G.I. Joe

Origin of G.I. Joe

MARVEL / DEVIL'S DUE

The G.I. in G.I. Joe stands for "Government Issue". During World War II the term G.I. Joe was coined to describe American soldiers. In the 1960's President John F. Kennedy created a special military unit that reported directly to the White House. The highly decorated Vietnam vet, Lieutenant Joseph Colton, headed up this special forces unit under the name "G.I. Joe". The name G.I. Joe became synonymous with Colton. The team had a successful run of missions through the 1960's and 1970's before it was officially disbanded.

G.I Joe was revived in the 1980's as an elite counter terrorism strike-force. Their main enemy being  COBRA, the well funded and organized terrorist group which actually ran an entire American town ( Springfield) as a sleeper cell. The original leader of this new team was Hawk ( Colonel Clayton Abernathy ) who quick militarily recruited Stalker, Snake-Eyes, Grand Slam, Short-Fuse, Flash, Grunt, Breaker, Rock & Roll, Zap, Scarlett, Steeler and Clutch. The team was a complete secret and their subterranean headquarters, called The Pit, was stealthily hidden underneath the motor pool at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island.

As Cobra grew in strength, the Joes started to recruit more experts from the different branches of the armed forces. Torpedo and Wet Suit from the Seals, Gung-Ho and Leatherneck from the Marines, Deep Six from the Navy, Cutter from the Coast Guard, Ace and Slip-Stream from the Air Force and many others. Soon there were elite troops for the Joes to cover the globe.

IDW

G.I. Joe is a covert anti-terrorist unit, which is comprised of members of the military who have been declared KIA. The original team was comprised of Hawk, Duke, Scarlett, Heavy Duty, Snake Eyes, Rock & Roll, and Breaker, with new members added later.

Films