GI Joe Cutter (2008)
If I could sum up my thoughts on many of the store exclusive figures produced during the 25th anniversary series in one word, it would be “passable”. Though Cutter isn’t a hugely demanded fan favorite, his place as the pilot of the WHALE I think places him higher in my consciousness of well remembered figures than his look would suggest. After all, he was just a guy with a Red Sox ball cap wearing bell bottoms and a life vest.
Coming as part of a Toys R Us naval themed three pack that also included a pretty poor imitation of Deep Six, Cutter’s name is an imitation as well. When Hasbro loses the rights to names, they at least sometimes employ creative means to get around the fact, like titles or proper names. Cutter became GI Joe Cutter. Not preferable, but it works. I do wonder however why others like Shockwave/Shockblast get changed completely, while some just add a title. I should probably stop thinking about these things.
At its most basic, Cutter (excuse me, GI Joe Cutter) is mostly a repaint of a comic pack Shipwreck. I like the removable life vest, and it is more fitting for Cutter, since his original figure had one. His original however didn’t have an obvious marine cap, but a baseball cap. A make-do substitute common to the time. The head really does bug me, as it brings up memories of the horror that was the 25th anniversary Gung Ho. Ugh,
I bought this guy loose at a local comic book convention a couple years ago and was happy to add him into my collection. But at the same time, I’m already looking for a suitable alternate head since a repainted Gung-Ho just isn’t it cutting it for me. Cutter was one of my favorites growing up (having only the D.E.F. version) because he was born in my birthplace and I really want my Cutter to look a little more like Cutter.
Regarding the name, whenever a company adds something to a name (like ‘G.I. Joe Cutter’ or ‘Turbo Tracks’ in the Transformers line), it’s normally done to strengthen the trademark claim to a name. In the case of Shockwave/Shockblast, Hasbro had lost the trademark to the name ‘Shockwave’ (but has recently got it back).
With your permission, Rob Buzan, here’s a link to tfwiki.net’s article about Trademark.
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Trademark
I do like Cutter a lot but his figures have always missed the mark when portraying his likeness. I wasn’t very thrilled with the 1984 original as a kid due to the head sculpt. The 1992 version was a huge improvement in that regard. …And then we got stuck with this monstrosity. I bought him loose off the Bay (no pun intended) for completion’s sake, but swapping Gung-Ho’s noggin and cap was a very sloppy move on Hasbro’s part.
As for G.I. Joe Cutter, he can be Cutter or Leatherneck or even Sgt. Slaughter, but he looks like Gung-Ho to me. It’s almost like typecasting a head. I wonder if the head would be less recognizable if it was cast in a different ethnic skin tone, like Latino or something?
Regarding your statement about it being mostly a repaint of Comic Pack Shipwreck–the mold itself (minus the arms) is mostly the first 25th Shipwreck.
@Clutch
I have an idea for a RAH-style Cutter that looks like the original, but uses the ’92 figure’s head. If the color matches, get an extra V1 Shipwreck torso, slap the ’92 Cutter head on it, add the V1 Cutter arms, waist, and legs, and then all you need is something closely resembling a life vest that can fit and is removable.
Gung-Ho or Cutter… or a new character: Ho-Cutter?
Anyone elese notice his real name is Skip. A .Stone
Skip’s a nickname. His real name is Ronald.
Bad figure.
I reviewed this figure on my site a little over a month ago. I agree it’s not great but it’s better than nothing. http://mikescollection.wordpress.com/?s=cutter
Read your Cutter review and bookmarked your blog, Mike
Cool, Thanks JD. I hope you enjoy it.
This was the first 25th figure that I decided I did not want.
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