G.I. Joe Vs. Cobra - Overview

Overview

The series represented the first major relaunch of the G.I. Joe franchise since 1996’s G.I. Joe Extreme. Story and theme-wise, it was a continuation of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series. G.I. Joe vs. Cobra was preceded by a limited run Toys R Us exclusive line that made use of previous molds for production of G.I. Joe action figures in 1997 and 1998, as well as the 2000-2001 "Real American Hero Collection" 2-packs, which were available at mass retail.

Despite having no major G.I. Joe toy releases, Devil’s Due Publishing managed to acquire the license to produce new G.I. Joe comic books. The new comics’ success and the media attention it spawned fueled renewed interest in G.I. Joe, and led to the production of a new line of toys featuring both old and new characters. New sculptures and body architecture were utilized for the line. Collectors/fans do not usually refer to new-sculpt figures as "Real American Hero" or "RAH" figures, in order to differentiate them from the older method of construction used during the 1980s and 90s.

While Hasbro was able to reclaim the copyright to many of the classic characters, many had to be renamed because of failure to renew copyright claim, or the name had become too common for many characters; e.g. Hawk became General Tomahawk/Abernathy, Clutch was renamed Double Clutch, and Scarlett was modified to Agent Scarlett.

The G.I. Joe vs. Cobra line ran for three years, before being phased out and replaced with the successor line G.I. Joe: Sigma 6. In that time, it was supported by the new comic series and two direct-to-video CGI animated movies. It was also supplemented by several Toys R Us and convention exclusives. Each year of the line’s release centered on a different theme on the G.I. Joe/Cobra conflict. During the new sculpt era, Hasbro launched G.I. Joe. com that has has G. I vs. Cobra games.