Can you feel the excitement? Probably not quite as strong now, with 29 days to go as it will be when we get within 10 days… or 5. I don’t know about you folks, but this daily countdown has been a blast, and I’m thrilled that Twitziller has been rocking it out, not missing a beat.
We have our 29th reason to look forward to G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and it immediately struck a chord with me.
#29:
Those four letters… VTOL. I don’t know about anyone else, but I had never even heard of the VTOL concept until… well, until I was 10 years old. Like so many other real world military ideas, I first learned about them through the lens of being a G.I. Joe fan. VTOL, Vertical Take Off and Landing was initially introduced to me with the Skyhawk and the Rattler, years before words like “Harrier Jet” were even in the public vernacular. Terminology like “Covert Operations”, “NATO and Warsaw Pact”, and even “Commando” were introduced thanks to the wonders of G.I. Joe in the 80’s. Can you even imagine a toyline today using words like that on toys designed for 8 year old little boys? I’m not sure I can.
The VTOL concept was used in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra as well with the Howler and to a limited extent with the Cobra Gunship, but it’s important to note how it’s carried forth here, too, both in the film and in the toys. Fans made the immediate connection to the Howler (not to mention the Rattler) when viewing the footage you see the grab from above, and the Ghost Hawk II looks to be a great evolution of that vehicle from the first G.I. Joe film. I love that these concepts that seemed so natural to us young boys still invade the public mind, and are very certainly being used in the film universe quite well.
To keep up to date on the 40 Reasons why G.I. Joe: Retaliation will be great, make sure you are following Twitziller on Twitter, and keeping it right here on GeneralsJoes as well. The previous entries can be seen below.
Yes, yes…you just nailed some of the most valuable parts of my childhood, as well.
If I can voice a quibble: Terms like “VTOL” ,” Harrier Jump Jet” and “Commando” were well part of the public vernacular fully 20 years( at least) before GIJOE RAH came along, and in toy circles too.
You’ve overlooked the very popular and prominent 12″ GIJOE Soldiers of the World, which had a British Commando as part of the line, and toy-lines like Dinky and Matchbox which were making diecast replicas of Harrier jets in the 60’s, and static commando figures in toylines like Britains.
And don’t forget the influence of military movies, Popular Science/Mechanics magazines, and model kit makers all introduced these things well before GIJOE RAH came into being.