Defiant (G.I. Joe)

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The Defiant is a fictional space shuttle complex vehicle and station from the G.I. Joe series, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, line of toys, comics and cartoons. It is also one of the largest playsets in the toyline series. The Defiant is actually composed of three vehicles. One is the Crawler unit which transports the shuttle to a designated location. Second, is the booster shuttle unit on which the third component, the Defiant space shuttle, piggy rides on launch. The Defiant shuttle's design is based on the X-33 proposed shuttle design for NASA that would have seen the need for a booster component eliminated and make shuttle launches cheaper and more frequent.

The Crawler unit is operated by the G.I. Joe member Hardtop.. The Defiant shuttle is commanded by astronaut Payload.

The cost of the playset - the most expensive toy in Hasbro's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero lineup - led to Hasbro re-releasing the shuttle two years later as a stand alone vehicle called the Crusader, which used the same mold as the Defiant shuttle. The toy also came with a re-painted version of the "Payload" action figure. Using a metal tab that came with the Defiant shuttle, the Crusader could be modified to fit on top of the booster that was included in the original shuttle complex playset.

In the comic books, it is hidden under the desert near the Joe's Utah headaquarters. Recon pictures of it's truncated tracks are what lead Cobra forces to know where the headquarters is located. It was featured in issue #64, where the team goes into orbit to prevent the destruction of US spy satelites by Cobra, and issue #145, where a small team of Joes called Star Brigade launched. The crew included the aforementioned Payload, along with Spaceshot who was the craft's co-pilot, Duke, Roadblock and Sci-Fi. The Crusader also appeared in G.I.Joe: Special Missions issue #28.