Outback pulled a knife on a fellow Joe.
You do not f**k with Outback.
Outback was, unfortunately, one of those figures I never ended up with. Outback was an ’87 Joe, meaning he was side by side with the likes of Falcon, Chuckles and Tunnel Rat. Of the eleven single-carded, non-vehicle driver Joes of 1987, I ended up with six. I did manage to get all of the Cobra characters that were released that year. I’m not sure if I ever saw Outback on the peg, but if I did he clearly didn’t win out over some of the more visually interesting Joes. At the time a guy in a white T-shirt that said SURVIVAL couldn’t stack up to someone like Fast draw, who was more missile launcher than man.
That’s unfortunately the fault of fickle kid me and not Outback, because a little bit of hindsight shows that Outback was a badass.
In 1987 we were between the Sunbow and DiC eras of the cartoon, so Outback didn’t end up with any cartoon appearances. There was the G.I. Joe Movie where a few of the “class of 87” did appear, but Outback once again didn’t make the grade there. Falcon, Chuckles, Law and Order, Jinx and Tunnel Rat were the only Joes lucky enough to get a slot in the movie.
And Slaughter’s Renegades of course.
Oh, and Big Lob.
Can’t forget about Big Lob.
So it was up to the comics to give Outback any multi-media push. Well, the comic did a pretty good job of that. Outback was kind of the new Recondo, in that he was a survivalist who could blend in with a rugged, natural environment and live off the land. Except he had a rugged beard instead of Recondo’s overly waxed mustache. I’m not sure who wins in that particular facial-hair challenge.
Outback’s first official mission ended up with him on the wrong side of the enemy lines along with Stalker, Snow Job and Quick Kick. When their mission in the Soviet Republic of Borovia goes wrong, Stalker orders Outback to abandon them, in the hopes that he’ll be able to relay what has happened once back home.
This, of course, doesn’t sit well with some of his fellow Joes, who feel he skipped out to save his own ass. Having been debriefed and silenced by his superiors, all Outback could do was keep his mouth shut. He’s been through the shit, and he’s seen some things. When Leatherneck presses the issue, Outback pulls a knife on him. While that’s no doubt ground for some kind of major league disciplinary action, the only backlash he suffers from this is some disapproving side-eye from his teammates, but you kind of get the idea that Outback doesn’t give much of a crap about what anybody thinks about him. Joes had gotten heated before, but this was, I believe, the first time one Joe was openly “I’m gonna cut you” with another joe. It really rammed the point home. So to speak.
There’s not much more of him after that. He makes a few appearances here and there, but that act of utter badassery is pretty much the one shining moment in Outback’s career. Of course, that’s all it really takes to cement a character’s…umm..character.
I always regret the Joes I never got. Too many toys, too little time. Outback was a casualty of all of that. He never got to pull a little toy knife on a little toy Leatherneck. That’s tragic.
