Law and Order (1987)
I’ve been fascinated with the Joe MPs ever since the release of Mutt and Junkyard in 1984. I can’t really explain it, but I think some of it has to do with both the inclusion of an animal sidekick and the accessories for the figure. Mutt had that great MAC-10 and billy club, as well as a muzzle (for himself of course.)
Law and Order were no different. Again, the animal sidekick, this time a German Shepherd, a cool weapon (a re-done Uzi–always a favorite) and a modern nightstick. The newly styled helmet also appealed to me, mostly because its shape was so modern and different from other Joes’ helmets.
The colors also struck me as unique and fun. Here was a character who had an almost civilian police look, with the blue vest, red shirt and white helmet. Law and Order broke new ground for me as a collector in that sense. I now had a Joe figure that could just as easily have been used in a non-military role, if I used a little imagination and ignored the “MP” on his helmet.
A fun aside to this figure: the head sculpt is based on the likeness of Kirk Bozigian, who was a Joe Product Manager at the time.
I always wondered why he had a Spanish accent in GI Joe the movie. Since he’s from Texas, I assumed that maybe he had a bit of a Southwestern flavor in his family tree.
I’ve gotta watch the movie DVD again to catch up on his only cartoon appearance. In all honesty, I wasn’t thrilled to see Law and Order show up back in ’87 since I love the original ’84 Mutt and Junkyard so much, but the pack carried a lot of stuff for your money back in the day and he was hard to turn down. Law has grown on me over the years, especially after he was teamed up with Mutt in the comics, with the more gentler Law deferring to his predecessor and both of their dogs getting along nicely. And of course, figures with pets are always cool to get.
Hey, I know that guy!
Great figure and awesome Order!
Never had him, always wanted him. I always thought he sounded like a toned down version of Cheech Marin in the movie.
One of the first guys I got that year (Yes I was a bit old for toys at the time) but I never really considered Mutt and Junkyard a real MP and thought the Joes really needed that speciality in thier ranks. Of course he manned the Checkpoint.