HCC788 - 1990 OVERLORD and the DICTATOR! Vintage G.I. Joe toy review!

[@Dragonrider1227]

Cobra was never known for their realism and practicality :P strange that he never appeared in the comics. It's almost like they had a plan for him, scrapped it at the last minute but decided to release the figure anyway. He comes off as a filler figure. The way they have him and Sgt. Slaughter butting heads in the ads makes me think they could've made him Cobra's equivalent to him. Cobra's drill instructor with high combat skills but perhaps with desires to take over. That's how I'd apply him to my Joe-Verse if I owned him.

[@williamkincaid3465]

I loved this guy as a kid.. He and Cesspool rose up to prominate possitions within my Cobra.. Now looking at him I feel as though it's as if Oswald Cobblepot the Penguin started hitting the gym regularly, got all swolled up & then proceeded to kick TNMNT's Shredder's butt and steal his gear !

[@christianhafer9819]

He couldn't beat Shredder. Give me a break.

[@ProfessorHurt]

GIven the helmet, the mask, and the arm blades Overlord felt like G.I. Joe's answer to TMNT's Shredder. I will say this, when my Serpentor succumbed to gold plastic syndrome this figure in my collection took of the usurping on Cobra Commander.

[@DasNordlicht91]

In the one appearance he has in the toy commercials, he even kinda sounds like the cartoon Shredder.

[@nedflanders8968]

Yeah I was thinking the exact same thing. He does sound sort of like James Avery.

[@iamnostalgic9567]

I've read the comments and my opinion is that this guy was highly underrated and fell off the radar. Loved him in 1990 and again nearly 30 years later.

[@thegeorgiealityshow359]

That guy Overlord I 4got about until I seen it here from you HCC788.Thx for the review.

[@mwg500]

The reason Overlord wasn't in the cartoon was that DiC used the V3 Commander (who was the in their universe the restored original CC) and V2 Destro designs. Which was frustrating since those two figures were basically gone from store shelves when Dragonfire aired. As for who Overlord is, I see him as a Cobra officer TRYING to build a power base and take over but who knows if he succeeds. I disregard the Crimson Guard thing as mere speculation by Joe intel.

[@culturewarrior2012]

the 12 inch cobra commander from the 90's had a face under the hood that looked A LOT like this guy.

[@johnnymason2460]

From what I heard, the Overlord was supposed to be a reincarnation of Serpentor. The monocle was supposed to cover the eye that Zartan shot an arrow through in the comics. He should have been in the animated series. As I said before, Overlord vs. Cobra Commander would have been epic.

[@nedflanders8968]

Overlord was the last G.I. Joe figure I bought as a kid. He was also the first figure of the 1990 assortment that I ever saw and purchased.

[@fakename2212]

In an organization like Cobra, I would just assume that there are always at least three people actively plotting to seize power, no matter who is currently in charge.

[@G7M9W]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that in pre-production this figure mold was going to be a new Cobra Commander figure, but Hasbro scrapped that idea and instead assigned the Overlord character to it instead. Maybe I'm mis-remembering, but that does make some sense -- the head sculpt looks similar to that of the 1994 Star Brigade Cobra Commander, minus the monocle.

[@gazz_N7]

Holy cow! The Penguin tried to take over COBRA!

[@rtd1409]

I loved this one when I found him and always wondered what the actual backstory was and wondered what was up? Cool name too tie in to D-Day! funny in Brazil he came out as an Iron Grenadier character!

[@christopherkelly2223]

Growing up, i always assumed he was a member of the Iron Grenadiers like Voltar and Darklon.

[@GoldBawls]

I believe when this toy came out, mr. Belvedere was running. Child me made overlord the cobra butler. He mostly used the dictator to run errands.

[@k-dawgbroadcasting5444]

That is hysterical...I remember fondly making figures go far beyond they're stated uses. My favorite was using my Doc to be a stone cold killer who still healed his friends...

[@GoldBawls]

@Ismael Denver they don’t, you creepy shitbag.

[@nedflanders8968]

Looks like the Penguin tried to secretly join Cobra lol.

[@lazarus30001]

Overlord's claws are the boney remains of Serpentor's hands ;-)

[@gregsegda9481]

I've always been intrigued by Overlord. Been waiting for someone to do a review. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like there is a lot of info out there on him.

[@joshuachristian5443]

I had that toy. Loved it and it was my Cobra Commander until I bought the original Hooded Commander from someone in school. Doesn't look as cool as I thought it did back in 91.

[@bryedtan]

It is possible Overlord is actually Fred VII who survived and came back to take back control of Cobra from Cobra Commander I think that was the initial plan but considering Overlord is a very Muscular figure and his hair color is different from Fred VII it is also possible he was supposedly another Crimson Guard who grew disillusioned with the current leadership of Cobra and decided to take control himself. I guess the writers wanted Cobra to have some leadership power struggle like in previous storylines.

[@ZBR_ProXP]

overlord was amazing! top tier!

[@christianhafer9819]

I thinkI agree with you.

[@Lovebyte69]

I loved this toy! After playing G.I. Joe, he became my Wolverine when I played X-Men, before there were X-Men figures!!

[@gamesthatiplay9083]

Watching this video with the claws. I thought to myself "of course they have to have webbing between the claws, or a kid would poke their eye out." Then you show Storm Shadow's giant claws. :-)

[@ralang999]

The head sculpt (without the helmet) is intriguing. Could be a good head for a custom Cobra character. Paired with body of W.O.R.M.S perhaps?

[@cobraisland2594]

He does fit the whole Dr. Mindbender with hair image

[@f.d.english5080]

yeah, I know them biceps and monocle anywhere. gotta be the Dr. with a special hair potion

[@slavinben4484]

I remember reading about Overlord originally being Cobra Commander but hasbro changed it

[@hneugiii1245]

Nice video. I got this guy as a kid and had no clue who he was. None of my friends had him so we just used him as a new version of Cobra Commander.

[@Transfixed]

Yeah I was always disappointed we didn't get any follow-through on this character after they set him up to be important.

[@mrcatchingup]

I can not say I recall seeing the character and vehicle from my childhood but it was cool to learn what you could share here. The mini vehicle seems cooler to me than the other mini vehicles from the similar figures.

[@cyberfrank-bx2nv]

yeah, I had him. a very strange fig, he felt like a sith apprentice, second in command, but ready to overthrow at any time. I guess Marvel had it with change in cobra leadership by then, ha, ha. notice he had no primary or secondary military specialty. also, that orange torso with no logo did him no favor. I saw him as a battlefield commander, clearly aggressive and ambitious. his vehicle was not so bad to lead infantry in battle. CC only went in the battlefield in armor, Serpentor kept moral high on base, provided back up plans and re enforcement. while I read the comics and shows, I never killed my characters. months of captivity or hospital was as far as I felt made any sense. too bad Marvel did nt get that. good show!!!

[@jakubbuszko3089]

I know only that Retaliator chopper could catch this vehicle .... But whole story is enigma too ...

[@christianhafer9819]

I think he's pretty cool. Neat vehicle with a lot of features, and cool figure. Iron Grendiere colors. Gold and black, with some red. Nice.

[@sirkowski]

Make Cobra Great Again

[@philludwigsen1069]

Something you didn't touch on that surprised me was the difference in weapons from the commercials to the toy. The commercials showed him with some sort of baton staff.

[@guitardudeguy3139]

I have this figure and vehicle and I have to agree with you, where does he fit in the mix? Seems like alot of Cobra wannabe leaders. Cobra Commander was always the best. He was a must have. Overlord? Not so much. Although if you had a gold helmet and claws like that , you'd probably wanna be a leader of ...something. Head custodian maybe.

[@Amberjack1973]

I can never understand why every Cobra member doesn't have the Cobra insignia somewhere on them. The Cobra symbol can really make an average design look great.

[@scockery]

Paint ops costing money is one reason.

[@crownofhorns4738]

He came out in 1990, at around the same time Hama brought the real Cobra Commander back feom the dead in the comics. So its possible Hama was making him a Siegie agent acting under orders from the real CC as a kinda advanced guard to his return...or simply another rogue Crimson Guardsmen that wanted to challenge Destro and Fred for power over Cobra.

[@JoeMotionVideos82]

Put a ball cap on him, you will have Timmer! I feel like Hasbro was attempting to form another sub team, but backed out at the last minute. He is just confusing to me.

[@JoeMotionVideos82]

@@far-out_man I like that! Pretty smart idea.

[@dirus3142]

I like the idea of the character. A Crimson Guard officer that could be a potential second to Cobra Commander. One who could challenge any one trying to control Cobra other than the Commander. Chuck Dixon's IDW character krake would have been a better character if he had the background of Overlord. Sadly the figure is is just plain and goofy. The vehicle is a far departure away from the original toy design with one foot in reality.

[@evilsdemise1287]

I bought this figure when I was a kid with the expectation that this guy was a new major player on par with the rest of the Cobra leaders. I quickly realized that he was a made up character with no backstory, no origin, nothing but what the card said about him. The main reason why I bought it without knowing who he was, was that I never had Serpentor and I didn't want to miss out on the new Serpentor, or so I thought. I didn't know he was made up and had no impact in the GI Joe universe. This was a significant consumer experience for me. Let's just say I don't buy anything anymore unless I know exactly what I am buying.

[@christianhafer9819]

Who cares about his backstory or origin? Lol. Is he a cool figure with a cool vehicle? Okay. End of story. Lol.

[@agnethaladuff8559]

Very cool review of the Cobra Overlord and his Dictator vehicle.

[@crowningchristopher8273]

Those claws are perfect for gardening and planting in flowerpots

[@gaslandsmechanic4978]

he kinda reminds me of Col. Klink from Hogans heros

[@wallaroo1295]

I kind of wonder, maybe this was an attempt to make the unmasked, pony-tail Cobra Commander from the comics - except with a mask, because - Cobra Commander. And then that story line was quickly phased out, but production was already going. I think there were several attempts at this, none of which panned out well enough to warrant actually getting the Cobra Commander title.

[@jeffphillips1832]

That's funny, I thought he was just the dictator's driver. I mean it says it right there at the top of the dude's file card.

[@cryptomnesiac]

The mask that made it onto the figure is executed in a weird way, the sides of the cowl seem to go over his mouth rather than around the neck as in the artwork. Makes it look like he's wearing a re-breather...

[@aaronfountain4933]

The head reminds me of the 12inch cobra commander and it looks like there should be a removable chest piece.

[@BeeTeeGee]

I always got the feeling that since they were going into a new decade with the Joe toyline, Hasbro decided to go all out with the "new". When it comes to 1990 nearly every figure released that year was a new character, the sole exception to that being the Sonic Fighters line which was made up of nothing but old characters. And maybe Hasbro felt that DiC were going to push the new characters (and Overlord) in the show when DiC landed the license. But when DiC brought back Cobra Commander for the show, (a weird move on their part to use the Battle Armor version as by 89 that toy wasn't available in stores anymore) DiC just kept him around instead of introducing Overlord.

[@DasNordlicht91]

Then in Season 2 of DiC GI Joe, they didn’t use Cobra Commander’s 1991 look, instead using his hooded appearance (which, in fairness, was used for the Hall of Fame 12” version and the Talking Battle Commanders version).

[@BeeTeeGee]

@@DasNordlicht91 well DiC's choices of Cobra Commander were always a bit off. They used the Battle Armor version in Operation Dragonfire (1989) as well as season 1 (90-91) when the Battle Armor Cobra Commander was discontinued in 1989. There was a new Cobra Commander released in 1991 that went completely unused by DiC (could have introduced it in season 1 to promote a new upcoming Cobra Commander toy but didn't). And come season 2 (91-92) they changed his design to his Talking Battle Commander design. So for about 2 and a half years DiC were using a Cobra Commander design that was out of date and no longer available for purchase.

[@Patrick2480]

@@BeeTeeGee Yeah that dumbfounded me, i wish the 1990 season they used the red face plate CC if in the 1989 5 part miniseries they used battle armor version. But i guess since you still had IG Destro, use the battle armor version to sync with Destro, since in the next season they both change uniforms for their new versions releases, imo

[@mercedogre]

since destro and serpentor have thier own vehicles, i would imagine cobra commander stealing the dictator from overlord and claiming it as his own

[@charleshunterii7157]

He was supposed to be Cobra Commander in pre production

[@DareDevilDave75]

How do you have air to surface missiles on a surface vehicle?! They really weren’t trying too hard at this point, were they?! lol

[@MidnightRangeTM]

Maybe the claws are for pulling pork? He might be a big bbq guy and that’s how he pulls his pulled pork n beef.

[@ProfessorGalileu]

Great review.

[@MotiviqueStudio]

The claws and helmet are actually pretty ace. Really don't get the monocle though.

[@charliem9831]

As a kid when I started to really get into GI Joe I didn’t have Cobra Commander. Overlord was the only “leader” I had and yet I chose to use another figure as the leader. I honestly hardly ever used him.

[@peterang78]

I think the reason why they made overlord as leader of cobra is because if a kid can’t afford or able to buy a cobra commander figure, then they would chose this figure that is similar to cobra commander.

[@phonie698]

Wait a minute, speaking of him in media, wasn’t he in the nes GiJoe video game?

[@maxbrandt6]

Overlord seems very much like a place holder character until a newer and better established commander figure could be produced. The vehicle is very silly IMO.

[@affoster79]

It would make sense to give the bird talons to Raptor, or is Overlord actually Raptor :O

[@jakeproven256]

That’s a good connection since both characters are completely useless to cobra.

[@russellharrell2747]

magnificentfungizoids I fully support this. Even better, Raptor and Dr. Mindbender merged as a result of a teleportion experiment. Then through sheer ego thought he was the Cobra Overlord, the one true leader.

[@christianhafer9819]

Now that I have the figure and vehicle in hand, the Dictator is very cool. All together. Once you take the escape pod out, what's left is pretty flimsy, admittedly. But together, it's awesome. Better than the Cobra Ferret ATV, I think. Overlord is cool. Not a ton of posability, but not the worst figure, certainly.

[@DarkwyndPT]

I actually had the US version my aunt brought me from Canada ages ago.

[@Chris.Mc83]

Liked the figure as a kid, not so much the vehicle. Kinda ironic considering it was the last G.I Joe vehicle I owned.

[@soterioncoil2163]

He got tired of losing to Batman. I think his name is Cobblepot. Nice Flintstones style air car he's got there.

[@photomatt11]

I always thought The Dictator looked similar to the MOTU Battle Ram

[@nikholman1287]

He's a weird character that never got a lot of play from me. His claws are too small to be effective and his vehicle keeps coming apart with the middle section collapsing on itself. I'm not even sure how I got him.

[@sirgrunt99]

I thought he had a camo in GI Joe ( Marvel) comic as one of the several trooper that Cobra Commander.buries alive in that landlocked freighter on Cobra Island? Or I could be wrong

[@joejupiter4138]

The track in front bothers me. The purpose of tracking vehicles is to give them more traction, which is only effective if the track is on the drive wheels, which are usually at the rear. You could say that this vehicle is front-wheel drive, but it doesn't look like it to me, given the way it's arranged.

[@gamesthatiplay9083]

I feel like he could have been a viceroy, a Cobra appointed leader to an enslaved nation. He's not even wearing Cobra colors.

[@edaniels240]

Plus the fact he also has the same name as Overlord from Transformers

[@bertrodriguez2135]

Anyone else here getting a Shredder vibe off this figure?

[@frankjosephjaeger2675]

Yes perhaps he doe look like a The Shredder Rip Off was pretty well from by Playmate Company

[@ronin7358]

Really like your content. Just subscribed.

[@skabcat242]

I never knew of this guy.

[@adriantorres3303]

Overlord looks a bit like the red face shield cobra commander. I'll just believe it's him and Hasbro wasn't stupid enough to show the originals true face.

[@DasNordlicht91]

I kinda have a soft spot for this character, mainly due to how so undefined he is because of a lack of any appearances in GI Joe media. Kinda makes it easy for someone to give their own characteristics to him.

[@bravesirkevin]

See some similarities between this guy and The Doctor from Rise of Cobra

[@jakeproven256]

bravesirkevin funny u say that since the doctor from rise of cobra was cobra commander and some people say in the production phase he was going to be a new version of cobra comander

[@lutindesetoiles7678]

@@jakeproven256 Yes Cobra Commander

[@davidreeves4556]

Imagine if he was meant to be Serpentor V2?

[@FoxofMaysville]

I think Overlord looks like the Penguin from Batman comics.

[@glennrobbins2372]

Great review Hoodie! The Dictator reminded me more of some kind of snow assault vehicle. The figure seemed to be not suited for the vehicle.

[@PoptartsNinja]

Overlord is the Shredder from the Ninja Turtles movie.

[@joeblaster8770]

I see Overlord not as the learder of Cobra today but as a future leader of one of many Neo-Cobra factions that came about a decade after CC was killed and Cobra broken apart.

[@nedflanders8968]

Maybe he could have been a future version of Cobra Commander’s son Billy, secretly moving up the ranks of Cobra to replace his deceased father. Might be some sort of cybernetic monocle in place of his eye/eyepatch.

[@joeblaster8770]

@@nedflanders8968 What would of made Billy turn evil?

[@nedflanders8968]

Hmm... who knows? Maybe something happened somewhere along the line to change Billy’s views. Heck, maybe CC Sr. had him kidnapped and brainwashed. Maybe had his appearance altered as well to keep his true identity hid tho it wouldn’t really be necessary. Maybe good Billy initially tries to infiltrate Cobra instead with the plan of ultimately taking them down from the inside. Maybe he gains power along the way and is eventually corrupted by it. IDK lol. I’m sure a lot of people here could come up with a better angle than me lol. Technically Billy is dead anyhow but could probably be brought back in some continuity.

[@joeblaster8770]

@@nedflanders8968 My story for him is that he grow up in Springfield and is a CC want-a-be.

[@diggitydave75438]

@@joeblaster8770 the brainwave scanner did make Billy turn evil in the later run of the Marvel series of ARAH, along with the Baroness & Storm Shadow. Destro & Zartan also returned to Cobra due to the secret "password" of when Cobra Commander revealed his face to them.

[@aw000091]

Mindbender was a doctor, maybe he was a hair doctor like Bosly. Who's to say.

[@cowpuddles4851]

I’m assuming Cobra Commander signs all the checks. If that’s the case, couldn’t he just fire this bozo? I mean, how would he sign out the Dictator from the Cobra motor pool without authorization?

[@havertgreymane240]

Looks like a flash Gordon villian

[@blissex]

Great review, I did like the idea of this character but Hasbro just dropped the ball on this one, did Larry Hama not like this and said nope already did a civil war story with a crimson guard character, the cartoon could have used him in some episodes, dic didn't make great episodes so this would have been a moment to have a cobra civil war shown in a cartoon, I have this figure and still like him, maybe in alternate timeline this is fred vii come back from the dead, he looks different because he face was damage, the possibilities are endless, how come we can come up great ideas but not Hasbro, maybe we should be part of development team, we just need suits and ties and a little room go play with our toys....I mean conduct our meetings.

[@dozerfan1979]

I used to think he was Serpentor come back from the grave

[@robertchase7950]

hmmmm...I don't get your concern about his rise to power. He came to power while Cobra was in flux...the real CC was "dead"...Destro had bailed and formed his organization to rival Cobra....Serpentor or CC-Fred were in charge, and this guy took umbrage to that and during the confusion rose to power. Happens in dictatorships ALL the time.

[@dvdbytes4348]

Anybody have any suggestions for a good charity to donate too ?

[@neobluemax]

Kids play, toys for tots. Jimmy fund.

[@STRAKAZulu]

Wasn't a huge fan of this figure as a kid. Lost his helmet way too fast, and gave his claw weapons to other figures. And the Dictator.... a kinda cool vehicle, but I could never get mine to stay together. A lower middle-tier figure, IMO.

[@DasNordlicht91]

I do wish the separate ground piece for the Dictator had additional function for when the Overlord pilots the flying cockpit half. As is, it's kinda just there.

[@jakeproven256]

I'm glad the real cobra comander returned because the imposter is lame compared to the real one.

[@diggitydave75438]

Fred VII? He had his moments. His involvement did create a great story arc in the Cobra Civil War. How Cobra Commander killed him and many of the other traitors was pretty cool too.

[@jakeproven256]

@@diggitydave75438 Cobra civil war arc was good but the impostor cobra commander is not the reason why. In fact I feel like the real cobra commander should've been in that story arc not that cheap pretender to the thrown (see what I did there?) I think that would've made the story the story far better. Its like a meal you can tell is good but you can't help be underwhelmed by the fact some extra taste is missing to make it perfect.

[@raoulduke8725]

I didn’t realize I had this as a kid till you took his helmet off,I can’t even remember his vehicle.

[@williearroyo4913]

I never read a single issue of the comic books so Fred 7 does not exist to me

[@toddimus]

I had Overlord. That's all I remember.

[@otiscarpenter6142]

Thanku, I said that. I've always hated that look..

[@badape3620]

Hey this guy stole Wolverines claws. Wait a minute he didn't he has cheap flea market knock off versions!

[@elel.]

1st viewer, dudes!

[@f.d.english5080]

18:33 Hasbro has been using mushroom clips on a lot of their new Transformer toys. hate them, looks cheap, sucks

[@zartan7779]

Bottom teer

[@jakeproven256]

Gotta say I'm not a fan of this figure there just nothing to to be impressed with here I'm glad he wasn't featured in any media I don't know why this figure was made.

[@DasNordlicht91]

I think they were trying to make this guy a new leader for Cobra, if the commercials were anything to go by (the ad for the Dictator specifies him as "the evil new Cobra leader" and he's positioned as the spokesperson introducing the new Cobra characters for 1990 in two ads). Though it does make his lack of appearances anywhere outside of the toys a bit confusing, to say the least.

[@christianhafer9819]

I think there's a lot to be impressed about this figure. Cool colors, neat vehicle, good accessories. Top tier all the way.

[@nyquist75]

bottom level figure, for collectors only

[@pimpdaddysatan]

1990 was pretty much the last year I bought toys and joes.. I got the dictator and it sucked.. watching this video reminds me how much it sucked!! ;)

[@christianhafer9819]

I think it looks cool.