GI Joe General

[Onslaught Six]

Y'know, I've been thinking about it, and maybe Hasbro isn't too riled up after all about the GI Joe thing. I mean, between Avengers and Amazing Spider-Man, they've pretty much got the toy aisle locked down via Summer Blockbuster season. What've they got against them? Dark Knight Rising? Yeah, that toyline'll probably be as much competition as Green Lantern was.

Hasbro overall? Sure, probably not. (In fact, a recently-released memo told stores that, when Joe product is cleared out, replace it with more Avengers and Spidey stuff.) But the Joe team is probably heartbroken. I think it's important to take note of the divisions within Hasbro and not refer to them as one whole all-powerful entity.

[BWprowl]

Hasbro overall? Sure, probably not. (In fact, a recently-released memo told stores that, when Joe product is cleared out, replace it with more Avengers and Spidey stuff.)

Okay, is that what's going on with this situation? The stores are just going to sell through the Joe stuff that already made it out there, and then Hasbro just won't be shipping any more cases?

Damn, that's sure to turn Bruce Willis into more of a grail than he already was.

But the Joe team is probably heartbroken. I think it's important to take note of the divisions within Hasbro and not refer to them as one whole all-powerful entity.

So is this the final straw for Joe, you think? Or can the brand still recover? It's a big blow, to be sure, and the line was already kind of on its last legs, so I dunno...

[Onslaught Six]

Hasbro overall? Sure, probably not. (In fact, a recently-released memo told stores that, when Joe product is cleared out, replace it with more Avengers and Spidey stuff.)

Okay, is that what's going on with this situation? The stores are just going to sell through the Joe stuff that already made it out there, and then Hasbro just won't be shipping any more cases?

Damn, that's sure to turn Bruce Willis into more of a grail than he already was.

That's the word, apparently. But I wouldn't be worried about Colton since he's Wave 3, and all that stuff is likely to come out in March alongside the actual movie. (In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see some of these toys "upgraded," remoulded, using different parts, given different guns, or repainted by March.) The Wave 2 stuff is likely to already be on boats or sitting in distribution centers; I can't see Wal-Mart sending that shit back to Hasbro.

One of the online retailers that sponsor HISSTank posted this the other day:
http://www.hisstank.com/gi-joe-news/gi- ... 013-11403/
"We regret that Hasbro has sent an e-mail this morning stating that Wave 2 & Wave 3 have in fact been cancelled until March 2013. The only Retaliation items we will see this year is the little Wave 1 product that are currently in stores now."

But the Joe team is probably heartbroken. I think it's important to take note of the divisions within Hasbro and not refer to them as one whole all-powerful entity.

So is this the final straw for Joe, you think? Or can the brand still recover? It's a big blow, to be sure, and the line was already kind of on its last legs, so I dunno...

I dunno, the movie might spark things back--the public has a short term memory. Besides, GI Joe is Hasbro's baby; it's one of the only current toylines they have right now that they single-handedly created. (Even TF began, and continues to be, an ongoing relationship with Takara/Tomy.) I can't see them throwing in the towel permanently. The brand might fade away or go to online exclusive (like the HTS "DTC" line in 2005/2006) but it'll come back sooner or later. Hell, after ROC it's just been a rocky road but Hasbro has ensured they're doing their best to put stuff out. I think the current fading-away thing is going to last until March, and then following that we'll see some reinvigoration of the line along similar ways that POC and the 30th line did. Distribution might continue to be spotty, but I dealt with haggling on eBay and scouring BBTS or specialized sites (Smalljoes.com is pretty good) for most of last year to get the figures I wanted--I could do it again, too.

[Dominic]

The franchise is damn near dead, and has been for at least a decade, though many would argue closer to 2 decades.

TF was healthy before 2007. Bay basically added summer movie recognition to a property that was doing well to begin with. The fact that TF was previously established and had pre-existing distribution infrastructure meant that the hype was sustainable and that people who (re)discovered TF had something to stick around for after the hype died off. In other words, the movie was a good thing for a healthy franchise.

In contrast, "GI Joe" is close to dead. A few years ago, it got a movie that put it on a level with....any other summer flash in the pan. "GI Joe" was on a level with any of those bad Disney movies that are pitched as "this summer's family hit". People recognized it, but there was nothing worth sticking around for. For a generic summer formula movie, "GI Joe" did "good enough". It made enough box office to cover costs and justify a sequel. But, for a movie based on a brand with over a quarter century's worth of recognition, it made an abysmal showing.

I can see Hasbro trying for kid appeal with the toys. But, each time they try for kid appeal, the annoy established collectors, making the kids even more valuable. The problem is that kids today do not have any built in loyalty to the brand, nor to they have the attention span to develop it over time. "GI Joe" is one among many brands, and has nothing to distinguish it from other middling properties.


Dom
-notes that "Sigma 6" was the last serious attempt to revive "GI Joe".

[Onslaught Six]

Sigma 6 might've been the last kid-oriented attempt, but the 25th line was clearly a reboot in every sense that, if nothing else, managed to propel them into the movie line.

[Dominic]

I saw the trailer yesterday.

I tend to agree with the popular concensus that it look like most of the original cast is going to be killed off (probably in the first 20 minutes or so). Between the trailer and the toy packaging, it looks like movie Roadblock might be my new least favourite character.

Obligatory complaint: Paramount manages to kill off most of the Joe team in this movie because the first movie did badly and so few of the original cast wanted to come back. Well and good.

Now, if Paramount can wipe out a whole team of characters who are good people in context because of real world problems, my question is why the hell was Bay unable to kill off two robotards who deserved to die both in context and for real world reasons? Dammit, I was really looking forward to seeing and hearing Skids and Mudflap die in RotF. It would have been so sweet. Just imagine seeing the buck-toothed robotard being shot. He would fall back, squealing and whining before he exploded. Then, Sentinel Prime would step on his head, sending his ghetto ass gold tooth flying towards the camera.

Damn, I am getting a boner just thinking about it.


Tl;dr, they can kill all of the Joes. But, they cannot kill Skids and Mudflap. Boo.



Dom

[Onslaught Six]

Some new 3-pack images:
http://generalsjoes.com/2012/06/15/firs ... -revealed/

These were supposed to hit in Wave 2 but have presumably been pushed back--or worse, cancelled.

All I gotta say is: Damn, looks like I'd have ended up buying both.

The Joe pack is a little iffy, but it's got Mouse who is apparently in the film...despite not showing up in any of the promotional crap. He's also played by the kid from Jurassic Park! Seriously! So, you know, almost have to get him for that. Airbourne looks okay--apparently he uses cancelled Data Viper parts, which they SAID they never tooled--maybe they just never tooled his gear instead. Snake Eyes is kind of half-win, half-suck--he's the awesome POC figure almost verbatim, but with some cancelled Storm Shadow gear in really, really bad colours. Thankfully I have a lot of webgears laying around from other figures, so I could get something going...but I also already own that POC figure so I'd probably just end up giving it away.

Onto Cobra: Storm Shadow's a dud, nothing particularly unique or interesting. (With as many Storm Shadows as there've been in this line, I'm tempted to grab them and start repainting them into Blue Ninjas from Hama's new Joe run that I'm not actually reading.) Paratrooper is neat, as a repaint of the Shock Trooper I never got in a sweet red colour. His gear isn't even that bad, despite being paratroopery. He'd make a sweet Red Shadows base!

And then, oh God, the crown jewel, Firefly. This is the best damn Firefly figure ever made. Look at that thing! All bulked up to shit. Apparently it's using parts from a figure called "Shock-Viper" and some Snake Eyes or other--but the only Shock-Viper I could find was from 1990, so.

[Tigermegatron]

I saw the trailer yesterday.

I tend to agree with the popular concensus that it look like most of the original cast is going to be killed off (probably in the first 20 minutes or so). Between the trailer and the toy packaging, it looks like movie Roadblock might be my new least favourite character.

Obligatory complaint: Paramount manages to kill off most of the Joe team in this movie because the first movie did badly and so few of the original cast wanted to come back. Well and good.

Now, if Paramount can wipe out a whole team of characters who are good people in context because of real world problems, my question is why the hell was Bay unable to kill off two robotards who deserved to die both in context and for real world reasons? Dammit, I was really looking forward to seeing and hearing Skids and Mudflap die in RotF. It would have been so sweet. Just imagine seeing the buck-toothed robotard being shot. He would fall back, squealing and whining before he exploded. Then, Sentinel Prime would step on his head, sending his ghetto ass gold tooth flying towards the camera.

Damn, I am getting a boner just thinking about it.


Tl;dr, they can kill all of the Joes. But, they cannot kill Skids and Mudflap. Boo.
Dom

My running theory is that hasbro/paramount didn't want to pay the salaries of the 1st joe movie actors/actresses,so they killed them off to save money.

replacing them all with the rock & bruce willis was something micheal bay would do. except instead of using the rock he'd use shia le bouf. instead of using bruce willis,he'd use paul rueben/pewee herman.

[Onslaught Six]

My running theory is that hasbro/paramount didn't want to pay the salaries of the 1st joe movie actors/actresses,so they killed them off to save money.

Except Duke is still there, and there's even talk that they might un-kill him with Channing Tater reshoots.

JGL obviously wasn't too thrilled with his performance after-the-fact (which is a shame, because he was great, and from behind-the-scenes shit he seemed like he really loved doing it!) and he's been on kind of a Huge Deal kick lately (being in Inception and now The Dark Knight Rises and Looper will only further his career) so he probably wanted more money anyway. Ray Park and Stormshadow Guy are back, too. Dennis Quaid apparently wasn't asked to return (some say he kind of phoned in the role; I disagree but whatever, Hawk isn't important to this story), and Wayans and the Scarlett chick apparently just got written out; probably because the first film was pretty damn disappointing. I think what's-her-name as Baroness is a casualty of that and also, she wasn't very happy with how the toys turned out, and I think they're trying to distance this whole thing from the "Duke/Rex/Baroness" thing as much as possible, so taking her out was easy enough. Eccleson? Who knows.

instead of using bruce willis,he'd use paul rueben/pewee herman.

That doesn't make any sense; Bay would completely use Bruce Willis for one, or did you not see Armageddon at all? And Bay has no working relationship with Paul Rueben, who's trying to get the Peewee Herman thing back on the ground, I think as a nostalgia act mostly. (Which is a shame; that dude could play an awesome serial killer. Get him and Tarantino on the fucking phone.)

[Onslaught Six]

If you like GI Joe, get ready to cream your jeans.
http://www.hisstank.com/gi-joe-news/toy ... ges-11904/