Here’s a very neat find from G.I.Joe’s attic. HissTank.com forum member GanjaFett was kind enough to stop by and share a recent find. His Father worked on incarnations of G.I.Joe shows and while reviewing his collection, he found an assortment of unused card backs, one of which had Spirit with a different name.
Now, as many of may (or may not) know, Spirit was originally named Shaman when he was released in Canada. With that said, what makes this card interesting is that there are no Hasbro Quebec markings found anywhere on the card, leading one to believe this card was originally intended for the U.S. market. Also of interest (and here’s where I’m looking to you seasoned Vets for clarity), the card back reflects the 83 assortment, whereas Shaman’s cardback reflected 84 (the same year that Spirit was introduced to our market here in the U.S.). We have the card front here on the Front Page, but you can see the card back after the jump.
I love finds like this and can’t thank GanjaFett enough for sharing it with us. What are your thoughts on this unique find? Make your opinion known after the break!
GanjaFett says
My father worked on the original and later incantations of GI Joe shows and recently in his collection I found some unused card backs, one of which had Spirit with a different name. I don't want to mention it yet, just to see if anyone has heard of this or if it's a rare find? If any one has any info on when the change was made and the name Spirit was finalized, I'd love to hear it. I've never seen him listed as anything other than Spirit before today. I will post pics eventually too, as soon as I can confirm this one way or another. Thanks
13thwarrior says
The Canadian version of Spirit was code-named Shaman, right?
GanjaFett says
Yes! Ok I was making sure this wasn't a mistake. It is Shaman, I couldn't find any reference to it anywhere so far. Thank you for clarifying.
Although looking that up, this seems to be the only version I've found that is only in English and not marked for Canadian packaging. It lists him in the 1983 line up, and I believe he wasn't released until 84.
This is the card here
C.I.A.D. says
Very cool. Thanks for sharing this!
13thwarrior says
Although looking that up, this seems to be the only version I've found that is only in English and not marked for Canadian packaging. It lists him in the 1983 line up, and I believe he wasn't released until 84.
This is the card here
Thanks for posting the card.
Lifeline_MD says
Also I'm pretty sure the Canadian card backs have the Quebec location at the bottom rather than Pawtucket. That's interesting. It does seem like it was originally intended as the American packaging.
I'll have to check if Bellomo's book mentions that as a rejected code name, he has a lot of them in there, maybe it was.
JediJones says
What did your dad do on the show?
Rangeviper88 says
I like the Shaman name better than Spirit.
makes him sound more mystic.
Mr Hebime says
I agree, Shaman does add more mystery to him than Spirit does. I wonder if any of these cardbacks ever made it to retail?
Ian says
No one else noticed that Zartan is also there? He shouldn't be since he comes with a vehicle, no?
Keep reading: Spirit's original name was... - Page 2
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