6 INCH: GI JOE CLASSIFIED: OVERKILL

Overkill was a character that I was introduced to during the Theme Years (that would be 2003). The design was interesting and to an extent, boring. The figure had aspects to notice; particularly the head mold and a single removable arm. In terms of the head, other than it couldn't move (which was actually fine), it had a neat molded-on scarf. The artwork made him far more intimidating than the toy. Hasbro even did something like 3 repaints of the figure and oddly, each gave off a different vibe. And it worked!

Then there was the official Robot Rebellion/Rise of the Robots version. That one, I didn't like at all. People said it was like Robocop. It was too robotic for me. The Spy Troops version made the fan more interested in the character itself. That was lost with the later version. And now we get to the Classified version which has that Robot Rebellion vibe. There is a BUT here.

This figure looks ugly and in a lot of ways, boring. But after taking him out, the figure is better than I thought. Overkill retains the changeable accessory gimmick which is kind of neat as a bigger scale item. The design might not be overly creative but whoever drew it did a good job. But what does Overkill mean to me?

I made my own version and it's loosely based on the Spy Troops version. It took a bit of thinking to make work, but what came out of it, I rather like. That said, I won't say Overkill as a character wasn't an 'instant fave'. The potential this character has/had got my creative juices going. Enough that he became a sub-plot then had a (really messy) story. He's also shown up in a Devil Dogs story which helps further what happens in the GI Joe story (the Devil Dogs story takes place before diostory ZERO SIGNAL).

Here's the thing with this Overkill. Due to a certain toy dude on Facebook, he made a wonderful modern-age Overkill. I'll be following his recipe with some attempted differences. To note, my Overkill character is very much in vein as the Spy Troops animated one. He stutters. He's slightly eccentric and dramatic. In ways, he is a complete dork. I won't be following DD's version.

One other tidbit about Classified Overkill that caught me off guard. He's taller than most of the other figures. That's a sly, nice touch.