[Wild Bill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MFJayman

Zartan was pretty wacky. What was he? An assassin, a biker, a fantasy fiction rogue, an alien, a mutant, a swamp ninja?

Alien? Where does it say Zartan is an alien?

[DarthBrett]

I agree that the first wacky figures were Destro and Zartan. People mention '86 or '87 stuff all the time, but in reality the weird stuff was already around a few years before.

[DarthBrett]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wild Bill

Alien? Where does it say Zartan is an alien?

I don't think he meant it was suggested he was by Hasbro, but as kids in '84 first seeing him I'm sure many of us thought he certainly could be a mutant or alien in nature.

I still think of Zartan and his younger siblings as Joeverse mutants. I mean, how else does their skin change color in the sun?

[Sataninjaku]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarthBrett

I agree that the first wacky figures were Destro and Zartan. People mention '86 or '87 stuff all the time, but in reality the weird stuff was already around a few years before.

I'd argue that it was there from the beginning with Cobra Commander.

[Diablogunner]

For me, Gung Ho in the brighter blue with the vest really stood out, but that whole wave was so much brighter than the OG13, so it was all wild and exciting. After that, had to be Gone Fishin' Bazooka, even though I loved that figure.

[flashtronaut8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AWOL

A glorified army-builder.

The concept served a purpose for the mission's sake but not for 24/7 service. I still like the OG13 green Snake-Eyes that HissHissFangFang made (I believe) at your request. If he and Scarlett had closely matched the rest of the team, all the original members might've been given equal time. Seems more a case of wanting to infuse some comic book superhero specialness into the two characters, as if their strange uniforms made them the central characters. Same with Duke and his having a different blouse.

[AWOL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flashtronaut8

If he and Scarlett had closely matched the rest of the team, all the original members might've been given equal time.

Lady Jaye and Beachhead would've fit in better with the '82 Joes.

[flashtronaut8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AWOL

Lady Jaye and Beachhead would've fit in better with the '82 Joes.

Interesting. LJ needed more purpose in her role. Getting the women away from the men they're always paired with wouldn't have been a bad thing - but - I'm not much for romances in action stories.


Edit: This is where I stopped with an AI Scarlett, trying to make her less peculiar and more like the other members of OG13.

[AWOL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flashtronaut8

Yum.

[MFJayman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarthBrett

I don't think he meant it was suggested he was by Hasbro, but as kids in '84 first seeing him I'm sure many of us thought he certainly could be a mutant or alien in nature.

I still think of Zartan and his younger siblings as Joeverse mutants. I mean, how else does their skin change color in the sun?

Yeah the alien thing, I think I heard a fan or reviewer jokingly suggest that about Zartan, at some point. Basically, there was so much about Zartan that was unexplained and otherworldly. I like it that way, it leaves him mysterious and shadowy.