G.I. Joe FSS 8 Bushido is a warrior with honor!

The G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has released the preview of G.I. Joe Ninja Commando Bushido!

G.I. Joe Collector's Club FSS 8 Bushido

G.I. JOE NINJA COMMANDO
Code Name: BUSHIDO
(Inspired by the 1993 action figure.)
Features NEW samurai face mask!
Includes: removable samurai helmet with face mask,
tactical harness, double sheath with swords x 2,
Kusarigama weapon, and figure stand.

Talk about a career change!  Bushido went from being a “Snow Ninja” to a “Ninja Commando”.  I wonder if Snake Eyes will feel threatened now…

Bushido is one of those characters that is really only remembered by fans of the very end of the classic ARAH era.  The original Bushido was released in 1993 as part of the often divisive Ninja Force sub-team in its second year.  He was released once more as a color-changing Shadow Ninja in 1994. To the best of my knowledge, the only comic appearance for Specialist Lloyd S. Goldfine was on the cover of G.I. Joe: America’s Elite #25 – which isn’t saying much because practically EVERYONE was featured on that cover.  (He’s just off center in the third row behind Ace and Knockdown and two rows behind Dee-Jay.)

That’s the sum total of his media appearances outside of a 1994 Shadow Ninjas commercial.  Back in the ARAH era, he didn’t even warrant a new sculpt, borrowing his entire body from his teammate– 1992’s Nunchuk.   So here he is now as a member of the final G.I. Joe Collector’s Club FSS roster.

The FSS 8 Bushido is about what I expected.  As was the case with the vintage figure, the Club went back to the same body that they used for their Nunchuk in FSS 4. For his samurai helmet, we’re seeing a modified version of the helm that will most recently be used for the FSS 7 Budo with a new mask to help differentiate the two.

Honestly, I think this is what most people were expecting.  Bushido was most likely chosen for FSS 8 because he was an easy figure to put together from existing parts.  (The new mask is a bit of a surprise.)  I can’t see him ranking highly on any of the Club’s surveys as a most-requested figure either.  Maybe I’m just a bit indifferent because the character literally had ZERO media presence and therefore I have zero nostalgia for him.

The colors on the figure look great too.  Visually, he’s very interesting– even if he blurs the line between ninja and samurai more than just a little.  Maybe I’ll feel differently when he’s in hand but right now he’s just “okay” in the eyes of this Joe fan.  (Heck, I had a hard time coming up with a good title pun for this post.)

And, for those filling out their BINGO cards, here’s the full roster for G.I. Joe FSS 8:

To sign-up for the series and get your own Captain Grid-Iron, visit the FSS 8 sign-up page before May 2, 2018 today!

2 thoughts on “G.I. Joe FSS 8 Bushido is a warrior with honor!

  1. You know you’re addicted to your hobby when shelling out over $400 for a lineup which includes a character who never made it into ANY form of media! For the amount of dough the club asked of us each year, I’d expect Lightfoot (who was featured in two highly awesome and memorable stories right off the shelf) or Stretcher (prominent enough to take over for Doc during missions in Sierra Gordo and Trucial Abysmia) just to try and complete the 1988 – 1992 lineups at the very least, and I’m not even including the drivers! (Wildcard? Steam-Roller? Armadillo/Rumbler? Hot Seat? Dogfight? Long Range?) Or cooler ones than Bushido such as Backblast, Downtown, and Tracker? I’ll betcha a dollar (the club took all my money) that the guys at Marauder would pull those off far better than Hasbro or the club. Thanks our lucky (action) stars for those guys and all those artisan customizers out there!

    Having said that, the club and Hasbro pretty much covered a lot of ground since the 25th AnniversaryModern Sculpts basically replaced the O-Ring Dynasty. Kudos to them for trying to give us as much as they could while the demand was there and quite possibly, beyond.

    • Agreed. The Club knows their audience well and I have the feeling that they’re not quite done with our wallets yet this year.

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