Devil’s Due comics history
Toy History
Barrel Roll’s first figures were released in 2003 as part of the G.I. Joe: Spy Troops line. The first, a 12-inch figure, featured a working parachute. His 3-3/4″ figure, unlike the majority of the figures out at the time, was one of the few who had experimental wrist articulation, allowing his hands to swivel and giving him better posing options for when he held his sniper rifle. He was released in a basic-sized vehicle pack, a steel glider with a Gatling cannon that could be disguised as a Cobra glider. In addition to his sniper rifle, he came with armor pieces to disguise him as a Cobra Raptor-Viper (a guise he would use in an issue of the Devil’s Due comic series). The figure was repainted in 2004 as part of Target’s exclusive basic vehicles for the Valor vs Venom line of G.I. Joe, and while the Cobra emblem on the glider, along with the Raptor-Viper disguise pieces, were taken out, he was given a black version of Backblast V4’s helmet. His next figure, an entirely new sculpt, was released in 2005 in the first wave of single-carded figures for the Direct-to-Consumer line of G.I. Joe. He was depicted as a little more mature in this version, trading in his crew-cut for a shorter haircut. He came with a pistol for his holster, a large sniper rifle, and a black helmet with microphone. He will be getting a modern-era style figure based on the DTC figure (fitting since the figure’s head sculpt is a retooled version of that one), made up of the arms of the Resolute version of Duke, the legs of the Pursuit of Cobra Zartan, and the torso of the 2011 Pursuit of Cobra Duke. He will come with the DTC Barrel Roll’s helmet, the Resolute Duke’s jetpack/glider, parachute, and pistol, and the Pursuit of Cobra Recondo’s sniper rifle. This figure will be part of the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club’s upcoming Figure Subscription Service.