Hey people. I finally got back my toys from the museum, and I decided to play with them a bit.
It occurred to me that I absolutely love G.I. Joe! So I decided to compile a list of the hundred figures I like the best, and believe me - some really cool ones were left out.

I haven't included figures I don't own, but I still think it's fairly representative. Of course, there are also quite a few weird entries, and I honestly hope the list will cause some discussion.
And I would love to see your lists, at the very least top 10-20

http://toysandbacon.blogspot.com/2012/0 ... gures.html

Sorry for linking to something off site, instead of posting the entire thing in this thread, but it's a very long read.

_________________

I read through these this morning, very good list, a lot of stuff most people wouldn't consider putting anywhere near their top 100, but that in my opinion is what made ARAH GI Joe great.

_________________

I am just going to knock out a top 20... cause I am lazy.

20. Alley Viper Man cool sculpt awesome gear, and I love the Blue Orange color combo.

19. Beachhead Beachhead was a bad ass. I loved that he was mean to everybody. I do my best to live up to his standard in my daily life.

18. Crank Case Crank was a blank slate, I don't recall him ding anything other than die in either the comics or cartoon, so mine was basically a young Higgins, you know from Magnum.

17. Snake eyes V3 He was my default Snake Eyes for most of my childhood. V2 got stolen. V4 was the last figure I purchased...

16. Metal head V1 except I called him Scrap Iron. Since I didn't have one.

15. Vipers I love the standard cobra viper good over all solid troop.

14. B.A.T.S Robot cobra trooper? Awesome, all sorts of attachments? Awesomer.

13. Airtight usually teamed up with number 7 or 6.... they were my specialist other joes had to get them to wherever to do their job.

12. Dusty tons of TV time, and a couple of good comics, I tend to not have environment specialist in my "lists" but Dusty is a cut above.

11. Ripcord great figure, and memorable comic/cartoon appearances especially his fight on the beach with

10. Zartan cool creepy guy. He could fight with Ninjas impersonate anybody and was a real dick ta boot.

9. Tunnel Rat Once again Granddad told me what a tunnel rat was, so he lost the back pack and carried a pistol from an accessory pack.

8. Psyche Out I read a book about Psy Ops stuff when I was in grade school, when Psyche out came out I had to have him. He usually rode shot gun in the Awe striker.

7. Listen and fun Trip Wire my primo bomb defusing guy. and in my world cobra hid a lot of bombs places.

6. Mainframe One of the best comics I have ever read had Mainframe in it. Also I like the cartoon with him and Zarana.

5. Lady J My favorite female joe, and really one of my favorites of all time. She was a real butt kicker in the comics and her sunbow appearances where all solid. Also her voice is what I think Angels sound like.

4. Stalker V2 well sort of... I painted his torso green and gave him Roadblock V2 arms. He got a brown Gung ho pack and stalker V1s gun. He was a bad man. I remember him and stormy running through New York killing red ninjas I think, man he was a bad dude.

3. Recondo one of my favorite comics featured him heavily. I loved the jungle explorer look. And then my grandad told me about Recondo school, I was sold. A guy named after that had to be badass.

2. General Hawk V2 Hawk was a quick standout character for me in the comics. Also bomber jackets are awesome. he normally carried a brown version of Leathernecks rifle. when it was warm out he got a body/arm swap with Outback.

1. My number one is Thunder. He was the third Joe I received as a kid. He had a handful of memorable moments in the sunbow cartoon and made the background a lot, probably due to his cool hi fi looking helmet. He also had few appearances in the comic, most notably diving on top of other joes to save their lives. For me it was really all about the toy. He had a cool sculpt and came with some cool gear. Mine normally had a tan grunt back pack and a bright green FN FAL to go a long with what Hasbro gave him. He went on a lot of adventures, and still does to this day, since I still have him.

_________________

I didn't really watch the toon as a kid, and never read the comics or the filecards. So, everything I got from a toy, was based purely on how it looked and my own imagination. For me, it would have to be in this order. Top 10 because I'm tired.

10: Big Bear As a kid, I was infatuated with Russia. My dad was a big history buff, and loved the story of the Czars. So, when Big Bear and Red Star came out, I was insta hooked on the idea of a Joe team but from Russia.

9: Red Star Same as above, but better detailed paint, and accessories.

8: Snake Eyes v4 I have the accessories he came with, but here was a far more interesting color palette on everyone's favorite ninja commando. One of the last original ARAH figs I owned as a kid.

7: B.A.T. I still remember buying this toy right before I went to a birthday party. It was rough keeping up with the hand attachments, but the B.A.T. is part of the reason I still love killer robots to this day.

6: Tunnel Rat I've always had a fondness for characters who looked military, but also looked... rebel, I guess. Tunnel Rat fits that bill with ease.

5: Gnawgahyde Aside from Road Pig, the only other Dreadnok I really feel isn't pure comic relief. He came with great accessories, and like Soulgem I appreciate it when a character can hold all his gear.

4: Croc Master A character I saw as the Anti-Outback. Both were survivalists, and CM could hold his own in a long drawn out game in the wild versus the master of Survival.

3: Alley Viper Garish colors aside, this guy came loaded to bear with some of the best accessories in the vintage line. Add to that the cool body armor sculot, and he was a winner all around.

2: Road Pig Yup, the strongman goof-ball is my number two figure. He had such a unique sculpt that he stood out against all the other figures. Add to that the wicked, yet implausible cement brick hammer, and he was just an all around winner.

1: Outback You may recall me fawning over Outback ever so slightly when talking about Croc Master. Well, Outback is it. Awesome gear, a cool survivalist look, and that beard. Man, as a kid, my mind lit up with all the cool solo adventure Outback could have on his own. Sure, Snake-Eyes was a ninja commando, but he'd starve to death without Outback to show him what to eat, and where to hunt. I wish Hasbro would do a decent Outback in the current style. The one we got wasn't bad, but certainly doesn't capture what made Outback awesome.

_________________

I go Outback for my number 1 also. He's the quintessential Joe both as a figure and a character. Excellent sculpt, excellent colors, nice accessories. The character spoke to the adaptability of the Joes as a fighting force, to their individual survivability, and their loyalty.

#2: v2 SE
#3: Storm Shadow v1. This figure raised the bar in so many ways.
#4: Gung Ho v1
#5: Firefly v1

_________________

This will change next week but here's my top 10.

1) Stalker
2) Outback
3) Rock n Roll
4) Snake Eyes v.2
5) BAT v.1
6) Destro v. 2
7) Salvo
8) Ripcord
9) Tundra Stalker
10) Tracker

_________________

Salvo for P? That's an unusual entry. A memorable toy, without a doubt. But also easily forgotten. Wonder if there's any love for the slightly similar Backblast.

_________________

I do like Backblast, but the inclusion of an ammo belt without any kind of gun was kind of a let down for me.

Salvo has it all. Great sculpt with a very unique head sculpt. Realistic colors. Really cool weapons and lots of them. As well as a file card that explained why he carried all of that gear.

Tracker is another out of nowhere entry but he and Tundra Stalker are similar to Salvo's reasons. All around wins from top to bottom for me. Great design and great accessories. I still have fun playing with those toys when I come across them.

_________________

Wow. Chuckles at #9. He was one of my favorite figures as a kid. I liked the Night Force version of Psyche Out better but another good choice.

I have no idea what mine would be, but somewhere in there would be Hardball, Shockwave v.1, Alley Vipers, Shock Vipers, Chuckles, and v.2 Storm Shadow.

Salvo was probably number 11 on my list. He looked like he could have been a successor to Rock n Roll, if not an older version of him.

_________________

For me, yes, there sure is. I'd put either ('89/'93) Backblast in the Top 25 RAH figures, and Ed "Backblast" Menninger is in my Top 10 favorite Joe characters.

"Where can I go to shoot airplanes out of the sky?"

I love the NF variants! Specially Psyche-Out, and to a certain extent Sneak Peek. But I don't have them. This was the hundred best that I own...

Hardball, Shockwave. awesome suggestions. Why have I forgotten them.. in fact, why couldn't I find them in my collection?
1988 was a good year for Joes. Underrated because not a lot of panel time in the comics?

_________________

1988 was a fantastic year for GIJoe.

By the way..
Some statistics:
1982-83: 8+1 (single carded/vehicle drivers)
1984: 3+2
1985: 12+2
1986: 14+4
1987: 18+1
1988: 13+4
1989: 4+2
1990: 2+1
1991: 6
1992-94: 1+2

Total count, 81 single carded, 19 vehicle drivers.

The years with most figures were 85-88, but I expected that.

1984 severely under-represented? Well, I don't have Zartan, Firefly and Spirit - which are three highly regarded figures.
Baroness, Scrap Iron, Cutter and Duke were considered.
Also, not a lot of love for the post 88. I will admit I loved some of the 89 dudes back in the day. Heat Viper, Frag Viper, TARGAT, Annihilator. But I find them a bit silly these days.
Many of the 91-93 guys have amazing sculpt but stupid colors, and even more stupid accessories.

_________________

11) Zartan v.1
12) RAHC Cobra Commander - http://www.yojoe.com/action/00/cobracommander9.shtml
13) GIJCC - Gung Ho (Mega Marines repaint)
14) Alley Viper v.1/Annhilator - Thank Mike T for these two being linked together.
15) GIJCC - Iron Anvil (Viper v.2 repaint)

_________________