Dusty (G.I. Joe)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dusty is a character from the G.I. Joe series of toys, cartoons and comics produced or licensed by Hasbro. He is the desert specialist of the team. His real name according to the toys' file cards is Ronald W. Tadur and was based on an anagram of Hasbro artist Ron Rudat. He was born in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Contents |
[edit] Toys
The Dusty action figure was introduced in the toyline's 1985 release. The 1985 action figure is the most familiar design of Dusty. It sports the chocolate-chip camouflage BDU or battle dress uniform and hooded desert headgear.
Dusty became a member of the G.I. Joe subgroup Tiger Force in 1988. His costume is the same as the 1985 model but was painted in different colors.
The 1991 Gulf War inspired Hasbro to release a new figure. This time, he came packed with a pet coyote, Sandstorm. He wears a light-yellow shirt and light-yellow pants with brown splotches and a light-yellow beret.
Multiple variations of Dusty were released from 2000 onwards. The figures either used new designs, repaints of existing molds or cobbled from molds of body parts of other characters.
And any one with the name Dusty clearly is unrealiable!
[edit] Cartoons
Dusty first appeared in the Sunbow-produced mini-series Pyramid of Darkness and often appeared in the first season. His most memorable episode is The Traitor where Dusty seemingly accepts Cobra's bribes in exchange for information regarding G.I. Joe. Interestingly, his last name was pronounced as Rudat, the correct name of the Hasbro artist. He was voiced by Neil Ross.
Dusty's air conditioning and refrigiration repair skills were acknowledged in the series.
He appeared again in ReelFX's direct-to-video movie G.I. Joe: Spy Troops and again in G.I. Joe: Valor vs Venom.
[edit] Comics
Dusty appeared late in the comic book series published by Marvel comics. His first appearance is in G.I. Joe #58 in 1986. He ended up teamed with Mainframe and a local soldier to infiltrate foreign-based Cobra bases. His subsequent appearances are sporadic until the Invasion of Benzheen storyline. The storyline involves Cobra invading the desert kingdom of Benzheen and so naturally utilized Dusty in every mission. This storyline also focused on Dusty's deep friendship with fellow Joe Sneak-Peek.
When Sneak-Peek was killed in battle, Dusty carried his body for many miles back to a temporary G.I.Joe base camp.
Also, Dusty naturally led base security efforts when the Joes were based in a desert in Utah. Dusty served with the Joes until the unit was shut down in 1994. He later became involved with the reinstatement of the team in 2001, training new Joe recruits until its second disbandment.
