”Quote Storm Shadow-” Zartan’s Day” (1980’s G.I.Joe cartoon episode)-”Anyone can use a weapon,but a Ninja IS A WEAPON,Behold”-Then proceeds to dismantle an old tank right in front of some blue uniformed cobras, and the Dreadnoks-Ripper, Buzzer,and Torch.” -Destro is very impressed.
Love it! (Though prefer V2)…why did ninjas suddenly pop on the action/figure scene in the 80s? Where were they hiding before? Love them and can never get enough Sho Kosugi but really Hollywood and Pawtucket didn’t know about these in 50s-70s?
Yeah, it seems like it was films like Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja that really helped popularize ninjas. They were not as prevalent as karate or kung fu experts in the films independent stations showed in the 1970s & 80s (though surprisingly, Quick Kick postdated The Karate Kid when familiarity would’ve allowed him to debut 1982 or earlier). You’re right to think there was some tipping point that made the ninja go from obscure to widely recognised by kids such that by the late 80s, no one batted an unfamiliar eye at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ninja Gaiden, etc. You have to think about exposure to other cultures. Exports from Japan picked up in the 1970s, not just physical items but cultural programs, like many movies (monster movies, karate films), and of course cartoons. That increased familiarity with Japanese culture, and then when video games came, it leaped up even more. Heck, it can probably be charted (if the links didn’t keep changing). I did a newspaper archive search by decade for terms like shiitake, tofu, and you can see a sharp rise at certain points. I never did search for ninja though (although things like ninja, samurai wouldn’t crop up in papers often but karate should).
If you didn’t like G.I. Joe before, this did it.
”Quote Storm Shadow-” Zartan’s Day” (1980’s G.I.Joe cartoon episode)-”Anyone can use a weapon,but a Ninja IS A WEAPON,Behold”-Then proceeds to dismantle an old tank right in front of some blue uniformed cobras, and the Dreadnoks-Ripper, Buzzer,and Torch.” -Destro is very impressed.
I showed that episode to my nephew. He didn’t pay much attention to it until Stormshadow kicked the old tank to peices
This cardback is one of the greats. Nothing but ninja. I can’t imagine being able to pass this one up on the pegs.
Never was I so excited to find a cardback (& of course the enclosed figure) hanging on a peg.
Love it! (Though prefer V2)…why did ninjas suddenly pop on the action/figure scene in the 80s? Where were they hiding before? Love them and can never get enough Sho Kosugi but really Hollywood and Pawtucket didn’t know about these in 50s-70s?
But can he kick MY ass? Yeah probably.
And that’s why 1984 Storm Shadow and 1985 Snake Eyes were impossible to find (Firefly too).
Re: SpiritoftheBeachhead
Yeah, it seems like it was films like Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja that really helped popularize ninjas. They were not as prevalent as karate or kung fu experts in the films independent stations showed in the 1970s & 80s (though surprisingly, Quick Kick postdated The Karate Kid when familiarity would’ve allowed him to debut 1982 or earlier). You’re right to think there was some tipping point that made the ninja go from obscure to widely recognised by kids such that by the late 80s, no one batted an unfamiliar eye at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ninja Gaiden, etc. You have to think about exposure to other cultures. Exports from Japan picked up in the 1970s, not just physical items but cultural programs, like many movies (monster movies, karate films), and of course cartoons. That increased familiarity with Japanese culture, and then when video games came, it leaped up even more. Heck, it can probably be charted (if the links didn’t keep changing). I did a newspaper archive search by decade for terms like shiitake, tofu, and you can see a sharp rise at certain points. I never did search for ninja though (although things like ninja, samurai wouldn’t crop up in papers often but karate should).
Awesome Franco Nero in “Enter the ninja”!