I don’t remember when exactly Torpedo became my favorite Joe. It was somewhere in the decade after the A Real American Hero line ended, but definitely before the DEVGRU raid that killed Bin Laden, because I already liked the Navy SEALs before then. Anyway, it was hard to justify Torpedo as my favorite. He was the “bathtub Joe” after all; he didn’t even come with a gun—unless he was supposed to bring his speargun and flippers to a ground battle (which he did in #16 of the comic, one of my favorite issues).

Regardless, Torpedo is my favorite Joe and he is the figure I’ve most been wanting in the Classified line. So imagine how excited I was on June 8, 2022—the second Wednesday of last year’s YoJoe June—when the Classified team announced that Torpedo and Copperhead were joining the line. Not just my favorite Joe but my favorite Cobra too, announced on the same day; and subsequently produced for the same wave, preordered on the same day, delivered on the same day, and now opened and enjoyed on the same day.

What can I say about this figure? It’s my favorite figure in the line. The accessories are great; soft plastic flippers for the win! His scuba gear and rebreather looks superb and is finally functional. He even has a machine gun, because of course a SEAL would! And his knife—Torpedo is a knife expert. And finally, I have to credit Paul Harding for the great head sculpt. He did Leialoha justice!

My favorite Joe character is my favorite figure in the line. How much happier could I be? It’s all downhill from here…