With the intensification of the Cold War in the early 1980s, the franchise was relaunched as “GI Joe: A Real American Hero.” These figures were just 3.75 inches (95 mm) tall, a scale virtually identical to that of the wildly popular Star Wars toys. While the original GI Joe featured characters named “sailor” or “pilot,” the 1982 toy line introduced a diverse, often outlandish cast of heroes and villains.