[Talisman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It's a thing about the Joe fandom that I find a little perplexing. There's a large push amongst a section of fans to make these figures more Real-World Military, more Gritty. (The casual insult is to compare the designs to Fortnite, as though a toy company basing some of the aesthetic of their toys for children on the most successful piece of children's entertainment available isn't the smartest thing they could as a company.)

But, like, Joe was always a mix of Military and Absurdity. Destro is a guy in a metal mask and no shirt: he's not someone you want to 100% take seriously! These are slightly goofy concepts! They always have been! It's not a flaw!

Hell I'd argue that Fortnite is based in no small part on G.I. Joe. One outfit is Legally Distinct Firefly for crying out loud.

But yeah, when you have a franchise that's built on equal parts reasonably authentic military hardware and stuff like the friggin' Trouble Bubble, you can't complain when it decides to bring in some goofy and absurd stuff. Like my personal favorite, the Toxo Zombie.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It's just a thing I've seen on other boards, where folks fold their arms at Funny Joe, and like, have they just not been seeing part of the Joe waveform or something? Sgt Slaughter and the Fridge were canonical Joe members! This franchise has a baked-in sense of humor about itself! I don't know why I'm shouting about this in the How is Everyone Today thread!

And also Roddy Piper is Destro's cousin and Iron Grenadier drill instructor.

That's something that kind of bugged me as I was on my way out the door years ago. People started turning their noses up at the franchise and became less Joe fans and more "1/12 scale enthusiasts" obsessed with recreating stuff at the scale- that they used Joes was just a matter of convenience.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gashatfreak

You know, until this comment, I never quite understood the appeal of G.I. Joe. As far as I was concerned it was just military guys fighting watered-down versions of international terrorists. And people aiming for a more gritty push reinforced this thought in my head.

You just blew my mind. All of a sudden everything makes sense to me. I feel enlightened.

Now, where do I start in entering the franchise?

Depends on how you like your drama/goofy ratio. I started in the Joe vs. Cobra era in the early 2000s so the SpyTroops and Valor vs. Venom movies are where I started. There's also Renegades if you're looking for a completely different interpretation of the setup- Basically The A-Team vs. OCP. And of course the original Marvel run under Larry Hama are considered holy scripture- for good reason. They're well-written, hold up alarmingly well, and Hama himself penned the filecards for most of the characters through the height of the line.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deepsea

Posting Doctor MindBender because this feels like the right time to do so

Mind Bender is minor league. You want the good stuff? Try Raptor.



He's Cobra's chief accountant.