1992 Barbecue

Eco-Warriors are a fun subset. Extremely corny, but as a concept they work perfectly in the world of GI Joe, as chemical warfare is a real and scary thing. Of course, the comics and what not usually put the focus on pollution, because that’s a little bit more of a gentle thing than having GI Joe entering an urban wasteland after Cobra attacks with sarin gas or white phosphorous. It was also a great way for Hasbro to bring back older characters like Barbecue, who logically fit somewhat on the team given his prior role as a firefighter (though oddly, Airtight was nowhere to be found).

I like this mold a lot better when it was reused three different ways in Star Brigade as Payload, though that doesn’t mean the original release as Barbecue was bad at all. Him and all of his color variations were prominent in my childhood as various different things, which I think speaks to the strength of the sculpt. Part of what makes this figure fun is that he’s almost creepy in that hazmat suit, especially with the way his face is obscured by the clear plastic visor. Often times as a kid I’d use him and the Payloads as cyborg Cobras akin to BATs, though other times he was just a lonely astronaut who’d typically die some painful death.

Compared to V1 Barbecue, this release seems much less distinct, though I think he’s a little bit cooler overall. Naturally, he loses some of that distinctness from the repaints that came later, though Deep Six also looks a lot like this figure in some ways. Still, Barbecue as an Eco-Warrior seems a little more applicable to a few different situations than the more standard firefighter he was originally. Oddly, it’s a pretty even trade off, as most of what makes this version cool also makes him just another Eco-Warrior, whereas most of what made ‘85 Barbecue cool, also made him very niche.

The red and yellow colors are somewhat pleasing to look at. I do often think of ketchup and mustard when I see him, but that’s tasty, so I don’t mind. The red is a nice shade and isn’t too bright, so he looks pretty reasonable for the role he serves. With that said, imagining this mold in the original’s orange and grey makes me think that was a bit of a missed opportunity for a repaint, but I’m also sure that not too many others would’ve wanted that.

Barbecue’s parts straight up suck. That’s partly because the only parts you get are his squirt gun and a figure stand. While the 1991 Eco-Warriors came with some traditional accessories, Barbecue and the Toxo-Zombie from 1992 only come with the squirt guns. You can find any number of generic black or yellow guns from the same time-period to equip Barbecue with and he’ll look fine, but it does diminish the figure’s appeal a lot when he doesn’t even come with one unique part of his own.

Astoundingly, this has become a fairly expensive figure ranging from $20 to $25 for a decent example. Part of that is probably owed to the fact that his clear visor falls out on some examples, making it a tad rarer and to the fact that the ‘92 Eco-Warriors were produced in smaller numbers. But seriously, complete ‘92 Barbecues now often outprice complete ‘85 Barbecues, and both represent a C-tier character. I hope I live to see the day when 90‘s Joes are worthless again.

eco warriors gi joe barbecue 1992 1991 vintage hasbro cleansweep

2002 Skullbuster

The 2002 GI Joe line is now 20 years old, which amusingly, is the same age ARAH was at when GI Joe vs Cobra came out. It’s weird to me, because I was still a kid when these came out, and yet they don’t really feel that old. Meanwhile ARAH has always felt ancient to me, probably because all of it mostly predates my birth (my first GI Joes were the Ninja Force and Armor Tech overstock that was available into the late 90‘s). Sadly, I think this is the difference between an 80‘s brand that had a lasting cultural impact, compared to a neglected 2000‘s revival of said brand, only supported by adults. I don’t think these toys feel old since they seem more like a collector novelty, than toys from the era of VHS tapes, rotary phones and the Cold War. Then again, Skullbuster really has the hallmarks of something from a bygone era, so maybe I’m off the mark on all of that.

So Skullbuster is a repaint of the Range Viper, in colors that if I recall, were meant to resemble Skeletor. It’s very odd and not much like something you’d see Hasbro sell today; Now GI Joe is all about the established characters within the IP. In ‘02 though, there was enough curiosity left in the brand, that Hasbro would resurrect a sculpt from 11 years prior, and sell it as a new character. It’s much more low-effort compared to the brand from the 80‘s, but it’s also something fun and creative, in sharp contrast to the serious adult doll buying community who’s catered to now.

Skullbuster has some strange colors that stick out quite a bit. He’s closer to eye-catching than he is gaudy, but it’s a colorful figure either way. The use of an almost metallic purple for the base plastic was a strange choice, though it looks pretty strong with the copper details that adorn much of the figure. There’s a long Cobra tampograph that runs down his pant leg: It’s an odd choice for a detail, but it works much better than the GI Joe equivalent of having the brand’s logo on a leg.

The Range Viper sculpt was a pretty odd one to make so many reappearances in the 2000‘s. Before Skullbuster, you had the ‘00 Rock Viper, followed by half the mold showing up as the Cobra Imperial Guard in ‘05. Next, the mold was put in desert colors for the ‘06 Flaming MOTH release. I’ve always been pretty pleased with this assortment of repaints, though I had thought the Range Viper was not so popular when many of these came out. Lucky me I guess.

Skullbuster’s gear is bad. Oddly, although he comes packaged with a green version of the Range Viper’s backpack, that part belongs to Heavy Duty. Whereas Skullbuster gets the backpack from ‘91 Low-Light. As well, he gets a Sound Attack version of Spearhead’s rifle, and ‘92 Destro’s pistol. The backpack is very random, and the Sound Attack gimmick ruins everything it touches, so the only real part of and decency here is the pistol.

Surprisingly, Skullbuster fetches between $16 to $20, seemingly regardless of his completeness. I’m a little shocked by this as I assumed he was too much of an obscurity for anyone to really care, but from the looks of it a Skullbuster will cost you a little more than at least a few of his contemporaries. I’m sure it would be less if he were easier to find, though oddball 2000‘s figures really aren’t in good supply any more, so I’m sure that has a lot to do with it.