1993 Mace
The 1993 Joe line really isn’t for everyone. In fact, this is probably the point where overall, the line was going down in quality and cheaping out on things where possible (generic weapons, repaint figures). Still, there’s an esoteric appeal to many of the figures from this year, Mace is a pretty good example of that.
Because he’s such a seldom seen character, I tend to forget his specialty is as an undercover operative. Technically, that means he should be hanging out with Headhunters and Cobras most of the time, though I don’t think I’ve ever seen him used that way. My general tendency is to give him a gun and pose him standing near a cardboard building, but if I had paid more attention, I might have done some cooler things with him sooner. Too bad I’ll probably forget about him again as soon as I’m done writing this.
Mace is a pretty decent looking figure. He’s got a unique looking head and his design is overall, fairly subdued for a figure from ‘93. The most egregious thing about him is the size of his torso, which is huge. I’d go as far as to say he’s comparable in size to Road Pig, which sort of makes him look out of place, even among his contemporaries. Other than that, he’s a little boring for not having a lot going on, but there’s enough detail there to make him an okay background guy.
His parts are pretty terrible. Included is an EM-2 rifle from Ambush, a pistol from Updraft, an SMG from ‘92 Shockwave, and ‘91 Low-Light’s knife, along with the helmet and launcher combo from Muskrat, also released in 1993. The first thing that catches my attention here is that launcher… It’s a missile launcher he wears on his head! It’s silly enough to be humorous, but it’s still terrible. All of his weapons are cast in yellow plastic, which renders an okay selection of parts somewhat useless. It’s a pretty good match for BAT yellow though, so if you wanted, one or two of these guns might look okay with an ‘86 BAT.
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- Image from an Etsy listing
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- Image from an Etsy listing
It’s worth mentioning that Mace was originally to be a part of the DEF line, and there are rare carded examples to prove this. The figure was not changed at any point to my knowledge, just the packaging when Hasbro canned the DEF line. I had always guessed they’d have had different parts or something, but to my surprise, the figures were released as intended: just the packaging was changed.
A complete Mace runs around $15, which seems like a little much for him, but it is what it is. People are more willing in general to pay a premium now for complete 90‘s figures, and because he does come with several parts, complete figures will go for a little more in general. Of course, if you hate the yellow parts or just want one for a custom, individual figures can be had for around $5.
Mace also has a man-bun. If you look at the Shark 9000 artwork, it’s very pronounced. When you check out the back of his head, you do see the sculpted bun. It’s pretty ’90’s in its terribleness. Also makes him a hair foil of Gristle.
The Clutch figure that used his body didn’t turn out great and showed just how large this figure’s parts are. I’d have still loved a real Mace repaint at the time. But, Clutch showed that it would not have been well received.
I think he and the others of his wave were released as DEF in Australia. It’s funny the file card changes, and the BATTLE CORPS has a final sentence not on the DEF card.
Was he supposed to be Chuckles V2 but someone changed their mind? Chuckles was sometimes muscular in the Marvel run.
They could’ve left his holstered pistol black and it would’ve matched the card art.
Mace is a real product of his time figure. He’s decent but not something that we’re hard done by, by not having a repaint of.
1993 is also the year where sculpting really started to regress, especially in comparison to 1991, which might be the pinnacle year for the line. Some places still had great detailing, like Mace’s head, but then you look at his chest and the sculpting is awfully soft.
Mike T. mentions the 04 Clutch repaint, and I think that figure probably would’ve been better received if at the time most of the comic pack Joes weren’t being done as 82-83 frankensteins.