The G.I. Joe toy line was a huge part of our collective childhoods. Whether you were partial to the cartoon or the comic book, you played with G.I. Joe toys. Have you ever wondered where did it all come from? Code Name: Blast Off is a new documentary about the history of the G.I. Joe toy line. Produced by Ron Rudat and directed by Tristan Rudat we have our very first look at the conception of one the greatest toy lines of all time. This will not be a review of the documentary. Instead it will be 10 Things I learned about G.I. Joe I never knew.
10. There was a middle of the road figure between the 12 inch and 3¾ inch line. Super Joe was an 8 inch doll that fought monsters.
9. Code Name: Blast Off was the secret name for the new small G.I. Joe line when it was conceived.
8. Rod Rudat designed both the G.I. Joe and Cobra logos.
7. Hasbro had to compete with the Star Wars line which had a second movie coming out. Their first step in reaching kids was the G.I. Joe comic by Marvel.
6. Snake Eyes was the first G.I. Joe figure.
5. The original Baroness had to have her breasts shaved down as they were considered too large.
4. Larry Hama got the job writing the G.I. Joe comic because everyone else at Marvel passed on the project. He also needed the money.
3. Scarlet became the first “chase figure”, for G.I. Joe, as she was not produced in the same quantities as the others.
2. The Hooded Cobra Commander, their first mail away figure, sold over 50,000 units the first year.
1. They made 100,000 USS Flaggs. They sold them all.
Check out the Official Code Name: Blast OffFacebook page for more details and screenings.
Trailer for Code Name: Blast Off
Robert Trate writes two weekly columns for Mania the DVD Shopping Bag and the Toy Maniac. Follow Robert on Twitter for his for Geek ramblings, Cosplay photos and film criticisms.
interesting that the baroness is now the only figure ever to wind up with a breast reduction . that some one at hasbro thought her breasts were too big. plus all the u.s.s flags hasbro produced sold out.talk about a hot thing. not to mention always wondered who was the first gijoe character made in the 3&3/4 line. going to have to see the doc sounds interesting and filled with some gijoe history.
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Looks ok but, the editing seemed amateurish a bit, hope the whole documentary isn't like that.