Joes on The Rock: Why D-Day at Alcatraz Still Hits

Story By Mitchell Smith

Welcome to The Outpost. Today I’m taking a look at the 1990 G.I. Joe two part episode “D-Day at Alcatraz“. I think most of the people growing up watching the Sunbow cartoon would agree the Dic era was a little off the wall, but there is still some entertainment value and the characters still are pretty interesting. The D-Day at Alcatraz episodes were interesting to me. Although I always wished Metal Head was a bit more of a serious character my son did point out to me he is Metal Head. He gave off a Shaggy vibe in this episode. The main Joe characters in this episode are Captain Grid Iron, Pathfinder, Skydive, and Topside. As a kid Topside was the only Joe figure I had from this year that was in this episode. The episode starts out with Cobra Commander, Destro, Metal Head and various Vipers surrendering to GI Joe.

The episode is fun in my opinion but I kept thinking the Warden was going to strip off that mask and reveal Zarana but that never did happen. The ghost of Alcatraz was an added highlight to the 2 part episode and this would be a cool Super7 figure to see. There have been several Classified Cobra figures released that were in this episode such as Metal Head and Saw Vipers, but every Joe fan is waiting for those Joe figures. I know there are still a few of the eighties figures that are highly anticipated and I know I can’t wait for Flash and Airtight, but there are several 90’s figures I want to see as well. I’m sure Captain Grid Iron is at the top of people’s lists, but I’m looking for Skydive, Topside, and Stretcher.

Overall this was a good episode that featured some of my favorite Sky Patrol vehicles along with many other cool Joe and Cobra vehicles from 1990. There have only been a handful of vehicles released that are not Haslab vehicles but I think a Skydive with a Sky Patrol Sky Hawk would be really awesome at a retail level. Maybe 2026 will be the year to break into 90’s Joes. Who else wants to see some 90’s Joes? Make sure to check back next week for the next discussion at The Outpost.