6 Inch Figures: Major Bludd

Up until about 2002, when Hasbro relaunched the GI Joe toyline with the Joe vs Cobra theme, ask me who my favorite GI Joes were, the answer would have been quick and easy. Falcon and Tunnel Rat. Top 2. Be it as a kid or a 20-something adult, those two were favorites in both physical toy and their character per the file card. Enter the internet age of websites that had discussion boards, I'd learn a lot about GI Joe but also make a distinction between toy, comic character, toy character, file card, etc. I had figures I liked; characters from cartoon or comic, I never really invested in. Aware of and used for my stories or to base my own characterizations off of, yes. Old favorites included: Flash, Tripwire, Torpedo, Repeater, Muskrat, Hawk v2, and many others. Notice in this paragraph, no mention of the bad guys. 

What I knew of Major Bludd came from cartoon, comic, and file card and obviously, the toy.

The original release of Major Bludd, it was what it was. I got him just because. He wasn't anything exciting to me other than he had a molded-straight arm (supposed to be cybernetic or something), eyepatch, and a rocket pistol for his weapon. As a kid, that made it kind of awkward to use him because I was one of those that never exchanged weapons between figures and didn't diverge from what came in the package (or artwork). Even to this day (skip to modern times), I still can't Bludd with an automatic rifle. Or a sniper rifle. Only a pistol. Very hard for me to break that mentality; only worse getting older. There is a 'however' here...

The Hasbro made, GI Joe Classified Major Bludd is pretty damn good. Backtrack for a moment here. Major Bludd, as a figure, won me over with Hasbro short-lived Direct To Consumer (DTC) line. This line focused on GI Joe and was their way to get rid of the stock that was reserved for the theme Robot Rebellion which didn't quite pan out right for the small Joes. (Long story: Robot Rebellion was to be the next theme after Valor vs Venom. It starred Overkill and his different robot minions, errrrr, warriors. The good guy side included one particularly new character of Major Barrage who would lead the charge. Things got changed and Robot Rebellion got wrapped up in the Sigma 6 theme. It wasn't lost as the 1st 5 eps of Sigma 6 was the planned Robot Rebellion. I admit, I never watched Sigma 6 after that, but I understand the focus changed after Robot Rebellion finished and truly became the adventures of Sigma 6. The cartoon and the small toyline didn't quite see eye to eye. Another indicator of the small scale Robot Rebellion line was the 6-pack that had Overkill and a bunch of BATs.) 

Back to the topic, the DTC line had Major Bludd. Hasbro made him look really cool. He had a removable helmet, a neat scarf, just a bunch of updates to him. Did he retain the fake arm? Hard to say; I think it looked like a regular arm. All that matters is that I became a bit of a fan of him. Or at least, a stronger interest. (Major Bludd did get his own diostory; Deadly Poets Society. He tried to start his own army which didn't go down well.)

The Classified Major Bludd is terrific. I tried the line 3 different times (4?) and finally succumbed to it. There's no denying that, for the most part, the figures look good. The figure retains enough classic elements to make him Major Bludd. The removable helmet is a nice touch, the upgrade on the eyepatch is a nice addition, and his sidearm is perfect. I'm sure fans could point out other great aspects of the figure. For me, the figure acts as a vehicle for my own creativity in terms of photography, written stories, and visual stories. Major Bludd, after all, is part of the 4 Horsemen group. That's a story still waiting to be properly written.

For me, if I really like the figure, it'll be the subject of my photography. As in, I'll want to use him all the time. I find it's often a mix of the figure itself (visuals, articulation, can I pose them), the characterization as I can write them, and several other aspects.

This 8in collection, it's all figures that I really like (uh, I think so at least). Major Bludd is one of the top figures. Top 5? Top 10? Never thought hard about it, but I instinctively reach for him when I want to go out and take photos. Thing is, I have all these other figures and I have to refrain from using him.