So we were doing some talking in chat this afternoon. Megaforce the movie came out in 1982, same year as GI Joe..... so. Did MegaForce ideas come before GI Joe? Or did GI Joe "borrow" ideas from the movie? Think about it. The motorcycles had little missiles on the sides (like the Silver Mirage). The Bronco that had the hologram capabilities could be tossed towards Hounds function from Transformers. Their base was hidden in the desert underground. Sound familiar?

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I remember the flying motorcycle and thinking it wasn't as cool as the ones in Galactica 1980 . I do remember going to a friend's birthday party and giving him some wave 2 Joes (I kept Airborne for myself). Then everyone talked about how cool Megaforce was which was running on cable in a constant loop. I think both properties kind of tapped into the zeitgeist of making Star Wars type adventures on modern day Earth.

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Hhhmmm, the music in the opening sounds Galactica-ish


But Megaforce was is cool, even if it is a little outdated. Well maybe not, 25+ years later they are coming out with Mega-force 2.

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"The good guys always win, even in the 80's"

Never laughed so hard as when I heard that line.

I remember being stoked when the desert VAMP and glider pilot Grunt came out. It was almost like getting Mega Force figures.

Haven't seen the movie in decades, though.

GI Joe was released in 82, but I read in a Lee's Action Figures that it was being developed for as early as 1980. Star Wars action figures sales were just too dominant for Hasbro to risk the competition so the scheduled was slowed. Even so, unlike the internet age, odds are the earliest pictures of either the first 3 3/4" GI Joe products or production stills from Mega Force were only available a couple of months before their release, not nearly enough time for one to actually rip the other off.

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Actually I would believe its entirely possible, just look at the carrier of Roger Corman, he is notorious for ripping off ideas and pumping them back out before the big buget movie hits. Hell its what made him famous.

With the low production value of Mega force I could believe the rip-off potental.

As bad as Megaforce was I was always a fan. It was a fun movie and worked great for it's time. I still have the original Hot Wheel cars, and when G.I.Joe came out I wanted G.I.Joe scale versions of those cars. If nothing else the buggy. Hot Wheels still uses that sculpt as well as the tank here and there. I wonder if that's what keeps anyone else from even thinking about using the vehicles? Like Matt Tracker being released, Hasbro probably couldn't put the Megaforce vehicle out even if they wanted to due to Mattel. Of course there's whoever has the license for the movie too, but that goes without saying.

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With my buddies we're watching it tonight.
First stop, local toy store, then we're ordering some food.
Then Megaforce.

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