Joepedia
Advertisement

The year 2007 (MMVII) was the 25th anniversary of the A Real American Hero brand, and the final year for Sigma 6.

Overview[]

The smaller Joe line's 25th anniversary began quietly. Amid rumors of special releases, the "Sigma 6" name was dropped from the 8" figures, establishing that this would be the G.I. Joe identity from now on.

In January, Hasbro announced they would be celebrating with the Real American Hero 25th Anniversary Collection: an assortment of 25 figures, to be released throughout the summer, updating classic characters. Anticipation was high, and as summer was ending, the toys finally came.

Released widely in stores and available at HasbroToyShop and countless other places online, single packs and fancily-packaged five-figure sets were difficult to find. Stores had underestimated demand, based on the dwindling sales of Valor vs. Venom and the DTC figures. However, the 25th Anniversary toys proved wildly popular, and many stores had trouble keeping them in stock.

The fan reaction was not lost on Hasbro, who wasted no time in announcing the line's expansion. Instead of just the original 25 figures, the Anniversary Collection would be expanded into an ongoing line, with series planned at least into 2008.

One thing was missing this year: vehicles. For the first time, Joe would have a figures-only year aside from a few convention exclusives.

Figures released with the Anniversary theme had the old-style yellow filecards and assignment-first arrangement of information. The packages had a silver-foil border, in honor of 25 years of ARAH. The figures would have a new construction this year, slightly larger (more accurately characterized as 4" figures) and therefore unable to fit in some of the older vehicles. Yet they were also heavily articulated, intricately detailed, and made entirely from new molds.

Sigma 6 drew to an end this year, after broadening its scope to include several "Adventure Team" sets, featuring the familiar characters doing things like capturing animals in the jungle or exploring ancient tombs. Several sets were shown off at Toy Fair, but were ultimately unreleased.

A big announcement came this year: following the success of this summer's Transformers, Hasbro announced they would also be producing a live-action G.I. Joe film, scheduled for release in 2009.

In October, the CBS television program NCIS paid homage to G.I. Joe in the episode "Identity Crisis," naming many of the guest stars and incidental characters after Joes. The characters referenced include Doc, Scarlett, Cover Girl, Roadblock, Grunt, Grand Slam and Mainframe.

Toys - A Real American Hero[]

25th Anniversary figures[]

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Series 4
Note: All are re-releases from the box sets.

25th Anniversary sets[]

G.I. Joe Battle Pack

Cobra Battle Pack

Cobra Legions

Collector's Club Exclusives[]

Convention Exclusives

Toys - Sigma 6 scale[]

Sigma 6[]

Commando Series 6

Soldier Series 5

Commando Series 7

Soldier Series 6

  • Gung Ho
  • Inferno
  • Iron Grenadier

Commando Series 8

Soldier Series 7

Commando Series 9

Box sets

Convention Exclusive

  • Red Ninja

Combat Squad[]

Series 1

  • Army Ranger
  • Black Ops
  • Marine

Series 2

Land, Sea & Air

  • Backblast
  • Barrel Roll
  • Deep Six

Adventure Team[]

Comicbooks[]

Issues 19-30 of America's Elite wer released, as well as issues 1-7 (the entire series) of G.I. Joe: Storm Shadow, Special Missions Brazil and The Enemy, issues 2 and 3 of Dreadnoks: Declassified, and G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers: Black Horizon.

Animation[]

The second part of season two of G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 is released.

Advertisement