Iron Grenadier Leader Destro (GI Joe 25th Anniversary)

Check out what I received in the mail yesterday. And it only cost me three dollars! Thanks eBay!

Honestly, I only got this figure because it was so cheap and I was hoping to combine shipping on other auctions by the same seller I was bidding on (I also had Lady Jaye and Gung Ho figures on my watchlist, but they both went for over ten bucks). Not that I don't like Destro (Scottish arms dealer with a metal helmet? I'm sold!), and I certainly needed a figure of the character in my collection. It just wasn't my first choice. If was going to get a Destro figure, I was going to get one that resembled his traditional appearance. When I first saw pictures of this figure I had no idea what the source material was. Turns out this look is from the DIC G.I. Joe series in the late 80s/early 90s, where Destro went into business for himself, trading in his 70s pimp daddy look for new hardcore threads for the extreme 90s.

It's a pretty cool figure. Gone are the bare chest and disco collar. The cape and spikes on his shoulder are a definite plus. I'm not sold on the gold head (which is a big shift from the traditional silver) but maybe it'll grow on me. It's also a bit small for his body. He's got two weapons, a sword and a pistol, which can be stored on the figure. After removing the figure from the card, the first thing I noticed was how obtrusive the sword scabbard was. It's huge, and hangs off of his belt at an angle designed to cover up as much of the back of his legs as possible. You definitely can't fit him into a vehicle with that thing on.

Definitely a figure I only got because of a choice opportunity, but it's pretty dandy, nonetheless.