The
action figures were tall, at roughly
1:18 scale. Throughout the original toyline production from 1982 through 1994, figure construction remained relatively the same. The most notable changes were the second series' addition of "swivel-arm" articulation in 1983 which allowed the forearm to rotate above the elbow (initial figures could only bend at the elbow), and the fourth series' ball joints replacing the former swivel necks, both dramatically increasing a figures poseability. Hasbro also released various vehicles and playsets to be used with the figures. Many of the vehicles and playsets were based on, or influenced by, real or experimental military technologies that were deployed or being developed during the 1980s. Some examples of this among the vehicles released were the G.I. Joe
Skystriker XP-14F fighter plane based on the
F-14 Tomcat; the
Cobra Rattler, which has similarities to the
A-10 Thunderbolt II; the Dragonfly attack helicopter which was nearly identical to the
Bell AH-1 Cobra; the Cobra
Night Raven S3P inspired by the
Blackbird SR-71; and the
M.O.B.A.T. tank which was modeled after the
MBT-70. The Mobile Missile System (
M.M.S.) playset was also strikingly similar to the
MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air (SAM) missile system, while the
V.A.M.P. and its Cobra counterpart, the Stinger, were based on the
FMC XR311 prototype combat vehicle and its derivative, the
Lamborghini Cheetah. However, other toys were completely original and
in-story incorporated technologies that were unavailable at the time such as the
H.A.L. artillery laser, and
J.U.M.P. jet pack.
File card A file card is cardboard packaging with profile information, that accompanies most G.I. Joe or Cobra
action figures. The owner of the action figure is encouraged to cut out the file card and save it. Over the years, the file card has evolved, but they generally contain the following information: • A picture • Indication of allegiance • Code name of the character • Function • File name – the real name of the character • SN, his/her serial number • Primary military specialty • Secondary military specialty • Birthplace • Rank grade • A paragraph detailing the background of the character such as his/her education, upbringing, training • A quote from an unidentified source, usually giving the owner an idea of the character's personality For the enemy characters, most of the details are dispensed with, usually leaving only the picture, code name, function, descriptive paragraph and the quote. The file cards for the first eight or so years were primarily written by comic book writer
Larry Hama. Originally, Hama created "dossiers" as a way to keep track of the characters he would be writing. Representatives from Hasbro saw these "dossiers", and figured they would be an additional attraction to the action figures' blister packs. They were known for giving much needed details about the characters, such as their specialties, education and training. So detailed were the file cards, that they even mention the military schools the G.I. Joe characters attended. The 1982 to 1984 file cards contained information on weapons specialties, but this was later removed over concerns that children were being given knowledge on firearms and also that a character would be limited in his weaponry. The file card information would later be reprinted in a G.I. Joe comic book mini-series
Order of Battle. The mini-series contained all new art by
Herb Trimpe. The first two issues focused on G.I. Joe, the third on Cobra, and the fourth on their vehicles and equipment. The mini-series also corrects some of the grammar and misspellings from the original file cards. The 1987 G.I. Joe toy line saw the release of Cobra hypnotist
Crystal Ball, whose file card was supposedly written by bestselling horror novelist
Stephen King. By 1988, the file cards no longer contained details about education, and focused more on the character's upbringing, or what he or she did prior to joining the
G.I. Joe Team. In addition to the regular information, this new design of card also included a listing of which vehicle the character is licensed to operate. This would remain largely unchanged until 1991. In 1991, in a major overhaul of the file card format, the paragraphs and the quotes were replaced by a short quote from the character him/herself, followed by a paragraph that hypes up the character's abilities. This would be the general format for all the file cards that followed.
Line history A Real American Hero (1982–1994) The first eleven characters were introduced in carded packs while four others were bundled with vehicles. The first series of action figures had straight arms with elbow joints. While it is common for many characters to share the same mold for producing a body part, it was much more noticeable in the first year as for the original thirteen G.I. Joe figure, only six head molds were created. Three unique molds were assigned to
Stalker,
Snake-Eyes and
Scarlett, while the other ten characters utilized one of three generic heads. Despite these limitations, the new toyline was a success. With the success of the first line of toys, Hasbro expanded the line the next year with new characters and more original body part designs. In 1983, "swivel-arm battle grip" articulation and some extra tweaks were added to the new characters and the existing figures in order to make them more poseable. In 1985, the base of the action figures' heads were given a ball joint which gave the figures' heads the ability to look up and down. Unlike the change to the arms, older figures were not rereleased with the new neck articulation. The years from 1983 to 1985 are considered by many to be the golden years of
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero as many of the most popular characters were introduced around this time. Vehicles and playsets became bigger and seemed to top the design of the previous year, culminating in 1985's impressive
USS Flagg playset, an
aircraft carrier that measured long. Like Hasbro's other main franchise at the time,
Transformers, G.I. Joe saw its popularity peak around this time. This year is also notable for the overhauling of toy packaging, which the background artwork being changed from the familiar explosion background to a pixilated pattern of a red, yellow, and white explosion. In toy stores, two of the largest playsets of the entire line were introduced: the G.I. Joe
Defiant space shuttle and the Mobile Command Center. Before the end of the year, the G.I. Joe special team
Battleforce 2000 was introduced in time for Christmas. The toyline continued to sell well, despite its lack of media support. A new enemy,
Destro's
Iron Grenadiers, was introduced. The new Cobra line-up was composed mainly of
Viper-type henchmen. Issue #86 of the comic series celebrated the 25th anniversary of the G.I. Joe toyline in general. Another G.I. Joe sub-group, Tiger Force, a line of classic characters and vehicles re-colored with tiger-striped camouflage patterns, was introduced before the year's end. The relative success of Tiger Force the year before led to the introduction of Slaughter's Marauders and Cobra's
Python Patrol in 1989. The lackluster performance of 1989 convinced Hasbro to scale back on production. They concentrated on the action figure line-up and reduced the number of new vehicles for that year. The logo for the toyline was slightly redesigned as well. Special teams such as Ninja Force, Eco-Warriors, and Star Brigade were introduced. In the final two years of the line, characters who were not part of any sub-group were branded as part of the all-encompassing Battle Corps. The background artwork for the cards was replaced by a design featuring laser-like lines. The Star Brigade sub-series was revamped with a more science-fiction storyline involving an extraterrestrial enemy, the
Lunartix Empire. The characters from the
Street Fighter II video game became part of the G.I. Joe line up in 1993, as Hasbro bought the toy rights to the characters. Although the line would officially end in 1994, design elements of the G.I. Joe figures and vehicles would continue in later toylines, such as a line based on the
Street Fighter motion picture, as well as another based on the game's equally popular competitor,
Mortal Kombat. The mold for the
A.W.E. Striker vehicle from 1985 was also modified to accommodate larger figures for Hasbro's
Stargate line.
Stars & Stripes Forever – Toys "R" Us Exclusives (1997–1998) In 1997, G.I. Joe returned in a limited
Toys "R" Us exclusive line. The Real American Hero Collection, as it is called, included Team Packs of three figures grouped together by a common theme such as Commando and Cobra Command, and Mission Packs, which featured classic figures packaged with a small vehicle like a Cobra Flight Pod or Silver Mirage motorcycle. The "Stars and Stripes" boxed set was also released, featuring members of the original thirteen Joes from 1982. The line continued as a
Toys "R" Us exclusive in 1998. One of the rarest G.I. Joe figures, the so-called "Pimp Daddy Destro" (or PDD for short), was released in 1997 in the Cobra Command Team pack. It was immediately replaced by a standardized version of the Destro figure. The PDD figure was so named for the fact that it had leopard-print accents on Destro's legs and his famous open collar. Only a handful were released into the market, with only one verifiable version mint in box and two loose versions known to be in existence. It is believed that the versions of PDD that made it to market were production samples (as opposed to true variants) and thus were not meant to be seen by the public. A Classified collection update of this figure was officially referred to as "Profit Director Destro" to maintain the abbreviation while avoiding the salacious associations of the original nickname.
A Real American Hero Collection (2000–2002) In 2000, The Real American Hero Collection continued, this time in wide release. Figures were sold in two packs and continued using the original molds as well as 'kit-bashed' figures made from parts of various molds. The wide release of
The Real American Hero Collection continued through 2001. In 2002, the line was limited to one wave, which was only available to online retailers. Also in 2002, a set called the Sound Attack 8 pack was released as an exclusive to BJ's Wholesale Club and Fred Meyer stores.
25th Anniversary (2007–2009) Hasbro announced the release of G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary Edition figures, which features figures primarily based on A Real American Hero designs but with updated sculpting. The line continued through 2008 and 2009.
30th Anniversary (2011–2012) In 2011, a new series of figures were released, including characters from the
G.I. Joe: Renegades cartoon series, and modernized updates of older characters. Prototypes of the Hasbro 2011
Jurassic Park line used repainted 3.75-inch G.I. Joe figures and vehicles (nicknamed "Joe-Rassic Park" among collectors). One view was that they were conceptual mock-ups and stand-ins for the real product being designed. Another is that it was part of a pivoting reboot of the
Jurassic Park line using G.I. Joe -style figures that would be cross-compatible with the
G.I. Joe line. A less-articulated 3.75-inch scale action figure line similar to the earlier 5-inch scale line was adopted instead.
50th Anniversary (2014–2016) In 2014, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of G.I. Joe, a new series of figures were released, featuring more updates and modernizations to characters.
Retro Collection (2020–2023) In 2020, Hasbro released a new line of super-articulated figures and vehicles, similar to Star Wars The Vintage Collection, utilizing retro-themed packaging. What began as a Wal-Mart exclusive line using mostly existing parts from the 50th anniversary and Pursuit of Cobra lines, it later transitioned to be exclusively on Hasbro's collector website, "Hasbro Pulse". This transition also included a change to the figures themselves as they were re-sculpted as O-Ring figures, based on the original molds (but not the original molds, even though they look similar). This line also started mixing with Hasbro's other massive in house toy property, "Transformers", to produce G.I. Joe vehicles that transform into robots. The last Retro Collection offering as of Hasbro saying the Retro Collection had been "put on hold", was a summer of 2023 pre-order for the Dreadnok Thunder Machine that transforms into Decepticon Soundwave. This set is to include an updated O-Ring Zartan, and an updated Zarana - made for the first time as she was originally designed with her left upper arm tattoo. == Animated series ==