JoeDeclassified.com

I am posting these to add a few pieces to the puzzle of the thread Gyre started the other day here:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=298
I haven't posted these because when CC arrived in the Declassified booth at Joecon, he really wasn't met with much excitement. That could be because he got over shadowed by a certain gray and neon green android trooper that was nearby. But Gyre really got me motivated to get off my butt here and post some pics of the other figure. So thanks again, Gyre-Viper.

These two pieces (The figure and staff below) are the reason why it was rattling around in my head that the 6" Cobra Commander was an item c2002 rather than from the 90s. I definitely see the comparison to G.I.Joe Extreme. But these samples have the convenience of being bagged and labeled.

Note that the bag below has written upon it "JV.C." At first, I thought that it maybe read "W.C." but I believe that it is a "JV" because the top of the J appears to have a serif. I suppose it could just be part of the scribble. But it is almost a moot point since the previous contents of the bag was Shadow Viper, a moniker that did not appear on a Joe package until 2001.



Here he is next to Black Dragon from G.I.Joe Extreme. Yes, his hands are unfortunately broken at the wrist, which are two of his 14 points of articulation. The shoulders and hips have simple front-to-back motion like an old Kenner Star Wars figure. This is not the articulated Joe we know and love.


A few other shots:








I think there may even be more of a story to this one. I understand that the bag is labeled "Short Fuse." But I also find it interesting that this figure bears a strong resemblance to Joe vs Cobra Duke as seen in the corner of every JvC package and in this insert catalog:
http://www.yojoe.com/catalogs/02/joe.shtml

The goggles over the eyes and the lack of a hip holster make this figure look, to me, more like the art than the Duke we got. It seems like these figures may have been something considered around 2001 or 2002 and we got 3 3/4" figures in this style instead. If it was the first, it would not be the last time Hasbro repurposed package art in the 2002-2006 era.

And here is Cobra Commander with staff. The most important note here is that the staff is for "6" Cobra Commander." That rules out the possibility that these were 2-ups or any other ratio that would need to be reduced in size before production. This was undoubtedly a 6" figure line:




Here is Cobra Commander with a preproduction 3 3/4" Cobra Commander on the left and a production one on the right. The preproduction Cobra Commander is has different legs, among other things. Note the position of the knife closer to the front of his leg.:


Here are Cobra Commander and the other figure together. The Joe is a bit taller.:



In retrospect, I think that there was a real market for these. But that market has come and gone because the bar has been raised since the time of these designs. But that should not rule out the possibility of a Marvel: Legends style G.I.Joe in the future. I don't think it should or even could stand as a replacement for 3 3/4" or 12", but a few supplemental releases could bring a few new fans to the brand.

So there are TWO CC protos out there, owned by you and Gyre?

That Joe is pretty cool looking. Any idea what character it suppose to be?

**EDIT** Nevermind I see the bag says Short Fuze.

Very cool! I wonder if maybe that really was a Short Fuze design that they then called Duke? Looking at the artwork, it really does look like this figure. Now if you think about the idea that this artwork was possibly unchanged from it's original intention, then how would Short Fuze fit into this typical leader "charge" pose? Could he be screaming fire after having plotted a course for the mortar launch? if that's the case, what did Duke look like for this line?

I do remember being excited when JVC was announced/first released (T-crotch be damned, I was still excited) and I remember thinking the sculpts looked really cool (except for Destro, hated his head) I was even excited for the 12" Cobra Commander (until I saw the sculpted lips on his hood ) That said, I think if this was a line released with 3 3/4" figures alongside it, I probably would have bought it up, but I think if this was the only Joe line out there at the time I might have looked at it, but I can't guarantee that I would have bought it back then

@Commander... yes, there are two samples. notpicard's is more complete and my sample has stains on it.


@notpicard... I think itz Duke. It screams Duke to me. Since the CC's and your ShortDukeFuse sample are the only to emerge, I'm going to assume it is Duke because I just don't see Short Fuse as a character that would be in a first wave of a new 6" line. Duke would be an obvious choice and so would CC.

I second Gyre-Viper's hypothesis. The bag already was previously used for Shadow Viper. They may have reused it again for Short Fuse and then once again for this Duke. As a customizer, I can tell you, several of my WIP are in bags that have been reused mulitple times. Some them with labels from way, way before. I don't see why a designer would do things differently.

Truly awesome.

Some great historical pieces, and Patrick, your powers of deduction, as usual, are spot-on. I'd bet cash money that this is Duke, and that these are canceled prospects for the 2002 JvC line. The evidence here is pretty compelling.

It astounds me at how much there is still that we don't know about past items throughout the years. Some really cool intel here.

Thanks as always for sharing.

Great insight Patrick. I too agree that line would have seen a good response in the market. As a guy who was into ML very heavily in the 2000's, I would have jumped all over them.

The staff comparison is particularly compelling.

I just answered in Gary's thread that I would probably not want to see a 6" line. This prepro Duke has me seriously reconsidering. I'm imagining a world where these types of figures saw their release instead of Sigma 6 type figures. The 6" line may have been the greatest thing in Joe histroy to have never happened.

Thanks for sharing!