Crimson Guard Immortal (1991)
Surprising that it took a few years to get round to another version of the Crimson Guard. Then again, probably not surprising, as the fascination with the elite troops I think is largely part of the older collector consciousness. I don’t recall my friends and I being overly enamored with the original Crimson Guard back in the day.
As a more heavily armed and armored Crimson Guard, this figure shines. I’d always thought the original looked a little too formal for true combat. Maybe that’s why my little buddies and I didn’t find a whole lot of use for the ’85 version. Of course, by the time of the Immortal, I had been out of Joes for several years, and was just coming back in, sheepishly picking up new figures at Children’s Palace. Ah, the days before catering to adult collectors. I couldn’t imagine back then having an aisle dedicated to adult oriented action figures. But I digress…
If the Immortal falls down, its in the ambitious yet unwieldy weapons. The dual hand held launchers/gatling look great on the packaging, but reality isn’t too kind. There just isn’t a way for the vintage articulation style to really allow the figure to handle these kinds of weapons. It’s a shame, and I would have liked to see a secondary heavy machine gun or other more easily held heavy weapon included.
I don’t think both weapons are meant to be held at the same time–if you look closer at the handles, you’ll notice that the one on the outer back portion of the weapon and the one further in look the same; that’s a sure indicator that each is meant to be held in a dual-handed position, so…it’s either one or the other.
I’ve always thought of 1991 as the last great year of the line for G.I. Joe. I’d been collecting since the very beginning back in 1982 and it was difficult to get excited about the line anymore, but I gotta say that the ’91 lineup truly hit it out of the park for me.
The Crimson Guard Immortal was a tougher, more badass version of his ’85 predecessor. Weapons aside, this guy made for a sweet army builder. I’m still kicking myself to this day for dropping out of Joe collecting on one of their best years ever.
I agree, ’91 is a great year.
My brother had this one and he was always one of my favorites. The mold was just so impressive and imposing. I’ll agree, the weapons leave a little to be desired (even worse when they’re used with the convention Destro that used the same body) but you’ve got to admire Hasbro for trying something that was REALLY different.
I wish the CG Immortal that showed up in the Joe Con concept case would’ve gotten released. The body may have just been a variation on the City Strike Destro/Iron Grenadier idea, but man, they really did a great job recreating that headsculpt for the modern era.
Great figure, terrific weapons!
Always wanted more of these guys, but they weren’t around long for the time. The Gulf War made army toys popular and the figure wasn’t reissued in 1992.
Did GI Joe see a resurgence in sales in 1991? I read something in passing about 1990 vehicles having low sales, maybe even the figures… something about 1990 being a low point in terms of sales, with indications it picked up. I can’t remember if 1990 was lower than 1994 or not.
Has anyone come across the sales/profits from the GI Joe line year by year? I’ve come across 1 or 2 years for Transformers in the ’80s, but that was about it.
I was in Saudi Arabia/ Irag when these came out, sitting on an Abrahms tank, being sad that I wouldn’t be able to see my beloved Bills in their first Superbowl. Crimson Guard Immortals are one of the greatest figures ever made. Though unrealistic, his weapons look great.
This is one of those figures I didn’t know about until recently. I like the design though I prefer the ’00 blue color for the battlefield. The waist breaks almost as easily as ’86 Beach Head. Also, the knife on the thigh makes him look like an early CORPS figure, either good or bad depending on your view.
A remake that worked, because it wasn’t merely “crimson guard changed their uniforms” but a combat version or unit of the Crimson Guard. Made sense. Sure no one fights in bright red, but this is Cobra we are talking about.
I remember the 1991 line well when it came out. Besides Snow Serpent standing out for reasons I noted in its entry, Heavy Duty stood out because of his ‘heavy duty’ arsenal, and then there was this guy, the Crimson Guard Immortal. This figure looked sharp as hell. It looked very cool. Perhaps the best-looking figure from 1991.
As for the original Crimson Guard, I remember it not quite as a shelfwarmer, but it was never hard to find, even in 1986 (Tele-Vipers were the shelfwarmer on the Cobra side of 1985). I think it was the coloration.