Ice Cream Soldier (1994)
Let’s get the name out of the way first. According to his file card, Ice Cream Soldier’s code name is meant to be ironic, given that he’s a flamethrower commando. So you may ask yourself, “how did Hasbro think up such a stupid name? That’s just pure laziness calling him Ice Cream Soldier.” Well, suppress your nerd rage for a moment and read on.
The origin of the name goes back to the Sgt. Rock comics, and refers to a new member of Easy Company who was given the nickname in derision, as he was initially reluctant and would “melt” in battle. He later proved to be a capable fighter in the snow and decided to keep his moniker. So, the code name that many fans thought of as the stupidest in Joe history turns out to be an homage to an old war comic.
Yes, it’s the same story as a lot of other late line releases; great mold, horrible colors. Yeah, he’s bright orange and yellow, I get it. The mold was released twice again as Shock Viper (still a flamethrower, but now a Cobra) and sported both a red/blue and a red/bronze paint scheme. So if you don’t dig neon, you can take your pick of those two.
The figure looks the part of a trooper who operated in a hostile environment, and is appropriately covered from head to toe, although I’m disappointed at the lack of a backpack and hose for his primary weapon. The helmet, particularly the visor, is an odd shape and looks almost (dare I say it) like something Lanard would design.
I can understand an evil organization like Cobra employing flamethrowers, but why did the Joes still utilize a weapon that the US military abandoned in the 1970’s?
Yeah, the first thing I thought of when I heard of this guy was “they’re mining stuff from Sgt. Rock now?” The figure itself was one huge disappointment, but not surprising given that this was RAH’s last hurrah. The head is WAY too Lanard-like, the weapons aren’t all there, and the neon is blinding as ever. I could see Hasbro using him as a Cobra later on because he never looked like a Joe to me. Probably one of the oddest ducks in the entire G.I. Joe repertoire.
Not being familiar with Sgt. Rock (having not read it and all) I did not actually know this story. Sadly, this figure is not nearly as interesting as the little bit you’ve given regarding his namesake.
I always thought this figure (especially in these colors) looked kind of like Wild Weasel had done a slight redesign to his outfit while on an alcohol and LSD bender.
Wasn’t some or all of this mold reused also as the “Create A Cobra” mail in?
I just read the other day that the term “Ice Cream Soldier” is old military slang referring to someone who never loses his cool under fire.
I can’t help but wonder how old that is, because (thanks in no small way to my grandfather) I like to think of myself as fairly well versed in that sort of thing and I’ve never heard that one. Hell, I knew what fubar and snafu meant before I could even say them.
My source could certainly have been wrong. I think it was someone on Hiss Tank.
Most likely it was second (or even third) hand speculation. Perhaps one of those things that sounds just close enough to plausible that it could simply be ran with. It does fit that criteria. The reason I cast such doubt on it is that I’m fairly sure their would be shorter ways of conveying that, such as “Iceman”, which I have heard, but not nearly to the extent of Snafu & the like.
Great camo…Ah! Ah! Ah!
I thought it was cool figure, even with bright colors and the odd one shoulder bigger than the other. Why did GI JOE use flamethrowers? Cobra has robots and monsters, might need some fire to use against those.
With the explanation behind it the name becomes slightly less lame, but it’s still a terrible paint scheme and questionable mold in my opinion.
ICE CREAM SOLDIER WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST JOES EVER. I remember spending prom night with him, because girls would not come near me. HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND. When i was lonely ICS would tell me i was a handsome young man whose vestigial tail would eventually fall off, and then the world would finally like me. ICS is alsays piloting my Skystriker, when it’s not lodged in my rectum.
I think everyone agrees that the Ice Cream thing is stupid, but I think the “Soldier” part of his name is just too generic for a Joe. It’s not a bad figure, it’s just a stupid name. Change the name, maybe give him a different paint job, switch him to Cobra and these would make fine troopers, in my opinion.
Ice Cream Soldier’s helmet also reminds me of the Star Wars 1983 Biker Scout / Scout Trooper.
Hmmm… that insanely humorous reply post that also mentioned having Ice Cream Soldier pilot the 1983 Skystriker jet kinda makes me want to hand over one of the Skystrikers in my fleet to this action figure!
At the very least a less-valued 2010’s Skystriker (30th Anniversary re-sculpt), if not an original 1983.
Ice Cream Soldier really does add color to a white vehicle – just look at him displayed on the 1994 Blockbuster mega truck / tank-like vehicle thingy!
Great addition to almost any display!
Especially when this figure is wielding that 1986 Beachhead submachine gun!
There were better figures released, even in 1994, but ICS isn’t bad. If you have a loose “Icey” lying around, give him to a kid. He’s still a fun toy.
It’s a shame that colorful naming convention never caught on.
It would have been great if if Tripwire had been named Metal Detector Soldier.
And Sergeant Slaughter could have been Pro-Wrestling Soldier.
Oh! We need a new Dreadnok called Grape-Soda-and-Chocolate-Covered-Donuts Soldier!
And Snake-Eyes? Much cooler as Ninja Soldier.
(Seriously, Hasbro couldn’t have called the guy Iceman? Hot Fudge? Waffle Cone? Peanut Buster Parfait? Dilly Bar? All silly and embarrassing, sure, but all much better than Ice Cream Soldier.)