Shipwreck (2007 Operation Flaming MOTH)
Shipwreck is one of those characters that folks seem to love or hate. This is probably mostly due to his portrayal in the Sunbow animated series. He was brash and sarcastic, and marched to his own drummer. This combined with voice actor Neil Ross’ Jack Nicholson imitation put off many fans as he seemed like such an over the top character. Oh, and the fact that he and his sentient parrot often argued probably didn’t help either. I always liked him in the Sunbow series. He was a refreshing counterpoint to the blandness of guys like Duke.
This figure was included in the GI Joe collectors club’s exclusive Operation Flaming MOTH collection, a series of four two packs that told a story of the Joes and Cobras attempt to recover a downed military satellite. Each of the four packs covered a different type of environment, such as the desert, arctic, or jungle. This particular pack was set in the pacific ocean, hence the inclusion of a naval specialist.
This version went back to his original figure’s roots, and depicts Shipwreck again in a usual sailor get-up, hat and all. The difference this time is a life vest, which is a part of the reused Cutter mold that makes up nearly the entirety of this figure (minus the head). The file card explains that he’s superstitious (which he wasn’t before) and always travels with a vintage naval life vest and his parrot, Polly. Good try, but I call it a cover story made up because the collectors club couldn’t get their hands on his original mold.
The collector’s club has revised so many figures by now that they’re practically their own canon. I never realized why Shipwreck sounded so annoying at times until you mentioned the Nicholson connection. That flew over my head (no pun intended) as a kid. I have never liked Jack or his work so that explains it. I did love the original Shipwreck figure and the Sunbow cartoon certainly benefited from his popularity, but this version with the life vest comes up short.
He needs an eye patch to go with the parrot!
I hate Shipwreck.
This figure doesn’t help any.
Maybe a weak figure, but he looks somewhat more at home riding the Killer WHALE with a bunch of guys wearing life jackets. The softer plastic Polly is actually kindofa bonus.
I have so many extra Cutters, I need to make a custom crew for the Whale.
I prefer Shipwreck in his SEAL persona.
I wish we had gotten a land based SEAL version of Shipwreck in vintage style. The 2000’s series SEAL Shipwreck wasn’t all that great.
Oh how I wisj this figure would’ve been mass released instead of through the Collectors Club, which I didn’t even know existed till this year.
the 94 Shipwreck in Dive gear is my favorite, but is limited to use in water. This figure is a must find for me!