In 1983, the G.I. Joe line began to diversify from it's purely military beginnings. The team got a few specialists and the toy line we all love really began. 1984 continued this trend with what I call the "Swamp Year". Six months of the comic were primarily set in the swamp. The Joes got the incredible hovercraft and the S.H.A.R.C. while Cobra got Zartan and the Water Moccassin. The pilot of the Water Moccassin, Copperhead, is a truely unsung figure. If he was ever introduced in the comic, it was long after all the other toys from 1984 had been. Copperhead was one character that was never developed on any level of Joedom. He is as forgotten as they come. What's truely odd, though, is that the Water Moccassin is a highly regarded vehicle. How a vehicle remains popular while its driver anguishes in obscurity is beyond me.

Copperhead was one of my most used bad guys. I love the swamp. Most of my early play was centered around it. (My father, to this day, laments about how I dug a huge hole in our back yard and filled it with water just to have a swamp in which to play.) I made him a bounty hunter who worked for Cobra. I gave him tons of accessories and took him everywhere. In fact, I think my facsination with brightly colored figures stems from this original Copperhead. The bright greens and contrasting blacks made for an aesthetically pleasing figure that was just fun to own. My original Copperhead is in terrible shape. He is intact, but has almost no paint left. He shows all the wear that makes me want to keep him around. The one you see below is a recent purchase to allow my original to enjoy retirement.

Copperhead came in two distinct variations. The easy to find light green version is shown below. He also came in a darker green or blue color. This figure is, in my opinion, one of the 20 or 25 rarest Joes. I remember one of my friends having one, and seeing one in a store but being unable to convince my mother to purchase it for me just so I could get a figure I already had but with a different paint job. The blue gloves figure almost never appears for sale. He was only shipped in early releases of the Water Moccassin and was never available in any other avenue. He is an easily forgotten variation, though, and you don't see many people looking for the dark gloves version until one appears for sale. At that point, let the frenzy begin.

Copperheads aren't too tough to find. He was available for many years as a mail in and, in its day, the Water Moccassin was a very popular vehicle. Copperheads are a weird figure, though, in that the price fluctuates constantly. Sometimes, bagged specimens reach statospheric heights. Other times, you can get them for nothing. Some people think this figure to be rarer since he is so old. Others know about his extended availability and won't pay outrageous sums for him. With this figure, especially, it is important to shop around before you buy one. Loose figures, though, tend to stay in the mid range. Since he had no accessories, Copperhead isn't as desireable as other, accessorized vehicle drivers from his era. However, it is hard to find a Copperhead with no paint blemishes. For some reason, his paint chips easily. Perhaps this is why the bagged figures can reach such a premium. Anyways, Copperhead is a fun figure to own, despite his lack of notoriety.