Chuckles started in "hole-in-the-wall" operations at an insurance group in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he still works from time to time when he's not doing undercover missions for the GI Joe team. His
affable demeanor puts everyone at ease, allowing him to gain access to whatever group he's been tasked to infiltrate and investigate. His easy-going, good-humored and joking nature could be a facade to disarm targets, or it could be the agent's genuine personality. No one knows, since he always seems to be in the middle of an operation and never breaks his cover.
Perpetually mis-used on the cartoon, and appearing only rarely in the Marvel Comics, Chuckles recently got a big boost in popularity thanks to Cobra, one of the series IDW Publishing started when they got the GI Joe license. After all, unless you give the undercover agent his own spotlight book, how's he ever going to show up in the story? The point is that no one ever sees him or knows what he's doing. This figure is based on the Shipwreck mold, which works decently to create Chuckles' familiar Hawaiian shirt - although the green leaves are tough to pick out against the light blue, and there are no pink apps to make flowers, like the '87 version had.
Chuckles' head is new, and it captures the character very well. The
smarmy yet determined look, the slightly poofy blonde hair... it's the guy we remember. The original version had bare hands, while this version is wearing black gloves, but think of it as part of his undercover work: he's just pulled them on so he doesn't leave any prints on the computer when he goes snooping around. He also has Spirit's odd left hand, with the two fingers extended, but pretend he's flashing a pre-arranged covert signal to his handlers, to tip them to what he's about to do.
He's got the same non-functioning shoulder holster that Recondo did, which is a let-down: in 1987, Chuckles was one of the few figures to have a working holster, but now, 22 years later, he's lost it? Shame. Beyond that, there's a large knife in the sheath on his leg, a brown satchel slung over his shoulder (yet interfering slightly with the knife) and a MARS briefcase with another gun inside.
The figures are arrayed next to one another in a long horizontal box. The backdrop shows the shore of Cobra Island, with a fire burning on the far side of some nearby trees. A Skystriker, two Rattlers and a FANG copter are in the sky. It's a nice enough scene, but certainly not something worth saving the box for.
Being stocked with army-builders as it is, the Cobra set is proving more popular (and thus more expensive online) than its Joe Team counterpart, but make no mistake: this is still a very good set, with a ton of new characters who a lot of fans will want. See if you can find a store selling them as a set, and pick up both sides of the battle in one fell swoop.
-- 09/25/09
determined to crush the Cobra organization once and for all! The team crosses land, sea and air to reach the well-protected base. Cobra forces are ready for them, and the fearsome fight begins!
Next, there's a three week Pre-Ranger Program to prepare the candidate for the full eight weeks of unprecedented stress, pain, discomfort, forced marching, sleeplessness, and jumping out of an aircraft with a knife between your teeth, just like actual combat, but without live ammo. Spc. Altitude enjoyed every minute of it!
The figure is built from myriad parts, including bits from 
a black rifle, and a green parachute pack. The gun is a Heckler & Koch G36 with an underslung shotgun attachment, which is a nod to the accessory included with "Halo Jumper," the renamed Generation 2 Ripcord release. The parachute pack was originally included with a Cobra Trooper in one of the incredibly rare 2008 dvd battle packs (
Called in for the most dangerous and dirtiest jobs, he and his team perform their missions with detailed plans that are executed with precision and speed. He is not known for his social graces - you wouldn't catch him chatting with guys in three-piece suits about the latest Broadway play, but when you need someone who can take out a Cobra underwater base with just some fishing line and a knife, then he's your guy.
The body, below the neck, shares its mold with 
the classic Wet-Suit vibe. He has the same knife, pistol and spear gun that Torpedo carried, but his removable mask plugs into a new squarish backpack, and he has an orange sea sled to pull him around. The mask is the same as Torpedo's, and so are the flippers, but his webgear is new - maybe that's why, all put together, this figure looks quite distinct.
training in Engineering School, Ordnance School, and Advanced Infantry, he's acquired field skills that he applies with his characteristic coolness under fire and a professional attitude in any situation. He's participated in many battles against Cobra and uses knowledge gleaned from those missions to pinpoint and attack the evil organization's weak points. And just to be absolutely sure of the outcome, he backs up every plan with plenty of weapons and explosives.
In keeping with the original toys' "mix and match" design work, Zap is constructed mostly from existing parts. The upper body is all 
there's another holster on his right leg, and thus he's carrying two black pistols. His trademark weapon is his bazooka, of course, and it splits into two pieces because... well, I don't know. So you can getit out of the package easily? His backpack is an update of the 1982 version, but this time the shells can be removed and loaded into the bazooka. Fun! Sadly, the large canteen sculpted on the new belt keeps the backpack from sitting properly, but that's a minor quibble.
and vines of the countryside or bounding by the lampposts and buildings of the city, Hit & Run saw the world as an obstacle course - one to be confronted at top speed. At 18, he joined the Army and fought for a place on the GI Joe team, knowing nothing but the best, most rigorous training would take him to his limits. Today, there isn't a better GI Joe team member than Hit & Run to get into a hot zone, do his job, and get out again without a scratch.
Hit & Run (whose name is actually parsed "Hit and Run" on the filecard) uses the 
he has the same backpack, leg harness and M16, and even the same helmet. That one works particularly well, what with the big red goggles on the forehead. His chest harness comes from the same box set as 
life for miles. Not Selkirk! He believes in being part of his environment, not its adversary. As a survival expert, he is essential on missions that require the GI Joe team to operate at night and lay low during the day. The team may find a spot that looks like a perfect place to pitch a shelter, but Selkirk can point out the dangers no one else sees.
As a Night Force figure, Outback is wearing dark colors - which just means his shirt is grey instead of white. If you don't like the repaint and would rather have the original, pretend he's just filthy and grimy from being out in the woods for so long. That's what I have to do. His head is new, with shaggy red hair and a big bushy beard that made it so easy to confuse him with 
(that, sadly, covers up the "SURVIVAL" 
at the Jungle Warfare Training Center, where he portrayed the remote, unforgiving tropical forests as places of extreme danger and extreme magnificence. He uses the skills honed on countless jungle missions to fight Cobra forces on any terrain: he works with the environment to outmaneuver, overwhelm or confuse the enemy, so that he has the advantage.
Recondo's head is new, but it has the look of an 1890s' take-all-comers boxer. To really capture the look of Recondo, his handlebar mustache should be thicker, and he should have a sterner expression: drop those eyebrows down a bit, so he's not just staring blankly out from beneath his hat. He looks like 
The figure's main weapon is a green rifle, which seems to have been wrapped in a long strip of cloth - probably to secure any parts that would clack or jingle and give away his position in the wilds. He also has a green backpack with a sculpted canteen and two black grenades. The original Recondo's backpack had a carrying handle that this mold lacks.
