THE POP EXPOSE ‘Black History Month With G.I.Joe! By Mitchell Smith!
In honor of Black History Month I wanted to tip a hat to all the great African American G.I. Joe’s created over the years. Starting out from the original lineup Stalker has always been a staple character and has had many updated versions and was a huge part of the success of G.I. Joe. Stalker the Army Ranger from Detroit has a long history with Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes and was just a great character all around. Next up is another all time great character, Doc.
The Concord, Mass guy is another staple character. He was always a go to guy and the figure was very cool. G.I. Joe’s first medic will always be number 1 in my book. Roadblock is the G.I. Joe cook, but he was also a real bad ass with his heavy machine gun. The Mississippi boy was another staple character throughout the franchise. One of the best moments for me is in G.I. Joe the movie when he is forced to use the transformed Cobra Commander as his eyes so they could escape the dreaded Cobra La. 1985 was arguable the heyday of G.I. Joe, that year produced Alpine, the Mountain trooper from Minidoka, Idaho. Another great character. This was a really cool designed figure, this is one I wish I would have had as a child, but it wasn’t until my adult years I was able to get my first Alpine. All around just a very nice character with many figure versions.
Up next is a character from Texas. none other than the beloved Iceberg. The unlikely character from the Texas Mexico border town Brownsville, Iceberg loved the cold. Which I have a guy in my town who is the same way as Iceberg. He was born and raised in Central Florida and now he lives in northern NY working on tractor trailers in the bitter cold crawling around underneath in the snow and he loves it. Iceberg is a nice character and had an episode or two that focused on him, I just love this guy. Refrigerator was one of the reasons the Chicago Bears won Super Bowl XX. William Perry also was a G.I. Joe figure. I don’t believe he ever made an appearance in the cartoon, but nevertheless he will always have a G.I. Joe figure that has always been one of my favorites. Hardball who played minor league baseball fittingly was from Cooperstown, NY. I don’t remember Hardball in any of the cartoons, but his figure is pretty cool looking, and he has a bad ass weapon. I think I remember him in one of the intros so I’m sure he had some TV time, I’m gonna have to go back and watch some episodes. I loved the Battle Force 2000, I only had one of the vehicles as a kid, and Dee-Jay was one figure I did receive for Xmas. He has always been one of my personal favorites, his weapon his backpack, and his uniform are all very cool, just wish he had come with a removable helmet.
Stretcher is another cool figure. I liked the design and color scheme of his uniform. It wasn’t outrageous but it wasn’t plain either. Born in Hartford, CT I wonder if he is a Whalers fan? He came with a good amount of cool gear, but I thought his sled was a little strange, I think a cool stretcher would have been more fitting. All around though he had some cartoon time and was a pretty cool character. Static Line was a Chicago boy and was part of one of my favorite sub groups. The Sky Patrol had a lot of great figures with removable helmets, cool weapons, and best of all really cool parachutes. I think this is one line that could still get some cool updates or even some different Sky Patrol characters, but Static Line would be a cool modern figure with removable helmet. Heavy Duty Is from Chicago. This was one of the best characters of the 1990’s. Really cool design, and was a staple in the animated series over the years. His original character came with some pretty awesome firepower, and he has had several figures including a pretty cool 12 inch figure. Bullet Proof is another Chicago boy. I had very few 90 Joes as a kid, and I discovered a lot of these characters later in life. As an adult, Bullet Proof really stood out to me. This was just one of those great designed uniforms in my opinion. Sort of an 90s version of Stalkers original uniform in it’s uniqueness, and one of my favorite features a removable helmet. All round I enjoy this figure now and I think a modern version would be cool. The next character is from Boston. Colonel Courage kind of had a updated 90s version of Duke’s original outfit. I think I remember him in an episode of the cartoon. I like this figure although he would have been awesome with a removable helmet, and like Bullet Proof, I would like to see an updated version of this figure.
Dr. Link Talbot was born in Clarksburg, Mass a small town bordering Vermont and New York. This is a big farm area and he in deed grew up on a farm. I love that he is a vet, I’m surprised it took so long for the Joes to get a Vet who could help the vast amount of Joe animals such as, Junkyard, Freedom, and Sandstorm. I like the color scheme of version 2. I found a Play Mobile veterinary and the equipment displayed well with Talbot. Big Lob another character from Chicago is another great character who spotlighted in the 1987 G.I. Joe the Movie. Although he did not get a figure till 2010 this is one of those characters that I think most Joe fans wish they would have had when the movie came out. He was in basic training next to some of the best G.I Joe characters from all time, and it would have been nice to have this one as a kid. He is a very nice character and the o-ring and modern figures are pretty cool. The Blind Master appeared in one of the modern movies, and trained Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, and Jinx. He is regarded as one of the strongest ninja masters. This was a cool character and The figure came with some cool ninja weapons. I believe Shooter was the last of the African American characters made, and a woman to boot. Based on the original 1982 lineup Shooter was missed on the original figure lineup but came about from one of the comics. I didn’t get a chance to get my hands on this figure but she looks really cool. Someday I might come across her and add her to my collection. I love G.I. Joe and there have been many awesome characters created over the years. A history that hold strong in today’s G.I. Joe community. Enjoy the rest of February and lets get ready for some March Madness.
Which African American G.I.Joe Character is your favorite? Let us know AFTER THE JUMP!
