GI Joe Classified Series Zap review – retro card (2026)

Zap was one of the few holdouts from getting a complete original GI Joe lineup in the Classified Series.

Perhaps fittingly, he makes his debut in the Retro Card line, the no frills here’s the figure rollout for the CS subset.

Let’s see if Zap or if this figure needs to zip to the back of the OG14 display.

Packaging: Zap gets one of these weirdly AI looking action shots to simulate his pose on the original Real American Hero packaging.

The back has a bunch of different languages meaning his file card info is very short. On the bottom, we get the cross sell with Zap and his wave mates Crazy Legs and the female Crimson Guard trooper.

Likeness: Zap had a basic outfit in the RAH line. His main distinguishing element was his chest harness, which wrapped around his shoulders instead of the suspenders style like most of the other original Joes.

Zap has a fairly generic body reusing the Stalker mold complete with small, ribbed collar. He has more extras this time around with a holster on his left hip and an additional removable pouch on his right thigh. The harness piece has more detail with pouches and a small communication device.

Poor Zap got shortchanged with another unique element from the RAJ card art — his mustache. Fortunately, that is included with his CS figure. His hair sculpt is solid with his hair brushed back. I like the mostly dashing head sculpt though the slightly gritted teeth expression makes him the anomaly from the neutral expressions of the others.

Scale:  Zap uses the same parts of many of the original Joes so naturally, he’s right at the same height as Rock n Roll, Short Fuze, Steeler, etc.

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Paint: For his RAH figure, Zap had a lighter shade of green for his outfit with brown straps making him stand out more from some of the others. With his CS figure, he has the lighter shade green and brown gear with a silver belt buckle and darker green on his arm pouches.

In another welcome touch, Zap has a darker skin tone to more accurately reflect his Latino heritage. Right from the start, GI Joe was diverse with a black man, a redhead woman and a Latino man so it’s cool to show that in the CS line.

Articulation: At this point there shouldn’t be any surprises with the CS articulation. Zap is reusing a familiar body that offers plenty of smooth movement. He doesn’t have any costume restrictions since the shoulder harnesses are properly positioned on his chest, so they don’t hinder any of his butterfly shoulders joints. That’s definitely key for a character whose main weapon is a bazooka that he needs to hold with both hands.

He can also hit nice crouching and resting on one knee poses, which are also useful for his specialty.

Zap has:

• head
• neck
• shoulders (butterfly)
• elbow (double-jointed)
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hips (ball-jointed)
• drop down hips
• knees (double-jointed)
• ankles

Accessories: Although Zap is the bazooka soldier, he does come with some other useful accessories.

Naturally he’s got a helmet. I’ve gotten accustomed to the modern style classic helmets used with the OG13, Airborne, Doc and Roadblock so it was surprising he’s got a true vintage style version. While appropriately retro, it breaks up the consistency.

Zap also gets a pistol, which is handy when he’s in closer combat. That fits snugly into his holster.

He also has the XMLR-3A laser rifle, which is a nice inclusion though I doubt I’ll use it with him.

Additionally, he gets a set of swappable fists for when it’s time to knock out a few Cobras.

This time, his backpack is noticeable larger though it does have four shells for the bazooka. I appreciate the bazooka is not the exact same version that came with Bazooka. It’s less intricate and is less colorful with just a dark green color palette.

The backpack peg is particularly pesky and doesn’t stay plugged in to his back so it’s prone to falling out, which quickly becomes annoying. Finaly, he’s got the classic black stand.

Worth It? Zap has the normal CS price point of $27.99. While he doesn’t have the array of extravagant accessories as some other figures, he’s a fair value.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Zap is a great addition to the OG crew. I wouldn’t mind having the revamped helmet, but the backpack issue is the only real gripe.

Where to Get It? So far Zap and this line have only appeared online. You can get him from Amazon or Entertainment Earth.

As an Amazon and Entertainment Earth affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.