G.I. Joe has a long, important history in toys going back to the 1960s. Over the last 60 years, the basic story and size of the action figure have changed a lot, from the original 12" doll to the 3 and 3/4" action figure, to the new 6" scale recently introduced by Hasbro. Along the way, there have been some weird toys.
Sometimes G.I. Joe toys are just strange in execution while other times it's due to flawed concept, often bordering on unusual. This was especially true during the waning days of the original A Real American Hero line that ran from the early 80s into the late 90s. Some images courtesy of the fantastic archive at Yojoe.com!
10 Extreme Lt. Stone
The massively popular A Real American Hero line gradually fell into the decline in the early 90s. To breathe new life into the concept, Hasbro took some cues from the extreme heroes from the popular comics of the period and made a new line, G.I. Joe: Extreme. It resulted in one of the weirdest action figures in any era, Lt. Stone. The new five-inch scale figure was essentially a statue, frozen in a dynamic pose with shreds of clothing trailing off of him. Stone was instantly dated, and the line didn't last long at all.
9 The Fridge
G.I. Joe was hugely popular in the 1980s, with the iconic toyline, comic book, animated series, and a feature film. It was a cultural behemoth that then started to interact with other major elements of 80s culture, like sports. The Fridge is a curious feature of the ARAH line. Based on the Chicago Bears defensive player William "Refridgerator" Perry, The Fridge was a mail away figure collectors could send in proofs of purchases for. Sgt. Slaughter would later join the ranks, and Rocky Balboa very nearly did.
8 Capt. Grid-Iron
The football theme continued with another odd figure, Capt. Grid-Iron. This hand-to-hand combat specialist nevertheless came armed with a virtual arsenal, including a missile launcher and four detachable missiles. He debuted in 1990, toward the end of the original ARAH line of figures.
He shares some visual elements of General Hawk, one of G.I. Joe's best leaders, but like many of the figures and toys later in the line, is overdesigned and gimmicky.
7 Life Ring
The basic idea behind the original line G.I. Joes in the 1960s was to sell dolls and then the accessories for them. That went to comical levels with the Life Ring. Hasbro sold a single-packed life preserver on a shrink-wrapped card in the 60s, making it one of the more oddball choices for accessories, which generally came in groups. The Life Ring was intended for use for the Navy Sailor, one of the earliest of the original Joes, though it could have been used with any of them.
6 Battle Copter
The Battle Copter is a good example of how weird things got at the end. Many silly vehicles populate the ranks of G.I. Joe, but the Battle Copter is one of the oddest. It's essentially a backpack for Major Altitude, the pilot, but it's effectively a full-size helicopter. Why it doesn't have an enclosed cockpit or how anyone could have imagined Major Altitude carrying this thing around is anyone's guess. This set debuted in 1991, as the line went into steep decline.
5 Armor-Bot
After the astronomical success of A Real American Hero in the 80s, the line started to segment in the 90s. Many concepts were developed to keep the brand fresh, including Star Brigade. This line of toys intended for space battles included the Armor Bot, one of the strangest toys in the line. This massive armored suit had legs connected at the feet, making it hard to operate, especially in space. A General Hawk figure came with the set in a bulky suit of armor not unlike that of some of Iron Man's most powerful armors.
4 Ice Cream Soldier
One of the most inexplicable late-era G.I. Joe figures is the Ice Cream Soldier. There isn't anything ice cream about him. In fact, he carries a flame thrower. The bright day-glo orange and yellow colors are emblematic of the period. He was one of the last figures released in the line, as part of the Battle Corps assortment in 1994. The codename made no sense and the filecard, which traditionally filled in some blanks for fans, didn't help matters at all in this case.
3 Hammerhead
Early G.I. Joe and Cobra vehicles often defied logic, but they played specific roles that were then explored in either the G.I. Joe animated series or the Marvel comic book. The Hammerhead, released in 1991, took logic and threw it at the wall. This toy effectively crammed all of Cobra's existing vehicle types into one.
Helicopter and jet pods attached to the larger Hammerhead vehicle, a slightly amphibious craft, as well as a sled very reminiscent of Zartan's sled. It was a confusing mish-mash of ideas and concepts that showed how desperate things were at the end.
2 Cobra Flight Pod
The Cobra Flight Pod, affectionately known as the 'Trubble Bubble,' doesn't really obey any logic either. This vehicle was essentially a gun attached to a jet pack, with a semi-enclosed cockpit. Ads often featured Cobra Commander, the infamous Cobra leader, flying the machine. The flight pod was introduced in 1985, at the height of the Real American Hero line. It didn't come with a pilot, as many vehicles did, so it could be flown by either the best or worst of Cobra characters.
1 Robo-J.O.E.
By 1993, the original A Real American Hero line had fragmented into a variety of sub-lines, including Eco-Warriors, a Street Fighter crossover line, and Star Brigade. All of it was very far from the original concept but perhaps none more so than Robo-J.O.E. Robo-J.O.E was basically a cyborg in a mech-suit, with a helmet that gave him a little bit of a Batman feel.
That was understandable as action figures from the iconic 90s Batman: The Animated Series were hugely popular at the time. Robo-J.O.E was proof the concept had lost its way, but after a few years of uncertainty, the basic Joe concept would emerge stronger in the 21st century.