2004 Anti-Venom Mutt

The Toys R Us 6-packs were the buoy that kept a lot of O-Ring collectors attentive to the retail G.I. Joe line in the new sculpt era. It allowed them some form of excitement and feeling that Hasbro would at least attempt to give O-Ring collectors a form of attention, considering that from 1997-2001 G.I. Joe was marketed mainly as a collector’s oriented line, at a time when that wasn’t really the way most action figures were marketed (now that seems to be the only way action figures are marketed!)

These TRU sets had good intentions, but a lot of the time there was fatal errors or miscalculations that made what should have been a home run, not actually be one. Sometimes it was character choices that would do the sets in, as if you look at the Tiger Force set, you get saddled with Big Brawler, a character that wound up torpedoing Outback, Lowlight and Salvo as viable O-Ring releases. Night Force was a step up, but the Action Man bait and switch coloured that set negatively. The Anti-Venom set came about with a good line up of classic characters, and some hamfisted homages that at least tried to reconnect some aspects of the vintage G.I. Joe line into the set, which was one that was really trying to meld in with the then current Valor Vs. Venom main retail line story.

At the 2003 G.I. Joe convention, which was pretty much the only way for Joe fans to learn about upcoming releases, Hasbro showcased numerous new figures for the following year. Amongst them were a lot of molds that were speculated as being “lost”. One such figure was Mutt. Now Mutt wasn’t entirely the 1984 mold, but there was his head, waist and torso (with badge), so people were somewhat happy to see that his mold existed, as did Scrap Iron, and Storm Shadow. Until the figures were in hand, nobody knew that the head and torso were completely new sculpts, based upon the original figure, a practice also seen on the 04 Storm Shadow and Scrap Irons, as well as the comic pack Short Fuze (a strange figure, based almost entirely on the 1982 Straight Arm mold, with swivel arms given to the figure), and even more oddly with the 1985 Lady Jaye mold.

While I was happy to see a lot of these figures re-appear, I can also state that some of them were a complete waste of resources. Frankly, a 1983 Destro or COBRA Commander or the 1985 Snake Eyes molds would’ve been better figures to re-create than Lady Jaye (who already existed!), Mutt or Scrap Iron. However, from 1997 on, G.I. Joe has been defined by missed opportunities or misplaced priorities. G.I. Joe is an incredibly simple thing, but most people somehow don’t get it.

The newly sculpted parts for Mutt are fairly good, they match the size and feel of the original, with somewhat sharper detailing. The face is probably the weakest aspect of it, as Mutt loses some of the anger on his original face, and seems to be suffering from vexation, in it’s place. Still, it looks like Mutt, and that’s all I ask for.

The rest of the figure’s build is interesting, as the arms are from Wet-Suit., which work with the torso, but really wouldn’t have been the first ones to jump to mind. The legs are another oddity, as the thighs are those of Roadblock v1, while the lower legs are from the newly re-created COBRA Trooper. There’s a little issue with the fit of the waist and upper legs, but overall they look good, and work as a pastiche of the original 1984 figure.

One place the Anti-Venom set has always seen some criticism is the colouring choices. Not because they’re bad, it’s just a fairly odd colour scheme, that doesn’t give the figure a specific environment. However, 20 years after the first time I laid on the Anti-Venom colour scheme, I noticed just how well it matched up with the 1983 APC. The colours are inverted, but there’s definitely a similarity, especially in the APC’s cover and the Anti-Venom’s legs. The rest of the figure’s colours are nice, the brown leather and metallic greenish work well with base colouring, and black and silver highlights can never go wrong. One neat aspect of the Anti Venom set was a couple of the figures managed to retain colours from the originals. Charbroil maintained the yellow highlights, and Mutt’s shoulder pads stayed red, like the original.

Where the Anti-Venom set had big issues were the accessories. The Tiger Force and Python Patrol sets both included the lion’s share of the mold’s original accessories. Night Force was a mess, and that’s how it would be for the rest of the line. The Anti Venom set included Charbroil and Stretcher’s original accessories, but the rest got shafted. Mutt at least got his animal friend, Junkyard! The Steel Brigade helmets included with the figures are somewhat controversial, as it’s divided down the middle in terms of for or against them. I don’t mind them, from a perspective that it was fan service with a little bit of thought behind it, but the figure’s original helmets probably would’ve been a better choice. Hooray for being a fence sitter!

Since I’m predominately a vintage G.I. Joe collector, few figures from the repaint era do much to move the needle for me, as there’s a lot of issues with them, and generally figures from the 1980s were better. They’re still good action figures, as they’re based off the O-Ring G.I. Joe construction, but it’s a rarity for me to really enjoy them to the point of using them frequently. I like Mutt, and I’m quite fond of this figure, as by itself, it’s a really strong G.I. Joe figure, though something that would probably lose a lot of it’s charm, surrounded by 5 other figures that look the same. Still. it’s a fun distraction and decent figure to bust out from time to time.

We’re at a point where a lot of the New Sculpt Era is 20 years old, and it’s an era that never really received any post-mortem. The quick turn about from New Sculpts to The Modern Era, was definitely responsible for that happening. A lot of people either weren’t around for, or have forgotten that there was a legitimate animosity between those who were traditional O-Ring collectors and those who’d converted to the New Sculpt. That’s pretty much what’s going to happen when you have two camps feeling that the other side is draining resources that could be used for their preferred style of figure.

You don’t see this in these modern times when you had O-Ring figures and 6 inch classified figures coming out at the same time. They’re entirely different things, one is a niche hobby that pretty much runs through a single guy, while the other is a popular format of action figure, that has popularity because people can purchase vaguely familiar designs, that they can then put on a shelf between a d-list Spider Man villain, like The Rose and Batman. It’s almost like the banalities of crossover movies and Funko Pops has spread further into the world of action figure collecting, and was welcomed with open arms and empty eyes.