G.I. Joe Panel Recap

Who Was There: Aaron Archer (Hasbro design), Jeff Labovitz (Hasbro marketing), John Warden (lead designer on the Hasbro 3.75-inch figure line), Jason Enos (EA product manager), and Chris Oliveri.

What They Talked About: Hasbro started off the panel by discussing their upcoming tie-in toy lines for G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. They were really excited about what was on its way, and said that their real goal was to take what they felt were the best characters and figure sets from the '80s and reinvent them for today. In fact, many of the figures and vehicles that they showed off weren't actually in the film but were nonetheless brought back and updated so that they looked as though they were part of that same universe.

Besides the single figure packages, Hasbro showed off a number of other configurations, including two-packs (such as Tunnel Rat vs. Monkey Wrench), vehicles with bundled soldiers (the Polar Shark with Ice Storm), troop builder kits with five or more figures, and full battle scenes (Storm Shadow vs. Snake Eyes at the Arashikage Temple). Perhaps the coolest packages they showed off, though, were the "then and now" bundles, which include both the classic and modern versions of a particular set, like the Polar Battle Bear with Snow Job. Collectors beware though: many of the sets they showed off were exclusive to Target, Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart, or online stores, so if you want a specific set, you may have to look around for it.

After wrapping up the toy end of the business, Hasbro passed the panel off to Jason, who talked to us about the upcoming G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra game that picks up the story where the film left off. According to him, the G.I. Joe franchise was perfect for EA to adapt, because it was something they could make very accessible to a wide audience, it had a great universe, and it had more than 40 years of brand recognition. The EA team really wanted to allow players to team up and fight with each of the Joes so they could show off their particular skills and expertise, and Hasbro worked alongside them very closely for the project, even handing over an unseen modern-day H.I.S.S. tank blueprint so it could be realized within the game.

Best Audience Question: "Why does Snake-Eyes have a mouth?" was asked to much laughter from both the audience and the panelists. According to Hasbro, the film team used an early comic book appearance of Snake-Eyes with lips as a basis for adapting the character, and that's just how he ended up. It was also mentioned that he has appeared with lips before in some of the early figures, so it's not entirely unheard of.

Most Interesting Audience Question: An audience member wanted to know what the deal was with Heavy Duty. Why did he show up in the movie, when the Roadblock figure was being resurrected? According to the Hasbro guys, they really wanted to stay true to the characters. They wanted a character like Roadblock in the film, but they felt that he was a bit too goofy (Roadblock always speaks in rhymes and alternates between being a cook and a heavy machine gunner). Rather than change him, they used Heavy Duty instead.

The Takeaway: There are a ton of great-looking new figures and vehicles coming out, all of which were designed to draw on nostalgia from the classic sets and reinvent them for modern times. If you're a huge figure collector or even just a guy who likes 3.75-inch-tall tanks with ridiculously proportioned missiles, Hasbro has you covered with this new generation of G.I. Joe. And now you know.