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View Poll Results: WHY did Hasbro change Hawk's hair color? | |||
To sell more toys. | 7 | 28.00% | |
To engage a new demographic and pander to a new era of fans. | 3 | 12.00% | |
Wait, what? | 6 | 24.00% | |
LOL! | 9 | 36.00% | |
Voters: 25. You may not vote on this poll |
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Thread Tools |
07-09-2010, 03:10 PM | #1 |
E pur si muove!
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Oh, for...!
Posts: 1,306
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I just wanted everyone's opinion here to get to the bottom of what I feel is ruining GI Joe (of 25 years ago).
It was established very early on in the GI Joe mythos, from the beginning in fact that Colonel Clayton Abernathy had blonde hair. In the toyline comics and commercial from 1982 on he was pictured as an individual of the blonde persuasion. All the way up until 1986 when the cartoon and toys suddenly descided to change him into a completely different person by changing his rank AND his hair color. All of a sudden, kids, collectors and longtime fans of the line were completely confused by Hawk, previously blonde, having BROWN HAIR. Lots of friends of mine personally stopped collecting and lost interest in GI Joe altogether because they couldn't figure out what was going on. It's like HASBRO just stopped caring about the importance of the established color of their own characters' hair. Now don't get me wrong. I have nothing against people with brown hair. Some of my best friends are people with brown hair. My whole life, I was raised to believe that all hair was equal and since I lived in a neighborhood which was predominantly brunettes, I have a lot of empathy for brown-haired people. This isn't about that. It's about Hasbro, producers and Hollywood changing established characters to suit a perceived demographic. If what really bothered me was not that they changed his hair color, but that they could have easily used a pre-existing brown-haired character to promote to General. Grunt for example, or Steeler. Heck, even Recondo or Lady Jaye. But no. It's like they don't even care about the integrity of their own property or how the public at large feels. Being blonde is extremely important to a person's identity. It determines how you are treated and what opportunities you have growing up. To take something like that and just change it arbitrarily is an insult to the character and a complete disregard for continuity. I just love my GI Joe so much. I want MY GI Joe back! Where did it go??!! I'd like to hear your thoughts on this...
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07-09-2010, 03:19 PM | #2 |
Mad Scientist at Large
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 14,793
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07-09-2010, 03:24 PM | #3 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: sitting in my tin can far above the world
Posts: 3,933
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My mom has brown hair.
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07-09-2010, 03:24 PM | #4 |
Random Viper
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 1,612
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I am of the "brown-haired" persuasion and approve of the change. A blonde general? It's just wasn't believable. ;)
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Last edited by Atreides; 07-09-2010 at 03:32 PM.. |
07-09-2010, 03:27 PM | #5 |
Hisstank.Com General
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 17,156
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My first Hawk was the 1986 version so for me, I've always known him to have brown hair. In the cartoons in 1986, he had black hair (so that's why for a time, I used Altitude's head for Hawk). When I started reading comics (basically like after 1986), I was really confused as to why they drew Hawk with blonde hair. It wasn't until I saw the vintage 1982 Hawk a few years later that I realized that he originally had blonde hair.
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07-09-2010, 03:33 PM | #6 |
We get insurance, right?
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: At the Cobra, Cobracabana
Posts: 6,612
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Because he got promoted. If they promoted a Blonde Colonel to General everyone would know he slept his way to the top. We all know how that would have went over in the 80's.
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07-09-2010, 03:37 PM | #7 |
Warrant Officer
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Indiana
Posts: 486
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The promotion for Hawk came in the comic book when the previous ranking General over G.I. Joe, General Hollingsworth, suffered a heart attack and was forced to go into semi retirment, he had hawk promoted to bragideer General (1 Star). In the comic he used the Tank commander uniform look well into 1988, it was after that that his hair started to darken.
As far as why the Hasbro abruptly changed it when the cartoon and toys came out, it's hard to say. Perhaps they wanted him to be distinguished from Duke which there were lots of complaints on that Duke and Hawk were just photocopies of one another. Personally for cannon purposes I just assumed that his hiar was of the darker blond that can fade from lighter to darker depending how much time they spend in the sun-my brother inlaw's hair is like that. After he was bumped up to general he spent less time in in the field and his hair began to darken. There, he's still blond, just a what's the word... Dirty or sandy blond.
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07-09-2010, 03:46 PM | #8 |
Banned
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hiding from the ROC Police
Posts: 14,738
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I think it has to do with sunbow. Hasbro didn't want to confuse us and have 2 leaders with blonde hair. You know because 2 completely diffrent looking people who talk, act, dress different with the same hair color can be hard to swallow for a bunch of 5-15 year olds.
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07-09-2010, 03:55 PM | #9 |
Banned
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Two steps ahead of you.
Posts: 4,120
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For many of the early years of my childhood I felt discriminated against due to my hair color growing up in a small town in IN where the arian nation held a high majority.I was forced by my parents to hide my true self and die my hair color to fit in .That all changed whae Hasbro broke the bonds of the establishment and chaged Hawk's hair color brown.I like to believe that Hawk was much like me ,hiding the true color of his hair from the world only to one day break the shackles that bound him and announce to the world look at this I have brown hair ! I am still recovering from the trauma of my childhood,my scalp never quite recovered.With a mix of aroma therapy and botanicals I might have the lush full head of brown hair I had whan I was young.Thank you Hasbro for shattering the barrier that set me free
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07-09-2010, 04:07 PM | #10 |
H.A.T.E.
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Pocatello, Idaho
Posts: 635
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I agree. Probably to separate Duke and him. Two leaders looking quite a bit alike would have perhaps caused confusion. Just a theory.
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