1992 Shockwave
As ARAH went into it’s twilight years, Hasbro made a continued effort to revisit older characters who had been popular in the line’s past, and were still popular in the comic. This meant that for late comers into GI Joe, characters like Duke, Roadblock, Wild Bill and Cobra Commander were still accessible. A few other oddball additions came in the way of characters like Shockwave, when he was brought back for the DEF line.
This figure was one of the few post-1989 figures that was missing from mine and my brother’s collection. My first encounter with the mold was in the form of 2002 Sure Fire, which I acquired in the late 2000‘s while trying to enrich my o-ring collection. Later, especially once I’d already obtained an interpretation of the mold, I sought out V1 Shockwave and rarely put much consideration towards this figure. Simply having a version of the mold and ‘88 Shockwave, seemed like enough for my collection.
The truth is however, is that both versions of Sure Fire just aren’t as fun as this figure. Mind you, Sure Fire V1 does make an excellent army-builder and custom base, but the brighter blue on Shockwave really makes the figure feel at home with his contemporaries. Besides that, both Sure Fires really fall short on accessories, whereas this figure does not.
DEF Shockwave features one of the most aesthetically pleasing sculpts in the 90‘s GI Joe line. He’s decked out in gear similar to what a riot cop would wear, with chest and kneepads while the rest of the uniform remains relatively simple. The detail is very good, with things like sculpted seams that run down the side of his pants, but without resorting to copious amounts of grenades to fill space. The simplistic quality really reminds me more of an 80‘s sculpt when the designs were a lot less busy.
His parts are pretty good too, albeit not perfect. This figure features the first usage of the XM-15, which was a quality sculpt and one that was nice to see a few more times in ‘93 and ‘94. His helmet has a pretty decent look to it, and fits the figure better than the one included with Sure Fire. Lastly, he also included a missile launcher done as a stationary tank that fires a battering ram. It wasn’t a bad way to incorporate a missile launcher, but it’s a little more egregious given the light-up launchers were really what killed the DEF line at retail.
Most of the Shockwave figures are really good, so I think I’m not the only one who ignored this figure for a long time, just for a lack of needing him. He’s way less common than 1988 Shockwave, but when you find a decent, complete example of DEF Shockwave, he goes between $6 and $10. Given the prices on the current Joe market, I think that makes this figure one that’s still a lot of fun without breaking the bank.
This is an extremely under-rated figure that everyone needs. Had the 2000’s era figures been him and included the helmet, they would have been awesome. But, there were egos to be stroked and it didn’t happen. (Fun fact, the 2002 Sure Fire was meant to be the 1988 mold but Hasbro couldn’t find it for the release. So, we got it as a super pricey convention release when they did find it.)
Were the ’88 Shockwave not so popular, this guy would get his due. But, being a great figure but still the 2nd best version of the character leads to obscurity. Just ask the 1989 Snake Eyes
It’s nice when they take a previously molded on helmet character and made a removable helmet version. Not all removable helmets work, though, and this one did.
The Dic cartoon made his visor semi transparent, giving him an odd look.
It’s a shame how this figure had to follow up the 1988 version. Especially since this is a better coloured figure, and honestly I like the sculpt a lot more than the 88 Shockwave, but the v1 is such an impressive looking figure, it overcomes it’s issues and sadly leaves this one as an afterthought.
I’ve never been able to tell his gun apart from Hit and Run’s, is this one longer?
“I’ve never been able to tell his gun apart from Hit and Run’s, is this one longer?”
I think they’re intended to be the same gun, but Shockwave’s is much more accurately-proportioned, whereas Hit-and-Run’s sort of looks like it’s come out of a taffy-stretcher, with a rather squashed barrel and a really distended grip and magazine.