From the desk of Indiana Joe:
For my custom, I decided I would skip the hypno-shield and give him a Crystal Ball (on a staff)
He is reputed to be the love child of a Romanian man with psychic powers and an American woman from Bangor, Maine. The man was said to be the seventh son of his family and when Crystal Ball was born to the woman, he was the seventh son she bore in her lifetime. Coincidence or bizarre fate?
Trivia:
- Crystal Ball is almost universally considered the most disliked figure. Fans hate this guy.
- Was the “pegwarmer” of the 1987 assortment, to the extent that he was still on some store shelves as late as1990.
- Developed at the suggestion of Stephen King’s son, who was a G.I. Joe fan and wanted a magician on the team. Depending on how the story is told, either King or his son, Owen, created Crystal Ball and wrote the filecard.
His facial features and hair vaguely resemble horror actor Vincent Price.- Crystal Ball’s biographical information is a parody of Owen King’s own history.
- Working names for the character included Trance-Master, Prof. Id, Mesmeron and The Gazer.
- Before the figure was released as “Crystal Ball,” there was another filecard for the character.