GI Joe Devilfish

Presenting the GI Joe Devilfish the riverine warfare and patrol boat of the GI Joe team. 

The GI Joe Devilfish first made an appearance all the way back in May of 1986 in the Marvel Comic book version of GI Joe. The issue was GI Joe 47, which carried the story-title "Sea Duel" 

It was the first and last appearance of the Devilfish in the Marvel Comic books. 

BUT it was one of the most pivotal issues of GI Joe!

"Sea Duel" takes place right after Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow storm Cobra Island in order to avenge the death of the Hard Master by slaying Zartan, the Cobra Master of Disguise.

Which they fail to do.

Believing that Zartan had fled the island, the two ninjas are now faced with having to fight their way out of Cobra Island.


Unable to make it to the airfield, the two ninjas divert to the docks where they are spotted by a GI Joe rescue team on a W.H.A.L.E. The team includes GI Joe General hawk who calls for the deployment of two Devilfish. Accompanied by Wetsuit and Beachhead, Hawk rushes off to rescue Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow.

The Ninja duo manage to escape on a Cobra Moray - hydrofoil - but their escape is cut off by a pair of Cobra Hydro-Sleds led by Dr. Mindbender and a pair of Cobra EELS.

Mindbender manages to destroy one of the Joes Devilfish and Hawk and Beachhead are rescued by Wetsuit who bears even more bad news: The delivery of the Devilfish via C130 drops has damaged his Torpedoes fire-system and he is unable to fire at the Hyrdrosleds.

Meanwhile a group of hidden Cobra EELs step out of hiding in the stolen Moray and engage the two Ninjas in hand-to-hand combat. The Moray drives on to a reef and the occupants are thrown into the water.

Hawk orders Wetsuit to charge the two Cobra Hydro-sleds. The Hydrosleds fire torpedoes at the remaining Joe Devilfish and Hawk orders Wetsuit and Beachhead to shoot the torpedoes in the water.

In the ensuing explosion of the torpedoes, Wetsuit drives the Devilsfish through the explosion and straight in between the two flat-bottomed Cobra Hydrosleds, causing them to capsize.

The Joes then proceed to rescue Snake-Eyes who was busy battling a Great White-Shark the size of a truck - with a knife.

Beyond belief, Storm Shadow is able to make it to the shore only to be killed by the Baroness for betraying Cobra.

Easily one of the most action-filled issues of GI Joe.

The GI Joe Devilfish was released by Hasbro in 1986. It details the Devilfish to be armed with:

• Four (4) Laser Guided "Sea Phoenix" Missiles
• Twin 20mm Mk 12 "Repeater" Cannons.
• Two (2) Wire-Guided Mk 78 "Captor" Torpedoes.

It comes with:

• Twin 110 Horsepower "Assault" Water Jet Motors
• Hydro-Dynamically shaped "Riverine" hull
• Carbon Fiber Reinforced Stabilizing Sponsons

The GI Joe Devilfish's  Blister Pack reads "The newest, fast-attack, super-charged Devilfish is the Joes' choice sea vehicle for quick attack on COBRA! It's part of the new modern army G.I. Joe collection of vehicle, weapons, figures, and accessories. Use it to help G.I. Joe defend democracy and battle his evil enemy - COBRA!"

It also says that the Devilfish floats. Well..... it does, but the water reaches the water-line (The part where the gray lower hull meets the bright orange upper hull) towards the back since it's back-heavy. So it won't float for long as water seeps into it from behind. Also it won't float if you have more than one GI Joe character on the ship.

We also don't recommend it. This particular GI Joe Devilfish is a second hand one that we found in the Black Market of Greenhills. Note how all the stickers are sloppily placed. That's most likely due to water exposure that forces the stickers to move. Even the GI Joe logos are upside down. We'll fix this later with a trip to Cobrastickers.com 

Note how you can lift the engines up. The GI Joe Devilfish second hand is notorious for having broken engine links, missing missiles/torpedoes, and missing fuel lines in the back. So we were lucky to find a complete one - despite the stickers flaws.

WHAT'S TO LIKE ABOUT THE G.I. JOE DEVILFISH?

FIRST: It's a very cool concept! Naturally the modern Navies of the world would probably shun the idea of a single pilot over-armed fast interceptor boat as a form of ego-stroking masturbation. The Navy prefers crafts that can perform the same function, but also have the versatility of a having a team on board, not just one man.

Also we should point out that no way should or could anybody be reasonably expected to hang on to the sides of this craft when it's twin 110HP engines are in play. Expect them to fly off. So yes, despite how it was portrayed in the comic books, this is a one-man craft.

Which would be heaven to drive! We could definitely fall in love with a ride like the GI Joe Devilfish. It's the naval equivalent of a single seat fighter plane!

Then imagine an army of them heading towards you!



SECOND: IF physics in this world were different and people could ride on the sides of the GI Devilfish, it looks pretty cool as well!

WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE ABOUT THE G.I. JOE DEVILFISH?

FIRST: The design. Not only is it impractical and ego stroking to only have room for one person, the pilot is horribly exposed and will probably be killed by a few well placed shots to his very exposed torso - or head.

Further, see those four laser guided "Sea Phoenix" missiles? Firing any one of them should pretty much barbecue the pilot. Firing all four should pretty much destroy the Devilfish.

But at least the torpedoes underneath the hull should get off without a problem.

This particular GI Joe Devilfish was purchased on the black market for PhP 1,500 (Roughly US$ 33.33) it is not available on Amazon.

Now to go find those stickers.