Rock N Roll (1993 Star Brigade)
Think to yourself, which of the original Joes would be most likely to appear in a squad of space-borne fighters? Flash? Grand Slam? Nope. How about a machine gunner and ex-surfer. Hey, maybe that’s why they picked him. Aren’t surfers stereotypically spacey? Yeah, that’s grasping at straws.
Maybe Rock N Roll was picked because of his unique look. His blonde hair and beard separated him from the other Joes in the line. And face it, when the heads are the only recognizable elements of a figure, it’s probably better to pick somebody who stands out. I’m honestly surprised that Snake-Eyes didn’t make it into the set. I guess he was too busy with Ninja Force.
Continuing on the sujbect of the figures’ heads, I think this Rock N Roll looks significantly older than his predecessors. Maybe it’s just the slicked-back hair and beard but he gives me an Adventure Team vibe also. In fact, I think the sculpt more closely resembles Joe Colton from his Marvel Comics appearances than Rock N Roll.
I saw a guy on Joecustoms repaint this into an Armor-Tech version of Big Bear, which I think would’ve worked better–if only we had time travel to tell Hasbro about that….
Craig here does resemble the blond Adventure Team guy. I think it’s the Sea Adventurer? Anyway, I was out of the G.I. Joe loop when these came out, and even if I had been collecting, the lack of articulation and limited environment use would have turned me off these guys. The whole space exploration concept itself never really caught on with me, going way back to the Defiant’s debut in ’87.
Air Adventurer was blond. The Sea Adventurer had red hair.
Incidentally, if the line had continued into 1995, I think we would have seen a Star Brigade Snake Eyes, albeit as part of the “Replicators” sub-set.
Terrific times, the end of A.R.A.H.!
ahhh Armor Tech, how I’ve somehow gained a new appreciation for you… I don’t know why but I like it.
Still on the fence about Armor Tech. I want to like it, but the lack of articulation is such a turn off.