 It's been a long time since I've done a review video. I admit I'm out of practice. It may take some time for me to get back into the routine of making videos. Until then, there may be a few minor mistakes. In the meantime, welcome back to the show! Hello everybody hooded Cobra Commander 788 here. I'm back after a long hiatus, and I'm having to relearn how to do review videos. You know, you think you'll never forget until you step away from it for a while, and then you can't remember which way the camera goes. Stalker is my favorite G.I. Joe character. That's something I've said many times before. My favorite version of Stalker is the first version, or at least version 1.5 with the swivel arms. There's another very popular version of Stalker that deserves some attention. I'm talking about Stalker version 2, the Tundra Ranger. Yes, I know the name Stalker is awkward. I've already addressed that in past videos. Hasbro seems to have embraced the name since they released a 6 inch action figure with the same codename. Does this figure live up to the iconic character it represents? Let's find out. HCC788 presents Stalker. This is Stalker. G.I. Joe's Tundra Ranger from 1989. This figure was first available in 1989. It was also available in 1990. It was discontinued for 1991. This is the second version of Stalker. There are five versions of Stalker in the vintage era, plus one half version. Version 1 of Stalker was released in 1982 as part of the first wave of new G.I. Joe action figures introduced that year. Version 1.5 of Stalker was released in 1983. It had updated articulation and other minor changes. All of the 1982 figures were released in 1983 with these minor updates. Then, of course, version 2 was released in 1989. That's the subject of this review. Version 3 was released in 1992 as part of the Talking Battle Commandos with this oversized backpack that had an electronic voice gimmick. Version 4 was released in 1993 as part of the Arctic Battle Commandos mail away set. It used the same mold as version 2, but with updated colors. Finally, version 5 was released in 1994 as part of the Battle Core set. 1994 was the final year of the vintage G.I. Joe toy line. Thus, this was the final vintage version of Stalker. 1989 was the year to release new versions of 1982 characters. Also that year, they released Rock and Roll version 2 and Snake Eyes version 3. Stalker was G.I. Joe's first Ranger, updated to Tundra Ranger for version 2. Version 1 was outfitted for jungle combat. Version 2 is equipped for a cold weather environment. As a Ranger, Stalker would be a graduate of the U.S. Army Ranger School. The U.S. Army Ranger School was established in the 1950s. In the early 1960s during the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army deployed long-range reconnaissance patrol units in Vietnam. In 1969, those units were designated as Rangers. We know a lot about Stalker's history from his appearances in the comic book and his file cards. During his service in Vietnam, he was on a long-term reconnaissance patrol unit. That's where he met Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. Snake Eyes was G.I. Joe's commando in 1982. Storm Shadow was Cobra's ninja in 1984, but he switched to the G.I. Joe side by 1988. G.I. Joe had some other notable Rangers, including 1982 Scarlet, 1985 Flint, 1986 Beachhead, and 1988 Repeater. Larry Hama, the writer of the G.I. Joe comic book, has implied that the character of Stalker was based on his friend and colleague Ed Davis. Davis was an artist and a member of Neil Adams' Crusty Bunkers at Continuity Studios. Some elements of Ed Davis' background, such as his service in Vietnam as part of a long-range reconnaissance patrol team, was made part of Stalker's backstory. Hama has long stated that he based Stalker on a real person, but only recently hinted at who that real person may be. This version of Stalker is denoted as the Tundra Ranger. The Tundra is a biome with limited tree growth due to frigid temperatures. This Stalker is equipped with cold weather gear and colors that would be appropriate for that environment. Let's take a look at Stalker's accessories and let's start with the least interesting one, this mask. This mask is made out of white, somewhat flexible plastic. It fits over the figure's head. Normally I would warn about the accessory scraping the paint off of the head, but I don't think that's very likely because I don't think this mask was used by anyone ever. Now let's look at Stalker's primary weapon, what the file card simply calls a rifle. The rifle is made of white plastic. It's not exactly based on a real-world weapon, but it has some pretty good details for a fictional rifle. It has a scope and either a collapsible or folding stock. It fits well in the figure's hand without stretching the thumb. Next let's look at his knife. The knife is in light gray plastic. It has this cool kind of barbed looking blade. It's a bit oversized for the figure, but G.I. Joe Knives tended to be. The next accessory we're going to look at is not so much an accessory, it is a small vehicle and that is the kayak. This kayak is made of four parts or five if you consider the hull to be a separate piece, but it comes packaged as the kayak itself, the machine gun that fits on top, this support arm, and the counterbalance which the card contents call a backpack, and it does kind of work that way. Separate from the kayak is this paddle in white plastic. This is useful if Stalker ever finds himself up Sh** Creek. You can place the paddle in the figure's hand, but I would recommend just putting the thin part into the figure's hand rather than this thicker center part. Also the paddle itself feels like it could be a little brittle, so be careful not to break it. The kayak is a very large piece to come with a carded figure. It is in white plastic, it keeps with the tundra theme. It has some technical detail and panel lines on it. It has a couple sculpted in air tanks here. This support arm pegs to the bottom of the kayak and can be removed, and the counterbalance pegs onto the arm. The machine gun on top of the kayak is in brown plastic. It pegs onto the top and it can swivel on that peg. It can also be removed. The machine gun is very well sculpted. It even has some ammunition on the side. It will fit in the figure's hand, and there's a handle on the top for carrying. The counterbalance has a radio molded on it. That's a nice detail and a useful piece of equipment on what would otherwise be a plain extra piece of the kayak. Both the kayak and the counterbalance peg onto the support arm with back pegs, which means either of these can be pegged onto the back of the figure. The counterbalance can peg onto stalker like a backpack, and now he sort of has a backpack with a radio. The kayak can also peg onto the back of the figure, so he can carry it that way, but it's a little comical because it doubles the height of the figure. While that certainly is a display option, a better display option would be to simply put the figure in the kayak. He fits quite well. Can it float? Well, not... No, no, not very well. This is extraordinary. This is a single-carded figure that comes with a small vehicle. It's only because of the overall success of the G.I. Joe toy line that we could get something like this. Let's take a look at Stalker's articulation. He had the articulation that was standard for G.I. Joe figures by 1989, 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 bend his leg at the hip about 90 degrees and bend at the knee about 90 degrees. Let's take a look at Stalker's sculpted design and color, starting with his head. And on his head, he has similar facial features to version one, but instead of the green beret, he has a camouflage snow cap. This makes sense given the environment-specific outfit. On his chest, he has a white jacket with a high collar. The jacket has some sculpted seams on it that looks really good. He has some unpainted shoulder straps. I would prefer those to be painted in. On the right side of the jacket, he has these yellow objects, which may be bullets. Then on the left side, he has these red objects. It's hard to tell what that is, and that's not featured in the artwork. Under the white jacket, he's wearing a light green scarf, almost a lime green. And under that, he's wearing a camouflage uniform shirt that's not too dissimilar from the version one uniform. It looks like he's wearing almost like his version one uniform with the jacket over it. His arms feature white jacket sleeves, and he's wearing light green gloves, long gloves that cover part of his forearms, and the gloves have a crisscross pattern on them. On his waist piece, he has light green trousers with some sculpted on pockets and a dark green belt. Not a lot of detail on that belt. And a strap on the right side that goes down to the pouch on his right leg. On his legs, he has light green trousers. And on his right leg, he has a dark green pouch strapped to his leg. The pouch looks like an ammunition pouch with some grenades on the sides. This is very similar to the detail that's on the chest of rock and roll version two. On the legs, we have what looks at first like a brown camouflage pattern. But if you look closer at it, it kind of splotches up from underneath. So instead of camouflage, this looks like mud splatter. He has brown boot covers over brown boots. At least I think they're brown. They could just be covered with mud. But if that's mud on the boots, the mud did not get on the black knife that's strapped to the left ankle. The knife is handle side down, which seems like it would not be easy for access. As mentioned, the 1993 Arctic Commandos version four uses the same mold as version two with different colors. It looks pretty good. It keeps the same mud splotch pattern, but with a different shade of brown. A tundra would be a combination of snow, rock and grassy plains. Stalker's uniform fits that kind of terrain. He would be well camouflaged for the tundra, depending on the time of year. Let's take a look at Stalker's file card. The file card has his faction as GI Joe. It has a portrait of Stalker here. Some pretty good artwork. His code name is Stalker. He is the tundra ranger. Let's take a look at Stalker's file card. The file card has his faction as GI Joe. It has a portrait of Stalker here. Some pretty good artwork. His code name is Stalker. He is the tundra ranger. His file name is Lonzo R. Wilkinson. His primary military specialty is infantry. Secondary military specialty is medic slash interpreter. His birthplace is Detroit, Michigan, and his grade is E7. This is all the same as the version one file card, except for the grade. He was an E5. He is now an E7. This first paragraph says, one of the original members of the GI Joe team, Stalker served in the same LRRP unit with Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow in Southeast Asia. The asterisk says LRRP stands for Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol. Southeast Asia basically means Vietnam. This first sentence sums up Stalker's comic book continuity. He is a graduate of the Army Languages School in Monterey, the intelligent school at Fort Hollowbird, and the Ranger School at Fort Benning. Stalker is a qualified jump instructor and a qualified expert in all NATO and Warsaw packed small arms. Army Languages School refers to the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, California. Intelligence School refers to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center formerly at Fort Hollowbird, Maryland. It's no longer there. It was moved to Arizona in 1971. If Stalker attended at Fort Hollowbird, it must have been very early in his career. The U.S. Army Ranger School is at Fort Benning in Georgia. The special training on this file card does track with what's mentioned on the version one file card, but this is much more specific on where Stalker got his training. This bottom paragraph says pick a place where nobody in his right mind wants to fight and you can bet your bottom dollar you're going to have to slog in there and blast into a firefight someday. The tundras of the world are flat, desolate, and cold in the nastiest, wettest way. If you want a foxhole, you have to scratch it out of permafrost inch by inch. Having to fight in the tundra zaps the strength out of the average soldier and dulls his spirit. All it does to Stalker is make him meaner than he is already. This is a nice write up and I like how it describes the difficulty of fighting in the tundra. It does not mention that he was a warlord of a large urban street gang prior to enlistment as the version one file card does, but that's okay. Stalker has moved beyond that. Looking at how Stalker was used in G.I. Joe Media in the cartoon, he first appeared in the real American hero mini series part one in 1983. He had a few appearances in the animated series, but he was not nearly as prominent as he was in the comic book series. He was in the deke era of the animated series in his version two uniform, but he was rarely more than a background character. In the comic book series published by Marvel Comics, he first appeared in issue number one in 1982. He was a main character in the series. He served with snake eyes and storm shadow in Vietnam on a long range reconnaissance patrol team. He brought snake eyes onto the G.I. Joe team. He was a mission leader on numerous occasions. Stalker was so prominent, it's not possible to cover all of his appearances in one video. Here are some highlights. He was team leader on many occasions, such as the mission to Afghanistan in issues number six and seven. He was badly wounded on a mission to rescue snake eyes in issue number 55. He was captured and held prisoner after the failed mission to the fictional country of Borovia in issue number 61. He had fewer appearances as the series went on to make room for new characters. He was still an important part of the series all the way through the run. He appeared in his version two uniform in issue number 92. In that issue, he was driving the warthog even though that vehicle came with a sergeant slaughter action figure. He was wearing his cold weather gear even though he was not in the tundra. Quite the opposite. He was in a hot climate South American country. He appeared in a few later issues in his version two uniform rarely in an environment that actually required his tundra equipment. In issues number 111 and 112, he's on a desert mission wearing his version two uniform. This is a case of the comic artwork sticking with the action figure design even when it doesn't fit with the story. We've seen that with torpedo wearing his wetsuit when fighting indoors, snow job wearing his snow gear on a boat, and gung-ho going shirtless in the snow. Looking at Stalker version two overall, Stalker is my favorite G.I. Joe character. I thought the 1982 figure with the camouflage looked really cool. When I read the comic books, I quickly latched on to him as my favorite G.I. Joe team leader. I would trust Stalker more than any other Joe to lead a mission and get the job done. More than Duke, more than Hawk. The version one figure is iconic. The version two figure is better in almost every objective, measurable way. The sculpting is sharper, it has more details, it has more paint. It's a beautiful action figure. This is something we should have seen more often. Classic characters with new uniforms for different environments. That way we could send our favorite guys on different missions. Despite this, nothing can displace the first version of Stalker as my favorite version. There's something about his battle-ready uniform that appeals to me. It's simple but effective. There's one area where Stalker version two excels above the first version and above most action figures, and that is the accessories. There are so many of them, maybe too many. One of the accessories is not really an accessory, it's a small vehicle. 1989 Stalker was not a deluxe figure like Zartan or Serpentor, where the figure was packaged with a small vehicle to justify a higher price point. Stalker was a carded figure. It was priced like other carded figures. It was put on the pegs with other carded figures, but his card had a big boat glued to it. The accessories are nothing short of amazing. Since he's supposed to operate in a snowy environment, it makes sense that you would have white accessories. It would have been nice to get an update of the classic submachine gun, but his new rifle will do. One of my pet peeves when a figure comes with numerous accessories is that sometimes can't hold them all, but Stalker can hold all of his accessories, both in the boat and when the boat is on his back. It looks a little silly to put the boat on his back, but it still works. We've talked about 1989 quite a bit. It was an intriguing year for G.I. Joe. It might be considered a course correction for the line. In 1987 and 1988, G.I. Joe got some space guys and a samurai. 1989 was still pretty colorful, but there were no fewer than six new versions of earlier action figures. They were trying to get back to the roots. That was my belated review of Stalker version two. Maybe not my favorite version of my favorite character, but still a good one. If you liked this video, please consider giving it a thumbs up on YouTube, subscribing to the YouTube channel, and sharing this video with your friends. I'd like to say a special thank you to my friends on Patreon whose support makes these videos possible. They've been very patient through my hiatus, and their support cannot be understated. I am eternally grateful. I'll be back soon with another vintage G.I. Joe Twitter review. That's right. I've already started it, and hopefully this one won't take quite as long. I'll see you then. And until then, remember only G.I. Joe is G.I. Joe.