent from the UK Action Man line.

The original 12-inch G.I. Joe line ended in America in 1977. Later that year a smaller 8 and a half inch version of G.I. Joe was produced and advertised on TV. This size was close in scale but slightly taller than the Mego 8 inch action figures popular at the time. This new version was called "Super Joe," and also known as the "Super Joe Adventure Team." Some of the costumes for the line had the name "Super G.I. Joe" sewn inside to the seam. A hybrid of superhero and space action lines, three of the Super Joe hero characters, Super Joe Commander, Super Joe (Caucasian) and Super Joe (African American), featured a "1-2 Punch" that could be activated by pressing panels on the figure's back. Two other heroic characters, The Shield and Luminos, were called "Night Fighters" and had light up battery powered features. The villains were Gor: King of the Terrons, Darkon: Half Man Half Monster and a large walking dinosaur-like alien called Terron: Beast From Beyond. Super Joe was discontinued by the end of 1978. The same basic body molds were used later by a subsidiary of Hasbro to produce a line of action figures based on the TV Series "Space Academy." Due to the poor quality of the materials used in manufacturing, very few if any of the Super Joe figures survive in intact condition.

Real life persons honored with G.I. Joe figures

The G.I. Joe brand has made promotional action figures based on real-life persons, both military and civilian (such as sports and pro wrestling stars, presidents, and a war correspondent), that the company deems Real American Heroes, as the G.I. Joe slogan says. Among these are:

• Buzz Aldrin
• Roy Benavidez
• Robert Crippen
• Francis E. Currey
• John R. Fox
• Bob Hope
• Dwight Eisenhower
• Mike Leonard
• Douglas MacArthur
• Audie Murphy
• George Patton
• William "Refrigerator" Perry
• Francis J. Pierce
• Colin Powell
• Ernie Pyle
• Theodore Roosevelt
• Emil Sitka
• "Sgt. Slaughter" né Robert Remus
• George Washington
• Ted Williams

The character is such a part of the U.S. vernacular that a 1997 movie starring Demi Moore was called G.I. Jane.