Bullhorn (1990)
The 90’s began impressively for GI Joe with a lot of new characters and a plethora of accessories for many of the figures. Bullhorn is no exception. Just the mask and sniper rifle would have been good enough. But we got an actual bullhorn and a modular rifle, a first for the Joe line. Cool accessories all around.
The character had a fair amount of appearances in the DIC series. I know that’s not saying much, but it’s better than most of the era’s figures fared. Some classics of the late line never saw an animated appearance. Bullhorn, like most of the DIC stable was quite the non-entity, a shame really and a reminder of the talent involved with the previous series’ writing and voice acting. The file card paints him as a really unique individual, and it would have been fun to see in a quality portrayal of him.
The mold is a fun one, combining some interesting design elements that one wouldn’t think of for your basic hostage negotiator. Don’t those guys usually just wear suits or basic tactical gear? That’s not good enough for the Joe team. As the 90’s Joe saying goes, you gotta get tough. You also gotta get dressed to the nines and make a statement, no matter your specialty.
The mask is a classic, though it would have been nicer if done in a clear plastic to resemble the card art. Finally, I’ve always wondered about the colorings on his face, and just what they’re meant to be. Did he attend Zandar’s Success With Unexplained Facial Markings seminar?
The DIC cartoon tried to pack as many new characters as possible, but the end results weren’t the greatest in terms of characterization. I do like Bullhorn a lot and he is definitely one of the standouts in the awesome 1990 lineup. His face camo reminds me of Hit & Run and his unprecedented SWAT-like accessories fit in nicely with Shockwave. I only wish that Bullhorn’s TV appearances would have made better use of his file card info, but who knows? Larry Hama might get to him in the revived comic since he’s featured guys like Topside and Cold Front already.
This guy was ever so slightly after my time, and I’m bummed about it; he’s a nice figure! In most cases, I regard the ’90s figures I missed out on as bullets dodged, but there are some diamonds in the rough, and this guy is a great example.
I am really enjoying this site.
Great accessories!
Not a bad figure except for that helmet. The bullpup sniper rifle is pretty tight too.
One of my favorite Joe characters, it would have been great to have seen his character used to his full potential in the Marvel run, but so much attention had been placed on Ninjas by that time instead.
The mold is excellent, and the colors highlight a lot of the details. The weapons is what really sells me on this figure. The broken down sniper rifle is one of my favorite accessories in the entire vintage line.