Double Blast
Okay, I have to say with this profile that this is probably one of the more controversial figures of this current line. I still don’t understand how an action figure can be controversial, but then again, maybe I can…
Here to you, I present: Double Blast. No, he is not Roadblock, he is Double Blast. Plain and simple fact (to me at least, for whatever THAT’S worth!). And, I gotta confess here, I think Double Blast is the bomb.
Now that I’m done reeling from the fact that I actually used the phrase "the bomb", I gotta say that Double Blast is pretty dang cool, if I do say so. A heavy machine gunner like his more familiar older "brother", but of a whole different caliber, which I will hope to explain throughout this profile.
Double Blast is a rookie, a young kid straight from the Marines. Most of these new characters will be deemed rookies by me unless I think they deserve otherwise, such as Crossfire and Sure Fire, who I will get into later on in this very section. Anyway, he excelled at Parris Island and was led towards the Joes by Leatherneck, especially for his handling of the M-60 heavy machine gun. Once the young man arrived on the team, Roadblock immediately took him under his wing. He saw Double Blast as a younger cockier version of himself and was very eager to lead him down the right path. And even though Double Blast has asked numerous times to try out Roadblocks Browning .50 cal, Roadblock won’t let him, making sure he can handle the ’60 first.
Yeah, I know Double Blast comes with the Browning, but as soon as I open it, that black beauty is going straight to the ’93 Roadblock with the olive vest and blue pants. Big Ben’s M-60 (he doesn’t strike me as a Heavy Machine Gunner anyway) goes to Double Blast and everyone’s happy. This is a reason why these two characters can coexist so well together. The original Roadblock looked large and muscular for his time, but now, he seems a little scrawny. Scrawny enough to be a different character all together. My ’93 Roadblock always has been and will always be the gourmet cookin’ machine gunner, so he mixes with the younger, smaller gunner with no friction whatsoever. Complete coexistance! I know that doesn’t work for everyone out there, but it works for me, and that’s what’ll happen in my little world.
Double Blasts colors are nicely done as well. He has muted browns and greens, making for a pretty plain and normal looking uniform, but he fits right in with the rest of the ’00 and ’01 clan. The swirled camo is a little off as with some of the others, but still a neat effect in my book. His accessories are great as well, taking the original Roadblock’s classic weapon and putting it into a better color tone. I’ve never seen an olive drab machine gun before, but now the black is great. Plus I can now equip my ’93 Roadblock with the weapon he is meant to carry.
With almost any other series of the new figures, this one would be high on the list! With the awesome new schemes of Low Light and Cobra Commander, plus the tweaking of old molds for other great figures, though, this guy gets bumped a little lower. Unfortunate that due to his mold and his company, he will be reduced to mediocrity, but hopefully a spotlight in one of my upcoming dio-stories will give him the credit he deserves. Especially the with the excellent characterization he is already given in his filecard. The opposition between monster machine-gunner and genius engineer is a really neat one to me, and whether or not Hasbro did it on purpose, this is a personality conflict that I really hope to expand upon. Will he team with Airtight to try and figure out Cobra’s new weapon of destruction, or will he help Roadblock tear through the enemy ranks with his hog? I can see plenty of great story ideas from this character alone.
The G.I. Joe Fire Team!
Two Joe Heavy Machine Gunners, different as night and day! ; )
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