 Before we get started with this week's video, I wanted to let everyone know I will be doing a Patreon poll. It's been a long time since we've done one. The poll should go up on Monday, March 13th. That's the day after you first see this video. If you would like a vote on what is seen on this channel, please check out Patreon. Hello everybody! HoodedCoverCommander788 here. This is the show where we review every vintage G.I. Joe toy from 1982 to 1994. After looking at the extreme 90s, I'm happy to get back to the 1980s and look at a really good action figure. This is a redo of an older review, but it's one I felt needed an update. In 1986, a new version of Hawk was released. Hawk was the first leader of G.I. Joe. Or the second leader of G.I. Joe, depending on how you look at it. This was the second version of Hawk and the final vintage version. Or the second of six vintage versions, depending on how you count them. You may think of Duke as the original blonde-haired leader of G.I. Joe, but Hawk was the original blonde-haired leader. Or brown-haired, depending on how you look at it. Hawk may be a general, but he has a lot of specific contradictions. HCC788 presents Hawk. This is Hawk, the G.I. Joe Commander from 1986. This figure was introduced in 1986 and was also available in 1987. It was discontinued for 1988. It was later released as a mail away offer in 1991. The figure was offered in the Terror on the Tundra catalog. The mail away figure was the same as the retail release, but there was an accessories and file card variation. This is the second version of Hawk. There are six versions of Hawk in the vintage era, but the version numbers are a little mixed up. Every version of Hawk after 1986 was called General Hawk. And sources start numbering those with 1991 General Hawk as version one. They're all the same character though, so I think they should be numbered as one group. Let's begin at the beginning with Hawk version one from 1982. This figure came with the MMS mobile missile system. This was in the first year of the new G.I. Joe toy line. At that time he was a colonel and the highest ranking officer in G.I. Joe. Although he was G.I. Joe's leader, you wouldn't guess it by looking at him. The figure is very plain, made of reused parts, and it's packaged with a forgettable weapon system. As a kid, I honestly didn't realize this guy was supposed to be the leader. In 1983 we got version 1.5. All the 1982 figures were reissued in 1983 with updated articulation. This was followed up with version 2 from 1986, of course. Colonel Hawk was promoted to General. Something else changed about him too. We'll get to that later. Next we have what I would call Hawk version 3 or General Hawk version 1 from 1991. That's the same year the Malaway figure was offered. This was a radical departure from earlier figures. He's wearing a dome helmeted flight suit with wings, looking like Buzz Lightyear. In 1992 we got what you could call Hawk version 4 or General Hawk version 2. This was from the Talking Battle Commander set. This one leaned back into the military uniform, but he's been promoted again. He is a major general and the very model. This figure looks a bit like the comic book version of General Flag with the sunglasses. Although the uniform looks more realistic, the 90s still had to make it weird with a giant backpack bolted to the figure. This was a sound making gimmick for the Talking Battle Commanders. In 1993 we got Hawk version 5 or General Hawk version 3. So much for the realistic uniform, this figure was a Malaway exclusive. It used the same mold as the 1991 figure, but recolored bright green and yellow. It also had a sonic backpack, so it brings the gimmick from the 1992 figure just in a different form. There were two General Hawk figures in 1993. This is Hawk version 6 or General Hawk version 4. I have good news and bad news. The good news is the colors are better than the 1993 Malaway figure. The bad news is Hawk is now an armor tech figure. The armor tech figures were part of the sub team Star Brigade. They were bulkier than standard figures and had limited articulation. He was a vehicle driver. The figure came with the 1993 armor bot. You see these two figures? They're supposed to be the same guy. The G.I. Joe animated television series had a chain of command. As of season 2, Hawk was the leader of course. Duke was second in command followed by Flint and then Beachhead. The pecking order in G.I. Joe was not based on rank. Sometimes sergeants would be in charge of commissioned officers. I think authority was based on popularity and whether the character had an action figure for sale at the time. Let's look at Hawk's accessories. Starting with his weapon, this pistol. It is small. It is in black plastic. The card contents call this a Walter PPK 9mm. This does not look like a Walter PPK. It would need to be much smaller to be that particular weapon. So what is it? I'm not sure exactly. It could be a Beretta 9mm, but it doesn't exactly look like that either. This is not an original accessory. This is a reissue of the silver pistol that was included with 1985 keelhaul. Next, let's look at the helmet. The helmet is in green plastic. It has goggles and a strap that goes around the back. It has this square in front, and that should have a general star according to the card art. The details on this helmet are excellent. It's a really good looking helmet. But the sides are a bit thick, so it doesn't rest very low on the figure. It rests kind of high on the head and gives Hawk kind of a Prince Valiant look. It doesn't look quite as nice as it could, but the details on the helmet are pretty good. Also, be careful because the helmet can scrape the paint off of the hair. Next, we have the backpack. This backpack is in an olive drab green color, a slightly darker green than the helmet. And it has some very nice details. It has some pouches. It has a radio. It has a couple grenades and a canteen. The card contents call this a field pack. It's a nice accessory. I don't know that Hawk really needs a backpack, but if he's going to have one, this is a good one. There is a variation on the male-away figure. The figure for the male-away Hawk was available in 1991 in the Terror on the Tundra catalog. And there he is right there. The figure itself is the same as the retail release, but there is a different accessory, as you can see in the photo. The male-away figure came with this gold submachine gun. This is exactly the same accessory that was included with the 1991 Cobra Commander figure. They just packed the male-away Hawk with something they had spare at the time. With the accessories out of the way, let's take a look at the articulation on Hawk. Hawk had the articulation that was standard for GI Joe figures by 1986. So he could turn his head from left to right and look up and down. He could swing 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. So he could move at the torso a bit. He could move his legs apart about so far. He could move his leg at the hip about 90 degrees and bend at the knee about 90 degrees. Let's take a look at the sculpt design and color of Hawk starting with his head. His head has brown, wavy hair. He has thick, brown eyebrows. And his left eyebrow is raised. He has kind of a smirk on his face. This is where Hawk version 2 departs from the first version. The 1982 and 1983 figure had blonde hair. In fact, it was bright yellow. The head sculpt for version 2 is far better, but they changed the hair to brown. Later versions had brown hair too. Why the change? By this time, Duke had been introduced. Duke had blonde hair and he was a leader in G.I. Joe. And I guess the designers were worried kids might confuse these two characters. As a kid, I was not a fan of this change. I was a comic book reader and Hawk had blonde hair in the comics. The sudden change to brown hair was jarring. Hawk even kept his blonde hair in the comic. For a while anyway. Looking at his chest, he has exceptional details. He's wearing a brown bomber jacket with a black fur-lined collar. Looks like he has a brown shirt under that. He has stars on his epaulets, one on each side, so he is a brigadier general. Those stars were picked out with gold paint, but that gold paint wears off very easily. It's difficult to find a loose figure that still has the stars painted. If you do find one, be careful because that gold paint will wear off very easily. He has a gold pistol on the left side of the chest. That gold paint is also worn off a bit. As in a black holster, there is a black strap over the left shoulder. And across the chest and over the right shoulder, those straps meet in the back. There's a pocket on the right side of the jacket. And above the pocket, there are two badges with a black background and gold details. The top one appears to be a parachutist badge, and the bottom one appears to be a combat infantry badge. His arms have brown sleeves for that jacket with very nice details that's very well sculpted. On the upper left sleeve, he has a pocket with what looks like a pen in it. That's what I'm assuming it is. He has black elastic cuffs on those sleeves, and his hands are bare. The waistpiece has two black belts. The lower belt slings down to the pistol holster on the right leg. There is a small pouch on the left side of the belt. Both of the belts have a silver belt buckle, and the lower one has a detail that looks like maybe an eagle. This may be the military service mark for the US Army, but it's hard to really tell. It's very small. He also has light green trousers with a dark green camouflage pattern. Really exceptional details, very well sculpted and painted. Looking at the legs, he has light green trousers with a dark green camouflage pattern. He has a pocket on the upper left leg, and on the upper right leg, he has a black pistol holster. It is an empty pistol holster, and it is presumably the holster for the pistol accessory. Unfortunately, back then they didn't have working holsters for the figures. A bit later in the line, we would get some working holsters, like the holster accessory on 1987 Chuckles. It would have been nice to get this on Hawk. That would have been an awesome bonus feature. Finishing up the look at the legs, he has a black knife on the left ankle, and he has black boots. Let's take a look at the file card, and as with the accessories, we have a file card variation. We have the standard retail file card, and we have the mail away file card. The standard retail file card is a file folder shape, and it was printed on the back of the card on which the figure was packaged. You can see some of the artwork from the front of the card there. The mail away file card is rectangular with rounded corners, and it is plain white on the back. The artwork is the same, the G.I. Joe logos are slightly different. The text is almost the same with two very minor exceptions. First, the serial numbers are different, and the mail away file card has disclaimer information printed under the birthplace that is not on the retail file card. His code name is Hawk, he is the G.I. Joe commander. His file name is Clayton M. Abernathy. His primary military specialty is artillery. His secondary military specialty is radar. His birthplace is Denver, Colorado, and his grade is Brigadier General. That is his rank, not his pay grade. His first file card has him as an 06, that's a colonel. He got the promotion, so he would be an 07, Brigadier General. This paragraph says, Hawk was the original field commander of the Joe team before he got his general star and was booted upstairs to honcho the entire G.I. Joe operation. He's a West Point graduate and has a list of special education credits as long as his arm, but he still managed to get the main body of his experience out where it counts on the battlefield. West Point refers to the United States Military Academy at West Point, located at West Point, New York. It trains Cadet to become commissioned officers in the U.S. Army. This bottom paragraph has a quote, it says, Hawk's the type of commander who goes out and gets shot at like everyone else. Troops respect that. They know he won't ask them to do anything he isn't willing to do himself. And that's why they are willing to do anything Hawk tells them. The version one file card provides more background and personality. He comes from a wealthy family. Some of his advanced training and experience is listed. The card also says he is capable of totally selfless acts in support of his teammates. That line would better describe Duke. When you look at the character of Hawk as portrayed in media, I don't think that line fits him very well at all. Looking at how Hawk was used in G.I. Joe media, he has so many appearances, it's impossible to cover them all in one video. I will try to cover the highlights. He was animated for early TV commercials. In those animations, he is shown without his helmet and with blond hair. And he was not animated with the MMS. In the animated television series, Hawk first appeared in season two in Arise Serpentor, Arise Part One. He was the new leader of G.I. Joe, but he was introduced as if he had been around since the beginning. In the animated series, Duke was the first leader of G.I. Joe. That episode began the Serpentor storyline, which also introduced Sargent Slaughter. The Joes had become lazy and out of shape, so the Sarge was brought into restore discipline. Sargent Slaughter requires Hawk to participate in exercises. Yes, a Sargent is giving orders to a general. You know, as you do. In the 1987 animated movie, Hawk's main role is to punish Lieutenant Falcon for dereliction of duty. He sends Falcon for remedial training with Sargent Slaughter. I am detecting a theme. Hawk carried over to the Deak era of the animated series. He appeared in a few episodes and even appeared in his 1992 Talking Battle Commander's uniform. The Deak era of the animated series was a little sillier than the Sunbow series. One of the strangest episodes to feature Hawk was A is for Android. In that episode, Cobra replaces Hawk with an Android duplicate. Destro gives Cobra Commander the Android as an early birthday present. Hawk starts the episode by driving a kid home from G.I. Joe headquarters. The kid can't read and is about 10 years old, but he wants to be a Joe. Hawk gives the kid a Swiss army harmonica. Then Cobra attacks. Hawk gives the kid a jetpack. This is all actually in the episode. I'm not making this up. Cobra captures Hawk. Hawk fights back for precisely three seconds. Then the Android takes his place. The Android assembles the troops and tells jokes. Really bad jokes. The kid gets suspicious when Hawk doesn't remember that the harmonica can open a soda bottle. Why does an Android need to drink a soda anyway? Android Hawk orders the Joe's to dismantle the security system for the headquarters. Cobra attacks and Android Hawk gives really bad orders so they do a poor job of defending the base. The kid finds the Cobra base where Hawk is being held prisoner and infiltrates it by just saying he wants to join Cobra. Hawk is in prison, but he still has his grenades. They are not going to update the animation model just for this, so the grenades stay on. After the kid helps Hawk escape, they fly back to the G.I. Joe base in a Cobra liquidator. We get a cliche scene where the doubles accuse each other of being the fake. Twice. That happens twice. This is so dumb. I guess they assumed kids were total morons. In the comic book series published by Marvel Comics, Hawk first appeared in issue number one and most of the early issues. He was the field commander of G.I. Joe and General Flag was the overall commander. When General Flag died in issue number 19, Hawk took over his role. He was introduced in issue number 22 and became the de facto field leader of the team. Hawk was promoted from Colonel to Brigadier General in issue number 45. Somehow the increase in rank resulted in him returning to the field. He got his new uniform in issue number 46 and returned to combat duty. He led the assault on the Cobra controlled town of Springfield in issues number 49 and 50. Hawk was always the leader of the G.I. Joe team, but he didn't necessarily lead by example. The comic book has multiple instances of Hawk lying to his troops and manipulating them into doing things they otherwise would not do. In one example, he manipulates Ripcord into parachuting onto Cobra Island, which would have been illegal if Hawk had ordered it. Duke was the more sympathetic character and led from the front. He was one of the guys. Duke may have been gruff, but at least he was honest and honorable. In the comic book there's a clandestine cabal of generals called the jugglers who exercised political control over G.I. Joe and were depicted as being underhanded and duplicitous. Honestly, Hawk really isn't much better. It's a cynical view of military authority. It's a much more nuanced and mature character than the yes, Sergeant Slaughter, I will go jogging with the troops because you told me to Hawk from the cartoon. Because Hawk was in the comic book from the beginning, he had blonde hair just like the action figure. When he was updated to the version 2 uniform, he still had blonde hair even though the action figure had brown hair. His look remained consistent until it didn't. By issue number 128, he had brown hair to match later versions of the action figure. Looking at Hawk, overall, this is a huge improvement over the first version. The details are excellent. The brown jacket and camouflage are very military looking. The face has some character unlike the very plain face of version 1. The accessories look good, especially the pistol. The helmet sits a little too high on the figure's head but the details on the helmet are great. Hawk doesn't necessarily need a backpack but the backpack still looks good. The pistol is a reissue of Keele Hall Silver pistol so it is not unique but recoloring it black makes it work very well with the colors on this figure. The patches on the jacket, the general star, the gold pistol on the chest and the black holsters complete the loadout and it is magnificent. There's a lot to admire about this design and sculpt. They really went all out with this one. This is the leader of GI Joe. They couldn't skimp on the details. The figure has a lot of paint applications, a lot of colors. It must have been an expensive figure to produce but it was worth it. The change from blonde hair to brown hair used to really bother me but I don't mind so much anymore. This figure would not have looked right with blonde hair. The brown goes better with the other colors on the figure. I don't know what in-universe reason you want to give for this but from a design perspective it works. The character of Hawk is a bit more complicated. In the animated series he is a stoic father figure. Duke is still the more interesting and energetic leader. In the comic book he's not really a good guy. He frequently lies, manipulates and mistreats the people under his command. Is he a good guy? He is fighting against the bad guys so that's something. That doesn't necessarily make him good though. That was my redo review of Hawk. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did please give this video a thumbs up on YouTube, subscribe to the YouTube channel and share this video with your friends. You can find me on social media, on Facebook and Twitter and I have a website, HTC788.com. If you would like to support the channel, Patreon is a great way to do it. You can get some special perks like the Patreon poll that's about to go up this week and you can get your name in videos like the names you see scrolling on the screen right now. I'll be back soon with another vintage G.I. Joe Toy Review until then remember only G.I. Joe is G.I. Joe. Morris Toad. Get it? Morris Toad. Since when did General Hawk go in for stupid jokes?