Gallery 3 — Plastic Battles

Back cover:

Here you find a complete list of all G.I. Joe and Cobra action figures and vehicles. You can have exciting adventures with them. Are there any action figures or vehicles you don’t yet have? Then take a quick look in your local toy store. Become a member of the G.I. Joe Club now. It will cost you absolutely nothing and furthermore you can then profit from all fun and extra advantageous offers.

Front cover:

New Heroes for Exciting Adventures

Headline:

From his bunker Voltar encourages his troops: “TOMORROW WE WILL LET THE WORLD TREMBLE”

Body Copy:

Never before demonstrated in the Cobra base! Within barely 10 minutes everyone was standing ready. The T.A.R.G.A.T.’s with their trans-atmospheric bio system, the Annihilators, equipped with turbine helicopter packs, and Night-Viper with his helmet that houses a directional sound detector. The Alley-Vipers and Toxo- Viper, H.E.A.T. Viper, Frag-Viper and Gnawgahyde are also present at the roll call.

Thanks to an iron discipline, leader Voltar, the most poisonous of all Cobras, can count on his men at all times. Surrounded by his three loyal lieutenants, he makes his devilish plan clear to his terrifying troops: to conquer the world. He wants there to be just one law in the world: that of the Cobras!

Notes:

– In this story, the Frag-Viper, Night-Viper and H.E.A.T. Viper are individuals, acting as Voltar’s lieutenants. Probably because of a lack of a proper Cobra hierarchy (that was still available on the toy store shelves) at that time.

Headline:

The G.I. Joe headquarters is in an uproar: WILL THEY SAVE THE WORLD FROM DOOM?

Body copy:

“Mutt, where are those explosives? Storm Shadow, don’t forget your bow and arrow. Deep Six, focus on the undersea phone cables.”

The tension is palpable in G.I. Joe headquarters. The G.I. Joes are on to the nefarious plans of the Cobras and are preparing to strike back. They are prepared to go to the extreme. On land, at sea or in the air.

The stakes are insanely high, but the G.I. Joes are equipped with a hefty dose of courage and cleverness. With that they should be able to make it! “Stalker, Recoil, Low-Light and Dodger, come on, we are going to explore the terrain!”

Notes:

– Mutt’s Dutch code name ‘Kwibus’ means ‘eccentric’or ‘odd’. ‘Een rare kwibus’ would translate into ‘an odd character’.

– Interestingly, Deep Six’s code name was changed from Dolfijn (dolphin, 1984 version with the SHARC) to Kikvors (frog). A ‘kikvorsman’ in Dutch means a person wearing a special diver’s suit, to be able to perform certain tasks (like maintenance) under water. So, Kikvors seems appropriate here.

Headline:

The Cobras are setting a new trap: AMBUSH IN THE ICE

Body copy:

Once the Cobras decided to take over the world, they just don’t think about the weather or the climate anymore. Whether it is the energetic opposition of the G.I. Joes or freezing cold, nothing stops them. See: at minus 20 degrees Celsius, in the middle of Alaska, a swarm Annihilators swoops down on Stalker. It looks like a small army of locusts! Stalker is stuck. Enormous blocks of ice block his way.

Luckily, Windchill is also there. He comes rushing in his Arctic Blast, which can handle any terrain with its giant tires. Will he be able to destroy the Annihilators with his coaxial double cannon and free Stalker?

Headline:

RED ALERT: the G.I. Joes are ready to respond to the smallest sign

Body copy:

Disaster! The Cobras are advancing from all sides at once. “Action!”, Recoil commands. Behind the buttons of the Thunderclap, Long Range activates his target seeking infrared projector with skilled speed and readies his three cruise missiles with delayed ignition.

Thunderclap is a vehicle with triple force: a 170 degrees rotating gun turret, a tracked vehicle equipped with 3 cruise missiles and a six wheeled trailer with machine gun. Backblast is in the cockpit of the Radar Rat, at the controls of his three semi-active radar missiles. Wherever the vile Cobras may come from, the G.I. Joes are ready to strike back. Who on earth would like to be in the shoes of a Cobra in such a case?

Headline:

DANGER: operation of destruction

Body copy:

Too late! At nightfall a Toxo-Viper commando, under the command of Night-Viper, has penetrated G.I. Joe’s hyper perfected radar station. The computers and experimental programs are ion great danger. “Everything must be destroyed!” is the word.

But then you don’t know the perseverance and the lightning-fast responsiveness of the G.I. Joes. “Shhh, keep it down”, Low-Light hisses, who can see clearer in the dark than in daylight. “I will grab the back 3”, Shockwave whispers. Recoil, silent and decisive as always, and Mutt, with his especially anti-Cobra trained dog, are ready for battle.

Headline:

The G.I. Joes will not abide by the Cobra threat: WE DEFEND THE BRIDGE UNTIL THE BITTER END

Body copy:

Horrible! The Cobras, on a rampage, supported by 2 powerful war machines, have targeted the bridge that provides them with a clear path to the G.I. Joe base.

“If those devilish Cobras pocket the bridge, we are done for!”, shouts Downtown. He is already in his armored vehicle, the formidable Pulverizer, and aims his power cannon. This will come in handy because H.E.A.T. Viper is ready in his Devastator to bombard the G.I. Joe stand with his double barrel machine gun.

From the impressive BUGG Secto-Viper gives orders to the Cobra unit in the BUGG’s detachable spherical submarine. The dangerous BUGG with its two removable jet skis feels at home on the swampiest terrains. “The G.I. Joes’ final hour is here!” H.E.A.T. Viper chuckles. Luckily the G.I. Joes have deployed their latest war gadget: the Raider. Hot-Seat, behind his double laser cannon, already has the filthy Cobras targeted in the infrared gun sight. Who will emerge victorious from the battle for the bridge?

Headline:

HORROR: the Cobras are preparing to ruin an undersea explosives test

Body copy:

“Nothing to report Muskrat? OK, Lightfoot, give the dynamite to Deep Six. We don’t have a second to lose.” Spearhead, with his loyal lynx Max by his side, gives the final orders for an unprecedented underwater test with explosives.

Deep Six, the guy who works below sea level, takes a dive to adjust the explosives 3 meters under water. But what the G.I. Joes don’t yet know, is that they are being carefully watched. H.E.A.T. Viper and Frag-Viper, Cobra specialists in pyrotechnics and everything related, have concealed themselves and are hatching a relentless offensive. If Muskrat doesn’t see them coming, the G.I. Joes may pay dearly for it!

Notes:

– The BUGG is called Nautilus here, as a reference to Jules Verne’s classic novel ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas’, in which captain Nemo’s submarine has the same name.

Headline:

CONFIDENTIAL: our special mission discovers an ultra-secret Cobra base

Body copy:

During an extraordinary reconnaissance mission, Scoop and Rock & Roll, with 30 kilograms of video equipment and a hefty dose of agility, invaded a secret Cobra base.

You’d be amazed how much there is to see! Right in front of them an overwhelming Cobra artillery is set up. Cobra Razorbacks with their armor plates, steel armament and 360 degrees rotating, bulletproof gun turret. A bunch of Cobra H.I.S.S. tanks with their ultra-laser machine gun.

All this is being closely guarded by the Annihilators, a sort of hybrid man and helicopter, who go off on anything that moves. Image and sound specialist Scoop shoots razor sharp photos, on which every centimeter of the secret base is being mercilessly recorded. Headquarters can be pleased!

Notes:

– The Iron Grenadiers were not released as a sub team in Europe, but as part of the Cobra troops.

– The H.I.S.S. II was released as H.I.S.S. in Europe, since the original 1983 H.I.S.S. was never released. So, the 1989 version is actually the first, which would make the ‘mark II’ confusing.

Headline:

ALARM in the stratosphere: a swarm of T.A.R.G.A.T.s is throwing itself on the Crusader

Body copy:

There is definitely a problem in the stratosphere. The Crusader, G.I. Joe’s space shuttle, is being bombarded by a small army of human meteor stones. The T.A.R.G.A.T.s are a formidable Cobra combat unit. They possess the speed of a missile, a special trans-atmospheric suit and a ceramic heat shield.

But Countdown can’t be kept down long. He is an astronaut at NASA and feels better at home in space than on earth. If things get out of control, he will just jump into his one-seater reconnaissance jet with anti-radar reflection, attacks the T.A.R.G.A.T.s in the back, and eliminates them with his 20 mm. cannon.

Headline:

Because of the concentration AT THE TRAINING THE G.I. JOES DON’T NOTICE THEY ARE SURROUNDED

Body copy:

In the gym, with colors inspired by the land of the rising sun, 3 experts in the martial arts are fully focused. Storm Shadow, a genuine Ninja, who used to be on Cobra’s side, shows a new hold to Budo. Budo is from a real Samurai family. Snake-Eyes practices with them as well. He is a black belt in twelve types of combat sports. They are unaware of any danger.

One floor below the filthy Alley-Vipers, in secret, have penetrated the building with a devilish ruse. Firearms and betrayal, that’s the Alley-Vipers’ way of letting off steam. They blindly obey Gnawgahyde’s commands, who is accompanied by his inseparable wild boar. Gnawgahyde, a mercenary in Cobra’s service, is known for his unenjoyable personality, and his high stakes in battle. It is far from certain if Budo, Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes will be able to save their hide!

Headline:

UNBELIEVABLE: to escape the Cobra’s, Dogfight flies inches from the canyon walls

Body copy:

Almost unimaginable! Dogfight, who normally already is not afraid of a dangerous mission, outdoes himself. He is being chased at high speed by two dreadful Cobra F.A.N.G. II’s. quickly Dogfight dives into a lethal chasm. His Mudfighter is flying just inches from the rock wall.

Luckily, he is protected by his anti-laser shield. Completely at ease he switches on the impact resistant anti- aircraft guns. When leaving the canyon, the Cobra F.A.N.G. II’s just may be able to intercept the Mudfighter and Dogfight with their long-distance pulse cannon? It will be a flight to the death!

Headline:

DEE-JAY TO HEADQUARTERS: “Cobras too numerous. We must retreat. Over”

Body copy:

“Hurry up Dee-Jay, it’s getting too dangerous here!” Charbroil, the flamethrower king, can’t go on any longer. Dee-Jay makes an emergency radio call. The other G.I. Joe’s spend their last ammo. Ominously, Darklon looms up in his Evader. His removable Eliminator machine gun is rattling mercilessly.

The Cobra H.I.S.S. II, with its impenetrable steel exoskeletons, never lets itself be thrown off balance. Despite their rigorous training it’s just not possible anymore to win for Charbroil, Dee-Jay and Spirit, the renowned native American who can smell a Cobra from 50 kilometers distance.

Notes:

– Interestingly, the Evader is named after its driver in the Dutch release, namely Darklon. The Dutch code name Gladjanus would translate into Slick or Smoothie.

– Politically correct would be native American instead of Indian. In Dutch, there is still no other word for it though.

Headline:

Six intrepid heroes risk it all to defend freedom. Who are they?

Subline (below body copy):

SKY PATROL: a new race of heroes from heaven

Body copy:

Magnificent! Six heroes are, like silver bullets, popping up immediately from the sky to reinforce G.I. Joe’s ranks. If this new aerial squadron is as strong as they are beautiful, the Cobras had better say their prayers!

Thanks to their silver-colored parachutes they are able to infiltrate the enemy encampment, lure the Cobras into a trap, save human lives, in short, they can handle the most impossible missions. They have courage and daring in abundance.

Their first target: the Pacific Atol. “Go ahead, Static Line. Come on, Airwave. Drop Zone, go for it.” Skydive’s commands leave nothing to be desired when it comes to clarity.

Headline:

SILENCE: “Altitude, switch off all engines. The Cobras can’t be far away.”

Body copy:

Danger! The Sky Raven has detected Cobras nearby thanks to its contour line with radar reflection.

“Switch off all engines,” Airwave orders. “Let’s not attract any attention to ourselves,” Altitude agrees. Static Line cautiously switches off the engine of his Sky Havoc and brings his 30 mm. high-pressure cannons in readiness. Should the Cobras surprise attack, he just needs to press one button.

Now just beware that the Sky Raven doesn’t land! Then the Cobras would know immediately where Sky Patrol set up camp.

Headline:

NO ENEMY IN SIGHT: Sky Raven can land safely

Body copy:

False alarm! There is no sign of Cobra anywhere nearby. Airwave, Skydive and Altitude are now absolutely certain.

Sigh! The Sky Raven can be touched down in complete safety. Everything is OK on the onboard instrument panel. The visibility is perfect.

The Sky Hawk, for its part, never has any trouble with the landing area. For its shock-absorbing titanium landing sled even the roughest surface is as smooth as a tabletop. And whether the pilot operates the side panel for course corrections or the flank gun, he is safe in his advanced cockpit with bulletproof windows.

1991 G.I. Joe Benelux Catalog

PLASTIC BATTLES