Courtesy of Usatoday.com Here’s an exclusive sneak peek at the first wave of action figures from the summer movie “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” including Dwayne Johnson’s Roadblock, Channing Tatum’s Duke and Cobra Commander. G.I. Joe is celebrating 30 years of battling the evil organization Cobra on the big screen as well as in the toy aisle. Directed by Jon M. Chu and due out in theaters June 29, G.I. Joe: Retaliation is the follow-up to the 1980s military-tinged franchise’s first cinematic affair three years ago, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which was the highest pop-culture point to date of three decades of comic books, cartoons and toys.

And with a new movie come new action figures of returning actors Channing Tatum as team leader Duke and Ray Park as the ninja Snake Eyes, franchise newbie Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as heavy machine gunner Roadblock, and many more. (

For those who’ve been waiting for a toy to complement their John McClane action figure, Bruce Willis is in the flick, too, as “original Joe,” Joe Colton.)

Hasbro releases the new line of Retaliation movie toys on May 28, with a focus on the 3.75-inch-tall figures popularized in 1982 with the first wave of the modern “Real American Hero” Joe toys, which influenced a generation just as the 12-inch figures did when they debuted in 1964. Many of the new toys will be on display at the American Toy Fair in New York City Feb. 12-15.

The latest Retaliation figures reflect the poseability, gear and authentic accessories that have been around since the beginning, says Derryl DePriest, a vice president of marketing at Hasbro and lifelong Joe collector. “Size has changed to reflect the fantasy.”

There are improvements, though, especially when it comes to detail — the veins pop on Roadblock’s biceps the same way they do on Johnson’s in real life, and Cobra Commander has snake-like fangs on his helmet plus wrinkles on his sleeves and pants.

Also, in the line of figures that began in 1982, rubber “O-rings” in the center of a figure’s chest connected the lower half to the upper half, but often broke over time — much to many vintage collectors’ collective chagrin. Today’s figures are constructed differently, DePriest says, with several levels of articulation allowing for more realism in poses.

“The character essence remains the same, but the technology allows us to deliver up an even richer experience,” says DePriest, the author of Collectible G.I. Joe: An Official Guide to His Action-Packed World.

The actual characters and designs for the Retaliation toys, though, are more of a nod to the past than the previous movie.

Rise of Cobra was a really important milestone in G.I. Joe history and brought the franchise to kids, DePriest says. “We did some things very deliberately in the Rise of Cobra with some of our characters to create a little bit of a separation from what went before and some newness to update them for today.”

But the Retaliation movie and toy line is wholeheartedly embracing the 30-year tradition, bringing in classic characters such as Flint, Lady Jaye and Firefly as well as old-school looks — Cobra master of disguise Zartan’s trademark hood and freaky skin are back, and Cobra Commander’s silver face mask and helmet are much more akin to the original bad guy from the toys and cartoons than the leader from Rise of Cobra. (He also is similar in look to the newer Cobra Commander of the current IDW comics.)

Knowing the focus in 2012 would shift to Retaliation, Hasbro began its 30th-anniversary celebration last fall, with reimagined older characters in toy form and vehicles like the Skystriker, the iconic G.I. Joe plane that hadn’t been reissued by Hasbro since its original release in the ’80s.

The first Retaliation toys will concentrate closely to the cast of characters in the movie, but DePriest promises that “off-screen” Joes and Cobras important to long-time fans will come to stores later in the year.

While the kids of today are first and foremost a focus for Hasbro, the company also take into account the adult fans and collectors who still have their figures from the 1980s — or even older — around the house.

“It was such an important part of the childhood of many of the moms and dads of today,” DePriest says.

“Whenever we shape out the line, we do have both audiences in mind and both audiences are extremely valuable to us. We like to think that a great toy that delivers a magical experience with a character that everybody loves will delight both kids and adults alike.”