Sega CD Summer is out!
I didn't expect G.I. Joe to play a very big role in Sega CD Summer.
It just kind of happened.
By 1994, the action figure line was on life support, waning in popularity as other toys like Power Rangers captured the hearts and minds of America's kids.
The Joes were an essential piece of my childhood through the early '90s, part of a triple bill that included video games and Star Wars.
As the book developed, filled with little scraps of things I liked when I was a kid, Duke and company ended up getting more than a few mentions. G.I. Joe Face Camouflage. Eco-Warriors. D.E.F. Lobotomaxx. Fatal Fluffies. That awful purple-and-yellow version of Dr. Mindbender.
The decline of G.I. Joe coincided with the resurgence of Star Wars. My interests moved beyond the military-themed action figures and fully embraced lightsabers and the Millennium Falcon.
By 1994, the Joes just didn't have much left in the tank. The line had gotten too far away from its military roots. Even some of their more science-fictiony stuff still fit the world, but things simply got too dumb in the last years of the original line.
While Tiger Force and Python Patrol were clearly ways to reuse old molds and make something "new," constant reissues of existing characters plagued the line's later years. Ninjas took over with Ninja Force and then Shadow Ninjas. Star Brigade launched the Joes into space while...well...Mega Marines also existed.
For Tommy, the slow decline of the Joe line mirrors his slow ascension toward young adulthood.
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| I have a feeling adult Tommy would dig the Classified Series Alley Viper |
