In the comics, the year began with Snake Eyes captured, the Joes' headquarters in ruins, and Cobra Commander and Destro on the run. These plotlines eventually led to the defection of Billy to the Joes and the apparent death of Cobra Commander, replaced by a Crimson Guard impostor named Fred VII. The Special Mission series continued, and the year also included two four-part miniseries: Order of Battle, containing profiles of the characters and vehicles, and the first of several crossovers with Transformers. The first new character introduction went to Raptor in #58 (Apr. 87). Important to the year's storyline were Jinx, Outback, and Tunnel Rat, all in #59 (May 87). Issue #60 (Jun. 87) gave us Chuckles, Falcon, Fast Draw, Law, and Zanzibar. Fred's arrival on Cobra Island in #64 (Oct. 87) was the occasion for Psyche-Out, Back-Stop, Hardtop, and Payload to make their way into the comic. Battle Force 2000 would not be introduced until next year in #68 (Feb. 88), followed by Crazylegs in #69 (Mar. 88). The ill-fated Croc Master and Sneak Peek each received a few appearances beginning in #72 (Jun. 88) and #73 (Jul. 88) respectively. Crystal Ball's only appearance was in the infamous "Ladies' Day," Special Missions #24 (Aug. 89). Steam-Roller would not be used until #99 (Apr. 90). Left out by Marvel were Big Boa, the Crossfire driver Rumbler, the Renegades and Cobra-La, and the mail-exclusive characters The Fridge and Starduster, though Starduster was advertised with a mini-comic. Commercial animation was done for #59, 60, and 65.
Sunbow chose The Movie as the ending point of their cartoon series. The film was released straight-to-video and aired on TV (at once and later in five parts); a theatrical release was canceled following disappointing returns for the Transformers and Care Bears movie tie-ins. The Movie centered around Cobra-La and introduced only five of the year's new Joes. Cobra Commander and Falcon had parallel redemption stories, the latter of which brought in Sgt. Slaughter and his new Renegades. While the sci-fi/paranormal aspects of the story were in keeping with the series, viewer reaction was mixed as the Cobra-La backstory for Cobra seemed a bit too far-fetched. The quirkiness of the Rawhides and Renegades and the dodgy work in changing Duke's "death" to a coma increased the disappointment of many. It didn't help that Cobra Commander was left in snake form in a year that saw the release of a cool new uniform viewers wanted to see animated. Fortunately, reruns from the previous two seasons continued this year.
While G.I. Joe's sales and innovation remained strong in 1987, many fans consider the year to mark the beginning of Joe's decline, in part due to the cancellation of the cartoon series. Without the cartoon, most of the new characters would not be developed except in the comic, which was becoming increasingly selective in adding to its inner circle. Some Joe and Cobra character concepts (e.g., Psyche-Out and Raptor) and vehicles (e.g., the Pogo) were too "out-there" for the more traditional fans. Even the magnificent space shuttle Defiant was of questionable use, due to the lack of a Cobra space force.
Nevertheless, this was a landmark year for the line as the number of Joe team members topped 100 from forty-five US states, with over 150 figures total. Most carded figures came with Battle Ribbons to reflect experience in various missions and assignments. Toward the end of the year, Hasbro released a special team with its own vehicles, Battle Force 2000. A series of translucent figures was also planned but canceled.
The Fridge followed on the heels of the Sarge as the winter mail-in. The regular assortment of figures was colorful if not downright awkward, but the character concepts were largely original. Jinx, the last female figure until 1993, was the first Joe described as a ninja on figure packaging. Important gaps, such as deceptive warfare and a Cobra trainer, were filled. It was also in this year that many figures began to be loaded down with accessories, sometimes more than they could carry at once.
This would be the last strong year for G1 Transformers, as its cartoon also drew to a conclusion, with worse results. (A five-part miniseries charged with introducing over 50 new characters was cut down to three parts for budget reasons.) Joe's biggest competitor would be the Nintendo Entertainment System; toy sales overall fell 5 to 20 percent as children returned to playing video games. Lazer Tag and Captain Power proved a flash in the pan while MicroMasters was the more lasting craze. Action figure lines such as Ghostbusters and Silverhawks struggled.
Renegades and Cobra-La team members were sold in three-packs. Motorized Action Packs and simple minivehicles were released as buyers sought more play value at a lower price point. Some important larger vehicles were designed for this year: a Sea Ray to counter the SHARC, a WOLF to battle the Snow Cat, and Cobra's first decent-sized helicopter. The Maggot provided Cobra with a long-overdue large tank. Many of the vehicles this year were modular to further increase the play value. On the high end, a remote control dune buggy and two base-sized playsets rounded out the main vehicle assortment.
Later in the year Starduster and a personalized Steel Brigade figure became available. Starduster was first associated with G.I. Joe Action Stars cereal, and the Steel Brigade received full-page ads in comics in addition to the usual insert promotions. Both would be available in later years as well. The selection of older products in the year's mail-order brochures continued and expanded to include a vehicle drivers' set, the APC, and the relatively recent AWE Striker and Snow Cat.As Christmas approached, Battle Force 2000 figures were released singly. Their vehicles came right at the turn of the year, followed shortly by a repackaging that sold the figures in two-packs. With special packaging and filecard colors, this team set the pattern for later releases such as Iron Grenadiers and Tiger Force.
Only issues #59 and 60 provided animation for toy ads this year (SLAM/Pogo and Cycle/Air Skiff, respectively). Extremely brief original animation was used for the Action Packs, Persuader/Maggot, Sea Ray/WOLF, Mobile Command Center, and BF2000 commercials. Sketchpad-style animation with pastels was used for some products, and several ads were released in two versions as the Live the Adventure motif was retired and a hard-rock "Nobody Beats G.I. Joe" theme took its place. Late-year ads, such as the Crossfire and Defiant ads, used only live-action or pastels.
Without the cartoon, the comic dictated the path of the toys and the personality of the characters. Consequently, the new Storm Shadow was now a Joe. (He had long since switched sides in Marvel's comic series), and Serpentor was nowhere to be found. (He was killed in this year's Issue #76.) The Iron Grenadiers and a Cobra civil war dominated the comic story. Many of the new characters appeared in only a handful of issues. Issue #72 (Jun. 88) introduced Skidmark, Wildcard, and Windmill, with Lightfoot added in Special Missions #13 (Sept. 88) and Ghostrider in #76 (Oct. 88). Since DC already had a comic character Ghost Rider, this Joe's name could not be mentioned in the comic, and writer Larry Hama made a running joke out of this limitation. The year's final issue, #80 (Dec. 88) added Charbroil, Hardball, Hit & Run, and Muskrat, but gave Armadillo the name "Rumbler." Some of the later added Joes actually received a fair bit of use: Budo and Repeater appeared in #82 (Jan. 89), and Shockwave in Special Missions #17. Road Pig was the star of #83 (Feb. 89), and Voltar made his first appearance in #87 (Jun. 89). Spearhead received his only appearance in Special Missions #21 (May 89), and there were no Marvel appearances for Super Trooper, Blizzard, or Skystriker. (However, like Starduster, Super Trooper was advertised with a special mini-comic.) Commercial animation advertised #68, 72, 74, and 80.
The Sunbow series continued in reruns, with select episodes aired with a special opening sequence that combined Movie clips with Sunbow animation from the commercials. The episodes were hosted by a live-action Sgt. Slaughter, much as Tranformers reruns would later include narration from a CGI Optimus Prime. The cartoon would move to the USA cable network after its run on UHF stations.
This year's releases would include a balance of traditional and futuristic looks and concepts. Blocky, angular camo patterns were the order of the day. Many of the newer Joes featured whole systems of accessories in contrast to the earlier helmet/backpack/gun combination. Animals included with figures were becoming more outlandish, with manta rays and bobcats replacing the more conventional dogs and parrots. The addition of the Iron Grenadiers brought a new story element to the Joe universe. Also, many figures packaged in 1988 and early 1989 came with camouflage paint.
This collector remembers walking into a Children's Palace in 1988 and hearing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song played repeatedly over the store's sound system. This new interest would become America's new best-selling boy's toy line for most of the rest of Joe's vintage run. The sheer number of Joe releases (both new and recolored) this year and the next suggests that part of Hasbro's strategy was to compete by volume so as to retain more space on store shelves. The vehicles of the line were becoming increasingly futuristic and even weird (though quite a few were based on unconventional but real-life designs). Still, the vehicles conformed rather closely to color schemes indicating their allegiance: green and brown for Joes, blue, grey, and red for Cobra, and black and gold for the Iron Grenadiers. The drivers, however, were as varied as ever.
Steel Brigade advertisements continued throughout this year, and in fact would run off and on until the end of the vintage line. In addition to this and the Super Trooper figure insert (which was joined by a live-action commercial) were three major mail offers. The leftover vehicles now included such recent products as the Devilfish, Recon Sled, and Serpentor's Air Chariot. The Defense Units and 1985 Battle Stations were now available by mail, along with the previous year's vehicle driver set and a few new selections such as Bazooka and Keel-Haul.
Only issue #74 provided animation for this year's toys (the DEMON and AGP); all other ads used original animation, which this year was significantly high-quality despite its brevity (or perhaps because of it). This would also be the last year for commercial sketchpad animation. The Imp and Swampmasher were advertised together, and Destro's Despoiler joined the RPV and Adder. The Desert Fox, Warthog, and Stellar Stiletto were together for their ad, just as they were in the ad for #72. (Why they didn't simply reuse this animation is unknown.) There was one ad for the Skystorm and Mean Dog, and another for the Phantom X-19 and Bugg. The Rolling Thunder received its own commercial, as did the new Action Packs.
How far the line had come was evident as Hasbro began recoloring Joes from previous years. The summer-released Night Force recolors were recent enough, but the Tiger Force line that appeared around September recycled figures from as early as 1983. Just as Starduster and Steel Brigade were scrawny compared to the newer molds, the Tiger Force looked weak compared to the main assortment. Nevertheless, the Tiger Force ad's opening line, "Duke is back," resonated with collectors and the brightly colored toys sold well. Joe's international releases added to the team, adapting such figures as Airtight, Shipwreck, Outback, Psyche-Out, and Hit & Run. These recolor lines allowed new collectors the opportunity to acquire some of the line's iconic vehicles and characters for the first time. The Tiger Force's shark-faced vehicles were patterned after the look of the Flying Tigers, the American volunteer pilots who flew with the Chinese Air Force in 1941-42.
The year 1989 marked the 25th anniversary of G.I. Joe, and Hasbro held a celebration in New York City on Feburary 9. By then, G.I. Joe toys and merchandise had generated more than $1.2 billion for Hasbro. Two out of three boys in the United States owned at least one G.I. Joe figure, and nearly fifty percent of those had 11 or more.
The comic series saw a fairly lackluster year, with the only significant developments being the death of most of the Oktober Guard in the Special Missions comics and the introduction of the original G.I. Joe, Joseph Colton, to celebrate the line's 25th anniversary. The first new character, Darklon, appeared in the Python Patrol issue, #88 (Jul. 89). As Snake-Eyes, Stalker, and Rock & Roll began appearing in their new outfits, the Thunderclap was then featured along with Backblast, Scoop, and Long Range in #92 (Nov. 89). No other 1989 characters appeared until Hot Seat in #105 (Oct. 90). A few more were involved in the Benzheen storyline: Countdown in #109 (Feb. 91), Recoil and Dogfight in #111 (Apr. 91), and Dee-Jay in #113 (Jun. 91), who died in that same issue. Downtown, Windchill, and Gnawgahyde never appeared in the Marvel comics. For the first time, no comics would receive TV ads this year.
In view of the continuing popularity of G.I. Joe, Hasbro decided to test the waters with a new cartoon. They contracted DiC (famous for Inspector Gadget and The Littles) to produce a five-part miniseries called Operation: Dragonfire as a sort of sequel to G.I. Joe: The Movie. Airing in September, it explained the return of Cobra Commander and the rise of the Python Patrol. The real focus of the show was the new character Scoop and his relationship with Slaughter's Marauders. The real-life Slaughter's voice was used for the show, but most of the other vocal talents were new. This cartoon maintained much of the feel of the old series, but it was somewhat lacking in overall quality. (Specifically, the storyline was simpler and followed only one small set of characters from one location to another; several serious characters had juvenile dialogue; many animation shortcuts were used; recaps went on far too long with too little narration; and it seems obvious they tried to have as few speaking parts as possible in each episode.)
The trends of the previous years continued as 44 figures and nearly 30 vehicles were released. Figures were being loaded down with more and more accessories; the Dreadnoks, Battle Force 2000, Iron Grenadiers, Tiger Force, and Night Force were continued this year; and collectors were once again delighted with a cool Cobra jet and a giant Joe land vehicle. Many figures released in 1989 included small Micro Figures, rubbery recreations of a previous popular Joe or Cobra (similar to the Transformers' decoys). A poster was available through an insert titled "Micro Figures Collector's File," and the Micro Figures themselves were also available as a set by mail in subsequent years. One thing this year was missing was a new mail-order exclusive figure; no more would surface until 1992.
There was still much repetition in the Joe line. Four of the ten new carded Joes were updated versions of older characters. To the previous year's many recolors, Hasbro added Sgt. Slaughter's Marauders and the Python Patrol. Six of 1988's figures were recolored for the Toys 'R Us exclusive Night Force. The new space vehicle, the Crusader, was a reworked Defiant, while the HISS II and FANG II were simply updated versions of earler vehicles. And of course, the new Python Patrol, Tiger Force, and Night Force vehicles were recolors as well, and the Slaughter's Marauders vehicles were a mix of old and new parts. But it should be said that all the toys this year were well designed, flashy, and high-quality. The 1989 versions of many of these toys are often regarded as favorites among collectors, especially the new Snake Eyes and the HISS II.
Despite DiC's new ownership of the Joe cartoon, Sunbow continued to produce original animation for the commercials. As with the syndicated Sunbow reruns, the real-life Sgt. Slaughter began providing narration. The smaller vehicles were grouped into one commercial, and Darklon was pitted against the Arctic Blast. The Python Patrol received its own commercial, and the FANG II teamed up with the Razorback for some reason. More logical pairings were the Mudfighter/HISS II (which were actually sold together as a Benny's exclusive) and Raider/Condor ads. The Thunderclap had a commercial all to itself. The face camo included with some shipments of figures was advertised in a tag at the end of several of these ads, as were the Micro Figures.
