My 10 Favorite G.I. Joe Figures

I didn’t have a vast collection of G.I. Joes when I was a kid. In fact, I own so many more now than I ever did in the 80s thanks to eBay. I had a friend who had most of the figures (though not that many vehicles), so it was always a blast whenever I got to spend the night at his house because we’d spend the whole time either playing NES or playing with his G.I. Joes.

I like to think I have a pretty good grasp on just about the whole line up until 1990/1991 (’92 and ’93 were my weaning off years). So if there’s a few figures here and there from this list that I may not have owned, I did play with them extensively, so they warrant placement on this list. Check back soon for My 10 Favorite Cobra G.I. Joe Figures.

Flint (1985)

Flint is my 2nd favorite G.I. Joe character, but unlike Duke (my favorite Joe), he actually had a really cool figure right out of the gate. I didn’t own this one as a kid, but I do now.

Shipwreck (1985)

Forget the YMCA comparisons, Shipwreck is the real deal! I didn’t own this one myself either, but I own the 25th Anniversary figure. It’s not the same though. Some day, I’ll find the right price on eBay…

Hawk (1986)

The 1986 G.I. Joe series is my favorite toy line EVER. So many great figures and characters were introduced. A fact that I didn’t know at the time as a child is that Hawk was one of the original Joes. He was a part of the 1982 line and was actually listed as the team’s field commander. In ’86 (where this second figure debuted), he had made general and was being used in the cartoon. I loved Hawk, but I never liked that in the cartoon Duke was downplayed once he debuted.

I loved the backpack and helmet this figure came with.

Dial-Tone (1986)

Just a really cool design, I think, and I loved the communications backpack that he came with.

Wet-Suit (1986)

I always thought Wet-Suit was underutilized in the cartoon, but he wasn’t underutilized in my backyard or bathtub! Heck, I even took him on a snow mission during a winter day once! Unfortunately, my original Wet-Suit had a rough life. First, I lost him (in that very same snow mission). I didn’t find him until weeks later after the snow melted and by that point, one of his feet had been broken off. Then, years later, his o-ring snapped and I ended up with just everything from the waist up. Luckily, eBay saved me once again.

Quick Kick (1985)

I didn’t own Quick Kick, but he was one of the first figures I picked up at my friend’s house.

Beach Head (1986)

The ’85/’86 lines featured G.I. Joe at it’s peak. They had gotten past the plain, boring grays, tans and army greens of the first few years but hadn’t quite strayed too far into figures with ridiculous gimmicks and outrageous costume designs. In a world of shirtless purple pants wearing evil doctors and lime green laser troopers, Beach Head already seemed like a throwback to the earlier true military roots of the line (and maybe even as far back as the original 1960s series).

Sci-Fi (1986)

Speaking of lime green laser troopers…

For the longest time as a kid, I referred to Sci-Fi as Firefly. We didn’t have the fancy schmancy internet in the 80s and it just seemed like a natural fit given his color of choice. I was ahead of the curve though. In 1992, the REAL Firefly did indeed end up wearing a lime green outfit.

Mainframe (1986)

Hm… I like Dial-Tone and I like Mainframe. I guess I’m a big fan of tech guys? Despite being a member of the Geek Squad, Mainframe’s outfit looks more like some type of policeman uniform. I wanted to be a policeman as a kid, so maybe that’s why this figure struck a chord with me. I owned this figure as a kid, don’t know what happened to it, but I won it back on eBay a year or two ago… Then lost it again! I thought I would find it when we moved last month, but I never did. Back to eBay I go…

Low-Light (1986)

I related to Low-Light. He’s kind of the the quiet grumpy pessimist of the team and that’s always pretty much been me. Anyone else think it’s strange both Low-Light and Beach Head (who was the loud grumpy pessimist of the team) look like they should be burglarizing some houses?

Sgt. Slaughter (1986)

Professional wrestler Sgt. Slaughter debuted as a mail-away offer in the ’85 line, but was properly introduced to toy shelves in ’86 as a pack-in with his Triple T tank. I kinda prefer the ’85 design, but this is the classic cartoon look. Probably the loosest Joe figure I own from playing with him so much. He’s got spaghetti legs and rubber band arms. One part of one of his arms is also becoming slightly discolored and pale for some reason. I just noticed that a few months ago.

Special thanks to YoJoe.com for the images.

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Tags: 1980s, Action Figures, G.I. Joe, Toys