Revealed this morning by the Hasbro GI Joe team is a slew of new figures coming to the GI Joe line.
There were three lines discussed (although some with sketchy details for now): Classified, the retro O-Ring style and a new 6" Classified "retro" series.
We didn't see anything that wasn't already rumored, for the most part. But, seeing them in all of their fully designed glory is another thing entirely.
Since GI Joe is my favorite brand of all time, I was all in on the 6" Classified line from day one. I was okay with the original designs they were going for, but now that they've course corrected to more of the original designs, I'm absolutely loving this series.
You've probably already seen these images in either the live-stream or all over Instagram and Facebook, but let's go ahead and take a look at what's coming our way later in 2022 anyway.
"Classified"
Kicking things off are the leaders of the Crimson Guard and two of my all-time favorite figures from the Real American Hero line, Tomax and his twin brother Xamot. I used to have these guy on the Cobra Ferret, which wouldn't be an inconceivable vehicle for Hasbro to do again for the 6" line.
No word on if this will be a 2-Pack or not.
Next up we have one of the original Joes, and a man who spent time in 'Nam (although, that would make him way too old for today's figure line) with both Snake Eyes and Tommy Arashikage (aka Storm Shadow)-- Lonzo Wilkenson aka Stalker.
I love the shemagh they they gave him. It gives him more of a "special forces" look.
The final figures from the traditional Classified line will be a 3-Pack featuring everyone's favorite Cobra Infantrymen, the Cobra Vipers. This will be a 3-Pack with two traditional Vipers (with slightly different deco than the original Viper release) along with a Viper Commander to lead them into battle.
Now we're moving onto a new brand for the 6" GI Joe line that features more "retro" style designs, colors and packaging. It seems that they will be drawing from both the original toy line as well as some aspects of the original Sunbow cartoon series.
"6" Retro Style Figures"
These figures should be the rumored Walmart exclusive line. This will be replacing the Walmart exclusive 3.75" retro line. The packaging on these should also be reminiscent of the original carded figures.
Kicking things off is a re-release that a lot of people might be very happy about since she is probably one of the hardest Joe to find at retail-- the Baroness.
What would Cobra's first lady be without a Joe to battle her? So, with that in mind, Hasbro is giving us another Lady Jaye. That's a bit of a pill to swallow considering the fact that the classified Lady Jaye is a steaming peg warmer at the moment. But, if this version of her comes on a classic style card, then she'll sell. They all will.
And, listening to fans-- which I'm so very glad that they do-- Hasbro is giving us the version of Gung-Ho that we all originally wanted. (Although I still really like the original Classified version, too.) He obviously now sports the colors that we all remember fondly, but, in reality, have no real-world camouflage value what so ever. I looks like they also fixed his cap from an Army to a Marine cover. They didn't fix his chest tattoo, though. I guess they didn't want to deal with paying for the license to the Marines to use it.
I really, really hope that the classified Duke and Scarlett get the same treatment when they appear in the "retro" line.
The final figure in this new retro wave is the "Enemy Weapons Supplier"-- Destro. This version of Destro is a bit closer to the Sunbow cartoon design, but still looks fantastic.
"O-Ring"
The final figures shown were from the Hasbro Pulse exclusive O-Ring line. Joining the first 2-Pack of Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow is an "army builder" 2-Pack featuring the Cobra [Soldier] and Cobra Officer. I can see more of these sets selling than Hasbro is even prepared to handle.
The second 2-Pack shown contains the leaders of both sides-- Duke and Cobra Commander. These are done in their Sunbow cartoon colors. While a lot of people probably think that they should stick as closely as possible to the original designs and colors, I'm kind of okay with the colors on these two.
So, that wraps things up for now. There will be another live-stream next month that should (hopefully) show off the actual figures (these are all digital renders) along with their accessories and packaging. Pre-orders should also go up for all of these figures next month, as well.
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