The year is 1986, and GI Joe: Real American Heroes is one of the hottest series in TV syndication. Kids are rushing home from school for the latest afternoon exploits of these Hasbro/Marvel Comics-created heroes. The names of Duke, Flint, Lady Jaye, Scarlett, Roadblock, Snake Eyes and more have become immortalized, and still fondly remembered today. As far as these fans are concerned, they are the Real American Heroes.
Who can blame them? By the standards of mid-80s animated TV, the Joes (and their high tech counterparts the Transformers) are the honestly best looking cartoons on the market. The action was turbo-charged, even if standard and practices would force it to lean towards the silly side. It didn’t matter to the pre-teen fans.
Compared to the competition, such as He-Man, Detective Gadget and My Little Pony, the only toons that could stand toe-to-toe with the Joes and the Robots in Disguise were the Thundercats. The Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles were still a year away. All fans had to hear was the hysterical hiss of the Joe’s ultimate enemy, Cobra Commander (the late Chris Latta), and they knew they’d be knee deep in daring do and hard-hitting fun.