Released by Hasbro in 1984, Zartan has been a fan-favorite character from the beginning. He came with his own mini vehicle, the Chameleon.
A master of disguise, Zartan came with a mask that found a home in his backpack and fit nicely over his face. The reason Hasbro topped him with a cowl was so the mask could be tucked onto his face without falling off.
The figure also turns blue in sunlight. Every so often, I take mine outside and it still changes color after all these years, though not as complete and bright as it once did.
Zartan was a leader of a gang called the Dreadnoks that mostly worked for Cobra.
And here he is in the 1984 Joe catalog.
Not just a great figure, Zartan was also one of the more fun and interesting characters in the comics written by Larry Hama.
His first comic book appearance was at the end of G.I. JOE #24 in March 1984. (The cover date on this issue says June, but back then the month on the cover was three months ahead of the actual release date.)
Here’s his bio in the Order of Battle miniseries. Note they deleted the paragraph about his split personality that was printed in his bio on the original box he came in.
He was featured in the later comics by IDW…
…and also saw heavy rotation in the cartoon series by Sunbow. Sunbow mistakenly interpreted the cowl on the figure to be hair, and so in the cartoon he’s portrayed with long hair.
Zartan’s first cartoon appearance (not counting the animation sequence in the action figure commercial) was in part one of “THE REVENGE OF COBRA” which first aired on September 10, 1984.
A fun, mysterious character in the stories, and an action figure with cool, unique play features, Zartan is one of the best!