G.I. Joe

Michael24

New member
fixer79 said:
Hey, that's pretty cool! I didn't even know such DVD sets existed! Is it a cel they actually used or something printed especially for the DVD set?

Oh, yeah. Rhino released the 1987 movie, the 1983 & 1984 mini-series in a two-disc set, and Season 1 in two volumes. There was also a Vol. 1 of Season 2, but Sunbow Productions did not renew their license with Rhino, so Vol. 2 was never released, and now all the DVDs are out-of-print. The rights for G.I. Joe (as well as Transformers) are currently with Sony, I believe, or one of their divisions, and no one seems to know what's in store for them in regards to possible future releases.

I think the cel images are from specific episodes, but were just reprints for the DVD sets. This is the one I have signed:

gijoecel01jl5.jpg


Michael Bell (the voice of Duke) was at San Diego ComiCon in 2006. He took part in a panel of voice actors, demonstrated some of his more popular voices, told some great stories about working in animation, etc. I saw him in the hall afterwards talking to some people and was able to walk right past him, but he never showed up at his assigned table in the autograph pavilion, so I never got to see him or get something signed in person. :(

fixer79 said:
I wonder if those designs they showed at that toy fair leaked on the internet... I'd love to see them!

Somewhere I saw a picture of a new Hummer prototype that I think might have been made for the movie, but I'm not sure. The HISS tanks and Cobra Rattlers would be cool to see, too.

fixer79 said:
Anyway, Sky Strikers would be awesome! They were my favourite Joe vehicles! I remember having a patch of the Sky Striker logo... I think you got those for free if you were member of the G.I. joe club...
Those were the days...
:D

I had an actual Sky Striker. I didn't know they made one, but a friend of my mom's got one for me for Christmas in 1983. Was the coolest Christmas present ever and I really exploding with excitement when I unwrapped it Christmas morning.

skystriker1983gw3.jpg


San Holo said:
Now yer talking(y) I would love to see Gung Ho do the stunner on Cobra Commander:D

LOL! That would be cool to see. (y)
 

fixer79

New member
Michael24 said:
Oh, yeah. Rhino released the 1987 movie, the 1983 & 1984 mini-series in a two-disc set, and Season 1 in two volumes. There was also a Vol. 1 of Season 2, but Sunbow Productions did not renew their license with Rhino, so Vol. 2 was never released, and now all the DVDs are out-of-print. The rights for G.I. Joe (as well as Transformers) are currently with Sony, I believe, or one of their divisions, and no one seems to know what's in store for them in regards to possible future releases.

Oh man, I hate it when a series gets discontinued on DVD... It has happened with quite a few of my favouritre shows including 'Dream on' and 'Gargoyles'

Michael24 said:
I had an actual Sky Striker. I didn't know they made one, but a friend of my mom's got one for me for Christmas in 1983. Was the coolest Christmas present ever and I really exploding with excitement when I unwrapped it Christmas morning.

skystriker1983gw3.jpg

That picture's gold, man! Youre pretty lucky you have it as a souvenir.
I have a strange Sky Striker story too...
First of all, I had gotten a Sky Striker for christmas or my birthday or something. I really loved it.
Then, one day, I visited a friend and he had also gotten a Sky Striker. Thing was that he didn't really like it. He even asked me if I wanted it! What did he expect?!
So I ended up actually owning two Sky Strikers. I was the happiest kid on the block :)

Then one day, years later, my older brother and his girlfriend decided to repaint my room. It was also a good chance to clean and throw away things I didn't use anymore.
When my room repainted and ready I noticed my two Sky Strikers were gone.
I figured my bro's girl had put them away in the attic somewhere so I didn't pay too much attention to the disappearance at the time. Recently though, I scanned through the entire attic in my parents' house looking for something else and realized the planes weren't there as I had thought for over 18 years...
I really don't know what happened to them... As you know, they're pretty big toys to just disappear...
I doubt that brother's girlfriend had anything to do with it... Even so, I guess it's too late to try 'n contact her now, 18 years after she and my brother broke up...
"Hey, what did you do with my darn planes?!" :p

Anyway...
Another thing I'd like to know about the movie is if they'll give Snake Eyes his wolf Timber... Focussing on the new pictures and the movie costume, I realized only now that we haven't heard anything about that...
I hope he'll be in... Timber is one of the reasons why Snake Eyes was so many kids' favourite all those years ago... It'd be a pity if he's just forgotten...
 

Michael24

New member
fixer79 said:
Oh man, I hate it when a series gets discontinued on DVD... It has happened with quite a few of my favouritre shows including 'Dream on' and 'Gargoyles'

And the kicker is that Rhino was originally going to release all of Season 2 in a single set, since it was only 30 episodes, but at the last minute decided to split it in half, resulting in a simple 15-episode set that still went for around $50!! "Season 1, Vol. 1" has an interview with the show's voice director and one of the writers, but my favorite is on "Season 1, Vol. 2," which is an interview with the actors behind Flint and Lady Jaye. They share some great stories.

fixer79 said:
Another thing I'd like to know about the movie is if they'll give Snake Eyes his wolf Timber... Focussing on the new pictures and the movie costume, I realized only now that we haven't heard anything about that...
I hope he'll be in... Timber is one of the reasons why Snake Eyes was so many kids' favourite all those years ago... It'd be a pity if he's just forgotten...

Hmmm... I haven't watch the actual episodes in awhile, just the mini-series, but I don't remember Snake Eyes having Timber again in the series. But maybe I'm just blanking, though I do remember Timber from the first mini-series. But, like the X-Men movies, I'm sure subsequent G.I. Joe sequels (if there are any) will introduce additional characters.

I'm curious if they'll try to recreate Cobra Commander's trademark raspyness or have Levitt play the character without it. I can imagine the filmmakers considering the constant hissing on all the "s"s to be too corny for a live action film.

By the way, here's a picture of the Hummer I mentioned. It's a Hummer HX that will be known as either the Cougar (a patrol vehicle) or the Grizzly (an armored truck), and will be one of many GM vehicles used in the film.

 

fixer79

New member
Thanks for the pic of the ummer, Mike. hadn't seen it yet.
It cool work well in the movie... It looks stylish, modern, functional...
Good choice :)
Can't wait to see more vehicle pictures...

I also just realized that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is that kid from Third Rock from the Sun... I really hadn't recognized him... He did change quite a bit.

In fact, now he looks like he could be my younger brother...
Look:

commander2.jpg


Only joking... ;)

I do think they will drop Cobra Commander's hissing... Too bad maybe, but I guess it wouldn't work too well in the movie...

And you're probably right... They will introduce other characters in the sequels...
Still, I kinda hope they'll include Timber in the first movie... It'll probably be some sort of an origin story and it would be cool to see the wolf included in the origin of Snake Eyes, making them very old friends...
It just wouldn't be the same if Snake only meets Timber in a sequel...

Oh well... We'll have to wait 'n see, I guess ;)
 

fixer79

New member
Here are some new tidbits about the Joe movie:

Quote:
We recently got to see lots of promotional photos for the upcoming ?G.I. Joe? film and today we have a few bits of information directly from the script. The basic premise revolves around a team led by Duke (Channing Tatum) whose mission is to fight for freedom against arch nemesis Cobra Commander and his Cobra Force. Here are several things that you can expect in the movie:

Accelerator suits: Suits that allow the GI Joe squad to run faster, jump super-high, smash through walls, and shrug off bullets

Nano-bomb: A bomb that Cobra Commander wants to launch. When activated, a swarm of nanites are released that eat all of the buildings and machinery, without harming any of the people.

Neo-Vipers: Super-soldiers enhanced by nanotech, so they can?t feel pain or remorse. A mad scientist, known only as the Doctor, creates these soldiers for Destro, who?s horribly disfigured after a fight with Duke. Destro wears a mask made out of nanotechnology, which allows the Doctor, aka Commander, to control his mind.

Invisibility Armor: Scarlett (Rachel Nichols) wears an invisibility armor, wearing it on missions and for fun. Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) has the hots for Scarlett, who says she?ll date him if he can shoot her on an obstacle course. He fails to do so.

Backstory: A backstory involves a romance between Duke (Tatum) and the evil Baroness (Sienna Miller).


source: http://www.filmofilia.com/2008/04/24...i-joe-details/



"jump super-high, smash through walls"?
Uh oh...
 

Michael24

New member
Interesting tidbits you found.

fixer79 said:
Accelerator suits: Suits that allow the GI Joe squad to run faster, jump super-high, smash through walls, and shrug off bullets

One report suggests that the accelerator suits aren't used until the finale of the film, but even so, I can already envision some real smashing action sequences with those things.

fixer79 said:
Nano-bomb: A bomb that Cobra Commander wants to launch. When activated, a swarm of nanites are released that eat all of the buildings and machinery, without harming any of the people.

That sounds like a typical Cobra Commander plot. :) "Destro! Launch the nanitessssssssss!" (y)

fixer79 said:
Neo-Vipers: Super-soldiers enhanced by nanotech, so they can’t feel pain or remorse. A mad scientist, known only as the Doctor, creates these soldiers for Destro, who’s horribly disfigured after a fight with Duke. Destro wears a mask made out of nanotechnology, which allows the Doctor, aka Commander, to control his mind.

Yet more baffling hints about this "Doctor." Kevin J. O'Connor has confirmed he's playing a scientist in a flashback, but other reports have hinted at "the Doctor" being the man who becomes Cobra Commander.

fixer79 said:
Invisibility Armor: Scarlett (Rachel Nichols) wears an invisibility armor, wearing it on missions and for fun. Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) has the hots for Scarlett, who says she’ll date him if he can shoot her on an obstacle course. He fails to do so.

Invisibility armor? I'm already picturing a game of cat-and-mouse between her and Zartan. :D

fixer79 said:
Backstory: A backstory involves a romance between Duke (Tatum) and the evil Baroness (Sienna Miller).

Okay, I'm not sure how they can pull this off, unless it's something that happened in the past and they now still have some feelings for each other, even though they're now on opposite sides. But it sounds like they won't be taking the Duke-Scarlett romance like in the cartoon, or even the Snake Eyes-Scarlett romance like in the comics. From other hints and clues I've dug up, I get the impression that some Cobra members are going to start out as Joe members.

I think it's worth noting that Larry Hama, who's basically considered the father of modern day G.I. Joe as we know it and had previously "fixed some things [in the script] that [he] knew fans wouldn't like," has said he's pretty impressed by the final script and thinks it captures the essence of the characters and material well. If the father of all this great stuff digs it, it must be pretty good.

Also, there's hints of a new G.I. Joe cartoon in the works, likely to premiere sometime next year around the film's release. Neil Kaplan, the voice of Optimus Prime in the 2000 Transformers: Robots In Disguise series, has confirmed that he's been approached about doing the voices of Destro and/or Cobra Commander, and that they want the voices to be as close to the originals as possible. Interesting developments.
 
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fixer79

New member
Michael24 said:
Also, there's hints of a new G.I. Joe in the works, likely to premiere sometime next year around the film's release. Neil Kaplan, the voice of Optimus Prime in the 2000 Transformers: Robots In Disguise series, has confirmed that he's been approached about doing the voices of Destro and/or Cobra Commander, and that they want the voices to be as close to the originals as possible. Interesting developments.

Seriously? A new animated series? That would be pretty cool!
I hope that, along with the current excellent revival of the action figure line and the motion picture, this could bring back the magic of G.I. Joe during its 1980's Golden Years...

Anyhoo...
About that new Snake Eye look for the movie...
At first I wasn't too happy with the moulded lips on Ray Park's mask...
Until I realized yesterday that the Snake Eyes (version 2, 1985) on which the movie costume is based also had molded lips!
I scanned my very own, old and battered Snake Eyes fig for a comparison. Check it out:

ParkFig.jpg


Suddenly, I have far less problems with the movie mask ;)
As long as they don't end up giving him a cape in the G.I. Joe bedsheet camo pattern :p
 
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Michael24

New member
Interesting. Never seen that Snake Eyes figure before. I think most of the Joe toys I had were from the original line.

I've been seeing some of the new toys at Target, but I don't like the way they look. It's cool, though, that they're being released in reprints of the original blister packaging. There's a series of figures coming out this summer in "G.I. Joe vs Cobra Battle Packs" that come with a piece of the M.A.S.S. Device and the Weather Dominator that you can collect to build your own miniature versions. :D

Oh yeah, and since you don't have the DVDs, the five "Battle Packs" will also come with DVDs of The M.A.S.S. Device, The Revenge of Cobra, The Pyramid of Darkness, Arise Serpentor Arise, and G.I. Joe Fan Favorites. So you can pick those up. :)

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/GI-Joe-Hasbro-Toy-Battle-Packs/9052

I already have some of those episodes, but I'll just give them to my neighbor's little boy because I'll be buying these packs just to get those M.A.S.S. pieces. I've always wanted my own M.A.S.S. Device.
 
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No Ticket

New member
The movie looks like it's shaping up to be pretty good after all. My initial reaction upon hearing it's announcement was that they were gonna screw it up.
 

fixer79

New member
Michael24 said:
Interesting. Never seen that Snake Eyes figure before. I think most of the Joe toys I had were from the original line.

Never seen it before? I'm sure you have... It's the 1985 Snake Eyes.
This one, right here:

52435_grande.jpg


Every kid had him... I'm sure you did too. Unless you meant you only had the original line from 1982 and stopped collecting a year or two later later :)

You probably forgot he had that much detail in his face. I did too until recently...
We were probably brainwashed by the adaptations of Sunbow and Marvel, where the moulded lips were deleted and Snakle had a much more hooded Ninja look.


Michael24 said:
I've been seeing some of the new toys at Target, but I don't like the way they look. It's cool, though, that they're being released in reprints of the original blister packaging. There's a series of figures coming out this summer in "G.I. Joe vs Cobra Battle Packs" that come with a piece of the M.A.S.S. Device and the Weather Dominator that you can collect to build your own miniature versions. :D

Oh yeah, and since you don't have the DVDs, the five "Battle Packs" will also come with DVDs of The M.A.S.S. Device, The Revenge of Cobra, The Pyramid of Darkness, Arise Serpentor Arise, and G.I. Joe Fan Favorites. So you can pick those up. :)

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/GI-Joe-Hasbro-Toy-Battle-Packs/9052

I already have some of those episodes, but I'll just give them to my neighbor's little boy because I'll be buying these packs just to get those M.A.S.S. pieces. I've always wanted my own M.A.S.S. Device.

Thanks, man! Those Battle Packs look GREAT! I'm gonna look where I can get my hands on those :)
 

Michael24

New member
Hmmm.... Maybe I did have him and just forgot. I do know that I didn't have very many duplicates of the Joe figures, so it's entirely possible I only did have the original Snake and not the 1985 version. In any event, I think I prefer the non-lip mold to the one with the lips.

By the way, when did the Snake figure get his name? That packaging from 1985 just names him as "Commando," but he'd already been called Snake Eyes in the cartoon since 1982. Haha!!

And I just saw this report that there was an accident on the film's Prague set yesterday and several people were injured, though it was only minor injuries.

http://www.superherohype.com/news/gijoenews.php?id=7127
 

fixer79

New member
Michael24 said:
Hmmm.... Maybe I did have him and just forgot. I do know that I didn't have very many duplicates of the Joe figures, so it's entirely possible I only did have the original Snake and not the 1985 version. In any event, I think I prefer the non-lip mold to the one with the lips.

By the way, when did the Snake figure get his name? That packaging from 1985 just names him as "Commando," but he'd already been called Snake Eyes in the cartoon since 1982. Haha!!

You probably had the first version of Snake Eyes then... This one right here:

snakeeyes-sw.jpg


The action figure on card I posted earlier, the one with the wolf, is Snake Eyes version 2. Mind you, it's the Belgian carded figure. That's why the name 'Snake Eyes' is not on the card. On Belgian cards, the figure's function (in this case 'commando') was written in a bigger font than the character's name and this in two languages. In Dutch, Snake Eyes was called 'Scherpzicht' (which basically means Sharpview :) ) and in French, his name was literally translated into 'Oeil de Serpent'.

For the third version of Snake Eyes, in 1989, they stopped translating his name out here in Belgium so for the first time, he was actually called Snake Eyes.

snakeeyes3.jpg


Normally, I didn't buy any new version of a Joe character, but I did buy Snake Eyes version 3 for the sole reason that I didn't know he was the same character I already had.
For me, the one with the wolf was Scherpzicht and the new one was Snake Eyes. I thought it was just a coincidence that they were both black Ninja/Commando's :D

Michael24 said:
And I just saw this report that there was an accident on the film's Prague set yesterday and several people were injured, though it was only minor injuries.

http://www.superherohype.com/news/gijoenews.php?id=7127

That's really very, very bad news... I'm glad no one is seriously injured though... I also hope that the production won't be delayed for too long and that they can keep relatively close to schedule...

:(
 

Michael24

New member
I completely forgot about that 1989 version of Snake. I think my brother might have had that one. I don't recall having Timber, so I may have somehow missed that '85 version of the figure.

That's really very, very bad news... I'm glad no one is seriously injured though... I also hope that the production won't be delayed for too long and that they can keep relatively close to schedule...
:(

It shouldn't cause to be of a problem. If it was just stuntmen, things could probably continue pretty swiftly after maybe just a day's worth of downtown. I don't see it causing much of a problem with the production and release schedule. Sommers tends to have a knack for bringing his films in on schedule. :)

Man, the movie is still 14 months away, but I'm already on a G.I. Joe right now. I've been watching my DVDs and have founding myself working on a Destro imitation. :D
 

fixer79

New member
Michael24 said:
Man, the movie is still 14 months away, but I'm already on a G.I. Joe right now. I've been watching my DVDs and have founding myself working on a Destro imitation. :D

I know what you mean... Same here!
Except for the Destro imitations... ;)
Sadly, I don't have any of the cartoon DVD's but I have been watching my old 'G.I. Joe The Movie' videotape :)

Also, on a fleamarket last weekend, while scanning for Indy (and G.I. Joe) stuff, I found a 'G.I. Joe: Spy Troops' DVD for 70 cent :)
It's not exactly Pixar (actually, it's pretty darn far off), but hey, it's G.I. Joe! :)

Anyway... too bad you missed the 1985 Snake Eyes... He's always been my favourite figure of the line. Probably bacause he was also my very first G.I. Joe figure ;)
I even remember buying it like it was yesterday. I had just gathered 7 bucks from going door to door and singing 'Drie Koningen' (a Belgian tradition on january 6th, Epiphany) with some friends and their mom. I must've been around seven years old or something... Afterwards my friends' mom took us to a local toystore to spend our hard earned cash.
It was the very first time I ever saw Joe figures. I remember that they had Bazooka, Shipwreck, Dusty and a few others, but I went for the cool black Ninja with his wolf. The rest is history :p
 

Michael24

New member
Yeah, the Spy Troops DVD isn't too bad. In fact, it was better than I expected it to be. But the sequel, G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom, is even better I thought. The animation quality was superior and I enjoyed the story and action a little more.

I think those two DVDs were meant to be sort of a reboot of the "A Real American Hero" storyline, but then they got sidelined when G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 came out, which apparently aired two seasons but yet I've never once seen it on TV anywhere. It's almost like it doesn't even exist.
 

fixer79

New member
Michael24 said:
Yeah, the Spy Troops DVD isn't too bad. In fact, it was better than I expected it to be. But the sequel, G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom, is even better I thought. The animation quality was superior and I enjoyed the story and action a little more.

I think those two DVDs were meant to be sort of a reboot of the "A Real American Hero" storyline, but then they got sidelined when G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 came out, which apparently aired two seasons but yet I've never once seen it on TV anywhere. It's almost like it doesn't even exist.

Maybe I'll check out Valor VS Venom then... I'm sure I can find it a very cheap price.

Never knew about the Sigma 6 cartoon though! I thought it was just that (strange looking) action figure line.
:)
 

Michael24

New member
I'd never even seen the toys. I'd seen some images on-line, but that's about it.

Just found a brand new interview with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventure in which he talks a lot about the film. Got me a little more excited. (y)
 
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