One of the original
1982 set of
G.I. Joe 3 3/4" action figures. Clutch was bearded, came with no weapon, and was not
sold separately. Instead, he was packaged with his vehicle, the
VAMP (Multi-Purpose Attack Vehicle – apparently someone at
Hasbro was
dyslexic) jeep. A
1984 Clutch featured a tan uniform instead of green and came with the VAMP Mark II. In
1993, a clean-shaven Clutch in a ridiculous orange suit of armor was sold as part of the "
Mega Marines" series as the
Monster Blaster APC Driver. He came with an assortment of oversized weapons and some "moldable bio-armor" (i.e.
Play-Doh). I have no idea what was up with that shit.
In one memorable comic book adventure, Clutch returned to his home town of
Asbury Park,
New Jersey to find it taken over by
Cobra. Sillyness abounded.
1982 filecard:
VAMP DRIVER
Code Name: CLUTCH
File Name: Steinberg, Lance J. SN: RA757340802
Primary Military Specialty: Transportation
Secondary Military Specialty:
Infantry
Birthplace: Asbury Park, NJ Grade:
E-4
Clutch was a mechanic at Manny’s Mean Machines and was heavily involved in racing street machines prior to enlistment. Graduated: Advanced Infantry Training;
Covert Ops School; Executive Bodyguard School;
Ranger School. Qualified expert:
M-14;
M-16;
M-1911A1;
M-3A1;
M-79;
M-60
"He greases his hair with
motor oil, rarely shaves, and chews on the same
toothpick for months. Clutch still calls women "
chicks."
For some reason, I found this last bit utterly fascinating when I was a kid. Thank God I didn’t try emulating any of this behavior. Well, except for the toothpick; I tried that bit, but I never made it past a day.
Comic book appearances:
* G.I. JOE: #1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 46, 47, 48, 55, 59, 64, 74, 75, 76, 89, 90, 91, 93, 97, 98, 99, 100, 109, 110, 145
* G.I. JOE: Special Missions: #2
Filecards and information from http://www.yojoe.com