Beachhead, my old buddy! It's good to see you again. Some people upon hearing that name and if unfamiliar with the G.I. Joe brand may conjure up other mental imagery or memories like that night on Long Beach. This is not that sort of beach, er, head. I loved the G.I. Joe toys as an '80's kid. My brother and I collected just about everything (including Army Ants) but my personal favorites were the G.I. Joe action figures. Loved them. Besides enacting my own large-scale wars and battles in my backyard (complete with swamps made with a gardening tool, water hose, and a little ingenuity) the size and articulation of that line made them perfect to enact wrestling matches on my bedspread or kitchen table, where I'd use that little plastic thing (pressure guard?) that came in the pizza box to keep the lid off of the pizza as a table to bash each other with.
I've bought so much junk over the years for Review the World I often stumble upon things in our spare room (pronounce like its the name of a magical land like Mr. Tumnus for some additional fun) I have no recollection of the origin for. When/were did I buy this? Where in the hell is the rest of the package?
Now, upon "opening it" I discovered the package folded out to resemble something more closely resembling a traditional G.I. Joe package. A truncated vertical one. Still, there was a surprising amount of stuff crammed in there. I'm leading to this being a Dollar General or Family Dollar purchase as you'll often see more popular toy lines sold there at slightly cheaper rates in smaller packages.
The toy itself is really great. It's from the Spy Troops line which had a tie-in with a 2003 direct-to-video CGI film (Beachhead appeared in the film but I remember it more for introducing us to Agent Faces). This is the fifth of fifteen versions of Beachhead made dating back to his original figure in '86. I'd forgotten how much fun it was to play with a G.I. Joe. While never one of my absolute favorites I have always liked the character in the different Joe media (comics, cartoons, etc.). While Beachhead is sort of a strange moniker his real name Wayne R. Sneeden doesn't strike fear on its own but maybe a divisive chortle. His bio card is fantastic with some choice lines including stating he's "a highly motivated individual with a high pain threshold, a moderate temperament, and a low tolerance for under-acheivers". Sounds like my parole officer.
Beachhead went on a secret mission to infiltrate a barn he'd heard reported Dr. Mindbender was experimenting with mind control in.
But he walked into a trap! The floor was a trapdoor that released and dropped him 25 ft. below into a pit of... DVDs? Yes, my son Owen apparently felt necessary to empty an entire crate of DVDs all over the floor so they served as Beachhead's undoing.
In closing, really great toy, he looks like a badass, pose-ability and movement are top-notch, and helped further rekindle my passion for G.I. Joe. Last few years I've been content to collect the old series' on DVD and watch them on late nights but this totally makes me want to scour the Internet, thrift stores, and yard sales and bulk up on my toy collection again. Yo, Joe!
Overall Grade: A
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