1997 Stalker
I’ve talked about a few of the Stars and Stripes Forever figures on this blog, but in favor of highlighting some of the more skipped over figures such as Short-Fuze, I’ve neglected looking at possibly the most popular figure from the set: Stalker.
1997 Stalker provides a lot that you could like him for. I really wanted a V1 Stalker when I first started collecting vintage figures, but as prices kept him out of my reach, I settled for an alternative. As one of the only full repaints of the original mold, I zeroed in on this release, which I found soon invalidated my need for any more Stalker figures.
Of the original 13 Joes, Stalker’s camo pattern made him one of the more distinct looking figures. One of the biggest charms of this figure however, is that his camouflage is essentially superior. The sharpness and detail of the lines is really something to behold, and there aren’t that many other figures in the entire line that feature camouflage of this quality.
Besides that, as I mentioned before this figure is the sole repaint of V1 Stalker. Your only other domestic alternatives are the horrendous Comic Pack Stalkers that have different legs and under-scaled heads. So this one represents the better tooling, in arguably the best colors.
For parts he includes the classic M-32 Pulverizer, and a Grunt backpack matched to his colors. I’ve always meant to hunt down that backpack as when I bought mine, it was missing that part and at the time I didn’t know he came with any parts that V1 Stalker didn’t. It’s pretty unusual for Hasbro to include an era appropriate backpack like that and not something like a random oversized pack from ‘86 or some such.
A complete 1997 Stalker should probably cost you around $10 to $15 for an auction, but these have become much more of a seldom find. Dealers appear to be getting around $25 for them on average, which seems like a bit much, but this has historically been the most desired figure from the Stars and Stripes set, so it makes some sense. It’s a figure worth looking out for, and if you feel like it, probably even worth that premium too.
Definitely the best figure in the set, and one of the best figures released after the vintage run ended. Honestly I think his camo might be too good, as it doesn’t match well with other camouflage wearing figures. Still probably my favourite version of Stalker.
This is easily my favorite Stalker figure. Mine is the one I bought in December of 1997. I’ve always meant to get another as a backup. Went looking and found $25 price tags. This was a $8 figure not two years ago. That type of markup indicates a bubble. And, we’ve seen when these bubbles pop, before….
I love that he included the pack as I always felt Stalker deserved one. I found an original Stalker in 1985 at a Kroger store that replaced all the broken ones from when I was younger. I gave him the AP Airborne pack and Frostbite’s rifle.