Daily Cartoon: GI Joe Ep. 5 “The M.A.S.S. Device, Part 5: A Stake in the Serpent’s Heart”

Welcome to the thrilling conclusion of our dive into the original mini-series that ended up being the springboard for GI Joe becoming a full-on phenomenon in the mid-80s! It’s been a very fun to look back and watch these episodes for the first time in decades and I’m sure the closer will deliver today.

I’m not even just saying this stuff to kiss the people at Hasbro’s ass either. I mean, if they want to send me some of those new Classified Series figures to review on my YouTube channel that would be great, but I’ve already been opening my wallet a bit for those anyway. (You should too. They are really spectacular.)

Back to today: we’re in the final chapter of this intro and the Joes, despite Scarlett being kidnapped by Destro, feel like they finally have a shot of being able to defeat Cobra by having collecting all three of the necessary catalytic elements needed by Dr. Vandermeer to power his own M.A.S.S. Device.

It’s high stakes! High octane! High energy! And it starts now!

Daily Cartoon: GI Joe Ep. 4 “The M.A.S.S. Device, Part 4: Duel in the Devil’s Cauldron”

Welcome to the fourth installment of the GI Joe mini-series. Everything has been going swimmingly thus far for us as viewers, but it’s been very different for the Joes as they continue to fight from behind to collect the catalytic elements that will power their own M.A.S.S. device that could be the turning point in this battle with Cobra, a ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world.

The Joes caught a break in the last episode when Snake Eyes, by some act of god, didn’t die of radiation poisoning and was able to bring back a supply of the Arctic crystals that Dr. Vandermeer was insistent on needing. However, the canister that contained those crystals starting emitting a poisonous gas into the air in the command center rendering everyone there unconscious which is where we’ll pick up today.

Damn, I love these multi-parters. Ready? Let’s do it.

Daily Cartoon: GI Joe Ep.3 “The M.A.S.S. Device, Part 3: The Worms of Death”

Welcome to part three of our into to GI Joe through the original mini-series! I have to admit that I was stepping into this with some trepidation, but – so far – this re-watch has gone splendidly.

When we left off yesterday, Cobra had kidnapped all the world leaders by using the M.A.S.S. Device and brought them all to the mysterious Cobra Temple. Duke, who was being held captive there, escaped and made it back to GI Joe, but is still too out of it to remember anything that could help the Joes find Cobra’s secret base.

Also, GI Joe continues to attempt to build their own M.A.S.S. Device with the help of Dr. Vandermeer, but to do so, they’ll need three catalytic elements and they’ve already failed in being able to acquire the first one: a radioactive crystal in the arctic where they’ve also appeared to leave Snake Eyes for dead.

It’s high-octane excitement from start to finish! You may have an entire seat to sit and watch this today, but you’ll only be needing the edge of it! Let’s go!

Daily Cartoon: G.I. Joe Ep. 2 “The M.A.S.S. Device, Part 2: Slave of the Cobra Master”

Welcome to part two of our introduction to G.I. Joe! I’m really excited about this since I enjoyed yesterday’s debut so much so let’s not waste too much time and get right into this.

When we left off, Cobra had seized control of a secret government satellite allowing them to transport physical matter wherever they want after triangulating the signal with Destro’s M.A.S.S. Device. Whether it’s people and troopers, riches or landmarks, if Cobra wants to send or receive, they’re now able to. Duke, who was transported to Cobra Temple by mistake while trying to capture the Baroness is now a slave in Cobra Commander’s Arena of Sport where he’s in the fight of his life against Cobra’s champion who has no name, but has the appearance of a giant barbarian warrior.

And, with that said, we begin Part 2!

Daily Cartoon: GI Joe Ep. 1: “The M.A.S.S. Device, Part 1: The Cobra Strikes”

I know we’ve been watching TMNT for the past few weeks, but I’ve been on a major GI Joe nostalgia kick of late with all the awesome new toys they’ve been releasing so I couldn’t help but want to revisit the series that sucked me in as a kid. And if I’m going to do that, I may as well blog about it, right? Right.

GI Joe as a brand has obviously been around since what feels like the dawn of time, but it’s the 1980s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic book, cartoon and all the subsequent licensing and marketing that went along with it that made it a real phenomenon. There have been plenty of DVDs produced over the years, but modern technology is a wonderful thing and we now have access to the full original series streaming whether that’s on YouTube – where many complete episodes have been uploaded by Hasbro – or on Tubi – a free streaming app that has the full 85 episode run available.

Eighty-five episodes is good, but you know what’s better? More episodes. Although, the actual syndicated series did clock in at 85, it was actually preceded by two separate five-episode mini-series which became necessary after a series of commercials produced by Marvel Productions to promote the toyline became super popular with kids of all ages craving to know more about this new world they were seeing.

Honestly, if I were seeing these commercials for the first time, I’d be soiling my pants for anything I could possibly get of GI Joe. Give me whatever you’ve got.

Which brings us to today. This week we’ll be watching the initial mini-series which is the “true” beginning to the classic series we all hold near and dear. I hope you’re as excited as I am since it’s been a very long time since I’ve gone back and watched these.