Rafael 'Zap' Melendez (Retro) — G.I. Joe Classified Series

Overview

Rafael ‘Zap’ Melendez (Retro) is part of the G.I. Joe Classified Series Retro Collection, 2026 at $27.99. The Classified Zap figure in vintage-style blister card packaging reproducing the 1982 ARAH cardback. Zap is one of the franchise’s Original 13 — the founding GI Joe team members from 1982 — and his 2026 Retro appearance gives the Retro Collection its Original 13 anti-armor bazooka specialist in vintage packaging, advancing the programme toward complete founding roster coverage.

Zap and the 1982 Cardback

The original 1982 Zap cardback introduced the Joe team’s primary anti-armor specialist through a design that communicated his operational role immediately: the bazooka, the equipment loadout appropriate to heavy anti-armor operations, the Puerto Rican background that made him one of the franchise’s early demonstrations of deliberate ethnic and regional diversity in its character roster. The vintage cardback illustration captured the anti-armor specialist identity — the operator whose weapon is large enough that the character’s design is partially defined by it.

The Retro Collection version reproduces that original character presentation in the format that introduced Zap to collectors in 1982. His main line Classified debut has been anticipated since the programme launched — Zap is one of the last Original 13 members to receive full Classified representation, and the 2026 Retro arrival indicates his main line or concurrent Retro debut.

Original 13 Completeness

The Original 13 are: Snake Eyes, Scarlett, Grunt, Rock N Roll, Short-Fuze, Zap, Stalker, Flash, Breaker, Grand Slam, Steeler, Clutch, and Hawk. The Retro Collection’s 2026 Zap addition gives the programme six Original 13 members in vintage packaging: Snake Eyes, Scarlett, Grunt, Rock N Roll, Stalker, and now Zap. Seven remain — Short-Fuze, Flash, Breaker (standard Retro), Grand Slam, Steeler, Clutch, and Hawk — for the programme’s long-term Original 13 completion goal.

Zap’s inclusion specifically is notable because his bazooka specialisation is the Original 13’s primary anti-armor function — the founding team’s heavy weapons capability against armoured targets. The character alongside Grunt creates the Original 13’s infantry and anti-armor pair in vintage packaging.

Puerto Rican Heritage and Franchise Diversity

Rafael Melendez’s Puerto Rican background was part of the franchise’s original 1982 design to represent the American military’s demographic reality — the GI Joe team from launch included characters whose civilian backgrounds and ethnic identities reflected the actual composition of the US armed forces rather than a monolithic demographic profile. The vintage cardback communicated this identity through the file card’s biographical details, and the Retro Collection version preserves that communication context.

Anti-Armor Role in Vintage Display

Zap’s bazooka creates a specific display role that no other standard Classified figure provides quite as directly: the large-weapon anti-armor specialist positioned against a vehicle target, communicating the tactical scenario of heavy infantry dealing with armoured opposition. The vintage illustration style communicates this role through the weapon’s scale relative to the figure — the bazooka defines the character as much as any other design element.

Secondary Market

Retro Collection 2026, standard retail. Secondary prices typically run $30–42.

Verdict

Zap Retro is the Original 13’s anti-armor specialist in 1982 vintage packaging — the Puerto Rican bazooka operator whose inclusion in the founding roster reflected the franchise’s commitment to demographic representation from launch. Essential for Original 13 Retro completionists and the 2026 programme’s strongest founding team addition.

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Part of G.I. Joe Classified Series Retro Collection | Retro Collection 2026. Related: Robert ‘Grunt’ Graves #87 | Rock N Roll Retro | Scarlett Retro.

Completing the Original 13 Anti-Armor Tier

The Original 13’s anti-armor capability was distributed across two figures: Zap’s bazooka as the primary heavy anti-armor weapon, and Grand Slam’s laser artillery as a complementary heavy weapons option. The Retro Collection’s 2026 Zap addition gives the anti-armor tier its primary representative in vintage packaging — and for collectors building toward the complete Original 13 vintage cardback display, Zap’s inclusion is one of the most tactically specific additions the programme can make.

The bazooka is one of the franchise’s most visually immediate weapons identities — large, distinctive, and unambiguous in its anti-armor purpose. In vintage cardback format, the character whose primary accessory is a bazooka reads as the anti-armor specialist at display distance without requiring the file card. Zap’s vintage cardback is self-evidently clear about what he does.

Quick Reference

Sub-line: Retro Collection | Year: 2026 | Price: $27.99 | Packaging: Vintage-style blister card | Figure inside: Same as Classified Zap | Best for: Original 13 completionists, anti-armor display collectors, 1982 franchise history collectors

Zap and Grunt together in 2026 vintage cardbacks give the Original 13’s ground combat tier its most complete Retro representation — the infantry specialist and the anti-armor specialist, both from 1982, both in the packaging that introduced them.

Zap and the 1982 Roster Completion

Zap’s 2026 Retro appearance is part of a larger pattern: the Classified programme and the Retro Collection are systematically working through the Original 13 roster, and each addition brings the programme closer to the complete founding team in vintage packaging. Zap alongside Grunt in 2026 gives collectors two Original 13 ground combat specialists in vintage cardback simultaneously — the most significant single-year Original 13 Retro addition since the programme’s 2022 launch.

The Original 13 vintage cardback display is one of the most compelling long-term collector goals the Retro Collection creates. Zap and Grunt in 2026, alongside Snake Eyes (2022), Scarlett (2024), Rock N Roll (2024), and Stalker (2024), brings the count to six. Seven remain. The programme is making real progress toward a goal that would have seemed ambitious in 2022.

Zap Retro is a significant Original 13 addition. Own it.