Sometimes as toy collectors, we can look across our displays and only see the toys that aren’t there. They are the missing figures. The characters toy companies never got around to, never thought were important enough, or worse – the figures companies felt the need to show us at comicon in the “We’re Never Gonna Make These” case. Saturdays are for these figures…

If you’ve been coming to the site recently, you know that the ItsAllTrue Crew had a great time at JoeCon. We had a ton of fun, particularly being there first-hand when Hasbro revealed Pursuit of Cobra for 2010. There’s some great figures coming up. Even if you’re turned off by the movie-based theme, there should have been one or two figures in there that weakened your resolve just a little bit. I know I saw a ton of stuff I want now: ROC Beachhead, the Jungle Viper, “kills you from a 1000 ft” Snowjob, Arctic Shipwreck, Firefly, City Strike Scarlett, Zartan, Arctic Destro… just to name a “few”.

But despite all that excitement and anticipation, I’m a little sad too. When I look at my Joe shelf, I still see some other figures I want right now too and I have an idea how Hasbro can get them to us…

By no means is that image above showcasing the top ten figures still needed in the 25th line (For example, Covergirl, recently featured in our MRF feature, was excluded for this week). But they are a quick selection of figures the 25th line still needs and I have to wonder why they’re not in the pipeline. Like a lot of folks, I’m looking forward to Pursuit of Cobra, but I have to ask why we can’t have the best of both worlds?

I think toy companies tend to think inside the box. Pursuit of Cobra isn’t just a toyline. It’s a marketing campaign. It’s an overall arc/theme to keep kids excited in between films. If you watched the movie, you saw Cobra rise, and now if you keep playing with the toys, you’ll see them pursued. Simple, right? But maybe that’s too clean-cut.

I doubt there are a lot of GI Joe/Power Rangers collectors out there, but you never know. I’m not one of them, but I did see something happening on those Power Rangers pegs this last year and I want to suggest Hasbro adopt it. While the new Power Rangers figures were tying in with the current version of the toyline, these other figures would pop up. They were updated versions of the original figures brought to the current toyline’s standards. They were classic, but modern. Their packaging even resembled (or was dead-on) to the original packaging. Sounds familiar? Doesn’t that sound like something that would work for Joes?

That’s my proposal for Hasbro in regards to the continuation of the 25th Joes. Mix ’em in. They’re already doing it a little bit. I noticed Thunder and Heavy Duty sneaking in with some vehicles in the barage of ROC product. There’s some two-packs with Night Force Tunnel Rat, Monkeywrench, and NF Shockwave too. But I’m saying expand it. Let’s try it at one 25th figure per wave. That first wave of POC Joes looks sweet with Arctic Threat Storm Shadow, City Strike Snake Eyes, City Strike Duke, Jungle Assault Ripcord, and the Desert Viper, but how cool would it be if one more figure was in that wave? Wouldn’t we all be just a little more excited to see 25th Low-Light thrown in there?

And it’s not just fanservice, dear Hasbro. If I’m already buying a 25th Low-Light, then you’ve got my wallet in your clutches already. And while you have it, City Strike Snake Eyes might just be a little snazzier while I was on my 25th high… just sayin’.

So, there you have it. The 25th line, though technically going into it’s 27th year, needs some more love and the best way to do it is to salt and pepper those figures into the POC waves. It won’t be confusing. Collectors, moms, and kids aren’t stupid. The different packaging will make it clear. It won’t cause problems. Those 25th figures will move. This can work.

Fans, POC is coming whether you want it to or not. I, for one, wouldn’t want to trade some of these new designs away any more than I want to miss out on some cool 25th updates. I want both. I think this is a way to get everything out there. So, fans, what say you? And if something like this were to happen, which 25th Joes should come first?