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The year 2005 (MMV) was the twenty-fourth year of the A Real American Hero brand and the debut year of Sigma 6.
Overview[]
While, as always, fans debated the quality of the new Joe releases and often longed for Joe to return to what it was in the 1980s, sales and the number of releases were as strong as ever. Like 1994, the year 2005 began with no signs of the toy line ever slowing down. Yet once again, the creators decided to pursue a different direction. The 12" line was retired after thirteen years, and it was announced that store releases for the 3 3/4" figures would be put "on hiatus" indefinitely, beginning in the summer. Meanwhile, Hasbro would experiment with a new, 8" Sigma Six line of Joe figures. These toys were released in fall 2005 and promoted with a weekend, anime-style cartoon show. However, unlike the infamous Sgt. Savage and G.I. Joe Extreme lines, this one continued the familiar Joe continuity, including characters such as the preteen son of General Hawk. The first series of figures consisted of Duke, Heavy Duty, Snake Eyes, Spirit, and Storm Shadow. This new line dominated the convention's previews, but most fan attention was focused on the exclusive Iron Grenadiers and Steel Brigade figures available. The convention was held June 23-24.
The "hiatus" announcement was soon retracted, and instead the 3 3/4" releases were available on-line, primarily at HasbroToyShop.com, beginning in July. Conventions and additional Toys "Я" Us-exclusives would also provide occasional opportunities for more figures and vehicles. The new online exclusives included single-packed figures with original character art, as well as figure style and proportion, reminiscent of the Generation 1 line. Comic 3-packs and newly molded vehicles were also released through Hasbro's site. Several of the figures represented characters long thought forgotten. The fan reaction was mostly positive; the few criticisms had to do mostly with the reuse of recent figure parts. Hasbro even set up an online feature called "Ask Cobra Commander" to allow input from collectors.
Toys - A Real American Hero[]
Carded figures[]
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Valor vs. Venom - Series 6
Valor vs. Venom - Series 7
Valor vs. Venom - Single-Carded |
Direct-to-Consumer - Series 1 Direct-to-Consumer - Series 2 |
Non-carded figures[]
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G.I. Joe Team
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Cobra
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Comic Packs[]
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Retail releases |
Direct-to-Consumer releases
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Equipment[]
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G.I. Joe Team
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Cobra
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Built to Rule[]
- Freedom Defense Outpost w/ Duke
Mailaways[]
- Jungle Viper
- Storm Shadow
Convention Exclusives[]
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Figures
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Equipment
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Toys - Sigma 6[]
Commando Series 1
Soldier Series 1
Ninja Showdown
Equipment
- Ninja Hovercycle
- Cobra Ninja Hovercycle
Comicbooks[]
Issues 38-43 of the Devil's Due comic were released this year, as well as issues 1-6 of the series' relaunch, G.I. Joe: America's Elite. Devil's Due also released Master & Apprentice 2, issues 1-5 of Snake-Eyes: Declassified, The Hunt for Cobra Commander, issues 12-14 of G.I. Joe Reloaded (its final issues), and the first issue of the Sigma 6 miniseries.
Issues 4-6 of Dreamwave Productions' Transformers/G.I. Joe: Divided Front would have been released this year had the miniseries not been cancelled in 2004. The entire company was shut down early in this year.
Animation[]
Part of season one of G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 is released.