G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero - The M.A.S.S. Device

This series' concept was originally created for the Marvel Comic book using a reworked series proposal by Larry Hama originally called, "Fury Force," where the son of Nick Fury, Executive Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., organizes and leads a special commando unit of that intelligence organization to fight the villainous secret organization, HYDRA. While that proposal did not go forward, the toy company, Hasbro, approached Marvel to create a comic book of their revived GI Joe toyline, the characters and equipment of which could be advertised on television with much less regulation than straightforward toy commercials. To that end, the "Fury Force," proposal was redesigned to match the toy line with Marvel writer Archie Goodwin suggesting reworking HYDRA as Cobra for the villain. That idea was accepted with some reluctance from Hasbro as they had some trepidation at how well an army of villains would sell. However, sales of Cobra action figures and accessories soon made up 40% of the toyline's sales.

Ramar's height fluctuates throughout the entire mini-series. When Duke first confronts Ramar in the Arena of Sport, Ramar towers over him, and looks to be somewhere between 13-14 feet tall (if we are to believe Scarlett's line that Duke is 6'2"). In the second episode, in close quarter combat with Duke, Ramar looks to be a couple of feet taller than Duke, which would place him in the 8-9 foot range. By the fourth episode, Ramar stands next to Selena and is barely taller than she is, which would make him somewhere between 6-7 feet tall.

The home video version cuts 2 scenes from the TV mini series:

• After Cover Girl has gotten rid of the fusion bomb and Dr. Vandermeer says that thanks to Timber & Cover Girl they still have a chance, the TV version shows a scene with Dr. Vandermeer explaining that he thinks he has been able to replicate the third element G.I Joe needs for the M.A.S.S device. He asks for a test subject, and Duke tells Gung-Ho to give him his rifle. They test out the M.A.S.S device and Gung-Ho's rifle comes out mangled and warped. Gung-Ho picks up his rifle and says "Baby, what'd they DO to you?" and then the scene (and video) picks up with Vandermeer explaining that without the third element they are no match for Cobra.
• When Duke is in the sensory deprivation tank, the TV version shows Doc actually probing deeper into Duke's thoughts. The screen shows a scene of Duke defending a young boy from bullies and Doc makes a comment about Duke being patriotic and defending others even at a young age, and then another clip where they show Duke dismounting off parallel bars. The scene (and video) then picks up with Doc asking Duke to think about a Cobra headed fortress on top of a bleak mountain.

Featured in Hewy's Animated Movie Reviews: The Top 10 80's Cartoon Intros (2012)