Clutch (G.I. Joe)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| G.I. Joe character | |
| Clutch | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | G.I. Joe |
| Specialty | Driver |
| File name | Steinberg, Lance J. |
| Birthplace | Asbury Park, NJ |
| SN | RA757340802 |
| Rank | E-4 |
| Primary MOS | Transportation |
| Secondary MOS | Infantry |
| Subgroups | Mega Marines |
| Year introduced | 1982 |
A character from Hasbro's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy line, comic books and cartoon series of the 1980s, Lance J. Steinberg is better known as Clutch, one of G.I. Joe's motor vehicle drivers. He was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
Contents |
[edit] Toy history
Clutch is part of the first group of characters introduced in the 1982 G.I. Joe relaunch. His action figure was bundled with the Vamp battle jeep. In 1984, a second action figure was released and was packaged with the Vamp Mark II vehicle. The character also became a member of the Mega Marines subgroup in 1993.
The 2003 edition of his action figure has been renamed as Double Clutch. Presumably, Hasbro lost the rights to the character name "Clutch" as they did with several other characters and this was a legal way to reuse the character. However, the most recent Clutch figure revealed at JoeCon 2007, is named simply "Clutch", and his file card even mentions his brief name change.
[edit] Fiction
[edit] Comics appearance
Clutch first appears in the Marvel Comics licensed comic book. An unabashed skirt chaser, Clutch came across to female Joe members such as Scarlett and Cover Girl as an oversexed chauvinist, and he didn't give them much reason to think otherwise. Constantly hitting on any woman who came into his line of sight, at one point Clutch actually suggested putting up Cover Girl and Scarlett as a women's mud wrestling pair. Even though he was a blatantly chauvinistic jerk, he was also a good driver and a good soldier who did his job when the chips were down. As the series went on, his chauvinistic attitude was downplayed.
[edit] Scarface
In G.I.Joe issue #18, he drives his VAMP vehicle into a Cobra military convoy, disguised by the surrounding Libyan desert dust. Working with Hawk and others, Scar-Face, an important Cobra member is captured out of the back of a Cobra tank. This is intended by Cobra, as Scar-Face was a vital part of their plans. In #19, back home at the PITT, he is sent on a recon mission with Breaker. They take Scar-Face and Major Bludd, another prisoner, with, to deprive them of over-hearving vital tactics.
Their vehicle is spotted by advancing Cobra forces and all four are almost slain by Cobra. Clutch's driving gets them to safety literally just feet ahead of Cobra missiles.
Later, Clutch is featured in G.I.Joe: Special Missions #2. He, Recondo and Roadblock are sent to track down a Nazi war criminal. The mission is complicated by the surprise arrival of another military team with interests in the same criminal. Here, it is learned Clutch's grandmother has had horrific personal experiences with Nazis.
[edit] Zombified
Clutch is featured in a multi-issue storyline with his good friend, Rock'N'Roll. While on a vacation/road trip, the two discover the Cobra-owned town of Broca Beach. They are captured by the Dreadnoks, specifically, the multi-personality thug, Roadpig. Brainwashed as ticking time bombs, they later meet up with Joe forces, unaware that they ever have been captured. Later, two lost young girls end up being escorted to Joe base and the pair are assigned to supervise them. A Cobra attack activates the pair's brainwashing and they threaten the girls. It is all they do, as the inherent decency in the two prevent them from harming innocent people.
Clutch would team up with Rock'N'Roll again, in Canada. They assist Canadian police forces in shutting down a warehouse full of Cobra forces and Terrordrome parts. As it was Canadian territory, the Joes had to receive explicit permission before acting, but this was given freely, as the Canadian policemen were hiding from the same Cobra gunfire the Joes were.
Clutch's last appearance in the Marvel run of G.I. Joe was issue #145.
[edit] Devil's Due
He was not seen again until issue #8 of the Image comics version of G.I. Joe. He spent the time in between as a mechanic for the Indy League Racing Circuit. He also worked at a Philadelphia Naval Base which was thought to be shut down, but still carried out top secret missions.
Despite not being an official Joe member, he assists several Joes when a Cobra soldier invades the base.
[edit] Animated series appearance
He was not a very prominent character in the animated series. He appeared in both the MASS Device and Revenge of Cobra miniseries and then, after only a few brief appearances in the regular series, he was written out by being placed in an alternate dimension, along with Steeler and Grunt, where G.I. Joe had lost and Cobra ruled the world (though he still appeared regularly in the comic book series written by Larry Hama). Interestingly, the animated Clutch possessed none of the chauvinistic behavior of his comic book counterpart. This is a list of all his appearances in the cartoon:
A Real American Hero (Parts I, III, IV & V), The Revenge Of Cobra (Parts I, II, IV, & V), The Pyramid Of Darkness (Parts I & V) Twenty Questions (brief), The Synthoid Conspiracy (Parts I & II), Where The Reptiles Roam (brief), Spell Of The Siren, Cobra Quake, Worlds Without End (Parts I & II), The Traitor (Parts I & II), The opening sequence of G.I. Joe: The Movie
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
