(Editor’s Note: Today’s video and its accompanying writeup were created by Mario Xavier. Mario is an actor, director, and stuntman with a passion for GI Joe. Please check out his YouTube channel and Twitter. You can also find his filmography on Prime Video.)
Article and Video by Mario Xavier
Like many of you, I’ve been searching for this new collection of “retro” G.I. Joe. First, it stings to hear your childhood toys called retro classics. Like many of us in our late 30s and early 40s, I grew up with Joes. I had boxes full. I’d save my dollars and purchase figures and small vehicles on my own. Birthdays and holidays came along with the larger vehicles and such.
As time passed I naturally lost interest and as adulthood came, they sat in boxes at my parents house. As fatherhood approached, G.I. Joe was all but dead. I went ahead and sold all of it on eBay. Less out of financial need, more out of need for space. I’d rather they all be in the hands of a collector who would have fun with them. They were all in great shape except for the usual broken thumb and pegs. Anyway, Babies take up lots of space, of course.
Fast forward to a now 8 year old who loves Martial Arts and all things with it. Ninjas are dominant in G.I. Joe. Here we are in 2021 and Joes are back! A new movie is months away and new toys are hitting the shelves. As we opened the reissue of the classic Hiss and Fang, the sense memory flooded back to me. The touch and feel of G.I. Joe is distinct. The exhilaration on my son’s face was reminiscent of my own decades earlier. Now, I find myself searching the shelves and online not for myself, but for sharing the same joy I had when I was that age.
Signing Off
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I’ve been tempted by these “retro” HISSes and FANGs as well, as I know at least the HISS will work decently with ARAH-style figures. Or I can poach the turret from it for one of my broken HISSes.
Have you bought any of the Retro Collection vehicles? Do you have good memories of the originals? Let us know in the comments!
The Dragon Fortress 
My kids think my Joe toys are cool. But, that’s more due to the fact that they are around, but not really for play. I did give them some Star Wars figures from the mid 2000’s and they love those. But, o-ring Joes are pretty brittle. If I had some JvC, I’d probably hand those over. But, I suspect the novelty would wear off pretty soon. They’ve got lots of military toys that they don’t really use. Clones and Jedi are a lot more fun.
The Retro Hiss was nice enough. It’s good to get a vintage style Hiss Tank. But, the $25 price point is tough when you can get a vintage tank for that price. I never saw an AWE at retail. But, I have a 2008 version and that’s all I need. The updated FANG is terrible. I hope we see some things like a Rattler, Tomahawk, Moray or other things that are really expensive. But, we didn’t get a Joe vehicle to accompany the FANG which seemed odd. So, I’m not holding out hope we’ll get some of the better classics.
Maybe Super 7 will do them. /s
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Thanks for stopping by, Mike!
When I was a kid I’d definitely switch between toy lines to stave off boredom. Maybe they’ll be stoked about some of the non-collector stuff coming out for the Snake Eyes movie? I have to say that Night Creeper, Red Ninja, and Scarlett look like really cool kids’ toys at the very least.
I’d love to see a Tomahawk or Eaglehawk re-release. And I would positively jump at a Moray. But since 6″ seems to be the main focus now, and any vehicle bigger than a motorcycle is kind of unwieldy in that scale, I doubt Hasbro will be making or re-releasing any larger vehicles. They’re sparse for Star Wars, too. I think we’ll just get the same re-releases we’ve seen since the 25th Anniversary days. Though I’d buy an Armadillo or Firebat if they wanted to go down that road again. I still love my 25th Anniversary Water Moccasin and would probably buy another one of those, too.
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