David E. Boston Movies

The first new entry in the G.I. Joe franchise for the 21st century--a franchise that stretched back to Hasbro Toys' introduction of the "G.I. Joe" action figure back in 1964, and included three previous cartoon programs--the animated G.I. Joe Sigma 6 was a coproduction of Hasbro and Japan's Gonzo Studios. The "team" concept was carried over from the earlier cartoon versions, as a group of six multiethnic "Joes" (men and women), each endowed with incredible strength and resilience and boasting the latest in secret-agent technology, did weekly battle against their traditional enemies, the minions of the evil organization COBRA. Motivating many of the plotlines was the race between Sigma Six and Cobra to locate the mysterious Power Stones, which yielded unbelievable technological powers. The character lineup on this occasion (eminently adaptable to Hasbro playthings) included, of course, the six main Joes: Duke, Snake Eyes, Tunnel Rat, Long Haul, Heavy Duty and Scarlet. Also on hand were Commander Cobra, Overlord Vector, General Hawk, Kamukara, Hi-Tech, Machete, Destro, Zaratan, Storm Shadow, Torch and Jinx the Ninji, Spirit the Indian, The Baroness, Tomax, Flint, Overkill, Scott, and Spud the Robo Dog. Introduced with a 5-part pilot episode, G.I. Joe Sigma 6 was added to the Fox Network's Saturday-morning "4Kids" cartoon lineup on August 27, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi