G.I. Joe: ARAHC - Wet Down

This profile is for Torpedo’s illegitimate son, Wet Down. Using the same mold and very similar colors, Wet Down is another Navy Diver amongst a squad of navy divers, once again fairly useless outside of the water.

Like Wet Suit, this figure really suffers from circumstance. Since the line started last year, we have gotten two Submarines, a raft (each with a water-based figure), plus a Cobra Diver in the form of Undertow. While normally, I do not argue with the fact that G.I. Joe needs troopers for all climates and environments, but this kind of aquatic overkill is slightly bothersome. We have more water based craft and soldiers than Air Force members. Granted, there is a lot of water in this world, but as strict play value goes, I somewhat prefer air or even land vehicles. Not to mention that in 1998, we got a 3 pack of Navy S.E.A.L.s, plus the Night Landing Raft with Torpedo in 1997. Torpedo was the only figure who appeared twice in the ’97-’98 series, and now, for better or worse, here he is again.

Let me get one thing straight, first of all: I LOVE Torpedo. I REALLY love the Navy S.E.A.L.s in general. But Hasbro really needs to realize that Navy S.E.A.L.s do more than swim underwater! Had Hasbro repainted some other more obscure land-based figures and called them Wet Suit and Torpedo (or even Wet Down for that matter) I would have been THRILLED. Finally, a Navy S.E.A.L. figure that can be justifiably used for a land mission (and no, Tracker most definitely does NOT count!). But, alas, still the S.E.A.L.s are regulated to water based missions, and to languish in my unused figure drawers for many years to come.

One thing I am glad about is the use of the new name for this character. Many people have complained about the name Wet Down not realizing that it is actually a Scuba Diving term, which makes for a decent code name, if you ask me. I have absolutely no problem with Hasbro injecting new blood into the line in the form of new names for recognizable figures, and since I always use the ’98 Shipwreck figure for MY Torpedo, this guy will fit right in as Wet Down, the rookie Wet behind the ears Joe, who even though he is very talented at being a S.E.A.L., still has a lot to learn about the Joe team. He is green and eager to please, especially Torpedo, who he tries to emulate in every way. Little personality traits like that make even the nineteenth year of G.I. Joe new, fresh and exciting!

The color scheme, as with ALL of these new releases is fantastic. It uses the original black and gray as a scheme, but darkens it out a little and I think that makes all the difference in the world. I can just imagine him, Torpedo and Wet Suit skimming below the darkened surface of the water towards a Cobra stronghold.

All in all, like Wet Suit, he is a decent figure, which suffers from the same downfalls as his partner in the 2-pack. Among most other figures out there, he is a good one, but set against the Joes, he just falls a little short.