G.I.Joe ‘The Dreadnoks’ Discussion by Mitchell Smith!

Welcome to the Outpost. I’ve been talking about a lot of G.I.Joe sub groups as a whole lately and there is one group that I don’t believe was ever labeled as a sub group but certainly can be considered one. The group is the Dreadnoks. Zartan is the leader but the first three Ripper, Torch, and Buzzer were a huge part of the cartoon and one of my favorite lines is when they say ‘Ello ‘ello ‘ello, and it is followed up with them getting knocked out with an audios audios audios. The Dreadnoks were basically a gang which was a big thing in the eighties.
The figures were really cool and a hit, so naturally the group of three started to grow by adding Monkeywrench and Thrasher who came with one of my favorite vehicles the Thunder Machine. They also added Zandar and Zarana, and Zarana became the new female face of Cobra and master of disguise. Zanzibar was released with and Air Skiff and was a really neat figure with a real ponytail. Road Pig and Gnawgahyde were added in the late eighties and Gnawgahyde had the bigger roll in the cartoon but both were popular characters. The nineties got away from the Dreadnoks but their popularity stayed strong with fans and characters like Burnout, Heart Wrencher, and Zartan’s daughter Zanya were added.
There were a couple sets released one a convention exclusive set with 2 new characters Demolishor and Crusher and another set of Dreadheads that had new characters Billy-Bob, Joe-Bob, Cletus, Otis, Vance, and Roscoe. There are many modern updates but Storm Rider is the only new modern character that I know of. Overall the Dreadnoks have been a staple group through the franchise and I love seeing all the different characters. I never had a Zartan as a kid but I had many other figures including Thrasher and the Thunder Machine. Zandar was always one of my favorite figures even though he only had the original and 1 modern version. I just liked his unique look and he has cool accessories. There was a 12 inch Zartan and a Ripper. I also made a custom 12 inch Torch and Buzzer.
There is a Sigma 6 Zartan and a new hard to find 6 inch Zartan. I think Zarana and Monkeywrench would be awesome 6 inch figures but who knows what we might get. Who loves Dreadnoks? Which is your favorite? Sound off below and let us know! Make sure to check back for our next discussion.