Crimson Guard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Crimson Guard, commonly referred to by a phonetic spelling of their initials (thus, Siegies), is the name for both a fictional elite organization and its members, which serves as an elite force for the COBRA Organization, the nemesis of the G.I. Joe team. These warriors, which are featured in the cartoon: “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” are the elite of Cobra. As with all soldiers in the first season they fight on land, sea and air acting almost as officers as well as serving as Cobra Commander's bodyguards. In the second season, they seemed to serve more as bodyguards than anything else.
The Crimson Guard is led by the mirror twin characters Tomax and Xamot, who handle all of COBRA's business affairs. They are in direct command of the Crimson Guard; however, Tomax and Xamot are loyal to COBRA Commander, in turn, putting the Crimson Guard at COBRA Commander's disposal.
In the Marvel and Devil's Due comic series, the Crimson Guard are the most elite soldiers of Cobra's Viper legions under the command of Tomax and Xamot and are completely loyal to Cobra Commander, serving as his personal guard. Building the Crimson Guard network was believed to be the first thing Cobra Commander did after founding Cobra. Each member of the Crimson Guard operates in secret all over the country in the political arenas and business world. This allows them to serve Cobra by gaining the organization things it needs through legitimate means. Each member is rigorously trained, with the most demanding training regime in all of Cobra, and inducted in a secret ceremony in the lowest levels of Cobra's headquarters. To be a Crimson Guard is to swear absolute loyalty to Cobra and Cobra Commander.
To prove their loyalty many members of the Sieges become part of a "series", the most famous of this is the Fred Series. These Crimson Guardsmen undergo plastic surgery to look like one another, allowing a member to completely replace another member should the need arise.
The most famous Crimson Guardsman is undoubtedly Fred VII, owner of an auto repair shop and developer of advanced cybernetic and bionic devices. This Fred gained infamy when, from 1987 to the early 1990s, he successfully impersonated Cobra Commander, after believing him killed in a failed attempt on his life. He was killed when the real Cobra Commander returned.
Other incarnations of the Crimson Guard include two recently developed toys. The first is the new Crimson Guard, part of Hasbro's Direct to Consumer line, sold exclusively on their website, which features a slightly redesigned look, most notably replacing the original military style shirt with something resembling a stylish leather jacket. The second is a new subset, featuring repaints of the 2005 Crimson Guard Force figures, redone in black and gold, with melee weapons, and named the Crimson Shadow Guard.
Another notable toy incarnation of the Crimson Guard is the 2004 Operation Crimson Sabotage K.B. Toys Exclusive. The set consisted of three Crimson Guard figures, and included two vehicles; a red H.I.S.S. Tank, and a red A.S.P. Gunpod.
