 Why were Native Americans called Indians when we are nowhere near India? The answer to that is kind of dumb. Nowadays they're mostly referred to by the much more accurate term of Native Americans, except by the US government they take a little longer to catch up. But you know who tried to stay ahead of the curve? GI Joe. When they tried to make a Native American a symbol of American ruggedness and freedom. Hello everybody hooded Cobra Commander 788 here. This is the show where we review every vintage GI Joe toy from 1982 to 1994. The United States has had a difficult and complicated relationship with its indigenous population. A lot of that history has been quite ugly. There was war and forced migration and overt attempts to eradicate entire cultures. Native American tribal customs have been vilified. The people have been viewed as villains, as childish jokes, as cartoonish mascots, as uneasy allies. Even now as we try to move into a new era, we drag with us the baggage of past generations. And the subject of this week's review must be viewed through that lens to be fully understood. Spirit, GI Joe's Native American tracker from 1984 was very much of his time. He includes a lot of the stereotypes and tropes that were common of that era and before. Is spirit an attempt to honor the Native American troops who served in the US armed forces? Is spirit a caricature that belongs in a bygone era? I don't know if we can answer all those questions but let's take a look at the figure and see what we can learn. HCC788 presents Spirit. This is Spirit, the GI Joe tracker from 1984. This figure was introduced in 1984 and was also available in 1985. It was discontinued for 1986. This is the first version of Spirit in the vintage line. This figure was designed by Ron Rudat for Hasbro. In Canada, he had a different codename. He was called Shaman. There were three later vintage versions of Spirit. Version two from 1982 was from the Slaughter's Marauder's subset. It used the same mold as version one. Version three from 1992 was from the Air Commando's set. It had a new mold and a new look for Spirit. I think the figure was changed to make it look more like Billy from the movie Predator. Version four from 1993 was from the International Action Force Mail Away set. It had the same mold as version three just updated colors. Ron Rudat has said the inspiration for Spirit was the Native American Code Talkers of World War II. The Code Talkers were US soldiers and marines that used their first languages to transmit coded messages. The Native American languages were used by few people and the enemy did not have access to anyone who could decipher them. Code Talkers were used as far back as World War I, but they were used more extensively in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Before World War II, Germany attempted to learn Native American languages in preparation for their use in the war. They failed, but the attempt prompted the US military to use them in the Pacific Theater rather than in Europe. Spirit was inspired by the Code Talkers, but he doesn't look like one. The Code Talkers wore standard uniforms. Spirit does look like a G.I. Joe, though. The team often wore non-standard uniforms. Spirit was not the first Native American in G.I. Joe. That honor goes to Airborne from 1983. Spirit includes an animal companion, an eagle. Starting in 1984, some G.I. Joe figures included animal companions such as Mutt in 1984 had a dog junkyard. Let's take a look at Spirit's accessory and let's start with his primary weapon. There is a variation on these green accessories. Some of them are very slightly darker. The card contents call this an auto arrow launcher. It is in light green. It looks like a rifle with a dart magazine. It looks really cool and it is a well-remember G.I. Joe accessory. It does seem a little like a modernized bow and arrow, which Native Americans were stereotypically depicted as using. I would prefer a regular firearm, but this still has a good look to it. Do be cautious. This light green plastic can become very brittle over time. There is a tan version of this rifle that came with a battle gear accessory pack. Next, let's look at his backpack. The card contents call this an arrow cassette pack. It is in the same light green color as the rifle. The backpack has a pouch and a couple small smoke grenades on one side and it has a couple magazines for the rifle. The dart magazines on the backpack match up pretty well with what's on the rifle and I like that. There's some coordination between accessories. These accessories go together. There is also a tan version of this backpack from a battle gear accessory pack. Next, let's look at Spirit's belt and this belt is not listed on the card contents. It wraps around the figure and it buckles. It can be removed, so let's take it off and take a closer look at it. This belt is made of a soft, flexible plastic with a simple buckle so it can attach to the figure. The belt is green and it has brown pouches on it and it has a red flap in the front and in the back. This seems to be combining military equipment with traditional native garb. This is a special accessory. It was rare to get paint on GI Joe accessories and this has not one but two paint applications. The figure doesn't have a belt sculpted on, so this belt accessory is really needed to complete the look of the figure. Now we get to what may be the best accessory, the eagle. This eagle is in brown plastic. It's very well detailed, very nicely sculpted feathers. There is white paint on the head and on the edges of the wings and on the tail and just above the feet. The feet of the eagle will clip on to the arm of the action figure, so you can hold them that way and that looks really good. This is a separate piece for the feet and that piece is often missing. This is a bald eagle which has long been a symbol of the United States. It was once an endangered species, but the population in North America has recovered and it is no longer considered endangered. The bald eagle has a role in some Native American tribal traditions. Certain tribes are legally allowed to collect feathers for ceremonial use. Although the name for this eagle is not given from other media, we know his name is freedom. Let's look at Spirit's articulation. He had the articulation that was standard for a GI Joe figure by 1984, so he could turn his head from left to right. He could not look up and down. The ball jointed neck was not introduced until 1985. He could lift his arm up at the shoulder and swivel at the shoulder all the way around. He had a hinge at the elbow so he could bend his arm at the elbow about 90 degrees. He had a swivel at the bicep so he could swivel his arm all the way around. This was an o-ring figure, meaning the figure was held together with a rubber o-ring that looped around the inside that allowed him to move the torso a bit. He could move his legs apart about so far. He could bend his leg at the hip about 90 degrees and bend at the knee about 90 degrees. Let's look at the sculpted design and color of Spirit starting with his head. On his head he has a red headband that goes all the way around. He has black hair with long braids on each side. That looks really good and that's a separate piece and that's out of softer plastic so that hair will move a bit. He has a Caucasian skin tone, which is a little odd. Other figures had skin color that made sense for the character, but not this one. Later vintage versions of Spirit maintained this. They all have Caucasian skin tone. Long hair for Native Americans has become an important point of pride. The Indian boarding schools that operated right up to the early 20th century attempted to erase tribal traditions. One way they did that was by forcing male students to cut their hair. Native American soldiers and the U.S. armed forces are still required to receive the usual haircut administered to new recruits. G.I. Joe though allows non-regulation dress and grooming. On his chest he has a red undershirt and a light blue over shirt. Unfortunately this light blue plastic has a tendency to discolor over time, which will give it a slight green tint. That has happened to mine a bit. You can really see it if you compare the front to the back, which still has a very vibrant blue. On his chest he has a pocket and a couple small unpainted grenades. He has a feather and claw necklace. He has a white bone-handled knife in a tan sheath and that sheath has a fringe. He has an unpainted strap that goes up to the left shoulder. The back piece is the same back piece that was used for 1983 dock. It's just in a different color. That same back piece was also used for 1983 and 1984 Duke. Spirit has the same problem as Duke and that is the strap detail from the front of the figure does not continue around to the back. His arms feature light blue sleeves that are rolled up. On the right sleeve there is a patch. It is a red circle with a feather. There has been some speculation about what real unit patch this may be, but I'm not certain about it. There is a variation on this patch. Some spirit action figures have a patch that is smaller. On my other spirit figure, even though the patch is worn a bit, you can see it is smaller than the other. On his left sleeve he has sergeant's chevrons in red, but they are upside down for some reason. His forearms are bare and his hands are bare. He has a small bronze bracelet on his right wrist. He has a wider bronze bracelet on his left wrist. Since the eagle is often clipped to this bracelet, the paint is usually worn off as it is on mine. There's just one little patch of bronze paint left on the inside. His waist piece is in tan plastic. He has a couple pockets in the back, but no belt and minimal detail. His legs feature tan trousers with a fringe that go down the outside of the leg. On the left leg he has a white handled knife with a dark brown sheath and an unpainted strap that goes around the leg. He has dark brown fur lined moccasin boots that are tied off with a bit of rope that is wrapped around the top. Spirit looks more like a stereotypical Indian archetype from a 1950s western than a soldier. My preference would be for him to wear a more combat ready uniform like the Code Talkers from which he drew inspiration. I like the idea of him having his traditional long braided hair though. Taking a step back from personal preferences, this figure is amazing. It has great color and details. It's one of the best looking figures of 1984. I have a modern version of Spirit so we can take a look at a more recent iteration of this character. This is Spirit Iron Knife from 2008. This is the third version of the figure to use that specific name, but the seventh version of Spirit. This is a fully modern figure with updated sculpting and articulation and accessories all inspired by the vintage figure but also quite different as you can see. This figure does have a more realistic skin tone than the vintage figure. That's one update. The dart firing rifle has been updated. Instead of green it is in a tan color and instead of having a pistol grip it's more like a hunting rifle. The dart magazine is removable. The backpack is also inspired by the original butt updated. It has a tan pack with a lot more detail. It has a silver rack and on that silver rack it has some removable dart magazines. The eagle is updated. It's larger. It's in soft plastic so it is flexible. It is now in a base black color and it has a yellow beak and feet. It's okay but I prefer the original to this one. The vintage freedom eagle will not fit on the modern figure without overstraining those feet. The belt with the red flaps and the grenades and the necklace and the knife on the chest are all part of this separate piece. It's not really intended to be removed but you probably could remove it. It's a nice idea but it's all just a bit too chunky. This knife is way up too high. It sticks up over his shoulder. The knife on the chest is not removable but the knife on the leg is removable. As with most modern figures he has a figure stand with his name on it. I like some of the changes on this modern figure. I like the removable magazine for the rifle. I like the backpack but some of the changes don't work for me. I don't like the eagle. The belt and strap piece are just too clunky. Overall I still prefer the vintage figure over the modern. There is another modern spirit figure. Very modern. This is the GI Joe classified series six inch spirit iron knife figure. This was sent to me by Hasbro. I did not pay for this but the timing is perfect so I can include it with this review. This six inch action figure copies a lot of the design elements from the three and three quarter inch figure. I will eventually do a full review on this classified spirit but let's just take a look at it for now. Classified spirit includes his eagle freedom but this eagle has a lot more features than either the vintage or the 25th anniversary eagle. First the feet peg onto the figure with these pegs that go into these holes on the arm so it doesn't just clasp on and so it fits a lot more securely. The backpack has a perch for the eagle so you can also peg the eagle onto the backpack if you want to hold the eagle that way. This eagle is articulated. It can move at the head. It can also move at the wings a bit and it can move at the legs. The legs will move and these wings pop off because it has an alternate set of wings. You can pop off these wings. They are on ball joints and then you can pop on these open wings so you can have the wings in two different positions. You can have the eagle in a flying pose. I would counsel caution with these flying wings and the ball joint because the plastic is a little bit thin just before the ball and that could bend or break so I do have caution with that but I do like that you have a choice. You can have a flying eagle or you can have a resting eagle on the figure's arm or the backpack. The classified figure copies a lot of elements over from the vintage figure so we're not being super creative here but the classified figure fixes some problems the vintage figure had. Classified spirit has a more realistic skin tone. That's very good. The shirt is in a darker color blue that looks really nice. He has a lot more military equipment and I approve of that. I think that's great. The main weapon he comes with is not a copy of his aero launcher. It's a more realistic sniper rifle and I do approve of that. Nice detail on the backpack. The knife on the chest strap is removable and it has some wicked detail. The figure does not have the red cloth panels on the belt and that could have been a problem if they hadn't added additional equipment on the legs which they did. He has a removable pistol on the right leg. On the left leg he has a removable knife. The colors are mostly the same as the vintage figure so he has the dark brown boots but they're not moccasin style boots. They're like modern army boots that looks really good. I think that's a much better choice than the lighter color brown on the 25th anniversary figure. I'm not going to go into too much detail on this figure right now. I will eventually do a full review on it but I just wanted to touch on the highlights. I think this is a worthy update to the vintage spirit figure. Let's look at Spirit's file card. There is a variation on this file card. We will talk about that in a minute. This file card has his factionist G.I. Joe. It has a portrait of Spirit here. This is some excellent artwork and this looks more like a Native American character than the figure. His specialty is tracker. His codename is spirit. His file name is Charlie Iron Knife. His primary military specialty is infantry. Secondary military specialty is social services and this is sort of explained by the text. His birthplace is Taos, New Mexico and his grade is E4. A small coincidence. I was near Taos, New Mexico last week. I was just about an hour's drive away and I could have popped up and seen the place for myself but I didn't because I am the worst G.I. Joe reviewer. Why are you even still watching? This paragraph says, Spirit comes from a family so far below the poverty line they never realized they were poor. This may be a commentary on the very real poverty problem on some Native American reservations. Was a hunting guide through high school. Served in Southeast Asia. That's code for Vietnam. Then as a civilian completed his education. It doesn't say what his education was but the prototype file card suggests it was psychology. Return to the service for reasons inexplicable to anyone but a Native American mystic warrior. Qualified expert M16. M1911A1 autopistol. Remington sniper rifle. The figure could have come with any of those weapons that would have been fine with me. This bottom paragraph has a quote. It says, Charlie is a shaman. A medicine man. A shaman is like a spiritual guide. A shaman has special access to the spirit world. It says he's not a healer or a priest or a witch doctor. There isn't any equivalent in our culture for what he is unless we had shrinks that could actually help people. That's an unnecessary shot at psychiatry. Larry Hama, who wrote these file cards, seemed to have a distrust of the professions and that tends to be my biggest problem with these cards. There is a variant of this file card. Some file cards have a rewritten second paragraph which says, Charlie is a spirit. A medicine man. He's not a healer or a priest or a witch doctor. Spirit's mysterious powers of the mind extend the limits of the most advanced psychiatric procedures known in our culture. I have to assume this is the early file card and it was changed to the other one. The other file card is a bit more elegantly written but the first file card doesn't have the unnecessary shot at psychiatry. Spirit is an example of the magical Native American trope. It is an unfortunate caricature of Native people. It is difficult for a non-Native writer to effectively convey an unfamiliar culture. The Code Talker inspiration is not mentioned on the file card, which is a missed opportunity to connect the character with his lineage. Looking at how Spirit was used in G.I. Joe Media, he appeared extensively in the animated series. His first appearance was in Revenge of Cobra Part 3. In that miniseries, he has a rivalry with the Cobra Ninja Storm Shadow. Snake Eyes was Storm Shadow's rival in the comic book, but the silent character was used less in the animated series. They gave Storm Shadow a rival who could actually speak to him. Spirit has his pet eagle, Freedom. The bird seems to be intelligent and does Spirit's bidding. Spirit made it all the way to the Deke era of the animated series as he appeared in Operation Dragonfire. His Slaughter's Marauder's figure was on the pegs at the time, so he was in the cartoon. The animated series really leaned in on the Native American tropes. In the G.I. Joe comic book series published by Marvel Comics, his first appearance was in issue number 31, where he and Airborne surveilled Snake Eyes in his cabin and intervened when Cobra attacked. In issue number 32, he enlists the aid of an eagle. It is a wild eagle, not a trained bird. In later issues, the eagle is named Freedom and he is a constant companion for Spirit. Spirit had some uses beyond the Native American tropes. He was part of the recon team that infiltrated Cobra Island before the outbreak of the Cobra Civil War. He was present with Mutt when Cobra tried to take over the town of Millville in issue number 100 and again in issue number 140. That story had transformers in it. His final appearance in the Marvel series as far as I can tell was in issue number 145, when he and Mutt had their criminal charges dropped after the events in Millville. Looking at Spirit overall, this is a great figure. It's not just good, it's great. The figure is not flawless. The grenades on the chest are a little undersized and they are unpainted. The strap is also unpainted. Having these details unpainted makes them weaker and less noticeable and these are not minor unpainted details. Even so, the amount of painted details we got is exceptional. The feathers on the chest, the knives, the wristbands, not one but two patched tempos on the arms. Obviously the uniform is not realistic. It looks more like a costume from an old western movie than a military uniform. There are some elements on here that are throwbacks to a time when Native American caricatures were more acceptable. My preference would be for Spirit to look more like the soldier he is. Nonetheless, I have to give credit for how good this figure looks. A lot of effort went into Spirit. The colors go very well together. The red adds some vibrance to the lighter blues and tans but not too much. There's a little dark brown to add some depth. The accessories are pretty good too. The arrow launcher is unique and recognizable. I would prefer that he carry a firearm but it still looks really good and the green adds another dimension to the figure. The backpack matches up very well. The belt is very unusual. It has multiple paint applications and exceptional detail. Let's not forget the animal companion, Freedom, the eagle. The eagle completes the image of Spirit as an American icon. The character as portrayed in media is a mixed bag. Often, he was just a Native American stereotype. His depiction in the comic book series improved a bit as time went on. My feelings about this figure are complicated. My country's history with its indigenous population is dark. Its current relationship with them is complicated. Native Americans have been portrayed as savage villains, then as cartoonish buffoons, then as mystical sidekicks. They are rarely portrayed as fully rounded human beings. G.I. Joe's Spirit doesn't really break free from those old tropes. He can, though, be a foundation for change and improvement. The way we see Spirit in 2022 has to be different from how we saw him in 1984. At least I hope it's different because if it isn't then we haven't grown very much. I hope we have. That was my review of Spirit. I hope you enjoyed it. I've been really trying to get the videos out on this channel, but this month will necessarily have fewer videos because a lot of work is going into next month and Joe Fest is coming up soon. I will see some of you in Augusta, Georgia. If you like this video, please give it a thumbs up on YouTube and consider subscribing to the YouTube channel for more videos like this and share this video with your friends. That's what helps this channel grow. You can find me on the social medias, on the Facebooks, and the Twitters, and I have a website, HCC7AA.com. If you would like to support the channel, consider joining Patreon. That's a great way to do it. You can get some special perks, some early access, and you can even get your name in videos like the names you see scrolling on the screen right now. Thank you very much for watching. I will see you soon at Joe Fest. I will have more G.I. Joe reviews for you. And don't forget, Cobra Convergence. I'll see you then. Until then, remember only G.I. Joe is G.I. Joe.