When I was growing up, 3.75" action figures (AKA 1:18, AKA God's scale) were understood to be the default size for any new toyline coming out, especially if the line included a fair number of vehicles. This is thanks to G.I. Joe and Star Wars, of course...and while there were certainly some iconic action figure lines that deviated from this scale, if they were going to do so, they needed to have a reason. It has been a lot of fun as a grown-up kid to see characters that weren't originally available in that size (or weren't originally available at all) make their way into 1:18 form through lines like Super7's ReAction Figures. Several years back, Hasbro even released a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive set that featured characters from brands that spent the '80s in another scale (e.g. MASK, Rom, Visionaries) brought in line with the 4" G.I. Joe figures of the era.
Official product shot, found with this review at the Transformers Wiki Community
Much like MASK, the 1980s Wheeled Warriors toys were released in a much smaller scale than G.I. Joe and Star Wars (and even smaller than MASK, for that matter), which allowed for an extreme focus on cool vehicles without vaulting the toys out of the price range of their target audience.
My renewed interest in these toys was spurred, at least in part, when I was thinking recently about what other lines or properties I would enjoy seeing with 3.75" figures, and I realized that Wheeled Warriors would be very close to the top of that list (if not at the very top). I like the idea of having Joe-sized figures to represent the generic folks that came with the toys (like Drill Sergeant's driver above), but since Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors was a reasonably popular cartoon, some action figure customizers have naturally turned their attention to the series, and I'd also like to occasionally look at some examples of these creations here on Monstrous Matters.
The first set of awesome customs is from artist Chris Sizemore, who posts on Instagram as sizemore77customactionfigures and on the HissTank.com boards as Flint_rocks. Four of the show's heroes, as well as main series baddie Saw Boss, are represented here in the updated (4") G.I. Joe scale. I definitely recommend clicking over to this thread on the forum to see these in greater detail...!
Okay, after focusing last week on the greatest contribution of the Wheeled Warriors to 1980s pop culture (that theme song!), today we have to come to terms with some of the fundamental issues of the IP. It's worth it to talk about these things now, so we can keep them in mind while evaluating aspects of the series and toys, and then set them aside as needed to get closer to fully appreciating the franchise.
#1 - The cartoon is remarkably disconnected from the toys.
This isn't completely out of line with 1980s standards. With the onslaught of toy/cartoon one-two punches of the era, there were often discrepancies between the onscreen product and the items found on store shelves, especially if the toys included comics giving a glimpse into the world of the toys. (See, for example, the early efforts of the Masters of the Universe toyline.) With that said, there's a special kind of disconnect going on here.
The show is called Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, yet a Jayce figure was never released. In fact, the figures that came with the toys weren't even given names and were essentially generic soldier-drivers onto which kids could paste whatever background they wanted. Now, I actually think this is pretty cool. I had tons of fun with my Wheeled Warriors (despite later trading them for a MASK Switchblade). It's probably worth noting, though, that my little south Georgia town also didn't even have access to the syndicated show, so the only time I was able to see it (same with MASK, fwiw) is when we visited my grandmother in Florida. My kid brain definitely conjured whatever version of WTF it was able to grasp when I did finally look through Grandma's TV listings and find this show about a dude named Jayce.
#2 - The cartoon's first episode...and arguably its entire premise...is a mess.
I really look back on the Wheeled Warriors fondly. I like the idea of playing in that universe, especially in the form given to us by the toys, with a small army of freedom fighters who work to save the galaxy/universe from a cabal of evil plant-brains who are self-aware enough to call themselves the Monster Minds. And I'd love for that form of the franchise to be tied closely to the cartoon that lots of kids presumably watched in the '80s. And I've watched the first episode of the show multiple times, wanting to love it each time.
Unfortunately...it just has some issues that are so glaring it's practically impossible to ignore them.
Now...once you get past the first episode, if you just catch up later with where the characters are in their (sort-of) arcs, this isn't much of a problem. The show is well known for the participation of J. Michael Straczynski in its writing (and world-building?), and that may be why it comes across as so much stronger after that introductory story. In fact, the last couple of episodes are probably some of the best 1980s toy-cartoon tales I've ever watched. (Seriously, just find out the basics of the universe and skip to the last couple of episodes if you want to start out enjoying the series...)
But that pilot...oh man...
There's no way I'm going to be able to do justice to this whole topic in one hastily-tapped-out blog post, so I'd like to direct you to some YouTube creators who have delivered excellent looks at the series. First of all, the channel Secret Galaxy (formerly Toy Galaxy, and arguably the best channel on YouTube) has a really nice overview that you can find here.
Second...and I'll embed these here...the channel RetroBlasting produced a three-part series on the franchise that I would imagine has served as a pretty comprehensive introduction to the IP for many people in the nearly 12 years since its upload. Let me note...and I'm not completely sure why I feel the need to note this...that I really became aware of the dude in RetroBlasting's pair of hosts when he had a weird online beef with another guy whose Masters of the Universe (and general toy industry) content I liked. It gave me a weird view of the guy to start with (one that was potentially completely unfair, btw) and has kind of made me assume this fellow's general approach to...everything...is to act annoyed by it. Well, whether that's the truth or not, that attitude is pretty perfect for looking at the Wheeled Warriors and dissecting the franchise's foibles. (And either way, these folks know their stuff and make great videos...)
The first episode here is largely a skit (that's actually pretty funny and demonstrates some of the fundamental problems of the IP well). Part 2 covers the cartoon, and Part 3 hits the toys. If you think they're worth a bit of your time, I hope you enjoy...!
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I'm still going to game-ify the Wheeled Warriors on here. Soon. Just a reminder, I want to be able to make a character sheet for this guy:
I've actually done...eh, okay...in keeping up with occasional Geeky SKAturday and Meta Monday posts on here. So...clearly...it's time for me to push my luck and start another series that will bring some consistency to the content found on Monstrous Matters. My reasoning goes something like this:
1. At the moment, I am mildly fascinated by the 1985 toyline Wheeled Warriors, as well as the lore presented in its associated cartoon (which was profoundly disconnected from the toys themselves), Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. (Looking for a Jayce figure? Save the effort...there wasn't one!)
2. The alliteration in "Wheeled Warriors" is pleasing to the ear. Both words start with W.
3. Wednesday, which occurs in the middle of every week, also starts with W.
4. That's just too good of an opportunity to pass up.
So, as I work through this temporary obsession, I shall share thoughts related to the IP that I think are worth talking about. On Wednesdays. (Those are the Wheeled Wednesdays.) In general, I really do believe this is a bit of nostalgia worth talking about. And while there's a wiki, the toys and cartoon don't even have a permanent home on Reddit as far as I can tell. Criminal.
When I was a kid, I cycled through these phases of intense interest in one topic or another, much as I still do as someone wellinto adulthood. The focus was often a specific toyline, maybe with an accompanying cartoon, and I may or may not have even maintained the interest long enough to acquire any merchandise connected to it (so much depended upon the timing of my obsessions relative to my birthday or Christmas, y'know?).
Wheeled Warriors was one that lasted for a while, though. I even "created" my own knockoff IP, "Wheeled Battlers," and wrote a little book about them for a third grade assignment. And then in fourth grade...maybe for another school assignment(?)...I remember drawing a cereal box that had a Wheeled Battlers tie-in. Crossing over school years is pretty big for one of my toy obsessions that wasn't among the pillars of my childhood (G.I. Joe, Star Wars, superheroes, Masters of the Universe, maybe MASK...?). I even had three of the vehicles, although I'm not 100% certain which ones I had. (Other than Saw Boss. I'm pretty sure I had Saw Boss.) BUT...I ended up trading all three of them to my cousin Leighton for a MASK Switchblade. No regrets.
But I have to admit, it'd be pretty cool to still have those.
I'll keep things simple today. If you look around for modern takes on the Wheeled Warriors, one constant reaction you'll find is that the cartoon's theme song absolutely rocks...literally and metaphorically. It is, as the kids have said for probably decades at this point, a certified banger. You'd better prepare yourself for this...
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Obviously I'm going to do my best to take these nostalgic (and quasi-nostalgic) reflections to the next level of nerddom by wrapping them up into gaming. I'm not sure exactly what form that will all take, but I'm pretty sure it means I need to figure out how to make a character sheet for the guy the arrow's pointing at...
