G.I. Joe Team Talks Biggest Challenge in Bringing WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter to Classified Series

Longtime fans of the G.I. Joe franchise got a welcome surprise during Hasbro’s G.I. Joe Fan First Tuesday Livestream, as during the presentation the team revealed that WWE Hall of Famer and G.I. Joe favorite Sgt. Slaughter was being introduced to the G.I. Joe Classified line. Sgt. Slaughter delivered a classic promo and we got our first look at the digital render of the figure, and so far it looks fantastic. ComicBook.com had the chance to speak to Hasbro Associate Brand Manager Emily Bader and Lead Designer of the G.I. Joe Classified series Lenny Panzica all about Slaughter’s new figure, including the biggest challenge in capturing the icon in figure form, his future with the brand, and even a tease of what the figure’s key accessory will be.

Regarding what the most challenging aspect of development was, it was just capturing someone as iconic as Sgt. Slaughter and capturing the feel and vibe of the cartoon. “The hardest part from a design standpoint was getting him right. There are other Slaughters out there, but there are no Real American Slaughters out there. So we wanted to make the Real American Slaughter,” Panzica said. “And if you notice in the design, I tried to make him feel like he was coming out of the cartoon. I wanted him to… I mentioned he was like, ‘you guys are eating bonbons and playing video games.’ In that episode, he comes walking in and beats the crap out of everybody, and everybody’s doing pushups because they’re afraid of him.”

Getting his likeness right also ended up being a bit more difficult than expected thanks to the lack of high-quality photos and images of him from earlier on. “That’s what we were trying to do with him. The hard part about that was finding reference for his face because he’s an older gentleman now, and back then when… Picture fidelity… I was trying to find pictures of him. It was so hard,” Panzica said. “And then it was him iterated into a cartoon. So you’ll notice in the sculpt, it’s going to be like him younger, cartoonized, but Classified real, if that makes sense.”

Panzica spent a lot of time trying to get his face and likeness just right, though his wife might say he spent too much time on it. “So he’s still got his jaw. I think we nailed it. Tony loves it, which makes me feel really good about it, because I did go back and forth on that sculpt, but I drew his face a lot. Just to… I spent days. My wife is like, ‘Stop drawing that man’s face!’ But I got to get it right! But I think we got it right. And Corey, I forget who he used as a sculptor to work on it, but the sculptor did a really good job,” Panzica said.

We did learn that Slaughter’s hat and whistle will be removable, but we didn’t get a reveal of what accessories Sgt. Slaughter will come with. In the promo he is holding a customized G.I. Joe Championship Title, which many are hoping gets included, and while they wouldn’t give an answer there, they did tease a few details.

“I think from a design standpoint it’s like getting his likeness right, and then what he should come with too. I think he comes with some fun stuff. You’ll find that his price point’s really good too,” Panzica said.

“His accessories are… The first time I saw his special accessory I went, oh my God, this is adorable,” Bader said. “Which is not like exactly the reaction you want for a G.I. Joe, but it’s pretty good from me.”

“But it’s there because it’s… I remember the commercial as a kid and being told to buy G.I. Joes by this awesome wrestler dude who’s calling me a maggot, and for some reason, I’m like, ‘Yeah, I need to go get them. Yeah, mom, dad, can we go to the toy store now?’ So yeah, it’s a nod to that. But I think from a design standpoint, that was the hardest,” Panzica said.

While Sgt. Slaughter might call the recruits maggots and be a hard-nosed leader, the man behind the character is nothing but kind. “Yeah, Serge is so sweet. I truly was terrified that he was this larger-than-life angry dude who was going to come out and scream at me,” Bader said. “Oh my God, he’s so sweet, guys. He has just been so lovely to work with and he is so, so positive about G.I. Joe and so excited about the brand and so excited to be back. That level of enthusiasm is… I mean, it’s really infectious for the rest of us, because if somebody else is excited and they’re the person you’re making into an action figure, which like, holy s***, that’s so cool, is magical. And so, that video that you saw of Sarge is not the last that you will see of Sarge. Exciting things are afoot.”

It looks like we can expect to see more of Sgt. Slaughter in the world of G.I. Joe, and hopefully we get to see the full reveal of the new Classified figure soon as well. Who knows, maybe we’ll get even more WWE and G.I. Joe crossover in the future, but guess we’ll have to wait and see.

What did you think of the Sgt. Slaughter reveal and what do you hope the figures includes in its final version? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling and toys with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!