Back in the 1980s if you were a Marvel Comics reader like I was, you often wondered who some of these characters were and why you couldn’t have them in plastic form. One of the first characters I noticed that with was General Flagg, who was the initial organizer of the G.I. Joe team, leading Colonel “Hawk” Abernathy and his team of twelve operatives against the seemingly insurmountable COBRA forces.
Turns out those forces truly were insurmountable, and in issue #19, General Flagg was killed by Major Bludd.
While we wouldn’t get an action figure version of this General Flagg until the comic packs in 2005, his son, General Lawrence Flagg, Jr. made an appearance in the Battle Corps line, and the G.I. Joe Collectors Club elected to pay tribute to that version of the character here in the FSS. Interestingly, they opted to focus on the second version of General Flagg rather than the previous version, perhaps because the original Flagg looked quite a bit like General Hawk.
I’m glad to see the Club getting back into the Battle Corps arena, though I can think of a dozen or so characters I would have preferred to have been revisited before General Flagg. That being said, they did a decent job on the figure build itself. Using the Retaliation Firefly torso and arms is a good approximation of the leather bomber jacket and the thick pants work well for his legs as well. His head is a reuse that’s been seen countless times before (and somewhat obnoxiously is used for Sneak Peek, a figure released in the exact same month’s shipment of the FSS). The hat fits on this head relatively well, though not perfectly.
As mentioned above, the Club went with the second iteration Battle Corps color scheme (similar to what they did with Night Creeper Leader a time or two ago) which is a bit questionable, though it matches how I used Flagg in my dio-story, so honestly I’m pretty okay with it. His black jacket and lighter green pants look pretty cool, and offer a different aesthetic than General Hawk.
Accessories
Flagg comes with some pretty neat gear. He’s got his removable hat, submachine gun, pistol that slides into his holster, and a version of City Strike Destro’s briefcase. While I like the idea of the reused briefcase, the sculpted piles of money with “Top Secret”, etc… randomly tampoed in strange places doesn’t really do the idea justice in my opinion.
I’m surprised that the Club focused on General Flagg at this stage of the game, especially this version of Flagg. He’s a critical character in my dio-story and I’m glad to see him done in this modern format, but it seems like even within the realm of Battle Corps itself there are quite a few other, better alternatives.
Still, the execution is surprisingly well done, and I dig the accessories, even if the briefcase is a bit of a head scratcher.
FSS 5.0 General Flagg
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.6
Summary
I always love seeing more Battle Corps, though I can think of a number of subjects that would have been better served before General Flagg. That being said, they did a good job matching the vintage aesthetic with modern parts, maintaining the old school look with newer sculpting and articulation. The accessories are certainly creative, if the execution could have used a little more polish, specifically on the briefcase.
Hm. Every once in a while you run across a figure that you mostly like and mostly enjoy, though a certain decision was made that seems strange and misplaced, but you want to love the figure anyway…
Okay. Why is Scoop orange? I think the Club might have been going for “mustard yellow” (since they seem to like making these modern updates just a little dimmer and darker than their vintage counterparts)…but he really, truly looks orange.
Before we go down that road, I do want to say, as another entry into G.I. Joe’s illustrious roster of 1989 characters, the inclusion of Scoop was pretty much a given ever since we got Sky Patrol Airborne in the Con Set in 2015 using Scoop’s distinctive helmet. That kinda sealed the deal right there.
And it makes sense. Scoop is one of those rare later year characters who appeared after 1987, yet still had a very distinctive and familiar role in G.I. Joe animation as a Crimson Guard traitor on the G.I. Joe team during Operation: Dragonfire. Now, as one might suspect, he ends up having a change of heart, but he was still a central character throughout that mini-series and it makes sense to explore him as an action figure in the Figure Subscription Service.
Scoop’s figure is legitimately great. His head sculpt is reused, but it’s not exactly common and feels fresh just the same. His parts are all from the G.I. Joe: Retaliation family and its evident with the nice modern sculpting, great range of motion and functional articulation that suits the figure build perfectly. From a construction standpoint, I feel like the Club really and truly nailed this one.
But what’s up with the paint scheme?
I can’t remember a time when Scoop was orange, either as a toy or in the comic or in the cartoon, yet here he is in action figure form a wholly more orange color than he should be. It would be interesting to hear why. It’s not like the color is terrible, it’s a fine color that works well enough, but the Club typically works hard to mimic the vintage color pallet as much as they can, so this stark distinction seems surprising.
That being said, by and large, Scoop is pretty fantastic, honestly.
Accessories
Not only is the figure great, but the Club did an awesome job getting the right accessories for him, too. He’s got a Resolute tactical vest, which I’m always in favor of, a nice multi-colored assault rifle, the great camera that came with the old school 25th Anniversary boxed set, as well as a microphone. He also has a knife that fits in his ankle sheath.
In short, Scoop has a perfect allotment of great gear that makes sense and feels interesting.
If you’d told me six months ago that halfway through the FSS, Scoop would be my favorite, I would have said you were out of your mind. Yet here he are, and here he is. So far, among the rest of the Figure Subscription Service, Scoop stands alone at the top. He’s really fantastic, strangely orange colored and all.
FSS 5.0 Scoop
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.2
Summary
Look at this as a whole, the Collectors Club really nailed it with Scoop. A great, under-utilized character that still had a major role in G.I. Joe mythology, a really effective formula of parts, and some spectacular accessories to choose from. Yes, the color somehow got really screwed up, but beyond that, this is a heck of a nice figure and the shining star of the Figure Subscription Service 5.0 so far.
The selection of Carla Greer for the FSS is all at once confusing, yet also makes perfect sense, especially as an entry into the 13th figure category.
From 2003 – 2004, Devils’ Due Publishing released an alternate universe G.I. Joe story entitled G.I. Joe: Reloaded which featured Duke as a COBRA double agent, Storm Shadow as a Yakuza looking guy in a white trenchcoat, and a version of Doc who was female rather than the Carl Greer we all knew and loved. It was an interesting twist, and at the time was not a part of normal continuity.
Fast forward to 2007 and the G.I. Joe Collectors Club released the “Tanks for the Memories” Convention set. Within that boxed set, they brought forward the idea that Carla Greer existed in the main G.I. Joe continuity and had elected to join G.I. Joe after the death of her father, the original Doc. It was an interesting way to tap into the Reloaded series and provided the G.I. Joe team with another much needed Medic. For that reason, it does make sense for them to then bring that character forward into the modern format, and to their credit, they do it pretty well.
She’s got a decent build, combining some Rise of COBRA era parts with some nice later generation 25th Anniversary parts, which makes for a good update to the 2007 original. Her elbow articulation is a little restrictive, but she’s got a great look and manages to tie back some homages to the original Doc as well as her own original figure from seven years back.
I believe her head sculpt is new, it isn’t one I immediately recognize, and while it’s not phenomenal, it’s always great to have a new addition to the library of female head sculpts, which are badly needed.
The figure’s paint deco is clearly inspired by both the vintage Doc and the 2007 update, with tan, brown, and white put together in a very nice combination. This is a really solid figure, though not one I thought I desperately needed as part of my collection.
Carla “Doc” Greer borrows much of her gear from her father, including the bandolier with med kit and the flare launcher. She also has the webgear from 50th Anniversary Lady Jaye and the hypodermic needle from Lifeline. It’s a great selection of accessories that really adds some nice design aesthetics when it’s all put on the figure. The darker webgear and lighter bandolier contrast quite nicely with the tan uniform underneath adding some much needed flair.
Note – I somehow misplaced the hypodermic that was supposed to come with Doc, so Fred from JoeBattleLines very kindly allowed me to use some of his images for this review. Thanks, Fred!
I wouldn’t have picked Doc as a necessary figure in the FSS even if you gave me 100 choices, but the execution is decent. She makes sense as a 13th figure, one that has some great collectible elements, but not one that’s eminently desirable, and balances the execution of the figure quite nicely. Not bad.
FSS 4.0 Carla "Doc" Greer
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.3
Summary
Not a character I feel like I needed, but executed in a way that makes it a nice addition to the cadre of G.I. Joe medics. She’s got an interesting build, some great (if somewhat derivitive) paint apps and a nice selection of decent accessories. Not a must have, but certainly a nice to have.
