Iron Grenadiers
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The Iron Grenadiers is a villain group from the series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. They are a private army owned and maintained by the villain Destro. The Grenadiers are composed of his castle guards, personal bodyguards and mercenaries. Unlike Cobra’s troops, the Grenadiers tend to be better motivated, especially in financial concerns as the elite officers each have a share in Destro’s weapons sales.
The group first appeared in the 1988 series of the G.I. Joe toyline and also made appearances in the animated series and comics.
[edit] Organization
The Iron Grenadiers are led by no less than Destro himself. Following the storyline in the comic book series at the time, the file cards indicate that Destro had, at some time, left Cobra and formed his own army. He, too, begins having dreams of world domination just as Cobra Commander had.
To lead his army, Destro enlisted Voltar, a mercenary who acts as the field commander. Just like Cobra, the Grenadiers are organized according to their specialties.
- Iron Grenadiers – the basic infantryman had a uniform similar to the original Cobra troopers but with an all black color scheme and full face mask.
- Ferrets – operators of the DEMON tanks.
- Nullifiers – pilots of the AGP (Anti-Gravity Pod) flight vehicle.
- Annihilators – elite troopers.
- TARGATs – Trans-atmospheric rapid global assault troopers, soldiers trained for high-altitude combat.
- Darklon – Destro’s cousin and ruler of Darklonia.
- Wild Boars – operator of the Razorback assault vehicle.
- Undertows – underwater combat specialists.
- Metal-Head – anti-tank specialist.
[edit] Comics
An Iron Grenadier appeared in G.I. Joe #69 of the comics series published by Marvel Comics. During that time, Destro had broken his ties with Cobra. After months out of the spotlight, Destro resurfaced in Sierra Gordo where he supplied weapons to both the local government and the rebels. To mark a new beginning in his life, he adopted a new uniform and fashioned his own aide-de-camp sergeant major into the first of the Grenadiers.
The Grenadiers appeared as an army in issue #73 where they participated in the Cobra Civil War as a wild card. Destro's personal ride, a Nullifer tank, battled a group of Dreadnoks riding the Thunder Machine. The result was a stalemate of sorts. Their objective in the civil war was to retrieve the Baroness and they managed to achieve it without any losses. Later on, when Destro’s schemes started to affect Cobra, the then Cobra Commander (Fred VII in disguise) decided to retaliate by assaulting Castle Destro. (issue #87) The attack backfired. Although outnumbered, the Grenadiers were able to prove their mettle. A clever plan by Destro allowed him to hold hostage Fred VII and Dr. Mindbender and essentially take over Cobra.
The ties between Cobra and Destro were severed once more when the original Cobra Commander returns (issue #98). Rather than confront the Commander, Destro kept his distance. Cobra Commander still had a bone to pick with Destro and attacks the latter’s castle in issue #116. The Iron Grenadiers seem to have all perished and disappeared after that event and never seen again for the remainder of the Marvel series.
The Grenadiers resurfaced in the G.I. Joe series published by Devil's Due Publishing where they continued to be in service of Destro.
[edit] Animated series
In other media, the Iron Grenadiers first appeared in the mini-series Operation: Dragonfire and then in ongoing series by DiC Entertainment. Unlike the comics and the toyline, the Grenadiers were not treated as a separate faction from Cobra but as part of Cobra’s organization. The name Iron Grenadiers is not even used. The one character from the Grenadiers to achieve some level of popularity and attention was Metal-Head who acted as comic relief in the series.
