Zartan is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books, and animated series. He is one of the main villains in the franchise as the leader of the Dreadnoks, and a mercenary who often worked directly for Cobra Commander. His character was voiced by Zack Hoffman in the 1985 TV series, and he was portrayed by Arnold Vosloo in the live-action film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and its 2013 sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Profile Zartan is renowned for his mastery of make-up and disguise. Very little is known of his background, but he is suspected to have received European military academy training at St. Cyr. Zartan can alter his skin color at will to blend in with his environment, and is a practitioner of several mystic martial arts. He is also a ventriloquist, a polyglot (speaking over 20 languages and dialects), and an acrobatic-contortionist. Zartan and the Dreadnoks have also been known to use holographic technology and other means to disguise themselves. He has a younger brother and sister, twins named Zandar and Zarana, as well as a daughter named Zanya. The Dreadnoks are a fictional biker gang from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books, and cartoon series. They are affiliated with Cobra as shock troops, offering their mercenary services as subordinates of Zartan.
Toys When Zartan was originally released in the toy line, it stated on his file card that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder. After a complaint from a mental health organization, Hasbro removed this information from the file for later print runs, and was not referenced on file cards for future releases of the character. In early development, he was called Captain Chameleon. He was later named Zartan, an anagram of Tarzan, by writer Larry Hama.
Vintage The 1984 Zartan action figure featured UV reactive plastic. In its natural state, Zartan appeared white, but when exposed to sunlight, Zartan's skin changed to a dark blue. The action figure also came with thermal sensitive stickers that were applied to Zartan's chest- and thigh-armor. These stickers changed from maroon when cold, to aqua at room temperature, and blue when hot. Zartan was sold with an accompanying "swamp skier" called the Chameleon, which also contained thermal reactive plastic. The Chameleon could be disassembled into several parts and loaded into a small cart that was included with the action figure; the cart, loaded with the vehicle's parts, would act as part of a disguise, making Zartan appear to be a parts or junk dealer. A small face mask, included in a detachable backpack, completed the disguise. The action figures for Zartan's brother Zandar and sister Zarana were also constructed of the same UV reactive plastic. Zartan was updated in 1993, as part of the Ninja Force line. A complete departure from his classic uniform, Zartan wore a leather jacket and neon green pants. Instead of a cowl, he wears a short orange mohawk on his otherwise bald head. All the Ninja Force figures were designed with a "real ninja move". Zartan was designed with a spring-action hip; if Zartan's right arm was pushed back, his upper torso turned right. When the arm was let go, the torso sprang back forward, resulting in a punching motion with the right arm. After the line was canceled in 1994, Hasbro made several attempts to resurrect A Real American Hero through repaint series. Zartan was released only once in this four-year period (1997–2001) at the tail-end. Because of difficulty obtaining the original mold, Hasbro compromised, and repainted the 1990 SAW-Viper body with a modified Zartan head. Although true to the classic look, both this figure and the Ninja Force release are unpopular reinterpretations of the character.
Modern When Hasbro revamped the Real American Hero toyline in 2002, Zartan made an appearance as a figure again. Zartan sports his trademark hood and an open vested shirt. This figure was offered with a variety of paint schemes including with disguises in the Spy Troops line. In 2004, Zartan was redesigned again for Valor vs. Venom. Trading his hood for a ski cap, Zartan is the furthest from his biker roots here, retaining only the recognizable face markings to make him stand out.
Sigma 6 figures In a new 8" scale, Sigma 6 figures were heavily stylized and inspired by Japanese anime. Zartan released in the "Commando" collection in 2006, featuring his Sigma 6 outfit. A repaint of this figure was released in 2007, featuring a new version of Zartan called "Toxic Zartan" featuring a new purple uniform, and green highlights.
25th Anniversary 2007 was the anniversary of the launch of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, the third major reinvention of the brand since 1964. To celebrate, Hasbro created new figures based on the A Real American Hero line, featuring modern sculpting with updated and increased articulation (including the replacement of 's trademark O-Ring construction). Zartan was unveiled at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con, and the figure, based on designs from the Devil's Due comic series, included a removable mask and also changes color like its 1980s counterpart. A second 25th Anniversary-era figure, more closely hewing to the original figure from 1984, was released in 2008 that does not change color, but came with a scaled down version of the Chameleon swamp skier and two removable masks. Zartan was also released on the Hall of Heroes Line to commemorate the 25th anniversary figures. He came with three face masks, his trademark pistol and a sniper rifle.
Pursuit of Cobra Zartan was released in the second wave of figures for the Pursuit of Cobra line in 2010. In a review of the action figure, MTV said that Zartan "one of the few JOE-verse characters that weren't stripped of all their coolness in the recent film", though still praised the action figure for not referencing the film, calling the figure "all-around amazing".
Comic series
Marvel Comics
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