Toy Bender

G.I. Joe fans, wanna know what’s in store for the future of the Joes? If you do, Hasbro has answered questions from across the interwebs and I’ve put the best up on here, much like I do for the Star Wars questions. Unlike the Star Wars questions, none of them will make you squirm. Think of it as a nice vacation away from having to cringe.

YoJoe.com opens up the collection here with a question related to the upcoming live action movie’s figures and it’s affect on the “Anniversary” line:

YoJoe: Assuming production on movie figures has already begun for 2009, what does that mean for the budget and resources for Anniversary figures for the next 12 months?

Hasbro: You will not be disappointed with the remainder of the anniversary line. The GI Joe team at Hasbro is getting bigger and stronger.

From this and other questions related to the movie line, it sounds like Hasbro isn’t too hot on killing off the success of the anniversary line by replacing it with the movie line.

YoJoe asks about the possibility of seeing some other G.I. Joe “expanded universe” figures.

YoJoe: I’m sure you’re getting tired of being asked this, but considering “Scarface” got a release in a recent comic pack, what are the chances of getting Dr. Venom, Billy, or Kwinn? If they’re not on the release schedule, why not, since demand is pretty high?

Hasbro: Sorry, none of the three are on “the list”

Damn, you’d think out of all the characters Billy would be on the shortlist to be made. What better excuse can they come up with to make yet another Storm Shadow varient with a slightly different head patch. Plus, who doesn’t love an eye patch!?

Joe Customs continues the G.I. Joe live action movie toy questions:

Joe Customs.com: Will the movie figures be a separate line and will they be in 25th style?

Hasbro: Yes the figures will be a separate line and they will be true to the quality of figures you have seen over the last year.

Don’t worry, your Dennis Quaid action figure will look perfect next to you Cobra Commander allowing you to reenact Innerspace staring G.I. Joe toys.

If you collect Star Wars figures you might have realized your super articulated clones aren’t that fantastically super articulated as the standard G.I. Joe sculps. Joe Customs asks about this:

JoeCustoms.com: Do you ever get together with the Star Wars team to share ideas/techniques? With the recent Evolutions Darth Maul being so close to the GI Joe 25th Anniversary design, they could really benefit from incorporating the GI Joe hip joints into their high end figure format, and they have not had the limited range of motion in the ball jointed elbow that so many of the new Joes have had recently. Perhaps a meeting of the minds would be a win-win scenario for everybody?

Hasbro: Yes, the Hasbro teams (both design and marketing) get together and swap ideas. This has not come up yet, thanks for the heads up.

Think it’s a shame that the Tele-Viper or other Dreadnoks didn’t get a single carded release? So does Joe Battlelines:

JoeBattlelines.com: Will multi-pack figures such as Torch, Ripper & the Tele-Viper be released on single cards with the original card art? (Similar to Wave 4 2007).

Hasbro: This was not in our original plans, but upon hearing the fan upswell for this we are now reconsidering.

I don’t need the Dreadnocks, but the Tele-Viper would definitly be a must have purchase for me. I loved how in the Sunbow cartoon you could see what they were thinking on their helmet. That takes a hell of a lot of courage. I wouldn’t last a second around the Baroness if I was one of those guys.

Hasbro just loves giving non-answers, however the answer to this question from Joe Customs gives a bit of a hope when it comes to most wanted vehicle releases:

JoeCustoms.com: Now that Wild Weasel, Ace, Wild Bill and Copperhead have either been released or are on the way, are there any plans to release their vehicles?

Hasbro: More info on upcoming vehicles coming at JoeCon.

Some toy enthusiasts just love clear figures. Cool Toy Review asks about a possible clear Joe figure:

Cool Toy Review: Seeing that clear figures seem to be popular with collectors, and that Zartan is one of the coolest characters in the GI JOE universe, what are the chances of seeing a single carded, clear (stealth) Zartan figure beeing released. Maybe with some attention to his eyes (at least that you could see them), his bow, a sword (he did help Snake Eyes build his first sword!), and maybe a small hand pistol. This could also be another opportunity to make a chase figure with this one also. Maybe a grey “smoke” version? So, what do think?!

Hasbro: Sounds like a really cool idea, we will kick it over to the design team.

Looks like we know what the next mail-away figure is going to be.

Cool Toy Review then decides to start fishing for new figures:

Cool Toy Review: Here’s a few of the most frequently asked after figures…any chance we will see them in the 25th Anniversary line? Wet Suit, Thrasher, Zarana, Blowtorch, Mutt & Junkyard?

Hasbro: Two out of five isn’t bad.

Okay if it’s Mutt & Junkyard, does that count as the two? That would be one hell of a rip off.

Want a better Flint? Who doesn’t? The G.I. Joe Club asks about the possibility:

G.I. Joe Club.com: Now that there’s going to be a Tiger Force FLINT with short sleeves and gloves, can we expect the original version with these features?

Hasbro: We have heard the fans loud and clear on the need for a classic Flint with gloves…sit tight.

Figures.com asks about a new Joe cartoon:

Figures.com: Transformers seemed to strike a good balance with putting out a big budget movie, then coinciding that with an animated series shortly thereafter. Are there any plans to follow the GI Joe movie with an animated series?

Hasbro: Sorry , but we are not quite ready to talk about 2010 just yet.

By 2010 nobody is going to care about a G.I. Joe cartoon, because we’ll all have flying cars and sex robots.

Hiss Tank.com wants to know about the next San Diego Comic Con exclusive:

HissTank.com: Will there be a SDCC exclusive and will it be a new character or a
repaint of an existing character like last years Destro?

Hasbro: There are two SDCC Exclusives and both of them are brand new tooling which has not been used in the line.

Hasbro has said that only one of them is an Anniversary style figure. Either way, you’ll only ever see them on eBay.

Toy News International takes another crack at the same question:

ToyNewsInternational: Can you tell us about this year’s San Diego Comic Con exclusives for G.I.Joe?

Hasbro: We are planning a special reveal on GI Joe.com..keep your eyes open for it. It is a worthy follow up to last year’s Destro.

Yeah, I didn’t think they’d reveal it in a Q&A. Nice try TNI.