G.I. JOE VS. MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

[THE KNOCK-OFF MESSIAH]

THIS POLL WAS SUGGESTED BY SANFORDS TO SETTLE THE DEBATE. WHICH TOY LINE WAS BETTER HE-MAN OR THE JOE TEAM?

[10incher]

i like both lines, but I would have to go with MOTU a little more. I wasn't into either line as a kid and only started collecting both of them a few years ago. Just like the fantasy aspect over the military aspect.

[sanfords2]

My vote is for He-Man. I don't have a problem with GI Joe, but I'll take Fantasy figures over little guys with machine guns any day!

[wraith]

Little men with machine guns get my vote!!!(But then again, Joe is the main focus of my collection)I do have some MOTU stuff & also loved them as a kid.Joe just was (& is) my thing.

[THE KNOCK-OFF MESSIAH]

dont get me wrong i like gi joe love it to some extent. but i remember the first joe i got and how pissed i was that it wasnt a he-man figure. that i didnt want it. but i later became quite loyal to gi joe and have quite a large collection. but in a head to head battle of coolness. masters of the universe goes above and beyond the call of duty.

[Deleted]

I have to go with MOTU on this one. I like the figures better. I also find the cartoon more entertaining. It is nice and straight foward. GI Joe was a great cartoon also don't get me wrong, I just found it would get boring quick.

[soundwave]

i like motu because i had almost all of them and they were more durable than g.i.joe (to many parts and fragile parts) but i like and collect both of them and actually have tons of heman compared to my g.i.joe collection................ ? anyone got any 3 3/4 joes for sale?

[80s Action Figures]

I had more Joes than anything else...they were the best, I however voted for LJN D&D figures which were the best...I had them all, so thats waht 20 figures???

I have alot of Joes for sale, and even more for trade.................any of your Hemans for trade?

[daltron]

Poor He-Man Can't stand up straight. Must be a genetic defect that runs through Eternia. And the Knock Off zones.

[da18thcustomizer]

I was heavily into both of these lines in the 80's. Hmm...id say that while MOTU was entertaining (very) the poseability and smaller scale of the GI Joe figures eventually murdered them when comparing the amount of time spent playing with figures.

Not to mention the realistic aspect of joe (comparatively speaking) , the organization model it offered (growing up reading the back of the file cards was a big deal. Identifying rank and such..).


Now had MOTU had the same pose ability back then...this might be a different conversation.

GI JOE

[Megatron]

MOTU all the way

[THE KNOCK-OFF MESSIAH]

motu had me from the start. it was the first toyline i screamed for. my fav toy to pre date he-man was my 12" mego hulk. gi joe didnt sit with me at first. in fact rememeber back in 83 i got a snowjob and my foster brother got whiplash. i was so pissed. but it wasnt until the toon the got good and the snakeeye v.2 came out that i really got into gi joe. my 87 it was my fav. just cutting by transformers. which was second only due to not having as many. but he-man nad transformers consume top slots. gijoe actually sits close to the first to go pile.

[neoviper76]

Man......I just cant pick between the 2. I had both growing up and both got equal playtime.

[Captainamerica]

I remember buying my first he-man fig and at the same time bought GI Joe #1. He -man ruled the roost until I read the comic the next day, then nothing mattered but Joes....

[da18thcustomizer]

galaxywarrior said:

motu had me from the start. it was the first toyline i screamed for. my fav toy to pre date he-man was my 12" mego hulk. gi joe didnt sit with me at first. in fact rememeber back in 83 i got a snowjob and my foster brother got whiplash. i was so pissed. but it wasnt until the toon the got good and the snakeeye v.2 came out that i really got into gi joe. my 87 it was my fav. just cutting by transformers. which was second only due to not having as many. but he-man nad transformers consume top slots. gijoe actually sits close to the first to go pile.

Its interesting that you should point that out as ive considered this a few times (that being the question Why are joes so expendable ? lol).

I wonder...
1. If He-Man figures were smaller would they be one of the first to be traded as often?
2. Had the line offered the same amount of figures that GI JOE did would they be more common (but then again i wouldnt say He-Man is that rare or heavily valued)?


I cant help but to believe that if He-Man figures were smaller and had 100's of figures released as Joe did they they may be viewed as more common/expendable. Not to mention the multiple rereleases.

Mattels mishandling definitely adds to the Nostalgia factor with He-man.

[pain]

I love both lines, but He-Man and the Masters of the Universe will forever be my all-time favorite

[THE KNOCK-OFF MESSIAH]

da18thcustomizer said:

galaxywarrior said:

motu had me from the start. it was the first toyline i screamed for. my fav toy to pre date he-man was my 12" mego hulk. gi joe didnt sit with me at first. in fact rememeber back in 83 i got a snowjob and my foster brother got whiplash. i was so pissed. but it wasnt until the toon the got good and the snakeeye v.2 came out that i really got into gi joe. my 87 it was my fav. just cutting by transformers. which was second only due to not having as many. but he-man nad transformers consume top slots. gijoe actually sits close to the first to go pile.

Its interesting that you should point that out as ive considered this a few times (that being the question Why are joes so expendable ? lol).

I wonder...
1. If He-Man figures were smaller would they be one of the first to be traded as often?
2. Had the line offered the same amount of figures that GI JOE did would they be more common (but then again i wouldnt say He-Man is that rare or heavily valued)?


I cant help but to believe that if He-Man figures were smaller and had 100's of figures released as Joe did they they may be viewed as more common/expendable. Not to mention the multiple rereleases.

Mattels mishandling definitely adds to the Nostalgia factor with He-man.

gi joe for me is expendable because they love to beat a dead horse. they push you to hate...infact hasbro pushes me to hate. they killed tf's for me as well. if it wasnt for china and hongkong bootlegging iw ouldnt buy any tf's and i havent bought a joe ina long time. did trade for an action force fig for 2 a while ago but they just got tossed into a basket anyway.

[toyboxraider]

Love em both, but love my Joes quite a bit more!

[clambo]

Joes for sure. I hated He-Man as a kid. My younger brother loved He-Man and wasn't into G.I.Joe. It worked out well. There's five years between me and my brother. He-Man was lame, very little movement, boring weapons, and crappy stories that a fart in a red hat and red robe would tell you the morals to. Now G.I.Joe on the other hand, they had movement, more and better weapons, a better cartoon, a better comic, and made Hasbro alot more money than He-Man made Mattel. I even prefered fantasy to action/military items as a kid. Loved Harryhausen movies, Frazetta artwork, Conan comics, etc., etc. He-Man just always seemed like a poor attempt to me. Something more for my little bro. I still remember getting Snake Eyes and Scarlett when I was a kid. I was pumped. Snake Eyes took over her crossbow real fast. Scarlett got his purse (I didn't realize it was an explosives satchel until later). I do remember getting Beastman too though, he just didn't keep my interest past a week or so.

[THE KNOCK-OFF MESSIAH]

dont get me wrong i liked gijoe as a kid big time. but it was a rough jump. i had already liked motu. so i was slow to warm to it. it was the toon that helped motivate me. the first figure i got was snowjob. i didnt collect them for real for another year or so. when snakeeyes 2 came out that was the figure to sway me. the comic really made me like the ninjas. the comic with quick kick and storm shadow on the cover is one of my al time favs come the end of 87 motu was dead and tf's were really expansive so gijoe took over full blast for me until 92 when i stopped.

[clambo]

Good point. I was already attacking my Jedi figures with G.I.Joes when He-Man was still a drizzle in Mattels sack. Let's not forget that G.I.Joe was out first and was still putting out quality toys years after He-Man was on the clearance racks.

[gort]

As a kid all of the big four had their time at the top for me, but I think MOTU probably spent the least time there.

I think it was the cartoon that killed it. I remember when I first saw them on the shelves, and when I got my first figures (Mer-Man & He-Man and Battle Cat) they seemed quite 'dark' and serious. Once the cartoon came out itall seemed a little jolly, the villains less threatening, the heroes less jaded. It lacked the 'imperfect world' feel of the Star Wars Universe or the (UK) Transformers and Action Force comics.

[THE KNOCK-OFF MESSIAH]

he-man was first. being first released in 1981. at least a season or 2 before gijoe. the toon wasnt on until sometime in 83 i think. and starwars wasnt really my thing. before he-man it was my mego hulk.

[clambo]

Someone has forgotten about the 12" Joes. He-Man was second, in more ways than one.

[THE KNOCK-OFF MESSIAH]

hahahahah 12 inch joe and 8 inch super joe doesnt count. its like apples and avacados. the special forces code named gijoe started in 82 gijoe the adventure armyman is earlier yes but not at all teh same. and youknow it.

fans of a real american hero arent fans of 12in but there are some 12in fans you like 3 3/4. but not many.


also had they stuck with the 12in style even the theme it would have failed horribly. it was the special gimmicks and great villians that sold the 82 line. proof in the return of 12in killed the line.

[clambo]

I am a fan of both size Joes, except the newer 12" ones. The newer 12" line did fail horribly, just like both of the newer He-Man lines. G.I.Joe is better.

[sanfords2]

I originally voted for MOTU, but one thing I like about the Joes is that they're fixable. Try replacing one of He-Man's legs.

[THE KNOCK-OFF MESSIAH]

gijoe has been in constant failure since the late 90's somehow ill give it to them for failing upward. but really if people werent so rash theyd see the flaws of buying up the garbage they spew. and please the motu redo in 200x was horrible also. same each and every year with tf's. if hasbro would just keep shit the same and stop falling in the fad game. theyd still be cool. hasblo relies to heavly on test marketing. which ina time where both storys and creativity are at an all time low. kids still think dbz is cool. sure it was back in 93' blame yugioh and the rest of the cg anime crap. kids dont know that they like crap. cartoon network is another reason. they only show thier crap and kids want to see toons. its just the only options are crap or other crap. children of the 70s-80's had storys the toons were drawn by hard working people. the characters were for everyone to relate too. they had morals and helped to teach people to be good. ......now i just ranting


gi joe was a great line! so was motu! they were kings in different eras each had their claims to power and fame. both collapsed due to company mistakes.

[clambo]

We'll never have toys like we had in the 70's and 80's, that is for sure. It's sad really. G.I.Joe and Heman were definately both kings at their own time and both were/are superior to the toys of today.

[toyboxraider]

Are there yearly conventions for MOTU like there are for both GI Joe ARAH and the original GI Joe 12 inch figures? I know one year the convention was a hit and was hosted at Disney World if I am remembering right. I really have not heard of this for MOTU. With yearly conventions and at least 4 different sizes and 3 story lines plus a multitude of comics out right now I do not see GI Joe as being collapsed. Re-imagined for different people, yes, but collapsed? 25th anniversary selections are dissapearing much faster than the latest Big Movie TFs in some places. And these are characters that were put out over and over throughout the years.