Yes, this is real. Rocky Balboa, the underdog Philadelphia boxer created by Sylvester Stallone for the seminal 1976 sports movie "Rocky," was once included as a member of G.I. Joe. It seems that Rocky's powerful punches -- and ability to take them -- made him ideally suited to fight the high-tech international terrorist organization Cobra. As such, he became a team member with outlandish ultra-soldiers like Blowtorch, Gung-Ho, Snake Eyes, and, uh, Footloose.

The version of G.I. Joe in question was part of the property's popular rebranding from 1982. The then-new brand was subtitled "A Real American Hero" and is deeply familiar to individuals who are now pushing 50. It was a massive cross-media enterprise launched by Hasbro as a means of taking over a large portion of the toy market. "A Real American Hero" also involved a newly-relaunched toyline, which boasted a new menagerie of cartoonish characters figures that only...