 It has been a long time since I've done this. I'm glad to be back. Thank you all for your patience. Let's get on with the show Hello, everybody hooded cober commander 788 here. This is the show where we review every vintage GI Joe toy from 1982 to 1994 this week We are looking at a figure that was not a part of the drug elimination force set But it should have been the DEF was not continued after its debut in 1992 if it had been Gristle would have been the lieutenant of the evil drug dealing headman instead Gristle was part of battle core which just doesn't seem right for this guy This was a peculiar time in the history of GI Joe Hasbro introduced characters that promoted the use of illegal drugs to kids It was part of an anti-drug campaign So they were the bad guys, but still the drug elimination force set was about 20% pro-drugs. Let's chew on a new review HCC 788 presents Gristle This is Gristle the urban crime commander from the GI Joe battle core series This figure was introduced in 1993 and was available in 1993 only it was discontinued for 1994 This was the only version of Gristle in the vintage era There was a second version of Gristle released in 2008 as a GI Joe convention exclusive based on his backstory Gristle was clearly supposed to be part of the drug elimination force subset or DEF DEF was introduced in 1992 and was a subset of GI Joe dedicated to opposing drugs The enemy of DEF was the criminal mastermind headman He had his minions called the headhunters Gristle would have been headman's second in command DEF was supposed to continue into the 1993 series But the subset was canceled and the 1993 DEF figures were folded into the battle core set There was a second version of headhunters, but the backstory was changed to have them working for Cobra This is a 90s style file card, which means it has a numbered list of features for the figure I will use this list to describe some of the accessories and details on the figure Let's take a look at the accessories for Gristle He has a lot of accessories, but none of them are original. They were all reissued from other figures Let's start with his rifle. This rifle is in a maroon color It is very large and very well detailed This rifle is a reissue of the rifle that came with 1990 rock viper When difference between Gristle's rifle and Rock Viper's rifle is Gristle's rifle does not have this peg for plugging into Rock Viper's backpack Next let's look at his pistol It is in that same maroon color It is oversized and looks more like a submachine gun This accessory is a reissue of the weapon that came with 1992 Destro Next let's look at his knife This knife is really nice. It's a really well made knife It is the one accessory that is not oversized This knife is a reissue of the knife that came with 1988 shockwave Next let's look at the yellow missile launcher The artwork has this in more of a green tint, but it looks yellow to my eye The main body is yellow, but it has a trigger that is in that maroon red color This missile launcher was issued with major blood in 1994 and headhunters stormtroopers and astro viper version 2 in 1993 The missile launcher included two maroon colored missiles and this is a spring-loaded missile launcher so it would really fire There is a grip for the figure to hold the missile launcher but I'm worried about the thickness of that grip I'm afraid it may break the figure's thumb so I will not put the grip in the figure's hand To operate the missile launcher just press the missile into the launcher barrel with the notch on the same side as the trigger Press it in until it clicks and it is ready to fire We will demonstrate this missile launcher using our old friend Dr. Meinvender Just aim the launcher and press down on this trigger in the back to fire We did hit Meinvender squarely, but that back wall saved him He's leaning against that back wall I'm wondering if I can knock him over if I hit him again I do have two shots after all Let's take aim and fire There we go Gristle included one other accessory, a figure stand This is not the correct color though This is a black figure stand but the correct figure stand should be in that same maroon red color as the other accessories With the accessories out of the way let's look at the articulation on Gristle He had the articulation that was standard for GI Joe figures well before 1993 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 that allowed him to bend his arm at the elbow about 90 degrees He had a swivel at the bicep that allowed him to swivel his arm all the way around 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 look at the sculpt design and color of Gristle starting with the head And on this head he has brown hair He has a curl of hair on his forehead and curls of hair in front of his ears He has a ponytail And this is an interesting way to do a ponytail on an action figure without adding plastic doll hair or an extra plastic piece for the hair It is a high ponytail, so it is just sculpted on He has black sunglasses The file card calls these Bloodshot Eye Shades This is not a reference to Bloodshot by Valiant Comics He has an expressive angry face with white painted teeth On the chest he has a black vest With a yellow collar and a yellow liner that runs down the front He has two maroon colored knives That's very close to the maroon color of the accessories and the plastic on the figure The file card calls these knives two buck knives with sheaths This suit he's wearing is described by the file card as a rip proof all leather street suit I see suits like this on the streets all the time There is also a maroon colored belt and buckle on the lower part of the torso On his arms he has long maroon sleeves On his left arm he has a yellow knife with bands around the forearm On his right arm he has a yellow band with a device that the file card calls a remote phone message beeper Because that's what drug dealers have The color of the plastic does very closely match the color of the accessories His waist piece is in a base black plastic And he has a maroon colored demon bat crotch cover That is an amazing detail But how does he get out of that thing when he needs to take a whiz? There is also a maroon colored patch on his butt On his legs he's wearing what look like black chaps over yellow trousers I guess There is a diamond pattern sculpted in on the left leg And on the right leg there is a maroon colored knife In fact it kind of looks like there's a small knife on a big knife This guy has a lot of knives We finish up with a pair of tall maroon colored boots Now that is a bold fashion statement The file card calls these all leather biker boots Yes all leather from a maroon cow Let's take a look at the file card The artwork on the file card is a bit different from the figure It looks like he has blonde hair That does more closely match his animated appearance His codename is Gristle He is the urban crime commander His file name is Danimal J. Rogers Danimal His birthplace is Montego Bay, Jamaica Montego Bay, Jamaica In the animated series he had an American accent What was the thinking behind his Jamaican origins? This guy doesn't look like a Rastafarian Jamaica man Go to Jamaica Have some rum man Dig it Iri Iriman There is a quote here Presumably from Gristle himself It says I go crazy when those GI Joes come after me They just keep chasing and chasing and chasing Well if that's the best quote we can get out of the guy We probably just don't need a quote at all This paragraph says When you think of grease, slime, and dirt You are basically thinking about Gristle Not me when I think about Gristle I think of the 70s industrial band Throbbing Gristle But that's probably just me That is just me Let's move on Not only is he a corrupt crime boss His personal hygiene is absolutely disgusting During the months he spent training to be in the head hunters He didn't bother to shower once But because he was big and bad He became the right hand man to some major crime lords Does not mention head man by name Who operated illegal warehouses disguised as legitimate comedy clubs So are we taking shots at comedians now? Eventually Gristle started his own criminal activities And then joined up with Cobra But even those snakes admit he is too grungy to deal with Gristle is easily recognized by his bloodshot eyes Or by the sunglasses he uses to shield them from the daylight I wish they had made the figure with bloodshot eyes I have no idea how they would have done that But I would love to have seen them try Looking at how Gristle was used in GI Joe Media He had two appearances in the animated series During the Deke era In the episodes titled The Greatest Evil Parts 1 and 2 The character design was totally different from the figure He had blonde hair A head hunter's uniform And no sunglasses He was head man's lieutenant Which confirms that would have been his role if DEF had continued into 1993 In the comic book series published by Marvel Comics DEF and head man appeared in issues number 124 and 125 But Gristle did not appear Looking at Gristle overall What a weirdo He's supposed to be the right hand man to a drug kingpin But he looks like a bassist for a 90s grunge band Dressed as a fetish biker from Planet Demon Crotch The figure itself is remarkably well made The sculpting is sharp As it is for most 90s figures The colors all work well together If you look at this figure without any reference to the real world It looks pretty good The problem for this figure is This is Earth Imagine seeing somebody dressed like this in real life It would be ridiculous This is not how a tough guy drug dealer looks Obviously Gristle thinks he looks tough This is the taser face of drug dealers The accessories are entirely reissued So this is another low effort 90s affair If you like DEF though This figure is essential Even though he wasn't released in the DEF series He is the right hand man to head man And an indispensable character That was my review of Gristle I hope you enjoyed it If you did please share this video Give it a thumbs up And subscribe to the channel And check out my back catalog I have hundreds of GI Joe reviews I also have a Patreon If you'd like to help me continue to do these videos You see the name scrolling on the screen right now Your name could be there I have a website HCC788.com Thank you very much for watching I will see you soon for another vintage GI Joe toy review And until then remember Only GI Joe is GI Joe