I bring this up primarily in regards to the alt history that can be involved within the world of GI Joe. As the Real American Hero line shut down in 1994, I remember comparing the history of the toy line to the actual history of the prior 12 years.
I'm pretty sure that many of the kids who played with GI Joe were unconcerned by such matters. Since I was older, 19 when I started collecting and married with a young son in 1994, politics was more on my mind.
I always thought that it was interesting that the biggest years of growth within the toy line occurred during the Reagan presidency and the line ended during the Clinton presidency. Hmm.
Let me clear up a few things before I continue. I am Conservative and don't much like most of the politics of most liberal Democrats. I'm not intending to bash the Dems, but I probably will anyway. I'll probably bash on some Republicans as well.
Since 2014 is the 50th Anniversary of GI Joe, I wanted to consider and compare the 50 year history of the toys and actual 50 years of history.
I think that the first step in this discussion is to lay out a basic history of the past 50 years, primarily focusing on who was president and the major conflicts or other events along the way. Please remember, I'm just writing this for the hell of it; I'm not purporting to be an expert or authority on anything. I would like to spur a creative discussion on the topic though. I'd rather avoid insults and nastiness, but this is on the internet, so...
Let's look at the Presidents of the past 50 years.
John Kennedy - 1961-1963
Lyndon Johnson - 1963-1969
Richard Nixon - 1969-1974
Gerald Ford - 1974-1977
Jimmy Carter - 1977-1981
Ronald Reagan - 1981-1989
George HW Bush - 1989-1993
Bill Clinton - 1993-2001
George W Bush - 2001-2009
Barack Obama - 2009-Current
Now for some of the major US conflicts or events during the past 50 years.
Vietnam - 1953-1975
Iranian hostage rescue attempt -
Grenada - 1983
Panama - 1989-1990
Persian Gulf (Kuwait) - 1990-1991
Restore Hope (Somalia) - 1992-1994
Bosnian War - 1993-1995
Uphold Democracy (Haiti) - 1994-1995
Kosovo - 1998-1999
September 11, 2001
Afghanistan - 2001-Present
Iraq - 2003-2011
Libya - 2011
Too much war. The nature of man. That sort of thing.
Let's look at the 50 year history of the GI Joe toy line.
Military 12" - 1964-1969
Adventure Team - 1970-1976
Super Joe - 1977-1978
A Real American Hero - 1982-1994
Sgt. Savage - 1994
GI Joe Extreme - 1995
GI Joe vs Cobra - 2002-2006
Sigma 6 - 2005-2007
25th ARAH Anniversary - 2007-2009
Resolute - 2009
Rise of Cobra - 2009
Renegades - 2010-2011
Pursuit of Cobra/30th - 2010-2012
Retaliation - 2013-2014
Now let me dig a little deeper into the events, teams, and other key moments of the ARAH toy line.
USS Flagg - 1985
Terror Drome - 1986
Defiant Complex - 1987
Battleforce 2000 - 1987
Cobra-La - 1987
Tiger Force - 1988
Night Force - 1988-1989
Iron Grenadiers - 1988
Slaughter's Marauders - 1989
Python Patrol - 1989
Sky Patrol - 1990
Eco-Warriors - 1991-1992
DEF - 1992
Ninja Force - 1992-1993
Mega Marines - 1993
Star Brigade - 1993-1994
One more list and I can start combining, comparing, twisting, and squeezing everything together. Let’s look at the screen portrayal of GI Joe, primarily the ARAH characters.
The MASS Device - 1983
Revenge of Cobra (Weather Dominator) - 1984
Pyramids if Darkness - 1985
Arise, Serpentor, Arise - 1986
Sunbow series - 1985-1987
GI Joe: the Movie - 1987
Operation Dragonfire - 1989
DIC series - 1989-1991
Extreme - who gives a crap
Sigma 6 - 2005
Resolute - 2009
Rise of Cobra - 2009
Renegades - 2010-2011
Retaliation - 2013
That's it for the research portion of this series of posts. Next time, I'll start digging into how I can mix most everything together.
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