The year's comic releases started off with a bang as Scarface foiled Cobra's plans and three of the medium's own characters (Gen. Flagg, Kwinn, and Dr. Venom) were killed. Aside from a redesign of the Joes' Pit headquarters, the rest of the year was taken up exploring new characters. Storm Shadow was introduced with a mysterious connection to Snake Eyes in #21 (Mar. 84), the first issue without dialogue. Duke and Roadblock first appeared in #22 (Apr. 84), and Firefly, Wild Weasel, and Zartan in #24 (Jun. 84). The Dreadnoks, usually regarded as 1985 characters, got an early debut in #25 (Jul. 84), along with Mutt, Cutter, and Deep Six. An assassination plot against Cobra Commander involving his own son Billy closed out the comic year. This was the first year a significant number of figured characters were omitted from the year's comic storyline: Spirit did not show up until #31 (Jan. 85), with Blowtorch, Recondo, and Rip Cord appearing in #32 (Feb. 85). Scrap-Iron had to wait until #43 (Jan. 86), and Thunder until #51 (Sept. 86). Copperhead did not appear in Marvel's comic run at all. Commercial animation advertized #24, 25, 28, and 30. (The cover of issue #35 appears at the end of the #30 ad, but the scenes depicted fit #30.)
Following the success of the previous year's comic miniseries, Sunbow produced another with a similar plot, entitled The Revenge of Cobra. This story, in which Joes, Cobras, and Zartan vie for the globally scattered pieces of Destro's Weather Dominator, introduced the year's new characters as well as the following year's Flint, Lady Jaye, and Shipwreck sans Polly. (The Crimson Guard also made a brief appearance.) The already-strong voice cast was joined by the likes of Gregg Berger, Zack Hoffman, Kene Holliday, Mary McDonald Lewis, Bill Ratner, and Neil Ross. Rather than pit Storm Shadow against Snake Eyes, the Sunbow cartoon chose Spirit as the ninja's rival. This cartoon also introduced Colonel Sharpe (or Sharp; the spelling was never officially established) as the Joes' military liaison and the young Sparks as a companion to Breaker.
Aside from a mid-year change of figures' shoulder joints (from cylinders to cones, to save wear on the O-ring), the construction remained the same as the previous year. Proportions were somewhat in a state of flux, with some figures (e.g., Recondo) noticeably more bulky while others (e.g., Roadblock) had the now-waify look of earlier releases. Figure cardbacks listed all the carded figures from 1982 to 1984, plus Zartan.
Duke, available by mail late in 1983, joined the carded assortment, which contained six other Joes and four Cobra agents. As would be the pattern for years to come, the previous series of figures and vehicles continued to ship throughout the year.
During this year, G.I. Joe became the best-selling boy's toy; the competing Star Wars line offered a selection of mostly obscure figures with no future films in sight. The toughest competition would come later in the year from Tonka's Gobots and Hasbro's own Transformers. However, the Transformers' fragility and higher price point (and the apparent lower target age of their cartoon) gave Joes a slight advantage.
Many of this year's vehicle releases became iconic for the Joe line, though figure releases were rather weak. Clutch and Stinger Driver were repaints, and unlike the previous year's Ace and Wild Bill, the new driver characters received meager development in the comic and cartoon—Zartan being an obvious exception. Deep Six and Wild Weasel didn't even appear in animation until the following year.
Included with 1984's vehicles were mail-order brochures for a hooded version of Cobra Commander, who would in fact be available by mail almost continuously through 1990, and again in 1993 as a mystery figure. Also available by mail was the previous year's MANTA, and leftover copies of 1982's smaller equipment.
Once again, commercial animation was recycled for vehicle ads, with the cartoon cast providing voiceover. One ad featuring the new figures had brief animation from 1982 but featured Cobra Commander and Destro's voices and showed Recondo at the Watch Tower, Blowtorch and Rip Cord at the Mountain Howitzer, and Mutt at the Bivouac. Duke, Roadblock, and Storm Shadow were introduced with the Sky Hawk and CLAW, and other ads appeared for the SHARC and Water Moccasin, the WHALE and Rattler, and Zartan's Chameleon. One impressive commercial combined 1983's Dragonfly and SkyStriker with the new Rattler. Interestingly, the Rattler ads included animation from the Real American Hero miniseries, which featured a grey prototype rather than the finished product. (It seems the Slugger and Stinger should also have received a commercial, but I have not found one.)
For those following the comics, the story of the year was a plot involving the allegiances of Billy and Storm Shadow, and a long buildup to a major Joe/Cobra confrontation whose climax would come in early 1986. Overlapping the delayed introduction of several 1984 characters, Lady Jaye received her debut in #32 (Feb. 85); Keel-Haul and his U.S.S. Flagg first appeared in #36 (Jun. 85), Flint, Footloose, and the Crimson Twins in #37 (Jul. 85), and Barbecue and Shipwreck in #40 (Oct. 85). More than half the year's characters had a longer wait for the comic: Airtight, Bazooka, Crankcase, and Heavy Metal were absent until #44 (Feb. 86), Alpine and Quick Kick until #45 (Mar. 86), and Tollbooth until #51 (Sept. 86), his only appearance. Dusty was on hold until #58 (Apr. 87), and Frostbite until #64 (Oct. 87), long after their figures were available in stores. Clearly, by now writer Larry Hama was having to be selective in which characters he could develop, and his choices were a bit different from those of Sunbow's cartoon writers. The comic's Yearbook #1 appeared in March but was simply a reprint of issue #1. Commercial animation advertized #37 and #40. This is probably also when the #30/35 Dreadnoks commercial aired.
A third Sunbow miniseries, The Pyramid of Darkness kicked off a full season of the Joe cartoon, with 55 half-hour episodes released weekdays between September 16 and December 13. The previous year's miniseries were split into five parts each and rerun as part of the shows (though they kept their distinct opening sequences and closing credits). Strategically aired with Transformers and Thundercats in the 3:00-4:30 after-school block, the cartoon helped draw in any boys who had not already been swayed by the comics, commercials, and toy aisles.
Figure design continued to improve as most of the new figures received ball-joint necks that could nod and look slightly upward. Unlike swivel-arm battle grip, this design change was not applied to the previous years' molds, which kept their swivel necks through all future repaints, even decades later. The new, more realistic proportions were consistent this year. Snake-Eyes, the first carded "remake," was easily the most popular figure this year, amid a fresh lineup of Joes and a bevy of new Cobra troops. As the older toys were retired, it was apparent that some of the new toys were specifically designed to replace them. For example, Bazooka was evidently a replacement for Zap, Footloose for Grunt, Lady Jaye for Scarlett, and (possibly) Shipwreck for Torpedo.
The Star Wars line was retired in mid-year with several toys unreleased, and the popularity of G.I. Joe was now secure as Toy and Hobby World rated G.I. Joe the best-selling toy in America. The line stood tall above Transformers, Masters of the Universe, Voltron, ThunderCats, and girls' selections such as Pound Puppies, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, and Barbie.
As with the figures, many of the year's vehicles mirrored previous releases: While Joe's Headquarters was no longer widely available in stores, a new, larger set was sold: the U.S.S. Flagg. Vehicles such as the Mauler, AWE Striker, and Silver Mirage, strongly resembled 1982's MOBAT, VAMP, and RAM. Significant new additions to the line were the Joes' Snow Cat and the Cobra Moray. The Tomax-Xamot two-pack was also a totally new idea, with the psychically-linked twins heavily promoted in the cartoon and comic.
Many figures packaged in 1985 came with inserts for the "Triple Win Game," also advertised on television. It offered primarily non-toy merchandise. Brochures included in vehicle packages continued to make older equipment available by mail, this time including 1983's Polar Battle Bear, Whirlwind, Wolverine, and HISS. The Parachute Pack was introduced this year as well.
Comic ads provided animation for the Tomax/Xamot and Battle Platform/Hydrofoil commercials, but several of the toy commercials this year had original animation, most notably the Silver Mirage/Trubble Bubble and Bridgelayer/AWE Striker spots. A new slogan, "Live the Adventure," encouraged play by shrinking children in the ads to 3-3/4" scale to run among the sets. The Dreadnoks and Snake-Eyes, Alpine, and Airtight were introduced with the Battle Stations in this fashion, and the USS Flagg also had this commercial treatment.
The little-noticed Listen 'n Fun Tripwire was released with a story on cassette some time during this year.
Among the important comic developments this year were the defection of Storm Shadow to G.I. Joe, the creation of Serpentor, and the Joes' assault on Cobra's Springfield base (#50), which featured more characters than any other single issue. Dr. Mindbender and the BATs were the first new faces, in #44 (Feb. 86). The next introductions came in #47 (May 86) with Beach Head and Wet-Suit. Sgt. Slaughter starred in #48 (Jun. 86), as did Serpentor in #49 (Jul. 86), which also introduced Leatherneck, Lift-Ticket, and Slip-Stream. Zarana was the only new character in the otherwise jam-packed #50 (Aug. 86), while Zandar, Thrasher, and Cross-Country joined the lineup in #51 (Sept. 86). Dial-Tone arrived at the end of the year, in #54 (Dec. 86). Once more, several characters came late to the party: Low-Light in #55 (Jan. 87), Lifeline in #56 (Feb. 87), and Mainframe in #57 (Mar. 87); Monkeywrench in #60 (Jun. 87), and Sci-Fi in #64 (Oct. 87), and Iceberg not until #68 (Feb. 88). Also new in 1986 was the introduction of the Special Missions series, which ran concurrently with the regular monthly issues and began with the reappearance of the Oktober Guard. Comics animated for advertising this year were #47, 49, 51, and 54. (Two versions of the #54 commercial were produced, the first referring to the Terror Drome only as "Cobra Launch Base.")
The Sunbow cartoon continued with first season reruns until September. Thirty shows, the first five comprising a minseries, first ran between September 15 and November 20. Reruns from then on included a mix of old and new shows. The end result was 100 episodes, the magic number for syndication. The new cartoon season retained a few favorites from the first season but focused heavily on the new characters, with Hawk belatedly introduced as the Joe team leader. Most of the new Joes got an episode pretty much to themselves, and the plots were designed to prepare the viewer for G.I. Joe: The Movie. Writers Buzz Dixon and Ron Friedman have recounted that the Movie developed largely around Hasbro's insistence on a new leader for Cobra. When told that such a change would require that Cobra "build" a leader from scratch or else be found to answer to a higher, secretive authority, Hasbro encouraged both plot points. The writers chose to begin the second season focusing on the creation of Serpentor, with answers to be revealed in the following year's theatrical release. Intervening episodes would focus on the friction between Serpentor (supported by Destro and Dr. Mindbender) and the increasingly daring Cobra Commander.
Though the figure construction remained the same, three changes were made to G. I. Joe packaging in 1986. First, the G. I. Joe logo was given a new 3-D design. Second, character art was surrounded by a computer-graphic-style explosion rather than a more natural-looking one. Third, file cards were printed with a grey background, and code names were printed on top with boldface, with concepts relegated to the smaller print. The 1985 file cards (plus Storm Shadow and the Dreadnoks) were updated to reflect this change, though re-released mail-order figures retained the yellow backing and less prominent code name placement. Some figures packaged in 1986 came with body transfer decals, essentially temporary tattoos of G. I. Joe characters.
This year's figures included more replacements of older concepts: Beach Head for Stalker, Dial-Tone for Breaker, Iceberg for Snow Job, Leatherneck for Gung-Ho, Lifeline for Doc, a new Hawk, a new Roadblock, Sci-Fi for Flash, Wet-Suit for Torpedo, and Viper for Cobra. The introduction of Dr. Mindbender relieved Cobra of the necessity of kidnapping scientists in plot after plot. Cobra troops began following the pattern set by 1985's Tele-Viper and carried the word "Viper" in their code names.
The mail-order figure Sgt. Slaughter, advertised through figure inserts late in 1985, began arriving early in the year and is listed as a 1985 release in many sources. He would continue to be available by various offers through 1988.
The first of G. I. Joe's special teams, the Special Mission: Brazil force, was released as a Toys 'R Us exclusive. As the toy line took on a decidedly futuristic look, the Joes were given a new helicopter, and Cobra finally had a headquarters generally available. Serpentor and the Sarge were introduced with vehicles, following the pattern set by Zartan and joined in later years with somewhat less success by Zanzibar, Destro, Darklon, and Overlord. The Sears-exclusive Dreadnok vehicles would one day take their place among the most high-demand US releases.
Especially abundant this year were mail-in offers for equipment from Joe's first three years. The newly attractive brochures had their own titles and storylines. The most notable of these was the Original Adventure Team offer, for ten early figures: seven of the "original nine" plus Airborne, Cobra Officer, and Major Bludd. This was a golden opportunity for kids whose interest in the Joe line had begun recently with the cartoon.
Comic animation was used for the ads introducing Serpentor, the Devilfish and Hydro-Sled, the Swampfire and Thunder Machine, and the Terror Drome. Many other ads used original animation this year, as well as computer outlines: the battle stations (again paired with new figures), Sgt. Slaughter (both versions), and each of the larger vehicles featured individually. The Live the Adventure theme continued and even had its own contest.
