Cobra Stun and Childhood Fun: Cruisin’ Through ’86 with G.I. Joe’s Wildest Ride

Story By Mitchell Smith

Welcome to the Outpost. Today I’m taking a look at the 1986 G.I. Joe Cobra Stun. This is one I had as a kid. Me, as a ten year old going on eleven, I was deeply engulfed in GI Joe. I remember that year vividly. I did get many figures and vehicles that Christmas, along with my brothers. 1985 was one of my favorite years especially for watching the animated series. I didn’t have a lot of the toys but loved every episode. It was one of the few things that got me through the hour long bus ride home from school, knowing GI Joe would be on soon after a got home.

1986 rolls around and The Arise Serpentor Arise series was an instant hit with me. I loved every character and it was so exciting. Plus we had to wait to watch the next episode back then, there was no binge watching. One of the most interesting designs was the Stun. No it did’t look like a real military vehicle and the crew would probably be shot to death in its initial approach, but GI Joe was just as bad a shot as Cobra. This has many cool features and I love its unique look. One of my favorite scenes in the cartoon is with Cobra Commander driving and the twins in the twin pods that split to attack in several different directions. I purchased a couple engine covers on line but they were so brittle they broke just trying to set them on there. Also the flags are hard to find and also brittle so I picked up a couple 3D printed ones.

I think it looks great with those on there. Overall this is still one of my favorite vehicles and I don’t see a classified version being produced, but I think a new 3-3/4 version would be cool with an O-Ring or 25th style Motor. That’s another really cool figure that never really got a lot of love. That would make a really cool Classified figure in my opinion. Who else had a Stun as a kid? Make sure to check back for our next discussion.