GI Joe (action figure)

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GI Joe (from GI , US infantry soldier) is the name of the first action figure and consequently also the first action figure series. The original character, which portrayed an American soldier, was released by US toy manufacturer Hasbro in 1964 . Apart from a few interruptions, the series continues to appear today, but has always been adapted to the respective time. In later versions, for example, "GI Joe" is no longer the name of an individual figure, but the name for a complete team of soldiers or agents, whose members have individual names.

The series is primarily successful in the USA, in some other countries the figures have been adapted to the respective market and sold under different names.

In addition, animated series and comics appear again and again for advertising purposes, in which the adventures of GI Joe and the team of the same name are described.

The American figure manufacturer Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys (2013) have been producing 12-inch GI Joe figures under the Hasbro license since 2008. This series is one of the most detailed and costly of the Sixth Scale Figures .

History of origin

The very successful Barbie doll from Mattel is the inspiration for GI Joe . It has been speculated that a male doll with many different and separately available accessories could be as successful with boys as Barbie with girls.

However, at first the skepticism prevailed. In 1963, the director of the US toy manufacturer Ideal rejected proposals to introduce a soldier into its Tammy doll series so that it could also be sold to boys. The rationale was that boys wouldn't play with dolls even in 100 million years.

Hasbro, however, risked bringing a soldier doll for boys onto the market a year later . The original character was developed under the direction of Hasbro employee Don Levine. The name chosen was “GI Joe”, borrowed from the title of the US war film The Story of GI Joe from 1945. The patent registered on June 15, 1964 was Toy Figure Having Moveable Joints , ie a “toy figure with movable joints”. At first the success was limited, but after increasing the advertising for GI Joe and talking about a male action figure instead of a doll, the aversion that boys had against was overcome Dolls and thus laid the foundation for a new category of toys.

Appearance

The original GI Joe action figures were 11.5 inches tall and looked like Barbie's friend Ken. In contrast to him, however, they were much more flexible, because they had 21 joints and were designed to be correspondingly more robust as soldiers. As with their female counterpart Barbie, the GI Joe action figures were able to take off their uniforms and equipment and equip them with a different one.

Initially only US were at GI Joe foot soldiers of the Second World War represented; Gradually, members of the other branches of the army were introduced, all of which were sold under the name GI Joe.

Later versions

Group of GI Joe cosplayers , 2013

GI Joe has seen many changes over time. During the Vietnam War, for example, through which the US military lost much of its reputation among the population, the military turned away and under the title The Adventures of GI Joe, a so-called adventure team was created , which led by GI Joe to commit crime fought. In the 80s, the new series GI Joe: A Real American Hero was developed in cooperation with the comic publisher Marvel . Contrary to what the title suggests, in this version "GI Joe" is the name of a US special unit that fights against the terrorist organization Cobra. The military theme was combined with the superhero theme typical of Marvel , which is why each of the members of the unit has an alias, an individual uniform and special skills. A successful comic and cartoon series were also developed by Marvel and the production company Sunbow for advertising purposes. All later versions of the series have since been based on this reinterpretation.

In 1985 the Epyx company published a computer game about GI Joe.

From 2005 to 2007 the series GI Joe: Sigma 6 was released , which takes place in the 21st century and is about a six-member team of agents who fight against the crime organization Cobra Command . There was also a cartoon series for this.

There have been several official GI Joe fan clubs over the years. The current one is run by Brian Savage and his company Fun Publications, who are also the organizers of the annual official GI Joe Convention .

After the success of the movie adaptation Transformers from 2007, which is based on the Hasbro toy series of the same name , a theatrical version of GI Joe entitled GI Joe - Secret Mission Cobra was released on August 5, 2009 .

GI Joe in other countries

Because of the title GI Joe could hardly assert itself in any other country except the USA. In some cases the toys appeared under other names, for example in Japan from 1971 under the name "Combat Joe", published by the Takara company (now Takara Tomy ) under license from Hasbro.

In Great Britain and Australia the company Palitoy published under license from Hasbro from 1966 to 1984 a version adapted for the British market called "Action Man". The toy series later developed in its own direction. In 1993 Hasbro started a new edition itself, but since 1996 it has dispensed with any military elements. The new series appeared until 2006.

From 1982 onwards, Palitoy released a series called "Action Force" under license from Hasbro, which initially began as an offshoot of "Action Man". From 1985 onwards, the series was distributed by Hasbro itself in Great Britain and was now an "international" version of the 1980s series GI Joe: A Real American Hero . The British Marvel subsidiary Marvel UK published a comic series on Action Force , which was derived from the Team made an international troop. Later, however, there was a crossover with the American GI Joe team, with curious consequences - the "doppelgangers" in the two teams were not addressed in the story.

In Germany, HASBRO figures based on it were marketed under the name Action Team by the Schildkröt company from the 1970s . The first characters were John Steel , an adaptation of GI Joe, and the bearded Hard Rock in orange overalls. Dark-skinned Tom Stone and the two female characters Super Sandy and Super Peggy followed later . The blond beard Bob Power and the two Indian characters Eagle Eye and Shalaly completed the series. In the 1980s, some of the later Palitoy Action Force figures were available in Germany , but some elements that were perceived as too violent were changed; For example, firearms were converted to stunning weapons and skull symbols removed. The Marvel UK comic series was also briefly published in German by Condor Verlag . The original GI Joe figures, which have not yet been sold in Germany, were now also available in Germany under the original title GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra from July 2009 on the occasion of the movie GI Joe - Cobra Secret Order .

GI Joe in other media

Series

Movies

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Roger Sweet, David Wecker: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea. Emmis Books, Cincinnati 2005, ISBN 1-57860-223-8 , p. 49

Web links