G.I. Joe Team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
G.I. Joe is the code name of the American elite anti-terrorist task force and the protagonist group of the fictional G.I. Joe universe. Their main enemy in most G.I. Joe continuities is the evil Cobra Organization.
They are sometimes referred to as the G.I. Joe Team, the Joe Team or simply the Joes. The G.I. Joe Team first appeared in the 1982 G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series from Hasbro. Prior to this, G.I. Joe was the name of the adventure character that appeared throughout the 1960s and 1970s. From 1982 and on, the name is more identified with the group rather than the classic character.
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[edit] A Real American Hero
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The G.I. Joe Team is composed primarily of US Army personnel but is supplemented by representatives from other branches of the United States Armed Forces, namely the Marine Corps, the Air Force and the Navy. Members are culled from the best of their recruits. Each member brings to the team their own specialty.
[edit] Marvel Comics
In the first issue of the G.I. Joe comics published by Marvel Comics, it is revealed that the team’s official code name is Special Counter-terrorist Group Delta. G.I. Joe was merely a nickname that became their official moniker. The original members of the Joe Team included Hawk, Stalker, Breaker, Clutch, Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, Rock ‘n Roll, Steeler, Grand Slam, Flash, Short-Fuze, Grunt and Zap. Later on, the team roster grew as more members are added.
The team is originally portrayed as a covert group with access to high tech military equipment. Their existence is denied to the public at large though this would change later in the series. Much like the real-life group Delta Force, the existence of the Joe Team is slowly revealed to the world as later stories involved them in high profile missions such as the Cobra Civil War and the liberation of Benzheen.
[edit] Devil’s Due
In the comics series by Devil’s Due Publishing, the Joe Team is recast as a group recognized by the public in the same way as actual United States Special Operations Forces. While the world knows that such a group as G.I. Joe exists, the Team’s missions remain classified. When a new enemy the Red Shadows surfaced, the Joe Team is reduced to a skeleton crew. Despite this, they were eventually victorious but were still disbanded.
The disbandment, however, was just a ruse. The Team is reformed with core members while the rest of the former members are reserves. In the G.I. Joe: America’s Elite series, it is revealed that the Joe Team has reformed, this time as a clandestine unit as they originally were.
[edit] Animated series
The two animated series to feature G.I. Joe has taken many liberties when it came to the portrayal of a military unit. Many of the members are trained to operate in many environments. They are also capable of piloting a wide variety of their many vehicles such that even Army men can also fly Skystriker and Conquest X-30 jet fighters. Even function is not an issue as Navy man Shipwreck is often seen in non-naval adventures.
[edit] Chain of Command
The common belief for the G.I. Joe chain of command is Hawk is the team's commanding officer (CO) while Duke is second in command. However, a number of differences exist between the comics, cartoon and even the toy line.
The comics take a more or less realistic approach with the hierarchy and also maintains the widely held view of Hawk as the overall leader with Duke second. Unlike the cartoon series, Hawk is prominently featured from the very first issue. Corresponding with his release as an action figure, Duke is introduced later on. As First Sergeant, Duke outranks most of the team's enlisted members, which make up the majority of the team, and his seniority and experience are respected by later higher-ranking Joes who would appear throughout the comic's run, such as Lt. Falcon and Captain Grid-Iron. As an enlisted man, however, Duke could never take formal command of the team. In the comic series by Devil’s Due Publishing, when Hawk becomes incapacitated, a new character, General Philip Rey, was introduced and is given command. When the Joe Team is disbanded and reformed once more, the original G.I. Joe, General Joseph Colton takes control with Duke as field commander.
The Sunbow animated series has a more liberal take, and it should be noted that the first episode was aired quite a while after the first run of Hasbro action figures were released in 1982. As a result, the focus on much of the cartoon's first season was on newer characters rather than the originals (with the notable exception of Snake Eyes and Scarlett). This is likely why the first season of the series featured Duke as the leader of the team, with Flint taking an active leadership role in later episodes as well. In the second season (to coincide with his new action figure), it is established that Hawk is the overall commanding officer. In the first episode of the second season, Flint explains to Beachhead, “First Hawk, then Duke, then me, and finally you,” clearly stating the overall chain of command up to that point. Later episodes gave Sgt. Slaughter a prominent leadership role as well.
In the early years, the toy line mostly held off in identifying the one character that served as the team's leader. The first run of the toy line featured Hawk as the highest ranking team member, and though his file card makes mention of his abilities as a leader it falls short of specifically naming him as the team’s commander. Duke, who appeared the following year, is not specifically mentioned as either the team's commander or second-in-command, but his file card extols his ability to command by winning respect and mentions his current assignment as acting First Sergeant of the team. Any question of the team's commanding officer ended in 1986 when Hawk's second action figure version is released and the character is revamped as the team's CO.
[edit] Extreme series
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The G.I. Joe Extreme team from the G.I. Joe Extreme series is apparently the only Joe team to be fully composed of US Army personnel. The team is led by Lt. Stone. The comic series posits that the team was formed in the 1960s as a response to the rising threat of SKAR. The Joe Team is a much smaller elite unit, a far cry from their A Real American Hero incarnation.
[edit] Sigma 6
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In the G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 series, the Joe Team is reduced to a smaller group, reflecting the Extreme team but using characters from the A Real American Hero series. Unlike the original ARAH animated series, new characters are slowly (re)introduced rather than feature all of them en masse.
The story as established by the Sigma 6 animated series has the Joes take on a new code name after Cobra destroyed their base of operations.
