Glenda

Not only is Hasbro apparently redoing every Joe they ever released, they're also redoing the ones they didn't. How's that possible? Read on! Scarlett first learned martial arts from her father and three brothers, who are martial arts instructors. She began her training at age nine and was awarded a black belt at age 15. She graduated summa cum laude from two Ivy League universities and went on to excel in training courses at all four branches of the armed forces. The Cobra organization often mistakes her for just a pretty face rather than a member of the elite GI Joe team, which makes her perfect for undercover missions, on which she uses various aliases. She is a naturally gifted pilot who has flown in some of the most advanced military aircraft in the world and is one of the GI Joe team's helicopter pilots. That bit about her using various aliases? That's just their way of excusing the fact that this isn't Scarlett. Never was. This, gentle reader, is Jane Mullighan, better known [that's debatable --ed.] as Glenda. At six years old, Glenda amazed the inhabitants of her hometown when she adroitly flew one of their most sophisticated helicopters under her father's supervision. After her father died heroically, Glenda swore to continue fighting for his noble cause. Today, she is an Air Intelligence Officer and helicopter copilot in high risk missions. She is the first woman to become Master Instructor of the Action Force. When GI Joe was at the height of its popularity, Hasbro licensed the molds for use around the world in regions where they weren't already selling the toys. They also licensed the characters, but those regional partners were left free to devise their own, as well. That's how the Plastirama company of Argentina repainted the Scarlett mold and introduced her to the ranks of their "Commandos Heroicos" as Glenda. Appropriately, this figure is mostly made from the same mold as box set Scarlett - she does get a new head and legs, though. The head is inspired by the original G1 Scarlett: instead of a ponytail, her hair is twisted up behind her head, in a stylish bun. The face is cute, but the hair is red - since Glenda's a blonde, I guess this is Scarlett after all. Undercover as Glenda. Maybe the other half of this plan involves Glenda off somewhere wearing Scarlett's jumper. Glenda's costume was very patriotic: the body of the suit was blue, her gloves and boots were white, and the center panel of her suit was silver. Vac-metallized, in fact. And if that doesn't sound like a patriotic combination to you, then you don't know what Argentina's flag looks like. The new G3 version does its best to duplicate all that, though the boots are kind of cheated: her actual boots are dark blue, but she has white leggings above them. No, not '80s jazzercise gear, pocket-y things that airborne troops would wear. Overall, the look is unmistakable. The figure has a few accessories, and a few pieces of clothing. The advantage of her up-do is that it fits under her dark blue helmet. The helmet matches her vest and jump harness, which are a single piece accented with white straps and a dark grey... collar... pad... thing. It's a cool piece, if a bit tough to remove. Finally, she's got a small blue backpack, a gray crossbow and a gray pistol. No holsters or anything, so she's permanently got to have her hands filled. Most of her movement is balljoints - head, shoulders, elbows, torso, hips, knees and ankles - and she swivels at the gloves. Even with the red hair, there's no question this figure is really meant to be Glenda - the card even identifies her as part of the "International Collection" - with South America highlighted. So why the change? Well, like we said, Hasbro let the regional distributors make up their own characters; maybe Plastirama owns the rights to Glenda, and Hasbro would have to license her back. So consider this an homage, an in-joke that only the most inside fans will get. Whether you want to call her Scarlett or Glenda, the toy is still good.

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