Out of the blue came a loud continuous ruckus at the front gates, at six in the morning, no less. It was my long awaited delivery. Doc has been rescued. Finally!

How can one miss the words “G.I. Joe Doc” on the lower left?

I was not very hopeful, at first. I was not sure that I would meet the deadline set out in the GI Joe Doc promo but, seeing Doc here, it was well worth the effort. 

Doc came in a white mailer with a vintage GI Joe design on the reverse side. 

It came sealed with tape, as well. A lot of good that did as it was opened anyway.

I have the original 1983 Doc from a previous deal and it did not generate much fanfare. I figured the long wait had this kind of effect. He is a valued action figure in my older collection as he is a full doctor, not a medic or a paramedic. He is definitely not a pill roller.

In the comics, he would give a check up in any lulls during a firefight except, of course, if Snake Eyes is the patient. I am very sure Doc got the message that Snake Eyes never allow anyone else to remove his mask. Ever.

Doc has got to be one of the most interesting and highest ranking support character in G.I. Joe. Best part is, he does not flaunt his rank or position. Doc is out there on missions which, ultimately, led to his demise while shielding his patients from the SAW Viper.

That means a lot for a team to allow Persons Other than Grunts to join a covert mission. At the other end of the spectrum, search google for the GI Joe reporter Scoop. I was half expecting that Leatherneck would kick him out of the Tomahawk helo while inbound for being such a noob. Scoop  even got elbowed by Tunnel Rat for failing to keep awake on a watch. The worst part is that Scoop was could not work the M60 when Tunnel Rat was down. Definitely, Scoop did not start out right. I guess he should be driving a desk, instead.

Anyway, I am very pleased that Doc is version 2, i.e. it has Tiger Force Duke’s arms with the fixed hidden forearm joints.

Compared with version 1:

I am having second thoughts on opening Doc, maybe when I get something definite for him to do. The packaging is just great, really. Unfortunately, the figure itself has minor flaws. Some paint chipping off and excess plastic on his eyes. Damn this MOC/MISB crap. I will definitely open Doc when I get a photo shoot in mind.

Now, if I could just complete the other Joe medics…

Special thanks to Yojoe.com for the reference pics!