15 'G.I. Joe' Characters Through the Years: First Appearance vs. Most Recent Appearance

G.I. Joe, a real American hero. A toy that became a media franchise, the series has run for decades, with dozens of retreads and reboots — none of which particularly worked or were great, but all of which left a mark that cannot be erased, much like Vietnam or a stock market crash. The series follows the Joes, a paramilitary group, facing off against their enemies, the sinister Cobra Commander and his legion of Cobra, with all the espionage and drama that can be expected from a children’s cartoon but none of the fun. 

The series has dozens of characters (plus toys), and all of the characters have changed a lot since their original inception (and the toys!), some for the better and some for the more insane and wild. 

Here’s a bunch of your favorite G.I. Joe characters from back when you were a carefree youth to now, when your children are.