Cobra Commander (China)
Cobra Commander was the first GI Joe figure I got way way back in 1983. I traded a Return of the Jedi Weequay for him, one of the most impressive feats of bartering in my younger years.
My acquisition of this Chinese Cobra Commander isn’t as memorable a story. I picked him up back in the 90s at the Half Price Store. Anyone remember the place? It was closeout paradise back in the 90s. And unlike Kay Bee toys, the prices were decent and not subject of a phoney baloney price cut scheme. The place had dump bins full of sub-team Joes soon after they disappeared from Toys R Us.
Quite a few of these Chinese Joes made their way to the store, and I grabbed what I could. Cobra Conmander is pretty much the same as his original version, but without his usual blow drier pistol. The oddest thing about the release is the card art. The original card art cut off the right leg with the “swivel arm” copy in the left corner of the backer card. The new release simply extended the Commander’s right leg to an extreme degree. It’s Commander Fantastic!
So cool. I think I remember half price stores, were they in the mall?
I never heard of the Chinese carded figure being found at retail in the USA. Explains why they weren’t that expensive years ago. But now probably are.