Hasbro G.I. Joe Sgt. Slaughter Action Figure Hasbro, 2010
Day #87: February 11, 2011
Sgt. Slaughter The More Common One
G.I. Joe Comic-Con Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. 19991 No. 20995 Manufacturer:Hasbro Includes:Stand, baton, whistle, microphone, large belt Action Feature:n/a Retail:$14.00 Availability: July 2010 Other: Apparently now not coming in the main line
In the 1980s, Hasbro frequently included "guest stars" in its hugely popular G.I. Joe line, including William "The Fridge" Perry and wrestler Sgt. Slaughter. These little cameos were often special, starting off as a mail-in or some other promotion to ratchet up interest in what was one of the hottest lines of the 1980s-- the 2010 version of Sgt. Slaughter was basically the same thing except Hasbro decided to make it really hard to get.
Standing about four inches tall, the figure comes with a non-removable hat and a fair amount of gear. The figure also premiered new articulation for the line, including extra movement on the wrists that allowed them to bend as well as to swivel. Hasbro's Clone Trooper figures from Star Wars frequently included this sort of movement since 2008, so it's nice to see it on another line where aiming guns is of some importance.
As a drill sergeant, this figure is basically geared up to demand your other figures drop and give him twenty. His legs are nicely articulated and he could probably kick someone in the mud if he really wanted to, plus the figure is just a smidgen more portly than the other Joes-- a nice touch, given the real guy (and many wrestlers in the 1980s) weren't known for sculpted muscles so much as they were whatever character they came up with. There are a lot of great details painted on, including a Joe logo on his legs, some military chevrons, and of course his "reflective" sunglasses. Here, they're just silver, but you gotta take what you can get.
If you missed this figure, what can you do? Well, we don't know yet-- in 2010 Hasbro said they would find a way to rerelease it in 2011, and late in 2010 said it would not be part of the line. Many are interpreting this as "part of the main line," and given Hasbro's frequent double-talk or misdirection in their G.I. Joe brand Q&As, I wouldn't give up hope that Hasbro could announce something any day now. As a Comic-Con exclusive (with a variant repaint in Triple T driver colors), the $14 asking price was a little high-- but then again, it's a special figure and it came on a nice package. Even if you get stuck overpaying for it, there's no question that it's certainly worth a little more than a standard action figure just because of the piece's ancestry. Grab it if the price is right for you, I was complaining about it but ended up being quite happy with it as a toy figure.
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