Shipwreck (G.I. Joe)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shipwreck is a character from the G.I. Joe series of toys, cartoons and comics.
According to his file card, his real name is Hector X. Delgado and born in Chula Vista, California. He is a sailor in the US Navy. He grew up near the San Diego Navy Yards. He enlisted in the Navy at 16, lying about his age. He participated in patrolling and engaged in action in the Mekong Delta and served on carrier operations in the Middle East before joining the G.I. Joe Team.
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[edit] Toy History
The character first appeared in the 1985 edition of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series as a sailor in the Joe Team. Despite being a fairly popular character, it was nine years 1994 later that he received a second version of his action figure, this time revamped as a Navy SEAL. All later action figures have used his status as a SEAL since. He also had a 12" edition action figure produced as part of the G.I.Joe vs. Cobra line. Though Shipwreck has not yet appeared in the G.I. Joe: Sigma Six TV series, an action figure in his likeness has been released.
[edit] Comics
Shipwreck’s first appearance was in issue #40 of the G.I. Joe comics published by Marvel Comics where he played a major role in the story. Afterwards, he is pretty much relegated to as a background character and minor roles in major conflicts like the Cobra Civil War where he piloted a WHALE hovercraft. He did not appear again for the remainder of the Marvel published series.
He would come back again in a big way. When Devil’s Due Publishing started producing new G.I. Joe comics, he was immediately included as a major supporting character. The comic series followed the storyline provided in his action figures’ file cards wherein he trained to become a Navy SEAL. The first issue of the G.I. Joe: Battle Files makes mention on his activities between the disbandment and reinstatement of the Joe Team. He was running tour guide operations and busting pirates and drug smugglers in between.
The Joe Team would be disbanded once more and reformed with a smaller core group in the series, G.I. Joe: America’s Elite. Shipwreck is included in the new team and is one of the more vocal critics for including Storm Shadow in the lineup.
[edit] Cartoon
In other media, Shipwreck also appeared in G.I. Joe animated series from Sunbow Productions. He is one of the more fleshed out characters in the series. He first appeared in the 1984 mini-series, The Revenge of Cobra, as a Han Solo-type figure offering Flint’s team a way back to Joe headquarters on his land sail. The Joe Team offered Shipwreck a spot on the membership roster which he gladly accepted. Shipwreck played a major role in a subplot in the Pyramid of Darkness mini-series. He and Snake-Eyes have to fight their way out of a Cobra stronghold, and are later rescued through the efforts of a popular lounge singer named Satin, who had a grudge against Cobra for framing her father for crimes he never committed. Satin had stated her father had never recovered and did so rather tearfully, implying he may have died or even committed suicide, although this is never stated directly. Satin parted ways with the duo, but returned in the concluding episode and played an instrumental role in defeating Cobra.
Shipwreck continued to be a recurring character through the regular series where his adventures are never limited to anything naval. He frequently served as the wild man and the comic relief. There were episodes that showed a more serious side to the character. He was among the number of Joes whose relatives were captured and brainwashed by Cobra in “Captives of Cobra”. “Memories of Mara” found Shipwreck in love with an escaped Cobra agent named Mara, who was part of an experimental proceedure to create amphibious soldiers who could breathe on land and in water. However, the experiment was only partially successful with Mara, who could no longer breathe out of water for more than a few minutes. In the two-part highly rated season finale “There’s No Place Like Springfield”, his emotions and mental state would be toyed with when he is trapped in a town filled with synthoid copies of his friends and loved ones, including Mara and another synthoid called Althea, who was posing as his daughter from his false marriage to Mara.
The second season finds Shipwreck appearing less but still managing to participate in major roles in episodes he does appear in. They were often the more humorous episodes. Shipwreck also appeared in G.I. Joe: The Movie, albeit in a more diminished capacity as a captive of Cobra-La.
[edit] Trivia
- Neil Ross, the voice actor who portrayed Shipwreck, made him sound like a cross between Jack Nicholson and Popeye. It worked beautifully and Wally Burr, the voice director loved it.
- A barely-modified version of Shipwreck's 1994 Navy SEAL figure was used on the Nickelodeon series Action League Now as the character Stinky Diver.
