The goal was to create a statue that honored the classic G.I. Joe Adventure Team era. Since the characters from that time were more generalized archetypes, the figure — originally known simply as the Adventure Team Commander — was reimagined as Joseph Colton, the original G.I. Joe. This helped give the piece a clearer narrative identity.
Rather than placing him on a static or generic base, I approached the piece with a focus on storytelling through design. The pose was designed to capture a moment of bold, decisive action — something that spoke to the "adventure" in Adventure Team.
The base itself incorporates visual elements from the vintage “Trapped in the Coils of Doom” playset. It is reimagined here with the snake, seized mid-strike by the throat, as it crushes the boat and pulls it down into churning waters. Colton’s knife has sliced into the serpent’s skin, showing this is just one moment in an ongoing struggle that began long before this moment.