In my collection, Dr. Mindbender, Crystal Ball and The Interrogator are all part of Cobra's torture group whose jobs are to acquire information in various ways.
I remember, as well as the colour of his pants, liking Dr. Mindbender's black handlebar moustache (he's the one who changed 1985's Cobra Eels into Bio-Vipers, and 1990's Range-Vipers into Monstro-Vipers) [and he was released one year after the Cobra Eels, and 7 years before the Mega Marines line].
I think the cape variant may have been part of a trend that began in 1986 of odd variations might be due to different factories in use. This may be why some 1986 figures have the brittle plastic (As became endemic in 1987) and some less brittle. If we only knew.
That's a nice T shirt. A company called Lanard who made the Corps action figures got a hold of many weapons from 1985-1986 GI Joe and made there own versions. Dr. Mindbender's torture prod was one of them included with a Scuba diver as a harpoon gun. Dr. Mindbender always reminded me of the Nazi Mechanic from Raiders of the Lost Ark where perhaps some of his attributes originate from.
+affoster79 I'm surprised Hasbro didn't sue Lanard. It's one thing to make similar toys, but using the molds from another company crosses the line of copyright infringement. But Hasbro may have not thought it was worth the suit. I always liked to pick up the Corps figures to use for extra bad guys.
Dr Mindbender is actually my favorite Cobra figure from the 80s . Always love the purple and the silver and to me he does look like he's wearing BDSM gear. The monacle looks cool. I love the mustache and the bald head is also cool to me he is a top-tier figure right up there with Destro and Cobra Commander.
you know the buffed look of the figure co-insides with the release of either Sgt slaughter or William "the refrigerator" Perry that year so I think they wanted a few buffed out bad guys to counter the muscle gijoe had just introduced
Good work HCC. I liked Mindbender, but as his role was vague compared to Dr. Venom, I waited for more stories in the comic to give him depth. I read a R.L. Stine paperback over the summer "Siege of Serpentor" which did make a few things clear about him. He was tougher than either the comic or the cartoon portrayals and he did have morals toward complete destruction. He is a strange figure, but it was the 86 line and the beginning of much weirder stuff. His later update keeps the purple and black color scheme, but gives him a much more futuristic look. iMO, he is kinda classic, but in the world of GI joe he is not as precious to the cannon as Destro or Baroness. Nice boot-licking sequence.
Adult collectors now look back at this fantastic toy line made and complain about a lack of realism due to garishly colored figures, yet even as adults are fine with totally unrealistic characters like monocle wearing, bare cheasted old timer Dr. Mindbender. Way to forget the joys of once being a child fellas.
Amen! Always complaining about how they wished the figures had stayed more "real world military looking" while talking about a property where people used laser guns, a guy had a metal face that moved like real flesh, and athletes and wrestlers were allowed to join. Idiots!
For real..it seems this guy was never a kid.. imagine a gi joe line that was just a bunch of camo clad dudes..would of never made it past 85'..oh well everyone is entitled to the opinion..even though watching this guys videos there just something off about him..he must of been bullied or something that left long reaching pyschological effects on him.
Great review as usual, I want to add him to my collection at some point, just not right away, When I was looking though my childhood Joes I found his legs so it will be nice to add him to my collection, but like you I'm not a huge fan, he was a classic character for cobra, one of the few that stood out among the faceless masses of Cobra, I also can say he what I would consider part of the Cobra Brass, top level guy so he is important to the organization. Love your sense of humor too, that scene with Baroness was perfect LOL!!
+TheSkullReviews We had the Baroness in dominatrix leather and Dr. Mindbender in gimp chains and a codpiece. What the hell kind of freaky shit was Ron Rudat into back in the 80s??
I think the idea of being an interrogator and you could say torturer and being a dentist might be based on the 1976 film MARATHON MAN based on the 1974 novel of the same name. In the film Sir Lawrence Olivier portrays an evil Nazi War Criminal named Dr Christian Szell who happens to be a dentist and tortured Dustin Hoffman's character of Thomas Babe Levy. So I think Dr. Mindbender was loosely based on Dr. Szell.
never owed dr mindbender but from what his file card says about him it seems that he and cobra used elements of what would be later know as the M K ultra project
His moustache clearly resembles the one Josef Mengele sported after he went on the run. As a matter of fact, his deplorable predilection for sadistic experiments on humans reminds me a lot of that real-life mad scientist.
Do you think that dr mindbender was inspired by the C.I.A's occult master of mind control and psychological warfare Michael Aquino of the temple of set?! (he looks like aquino's mentor and later rival Anton Lavey from church of satan, which is interesting to say the least...) ;-)
Dr. Mindbender was a great character who was the best villain in the third season of the cartoon -- far better than Serpentor. I did always find it somewhat disturbing that he gallivanted about bare chested and donned an inexplicable, anachronistic monocle, but otherwise very good.
Dr. Mindbender is emblematic of when the line began to veer off too far into the fantastical. I'd have preferred a port of the Dr. Venom character from the comic.
His cape looks good on Serpentor. There is a later modern era version of Dr. Mindbender dressed in a lab jacket ,slacks and boots. He also comes with a laptop and test tubes.
Great review. I liked the humor you used on this one. Regarding Dr. Mindbender, I also think he's a 2nd tier character. Overall, he's ok, but I was disappointed that he pretty much replaced Major Blood in the cartoon and comic series. I also like the direction his character took on Renegades.
to me he was the first gi joe character that I didn't like. up until then, I loved them all. he looks good displayed next to serpentor, but the comic book was so good up until that point and serpentors origin just totally derailed it and took it into another direction. the comic had another 50 issues that I enjoyed, but I remember hating it as a kid. but..that's not your fault!
He's a mad scientist. That's all the justification you need to give him a crazy costume.
Agreed. I think he's cool looking.
In my collection, Dr. Mindbender, Crystal Ball and The Interrogator are all part of Cobra's torture group whose jobs are to acquire information in various ways.
I agree : their different specialties work well together in order to extract information.
I keep coming back....not sure why. Oh yeah, it's the best GI Joe review on youtube.
I remember, as well as the colour of his pants, liking Dr. Mindbender's black handlebar moustache (he's the one who changed 1985's Cobra Eels into Bio-Vipers, and 1990's Range-Vipers into Monstro-Vipers) [and he was released one year after the Cobra Eels, and 7 years before the Mega Marines line].
The cod piece is armored, to protect his bollocks from a reflex kick, from his victims being shocked.
Makes sense.
I think the cape variant may have been part of a trend that began in 1986 of odd variations might be due to different factories in use. This may be why some 1986 figures have the brittle plastic (As became endemic in 1987) and some less brittle. If we only knew.
That's a nice T shirt. A company called Lanard who made the Corps action figures got a hold of many weapons from 1985-1986 GI Joe and made there own versions. Dr. Mindbender's torture prod was one of them included with a Scuba diver as a harpoon gun. Dr. Mindbender always reminded me of the Nazi Mechanic from Raiders of the Lost Ark where perhaps some of his attributes originate from.
+affoster79 I'm surprised Hasbro didn't sue Lanard. It's one thing to make similar toys, but using the molds from another company crosses the line of copyright infringement. But Hasbro may have not thought it was worth the suit. I always liked to pick up the Corps figures to use for extra bad guys.
Dr Mindbender is actually my favorite Cobra figure from the 80s . Always love the purple and the silver and to me he does look like he's wearing BDSM gear. The monacle looks cool. I love the mustache and the bald head is also cool to me he is a top-tier figure right up there with Destro and Cobra Commander.
I also wanted to add the "mad scientists" look kinda fits him ...all he needed was to be twirling his mustache....LOL
+M.G.Villan Twirling his mustache and saying "Muahaha!"
The cobra symbol on his bare back looks awesome
you know the buffed look of the figure co-insides with the release of either Sgt slaughter or William "the refrigerator" Perry that year so I think they wanted a few buffed out bad guys to counter the muscle gijoe had just introduced
Hey HCC, I enjoy the channel. You are quick, in-depth, and entertaining..
What happened to Kevin/FORMBX257?
Good work HCC. I liked Mindbender, but as his role was vague compared to Dr. Venom, I waited for more stories in the comic to give him depth. I read a R.L. Stine paperback over the summer "Siege of Serpentor" which did make a few things clear about him. He was tougher than either the comic or the cartoon portrayals and he did have morals toward complete destruction. He is a strange figure, but it was the 86 line and the beginning of much weirder stuff. His later update keeps the purple and black color scheme, but gives him a much more futuristic look. iMO, he is kinda classic, but in the world of GI joe he is not as precious to the cannon as Destro or Baroness. Nice boot-licking sequence.
+sam torres Oh yes, Destro and Baroness are a lot more important.
Dr. Mindbender makes me think of Freddy Mercury.
Adult collectors now look back at this fantastic toy line made and complain about a lack of realism due to garishly colored figures, yet even as adults are fine with totally unrealistic characters like monocle wearing, bare cheasted old timer Dr. Mindbender. Way to forget the joys of once being a child fellas.
Amen! Always complaining about how they wished the figures had stayed more "real world military looking" while talking about a property where people used laser guns, a guy had a metal face that moved like real flesh, and athletes and wrestlers were allowed to join. Idiots!
For real..it seems this guy was never a kid.. imagine a gi joe line that was just a bunch of camo clad dudes..would of never made it past 85'..oh well everyone is entitled to the opinion..even though watching this guys videos there just something off about him..he must of been bullied or something that left long reaching pyschological effects on him.
@@demo3456 you 3 should watch some more of his videos before running your mouths
my fav part of these reviews is when he starts firing into the articulation standard to the yr
Great review as usual, I want to add him to my collection at some point, just not right away, When I was looking though my childhood Joes I found his legs so it will be nice to add him to my collection, but like you I'm not a huge fan, he was a classic character for cobra, one of the few that stood out among the faceless masses of Cobra, I also can say he what I would consider part of the Cobra Brass, top level guy so he is important to the organization. Love your sense of humor too, that scene with Baroness was perfect LOL!!
+TheSkullReviews We had the Baroness in dominatrix leather and Dr. Mindbender in gimp chains and a codpiece. What the hell kind of freaky shit was Ron Rudat into back in the 80s??
I think they got the outfit from watching mad max films. He matches the dreadnoks more so.
My fav
I think the idea of being an interrogator and you could say torturer and being a dentist might be based on the 1976 film MARATHON MAN based on the 1974 novel of the same name. In the film Sir Lawrence Olivier portrays an evil Nazi War Criminal named Dr Christian Szell who happens to be a dentist and tortured Dustin Hoffman's character of Thomas Babe Levy. So I think Dr. Mindbender was loosely based on Dr. Szell.
Mindbender DDS
I think he's pretty cool looking.
I would love to see the g I Joe mbt mauler! bad ass tank!!
Am I the only one who though t of the old song when HCC read the bit about "bring[ing] the miracle of thought control"?
Always thought the doctor Mindbender look a little bit like the Iron Sheik
Mine has a black gun...pretty sure it's a repro..but still cool to display
Which variant is rare and worth more?
He's an ex-member of the Village People??????
the 80's had a lot of S&M themed toys.
I'm not sure if Hasbro ever sued lanard over copy right issues. I know Lanard did get sued by GM for producing a Hummer without there approval.
i didn't know the circus was in town / =
never owed dr mindbender but from what his file card says about him it seems that he and cobra used elements of what would be later know as the M K ultra project
Dr. Kojak :)
His moustache clearly resembles the one Josef Mengele sported after he went on the run. As a matter of fact, his
deplorable predilection for sadistic experiments on humans reminds me a lot of that real-life mad scientist.
Even If I am the cobra “doctor” and (his real job) interrogation officer and not a trooper or someone that sees combat I’m still keeping a gun on me
Maybe his boots are riding boots.
to match the old timey feel of his monocle and cape.
+nodto modley Your guess is as good as mine.
Do you think that dr mindbender was inspired by the C.I.A's occult master of mind control and psychological warfare Michael Aquino of the temple of set?! (he looks like aquino's mentor and later rival Anton Lavey from church of satan, which is interesting to say the least...) ;-)
Dr. Mindbender was a great character who was the best villain in the third season of the cartoon -- far better than Serpentor. I did always find it somewhat disturbing that he gallivanted about bare chested and donned an inexplicable, anachronistic monocle, but otherwise very good.
Dr. Mindbender is emblematic of when the line began to veer off too far into the fantastical. I'd have preferred a port of the Dr. Venom character from the comic.
His cape looks good on Serpentor. There is a later modern era version of Dr. Mindbender dressed in a lab jacket ,slacks and boots. He also comes with a laptop and test tubes.
No mention on his file card about his years in The Village People? He kept the outfit.
Great review. I liked the humor you used on this one. Regarding Dr. Mindbender, I also think he's a 2nd tier character. Overall, he's ok, but I was disappointed that he pretty much replaced Major Blood in the cartoon and comic series. I also like the direction his character took on Renegades.
+sonic360 Major Bludd was a much better bad guy. He should have been developed more.
+HoodedCobraCommander788 Mindbender is one of my favorite characters. But I agree that Bludd was sorely underused and underdeveloped.
Was he in the Village People for a while?
Go ahead and crucify me, but I kinda want a Vintage Chewbacca review.
+Roadbuster Reviews I don't have my complete Chewbacca anymore, but maybe I'll get another one.
HoodedCobraCommander788 Alright, that's ok
If you watch the t.v. show The Toys That Made Us S1 E4 Ron Rudat has a poster in the background of Dr. Mindbender that says The Interrogator
I distinctly remember executing the good Dr. by way of BB gun, when he had outlived his usefulness. Busted him up pretty good...
Holy shit they made a Doctor Venom figurine. Edit: loll They made him a dentist, because off course.
to me he was the first gi joe character that I didn't like. up until then, I loved them all. he looks good displayed next to serpentor, but the comic book was so good up until that point and serpentors origin just totally derailed it and took it into another direction. the comic had another 50 issues that I enjoyed, but I remember hating it as a kid. but..that's not your fault!
+kero wack What was it that turned you off? Was it the monocle or was it the codpiece?
+HoodedCobraCommander788 purple!!!!! it was the purple!!!!!!
Oh my god I figured it out, Cobra Commander is the guy from Fifty shades of Grey, it all makes sense.
Do you think he's in a fetish club with the Baroness and Copperhead?