 Hey quick impression for you. Guess who I am. Hello. I just made my first appearance. Oops. I'm captured. Oh, I'm free again Oops, I'm captured again. I'm dead. I'm alive and I'm a ninja. I'm dead Who am I did you guess firefly? Well, you saw the thumbnail and the title of the video you cheated Hello, everybody hooded Cobra Commander 788 here This is the show where we review every vintage GI Joe toy from 1982 to 1994 After lingering in the 90s for a while, it's time for us to get back to the good old-fashioned red-blooded 80s GI Joe This is a redo of an old video I have reviewed firefly before but that was a very old video and it should be redone Firefly was a boring character in the 80s. The figure was promising, but very little was done with him He was mostly forgotten until he was re-released in the 90s. Then he wasn't boring at all He was interesting in all the worst ways. Is firefly a mysterious saboteur or a non-mysterious brightly colored ninja Yes, the answer is yes Let's take a look at the character that 80s GI Joe fans and 90s GI Joe fans remember very differently HCC 788 presents firefly This is firefly Cobra's saboteur from 1984 This figure was introduced in 1984 and was also available in 1985. It was discontinued for 1986 It was designed by Ron Rudat for Hasbro There were two other versions of firefly released in the vintage era version 2 was released in 1992 and version 3 was released in 1993 I've already reviewed those figures in the 90s firefly was transformed into a ninja But oddly the figures were not released in the ninja force line Prototype names for firefly included monkey wrench and sapper the name sapper may have been a bit on the nose Since part of the job of a sapper is breaching fortifications and demolitions and that is firefly's specialty The name monkey wrench was later used for a dreadknock a firefly is a flying insect with a bioluminescent body as a child We called them lightning bugs sometimes we would catch them and put them in a jar and watch them glow on television There was a cartoon character called Louis the lightning bug who taught electricity safety Why is the Cobra saboteur called firefly probably just because it sounds cool It's also similar to firebug which is old slang for an arsonist firefly was released in 1984 Which was a great year for Cobra. There were numerous memorable Cobra characters introduced in that year The baroness storm shadow Zartan all very memorable named Cobra characters Probably the least memorable Cobra from 1984 was the stinger driver, but he was not a named Cobra He was just a trooper. There is a variation on firefly, but not one I would seek out Some figures have black eyes and some have brown eyes. I have a modern firefly figure So let's take a look at him. This is firefly version 14 from 2007 This is a fully modern GI Joe action figure a lot of the details from the original figure are copied over to this modern figure The gray uniform is lighter, but it gets the same idea across for accessories He has a black submachine gun It is not like the green submachine gun on the original but it does have a folding stock So you can fold that out that is nice My problem with this accessory is that I cannot get the figures hand on the grip Which is why I have him holding it by the magazine He has a walkie talkie just like the original this time in black plastic instead of green and on his right leg in the holster He has a removable pistol. It's a really tight fit, but you can take it out of the holster He has a backpack much like the version one figure and like the version one figure the back panel is Removable to show some tools inside his final accessory is his figure stand which says codename firefly I'm not a big fan of this modern firefly figure the lighter camouflage is okay But I much prefer the darker gray also that submachine gun really bothers me It should fit into the hand much easier than it does. Let's take a look at fireflies accessories And let's start with his submachine gun. This is a green submachine gun It has a magazine and a vented shroud over the barrel It has a long stock with a curved butt to fit the contour of the arm There have been a couple releases of this submachine gun in different colors in battle gear accessory packs There is also a variation of the submachine gun in lighter green plastic But I have not found that variation. So this is the only one I have to show you This may be loosely based on the smith and wesson m76 But I'm not certain about that it may also be based on a russian submachine gun the pp91 kedr It doesn't look exactly like either of those real-world weapons pre-production artwork shows firefly holding a submachine gun that is very clearly close to the m at 49 the final production accessory was significantly different from that fireflies next accessory is the most infamous It is his walkie talkie. He includes a tiny walkie talkie with an antenna a very thin antenna That would be easy to break off. I do not place this in the figure's hand I'm concerned about breaking the figure's thumb although. I have seen some collectors put this in firefly's hand They are braver than I am this is in the same green plastic as the submachine gun And like the submachine gun has a slight color variation the final accessory is firefly's backpack The backpack is in gray plastic the same gray color as the base plastic color on the figure And it has some impressive details It has some pouches some explosives and some gadgets the backpack has a bonus feature It has a removable panel and on the back of that panel and on the inside of the backpack There are some additional tools This is a brilliant extra feature on the backpack the card art makes it look like the opening panel is supposed to be hinged But it is not it's just removable the pre-production drawings had the panel on a hinge But that was cut before the final production There is not enough space in the backpack for the walkie talkie And I think that's unfortunate if the walkie talkie were just a little smaller And if the cavity in the backpack were just a little larger these accessories would have worked together Let's take a look at firefly's articulation He had the articulation that was standard for gi joe figures by 1984 So he could turn his head from left to right he could not look up and down the ball jointed head 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 that allowed him to bend his arm at the elbow about 90 degrees He had a swivel at the bicep that allowed his arm to be swiveled 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 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 the sculpt design and color of firefly. This is one of only three gi joe figures by 1984 with all over camouflage The other two were stalker from 1982 and ripcord from 1984 There were other figures with camouflage, but it didn't cover the whole figure like this gray is a dull color Especially considering how much color was introduced to the line by 1984 the uniform is perfect for firefly specialty though This is what i asked for figures that look like they are designed for their specialty His head is covered with a gray balaclava mask and there is a dark gray camouflage pattern on that His eyes are exposed with a caucasian flesh tone. The chest is all gray with a dark gray camouflage pattern He has a turtleneck colored undershirt and across bands across the chest And the back and on the chest those bands have grenades And pouches and what looks like sticks of dynamite the chest details are impressive But one thing that's odd is the camouflage goes right across the bands and the pouches And the grenades and everything that's on the back as well Those details are not masked on his arms. He has long gray sleeves with a dark gray camouflage pattern He has a small knife on his right forearm. He has unidentified devices or pouches on his left forearm He has dark gray gloves and on his upper right arm He has a red cobra emblem firefly is a mercenary yet He still has a cobra on his uniform, but he is not a cobra agent I have to assume the designers thought without the cobra There's nothing to indicate this is a bad guy, but he looks like a bad guy The waist piece is in a gray base plastic color with that dark gray camouflage pattern And that camouflage goes right over the belt. He has some small pouches on the belt His legs are gray with a dark gray camouflage pattern on the right leg He has a pistol in a holster with a strap that goes around the upper right leg on the left leg He has a couple devices perhaps detonators for his explosives and two straps that go around the left leg Again, the camouflage pattern goes right over most of those details. They are not masked We finish up with some dark gray boots with some straps around them The dark gray appears to be the same color as the camouflage the coloration on this figure is pretty simple but appropriate He has good details, but I would have preferred those details be masked off So the camouflage does not overlap them or just paint those details in that dark gray color Let's take a look at firefly's file card. Say that five times fast It has his faction as cobra and a portrait of firefly here. He is the obrah saboteur The corner of my card is clipped off. His codame is firefly. His file name is classified But I think we know what his real name is lupus tea firefly His primary military specialty is sabotage demolitions and terror And with that many primary specialties, he doesn't need a secondary specialty. His birthplace is classified What is firefly's birthplace? Some post vintage sources say he is french His prototype file card is ambiguous about his origins He used aliases to serve in the french foreign legion paris the biofra in nigeria and in nicaragua This paragraph says no one knows what firefly's real name is or what he looks like Well in gi jo retaliation, he got his mask off quite a bit He is known by his work expert in all nato and warsaw packed explosives and detonators Always places his charges in the one place that affords maximum damage There is no question about his infiltration skills since no one has ever reported seeing him enter or leave any target area This bottom paragraph has a quote. It says even cobra commander doesn't know much about firefly His fees are paid into a numbered swiss bank account and are always payable in advance He makes no guarantees and gives no refunds. The file card surrounds firefly with an air of mystery I mean, he could be a ninja with his infiltration skills It doesn't say he's not a ninja the comic book obliterates that mystery and it isn't pretty We need to talk about it. Let's look at how firefly was used in gi jo media And let's talk about the animated series before we get to the comic book He first appeared in the mini series revenge of cobra part one, but he had no lines Most of his appearances are silent. He wasn't used very much in the animated series He had the most exposure in the episode ode to cobra. Even that wasn't very much He had a few post vintage appearances including in the mini series gi jo resolute His most notable post vintage appearance was in the 2013 live action movie gi jo retaliation Where he was played by ray stevensson Calling the street No ray stevensson the real story of firefly is in the comic book series published by marvel comics and it is convoluted He first appeared in issue number 24 on the very last page where he is immediately captured by zartan In issue number 25. He provided zartan with an opportunity to demonstrate his shape-shifting powers in issue number 29 He and destro managed to escape the florida swamp with a promise to exact vengeance upon cobra commander He never really got that revenge. In fact, he became more integrated into cobra in issue number 48 He was patrolling the streets of springfield cobra's secret base for the next few years He had sporadic appearances. He appeared a few times in the gi jo special missions series He was an issue number one of special missions. He was rarely the focus of the story We thought firefly's story came to an end in issue number 98 In which cobra commander locked a lot of his enemies in a landlocked freighter and buried it under a volcano Firefly was among them and he was presumed dead in issue number 123 A new mysterious person was introduced the leader of a group of red ninjas in issue number 126 a familiar face was on the cover. The issue was titled firefly So you know where this is going the red ninja leader's mask was covering another mask He was secretly firefly Stop how did firefly escape the buried freighter? He programmed cobra bats to dig him out. He then pulled off his firefly mask to reveal he was the faceless master Apparently his face appears blurred because of hypnosis. Please stop The faceless master was first introduced in a photograph in issue number 62 He was the assistant to the swordsmith onihashi, but wait This would have been confusing to readers at the time. Wasn't onihashi's assistant zartan? How could it be firefly? Well larry hama the writer of the comic book apparently picked up on this and added an explanation in the letters page of that issue Almost the entire issue is firefly providing exposition about his background His motives and where he's been since he apparently died and yet even more exposition was needed on the letters page I love the gi joe comic book series, but this is rough I believe this is caused by a disconnect between the toy designers Marketing and the comic book creators larry had already killed off firefly But in the 90s somebody wanted to make a new firefly figure How do you reintegrate firefly into the comic book series when he is dead? Not easily apparently the same thing happened with dr. Mindbender. He was dead, but he had a new figure in the 90s So he had to be brought back to life. This is one reason why the idw comic book series is so valuable It offers larry hama the opportunity to explore the story without the need to promote new toys very much There are new figures and vehicles from time to time But there's a lot more focus on the narrative and character development I talked more about firefly's comic book appearances in my review of versions two and three So I won't rehash any more of it here. We've done enough looking at firefly overall This is a great figure. Of course. I love it firefly is exactly the figure. I would want it to be He has a cobra saboteur and he looks like it He has a dark camouflage that is perfect for sneaking around urban areas at night He is loaded with the tools of the trade He has a backpack that opens up and contains tools and explosives His submachine gun and walkie talkie are cool He would be effective on the battlefield or sneaking into gijo headquarters to set bombs There are two minor problems with the figure though. The camouflage is great There's no mask for the equipment. So the camouflage goes right over the belts and the straps That's a little weird. The other problem is with the walkie talkie. It's a good looking accessory But there's nowhere to store it. So it's very easy to lose This is firefly as I would like to remember him gray and boring Not as a ninja. He should not be a ninja. This is where there's a disconnect between the 80s and the 90s And if we talk about firefly, we can't avoid the subject Sometimes it's good to expand a character that didn't have very much to do the first time around But sometimes it would have been better to just leave the mystery. That was my review of firefly I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please give this video a thumbs up on youtube and subscribe to the youtube channel for more gijo toy reviews And check out my huge back catalog of vintage gijo toy reviews You can find me on social media on facebook and twitter and i have a website hcc788.com If you would like to know if I have reviewed a gijo toy, check out the website The only way I can continue doing these videos is with the support of my friends on patreon and I'm very grateful If you'd like to support the channel, that's a great way to do it. You see the name scrolling on the screen right now Your name could be there. Thank you for watching. I'll see you next time and next time I think we're gonna stay in the 80s, but we're gonna jump from the early 80s to the late 80s I'll see you then and until then remember only gijo is gijo But I think we know what his real name is But I think we know what his real name is louis the lighting back here