G.I. Joe Classified Cobra Island #32; Barbecue: "I fear no man. But that... thing... it scares me."

Toy Logic: A concept that goes against what many would see as sensible, practical and realistic and relies on what would appeal to kids, be it something cool, something cute, or something in between. While I usually accept what would seem to be jumps of logic for the sake of Toy Logic, every now and then, one feels like it's going a bit too far. For example, robots turning into animals? Sure. The bad guys having a Pillbug in their ranks? That's a stretch. A firefighter in the anti-terrorist team? It seems like a stretch, but when said terrorists are employing arsonists, maybe not that much of a stretch (even if it's a bit of a niche specialist). Meet Gabriel Kelly, better known as Barbecue. 

 

"One shudders to imagine what inhuman thoughts lie behind that mask. What dreams of chronic can sustain the cruelty?"

 

For a hero, though, he's undoubtedly intimidating. This look for Barbecue is based on a heavy-duty Fire retardant suit, with onboard oxygen and smoke filtering system. Not the kind of suit you find on your average joe (joke intended) firefighter. Due to that, though, there's a heightened intimidation to the look. If I saw this when I was in a building that was on fire, my first thought wouldn't be, "Sweet, a firefighter has cleared the path to escape", my first thought was "oh shit this guy's come to kill me!". On the plus side, it is faithful to the 1985 toy for those looking for accuracy, just with some minor modernization updates. A few new paint applications, some tweaking to the sculpt. To those who still have the original and can put them side by side, you'll probably be able to spot more differences than I can with YoJoe images. Still, for those without direct side by side comparisons, it's in a similar category to MP-10 Optimus Prime. Different in subtle ways, but unquestionably the character when looking at the figure as a whole. I just wish he came with an alternate head to help ease the intimidation of the design. Are we sure he's not a robot?

 

While there's no alternative head, there is an extra accessory when compared to the original. You get a three-piece assembly of an all-purpose multi-tank (I'm pretty sure you can't use the same chemicals to put out all the different types of fire, it's why there are multiple types of fire extinguishers), a hose and a nozzle to put out fires. The complete assembly looks good overall, though it is a missed opportunity not to have an effect part for the nozzle. The hose itself doesn't feel brittle, but that remains to be seen as it's potentially a long term issue. However, what is far less likely to break are the two axes. You have a short axe that is a modernization of the axe he originally came with and a far larger, more intimidating axe. I've got no complaints with these; they both look great. I appreciate the silver on the axe heads, making them look far more dynamic when compared to most toy weapons I see. Unfortunately, the hose gets in the way when the nozzle is stored, and the giant axe is a nightmare to store thanks to the plastic used for the pack, to the point where I'm not sure I'm even putting it in correctly.

 

Plastic use is the only major issue I have with this figure, as aside from the backpack, the only other note about it is in the hands. They feel stiff compared to the other figures I own, again making using the weapons somewhat frustrating (though thankfully, these don't appear to be painted like Gung Ho's hands were). Barbecue, to me, feels like the kind of exclusive character that should be in the Cobra Island line of exclusives. Though he seems to have been somewhat prominent in the comics (from what I can tell with brief gloss overs), he didn't have much to do in the show, only being in one episode. It makes getting him feel more like a nice novelty, but not a necessity, kind of like a good chunk of the Generations Selects toys for Transformers. While it would have been nice to get an alternate head and an effect part (requests that could probably also be said for many characters in the line), what we got is solid. A great find if you can get him, but not someone to lose sleep over if you can't (unless you're a big Barbecue fan). All this talk about Barbecue has made me hungry, so I'm going to go make some snags for lunch.