With his chrome dome, dark aviators, turtle-neck wife-beater and leather waist-coat, this progressive 70's type named Jimmy Squeaks screams "goon". Chief irritator to the CHiPs, this Mego concept figure represents the global villainy of that TV series, and consequently, lacks a dimension of intrigue inherent in the sci-fi genre. He's probably a tough, street-wise son of Greek-Macedonian immigrants brought up on rackets and petty-crime - no doubting those credentials. But he's no Darth Vader. Grand larceny, auto-theft, but unlikely to be suspected of intergalactic terrorism.
What's interesting about this figure however is his construction. Like his peer (Wheels Willy), Jimmy is a soft plastic, six-point articulation. Strangely, the CHiPs themselves are 10-point articulation rubber-banded torsos; it's like they were invented for another line altogether. Nevertheless, Jimmy has the rub on Willy, sporting a tidy black leather vest that fits snugly on his lean, muscular frame. And both get to show off the impressive guns with the sleeveless apparel (no tattoos?).
There's also a bent-leg variant of Jimmy, akin to the Pocket Super Hero line from 1975, in his original incarnation as "Professor Braine" from the C.B. McHaul line. It seems Mego recycled the heads, arms and much of the design schemes to develop their Jimmy & Willy characters, as means to give Ponch, Sarge and Jon someone to harass in the kid's playground. Fair enough. I understand why Jimmy had to be invented, but where was Harlan Arliss, Artie Grossman or Bear? Too much, too little, too late to ever start again.
Jimmy is a standover man at best, but he's solid construction and if you're not too discerning and just need a yin for your yan, then he's functional and will take a beating, or give one (hence the clenched fist, poised to throw a haymaker), depending on your mood. Personally I'd have him laying out Ponch at every given opportunity, just to wipe that stupid Mego-grin off his face.
Jimmy Squeaks | 1979 | Mego | CHiPs
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