Shipwreck grew up in the shadow of the sprawling San Diego Navy Yards and dreamed of a life at sea. With his parents' permission, he enlisted in the Navy at the youngest possible age and graduated the Great Lakes Naval Gunnery School. He has fought river pirates, smugglers and other assorted thugs during his career before joining the GI Joe team. With his parrot Polly perched on his shoulder, he has faced the Cobra enemy on every watery battleground from vast oceans to murky swamps. As salty a seadog as ever sailed the sea, Shipwreck is nevertheless a steadfast teammate who will go to Davy Jones's locker and back to complete a mission.
Shipwreck is another figure who wasn't in desperate need of an update, but this is still an improvement. Like Lady Jaye, the detailing in the sculpt has taken a step up, and the figure is more robust overall. The colors are bright, and he has a new, more impressive head. His belt buckle has no pattern in the center, and the tattoo on his right arm has now turned into an anchor with an eel wrapped around it.
Polly got a new mold for this box set,
with her wings spread wide. Ship's accessories include a grey satchel that has pegs on the shoulder that Polly's feet can clip onto. He's also armed with a revolver, a new harpoon gun, and a hook on a rope. The harpoon isn't something he's ever carried before, but it makes sense for a sailor.
The packaging for this set is similar to the boxes for the 25th Anniversary Collection sets, though it's a rectangle
rather than a parallelogram, and you have to take the tray out of the side rather than the front. The cardboard insert behind the figures shows the deck of the USS Flagg, so at last Keel-Haul will have someplace to stand. Most of the figures in the box are better than their previous versions, but it's a shame that Hasbro couldn't have found someone better than Hawk to include.
-- 01/29/16