Now more than ever, we can be forgiven for wanting to indulge in a little nostalgia for a simpler time – say, the golden age of Saturday morning cartoon shows, for example.

In what will be welcome news for anyone who grew up as an action fan and/or toy lover in the 80s, the entire original run of G.I. Joe cartoons has been officially released to YouTube.

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Toyline Hasbro has put out the first 15 episodes of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero onto the video-sharing platform, where they can be viewed for free. The available episodes include the original two animated miniseries The M.A.S.S. Device and The Revenge of Cobra, and the five-episode season one storyline The Pyramid of Darkness.

Not all readers may remember G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, as in the UK and some other European markets the show was initially renamed Action Force.

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The animated series (co-produced by the legendary Marvel, who also published tie-in comics) brought Hasbro’s long-running action figure line to the screen, revitalising the property for a new generation and making must-have toys out of the musclebound heroes and their vehicles.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero didn’t last as long as some other popular 80s cartoons, in part because it proved controversial for promoting warfare to pre-teens (though it was hardly the only inappropriate cartoon promoted to kids at the time).

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The enduring popularity of the franchise resulted in two big-budget blockbuster movies, 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and 2013’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

A third movie – Snake Eyes, a prequel centred on G.I. Joe’s ninja hero, with British actor Henry Golding in the title role – is scheduled to hit cinemas in October 2020.

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