Destro (2008)

I will confess that I haven’t always been kind to the 25th anniversary figures here at the blog. Like most collectors, I was excited to hear about a new super-articulated series of GI Joes. The early efforts however didn’t exite mean in terms of the toys’ playability. That’s the main gripe I’ve had about them over the years. Whether it was poseability issues or the inability to hold some weapons (a problem for the new sculpt series as well) I didn’t see much use for them beyond being display pieces.

In diving back into the early figures recently, I’ve found several that have struck my fancy in ways they hadn’t before. In the case of this Destro, he’s mainly just fun to look at. Maybe all those years of looking at a black-attired version of this outfit makes any other color interesting (see PDD) but I also think it’s an effective way of translating into toy form that old issue with comics’ ability to portray black clothing. The classic black costume Spider-Man and Black Widow come to mind. They’re often inked primarily in black, then given highlight colors of blue or grey. 

So Destroy gets to wear togs that are a bit more colorful. Details in the suit’s sculpt really come out thanks to a lighter hue, and some subtle detail. I don’t even mind the lack of a red collar. It’s one of the comic pack figures that can function well as simply an alternate color scheme for the character.