''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' (retitled ''Action Force'' in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) is a half-hour

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

animated television series created by Ron Friedman. Based on the

toyline A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

from

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

, the cartoon ran in syndication from 1983 to 1986. 95 episodes were produced.

History

When Hasbro launched the ''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' toyline in 1982 alongside the Marvel Comics series, it commissioned

Marvel Productions New World Animation Ltd., formerly known as Marvel Productions, was the television and film studio subsidiary of the Marvel Entertainment Group, based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It later became a subsidiary of New World Entertainment ...

to produce a series of fully animated 30-second television commercials which were broadcast in order to promote the comic book publication, since advertising regulations for a literary work were more lax than for a direct toy commercial. The commercial for the first issue began airing throughout the Spring of 1982. The popularity of these commercials led to the production of a five-part ''G.I. Joe'' mini-series which aired in 1983 (later known as "The M.A.S.S. Device" when it re-aired during the series' syndication). The plot centers on the titular M.A.S.S. Device, a powerful matter-transporter, and G.I. Joe and Cobra's race around the world to acquire the three catalytic elements which power the machine. A second five-part mini-series followed in 1984, ''G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra'' (titled "The Weather Dominator" in later airings), with a similar plot that involved the Joes and Cobras traveling around the world to recover the scattered fragments of Cobra's new weather-controlling weapon, the Weather Dominator. Both mini-series were written by Ron Friedman. ''G.I. Joe'' was promoted to a full series in 1985, with an initial order for a first season of 55 more episodes (in order to make up the required 65 episodes for syndication). This season began with a third Friedman-penned five-part adventure, "The Pyramid of Darkness"; the story sees most of the existing cast from the two previous mini-series held captive by Cobra, while a new assortment of characters (that is, the new 1985 range of toys) thwart Cobra's attempts to surround the Earth with the electricity-negating Pyramid of Darkness. Both the new and old characters then shared the spotlight throughout the course of the remaining fifty episodes of the series, which were primarily stand-alone single-episode adventures, with the occasional two-part story. The season was story edited by

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include '' Man-Thing'', '' Omega the Unknown,'' '' Marvel Spotlig ...

. A second season of 30 episodes followed in 1986, beginning with a fourth five-part story, "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!" in which Cobra scientist

Doctor Mindbender Dr. Mindbender is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is a scientist who works for the terrorist organization Cobra; like other characters in the fictional universe, his cha ...

, inspired by a recurring dream, uses the DNA of history's most ruthless conquerors and rulers to genetically engineer

Serpentor Serpentor is a fictional character and a recurring antagonist from the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' toyline, comic books, and animated series. Introduced in 1986, the character rules as Emperor over Cobra. Serpentor serves as the primary a ...

, who usurps Cobra Commander's leadership of Cobra. This mini-series introduced the new 1986 range of toys into the story, which were at the center of most stories across the rest of the season; in particular, the mini-series debuted former WWF and then-current

AWA Awa (or variants) may refer to: People * Awa (given name), notable people named Awa or Hawa * Awá (Brazil), an indigenous people of Brazil * Awa-Kwaiker, an indigenous people of Colombia and Ecuador Languages * Awa language (China) or Wa (Va) ...

professional wrestler

Sgt. Slaughter Robert Rudolph Remus (born August 27, 1948), best known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is a voice actor and retired American professional wrestler who is currently signed to WWE in the ambassador program. From the late 1970s to the early 198 ...

as a member of G.I. Joe, played by

himself A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that refers to another noun or pronoun (its antecedent) within the same sentence. In the English language specifically, a reflexive pronoun will end in ''-self'' or ''-selves'', and refer to a previously n ...

. For this season,

Buzz Dixon Buzz Dixon (December 7, 1953) is an American writer of comic books, film, and cartoons. He has written comics for multiple companies, including Eclipse Comics (where he wrote ''Destroyer Duck'' alongside Steve Gerber), Marvel Comics, and a ''Bu ...

replaced Steve Gerber as story editor.

Film

''G.I. Joe: The Movie'', a feature-length film version of the series, was intended to be released theatrically, followed by the release of '' The Transformers: The Movie''. However, the movie encountered unexpected production delays which allowed the ''Transformers'' feature to be released first. Due to the poor box office performances of the ''Transformers'' and '' My Little Pony'' films, ''G.I. Joe'' was relegated to direct-to-video status. It was released on VHS on April 20, 1987, and was later split into a five-part mini-series for television syndication. The movie follows up on the events of Season 2, revealing that Cobra Commander is actually an agent of a secret civilization known as

Cobra-La Cobra (sometimes referred to as Cobra Command) is a fictional terrorist organization and the nemesis of the G.I. Joe Team in the Hasbro action figure toyline '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' and '' G.I. Joe: Sigma 6'', as well as in related m ...

led by a half-serpent being named Golobulus. The same organization is also revealed to have had a hand in the creation of Serpentor, as the dream that inspired Doctor Mindbender to create him is revealed to be a subconscious suggestion that was implanted into his mind by one of Golobulus' bugs called the Psychic Motivator. In addition to Cobra-La, two new sub-teams were introduced within the Joe Team, the Rawhides and the Renegades, both of which were composed of characters which were introduced into the toyline during its 1987 lineup.

Cancellation

Marvel Productions continued to produce animated commercials for the toyline and comic books (which featured a new theme song with the lyrics "Nobody Beats G.I. Joe") after the broadcast of ''G.I. Joe: The Movie'', which was intended to set up Season 3. However, the company never got around to producing a third season, ending up losing its license to the competing animation company DiC during pre-production. Michael Charles Hill, who wrote several episodes of the show, had already proposed an outline for Season 3 that would have followed the events of ''The Movie''. In this unmade third season, a criminal organization named "The Coil", which is composed of a group of former Cobra elites who are led by

Tomax and Xamot Tomax and Xamot Paoli (also called the Crimson Twins or Crimson Guard Commanders) are fictional characters from the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' toyline, comic books and animated series. They are the co-leaders of Cobra's elite troops, the ...

, would have served as the new enemy faction, while a mutated

Cobra Commander Cobra Commander is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' franchise. He is the supreme leader of the terrorist organization Cobra and the archenemy of the G.I. Joe Team. He was portrayed by Joseph ...

would have tried to secretly rebuild his organization after the destruction of Cobra-La, shifting allegiance between the Coil and the Joes in order to further his own ambitions.

Subsequent series

A second ''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' series was produced by

DIC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production com ...

that ran from

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. It premiered with a five-part mini-series which was titled "Operation: Dragonfire," lasted two seasons, and consisted of a total of 44 episodes. The DiC series served as a continuation of the Sunbow series, but it did not use the aforementioned season 3 pitch. Sunbow would later return to the ''G.I. Joe'' franchise, co-producing the 1994 straight-to-video animated pilot ''

Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles is a line of military-themed toys produced by Hasbro that was sold between 1994 and 1995. It was intended to be a companion line to ''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero''. Comic book artist Joe Kubert provided the ...

'' and the '' G.I. Joe Extreme'' TV series, which aired from 1995 to 1996. The ''Screaming Eagles'' pilot featured appearances by characters from the ''A Real American Hero'' series (namely Hawk,

Doc DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...

Lady Jaye Lady Jaye is a fictional character in the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' toyline, comic books and animated series. She was originally created as a character for the ''G.I. Joe'' animated series produced by Marvel Productions and Sunbow Produ ...

, and

) in supporting roles, but its primary focus was on new heroes and villains.

Production

''G.I. Joe'' was a co-production between

and Sunbow Productions. Sunbow's staff would write the scripts based on the character and vehicle designs provided by

, while the artists at Marvel Productions would draw storyboards based on the scripts and record voiceovers. The animation was outsourced to Toei in Japan, who worked on all 95 episodes, as well as the movie. The ''G.I. Joe'' comics and animated series share a few common plot elements that were not products of the toyline at the time such as the town of Springfield, the

Oktober Guard The following list (organized by faction) covers every known character in the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' toy line to have received his/her own action figure. It includes the year the characters' version 1 action figure debuted, their c ...

and the character of The Baroness (who was only introduced into the toyline in 1984). However, they did not share the same continuity and as a result, they differed significantly in terms of how the characters were written and the direction the stories took (particularly regarding the nature of Cobra Commander's true identity). In contrast to the comics (in which non-toyline characters such as G.I. Joe commanding officer

General Flagg General Flagg is the code name as well as the rank and surname of two fictional characters from the toyline, cartoon and comic series, '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero''. The original Brigadier General Lawrence J. Flagg is a character who was cre ...

and Cobra scientist Dr. Venom, were killed off early during its run), the TV series had to adhere to children's programming regulations and as a result none of the characters were allowed to use actual firearms and nobody was ever killed on-screen. Instead, characters used laser guns to fight their battles (which were color-coded for each side, red for the Joes and blue for Cobra) and whenever a vehicle was destroyed on-screen, the pilot or driver would often be shown exiting from it or parachuting before the destruction. However, the show was still allowed to make references to off-screen

casualties A casualty, as a term in military usage, is a person in military service, combatant or non-combatant, who becomes unavailable for duty due to any of several circumstances, including death, injury, illness, capture or desertion. In civilian usag ...

, as the term could be used interchangeably for injuries and deaths. One particular episode in Season 1, a two-parter titled "Worlds Without End" in which the Joes are transported to an alternate universe where the Joes have been defeated by Cobra, features a scene in which three members of the Joe Team ( Steeler, Grunt and Clutch) find the skeletal remains of their counterparts from that world (the second part of the episode ends with the aforementioned characters deciding to remain in the alternate universe and replace their deceased counterparts). A public safety lesson was usually featured at the end of each episode, using G.I. Joe characters in brief scenarios to impart safety tips to children. These lessons gave birth to the catchphrase, "Now we know!", and the response, "And knowing is half the battle". In each episode's opening title sequence voice actor Jackson Beck states that, "G.I. Joe is the code name for America's daring, highly-trained, Special Mission force. Its purpose: To defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world". Because the series was produced as a vehicle to sell the toys, most of the episodes would focus on the newest characters being sold in stores at the time, while older characters would fall by the wayside as they were being phased out from the toyline. Most notably Hawk, who was part of the 1982 launch lineup and the original G.I. Joe leader in the Marvel comics, was absent during the entirety of Season 1 in favor of having

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

(a character introduced in 1983, the year when the first miniseries aired) serve as the leader instead. When Hawk was reintroduced to the toyline with a new action figure in 1986, the character was suddenly part of the team in Season 2 as Duke's superior and the head of G.I. Joe's chain of command with no explanation for his absence in the prior season.

Cast

* Charlie Adler - Low-Light *

Jack Angel Jack Angel (October 24, 1930 – October 18, 2021) was an American voice actor, comedian, and radio personality. He provided voice-overs for animation and video games. Angel had voiced characters in shows by Hasbro and Hanna-Barbera such as '' S ...

Wet Suit A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activities in or on water. Its ...

Viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...

, Thunder (in "The Most Dangerous Thing in the World") * Libby Aubrey -

Cover Girl A cover girl is a woman whose photograph features on the front cover of a magazine. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a casual, once-off appearance by a person on the cover of a maga ...

* Jackson Beck - Narrator * Michael Bell -

Blowtorch A blowtorch, also referred to as a blowlamp, is an ambient air fuel-burning gas lamp used for applying flame and heat to various applications, usually metalworking. Early blowtorches used liquid fuel, carried in a refillable reservoir attach ...

, Clutch,

, Lift-Ticket, Major Bludd, Scrap-Iron,

Tollbooth A tollbooth (or toll booth) is an enclosure placed along a toll road that is used for the purpose of collecting a toll from passing traffic. A structure consisting of several tollbooths placed next to each other is called a toll plaza, tollga ...

, Xamot, Cobra Trooper,

, Tele-Viper *

Gregg Berger Gregory Alan Berger (born December 10, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jecht from ''Final Fantasy X'' and the ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'' games, Grimlock from '' The Transformers'', Mysterio and Kraven the Hunter from '' ...

- Colonel Brekhov, Cutter, Firefly, Rip Cord, Sparks,

Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

Arthur Burghardt Arthur Burghardt (born August 29, 1947) is an American retired actor, best known for portraying Jack Scott on the soap opera ''One Life to Live''. In animation, he's known for lending his deep bass voice as Devastator in '' The Transformers'', D ...

Destro Laird James McCullen Destro XXIV, usually referred to simply as Destro, is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books, and cartoon series. He is the leader of the Iron Grenadiers, and founder of M.A.R.S. ...

, Iceberg, Stalker, Cobra Trooper *

Corey Burton Corey Gregg Weinberg (born August 3, 1955), known professionally as Corey Burton, is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake, Dale and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on '' The Transformer ...

- Tomax, Wild Weasel, Lt. Clay Moore *

William Callaway William Ronald Callaway (born March 11, 1940) is an American retired voice actor. He is also known as Bill Callaway and Bill Calloway. He is known for playing Aquaman in ''Super Friends''. Filmography Animated roles * ''Aladdin'' - Zarasto * '' ...

- Beach Head *

François Chau François Chau (born October 26, 1959) is a Cambodian American actor. He is known for his roles as Dr. Pierre Chang in ABC's ''Lost'', Quick Kick on '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'', Dr. Chang in the film '' 21 & Over'', The Shredder in '' ...

Quick Kick In gridiron football, a quick kick is any punt made under conditions such that the opposing team "should not" expect a punt. Typically this has been a kick from scrimmage from a formation that is, or resembles, one usually used other than for pu ...

Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''Transformers'' animated series, reprising the role many times since 2007. He has also voiced many other ...

Airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

Zandar Zandar is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is affiliated with Cobra as a member of the Dreadnoks. He is portrayed by Matt Gerald in the 2013 film '' G.I. Joe: Retaliati ...

, Cobra Trooper *

Brian Cummings Brian Douglas Cummings (born March 4, 1948) is an American voice actor, known for his work in radio and television commercials, television and motion picture promos, cartoons and as the announcer on '' The All-New Let's Make a Deal'' from 1984 to ...

* Pat Fraley -

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

Airtight A hermetic seal is any type of sealing that makes a given object airtight (preventing the passage of air, oxygen, or other gases). The term originally applied to airtight glass containers, but as technology advanced it applied to a larger categor ...

Wild Weasel Wild Weasel is a code name given by the United States Air Force (USAF) to an aircraft of any type equipped with anti-radiation missiles and tasked with the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD): destroying the radar and surface-to-air mis ...

, Cobra Trooper * Hank Garrett -

Dial Tone A dial tone is a telephony Signaling (telecommunication), signal sent by a telephone exchange or private branch exchange (PBX) to a terminating device, such as a telephone, when an off-hook condition is detected. It indicates that the exchange is ...

Dick Gautier Richard Gautier (October 30, 1931 – January 13, 2017) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and caricaturist. He was known for his television roles as Hymie the Robot in the television series '' Get Smart'', and Robin Hood in the TV comedy ...

Ed Gilbert Edmund Francis Gilbert (June 29, 1931 – May 8, 1999) was an American actor, with extensive credits in both live-action roles and voice work in animation, although he was better known for the latter. He is also credited, under his birth name (E ...

General Hawk Hawk is a fictional character from the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' media franchise. He is one of the original members of the G.I. Joe Team, and debuted in 1982 as a Missile Commander, but was later promoted to full commander of the team. ...

Dan Gilvezan Daniel John Gilvezan (born October 26, 1950) is an American actor, known for playing Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the 1981 animated series, '' Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' and Bumblebee in the original 1984-1987 '' The Transformers'' se ...

- Slip Stream, Beach Head (in "Let's Play Soldier") * Zack Hoffman -

Zartan Zartan is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books, and animated series. He is one of the main villains in the franchise as the leader of the Dreadnoks, and a mercenary who often worked directly for Cobra ...

Kene Holliday Kenneth Earl Holliday (born June 25, 1949) is an American actor of stage, film, and television. He is known for his role as Ben Matlock's original private investigator, Tyler Hudson, on '' Matlock'', and as Sgt. Curtis Baker on ''Carter Country ...

Roadblock A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be: *Roadworks *Temporary road closure during special events *Police chase *Robbery * Sobriety checkpoint In peaceful circumstances ...

John Hostetter John Hostetter (October 6, 1946 – September 2, 2016) was an American actor and visual artist. He played John, the stage manager on the fictional FYI newsmagazine, on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' starring Candice Bergen; he appeared in 65 of ...

Bazooka Bazooka () is the common name for a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was among the ...

Jerry Houser Jerry Houser (born July 14, 1952) is an American former actor. He is best known for his role as Oscar "Oscy" Seltzer in ''Summer of '42'' and its sequel, '' Class of '44'', as Dave "Killer" Carlson in '' Slap Shot,'' and the role of Wally Logan ...

Sci-Fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

* Milton James - Zandar (Arise, Serpentor, Arise! Part 5) *

Buster Jones Edward L. Jones (December 12, 1943 – September 16, 2014) was an American voice actor and television host. He is probably best known from his roles as Black Vulcan in '' Super Friends'', Blaster in '' The Transformers'', Doc in '' G.I. Joe: A ...

, Zap, Cobra Trooper *

Chris Latta Christopher Charles Collins (born Christopher Lawrence Latta; August 30, 1949 – June 12, 1994) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known as the voice of Cobra Commander in the '' G.I. Joe'' animated series and Starscream i ...

Breaker Breaker may refer to: Objects * A breaking wave on water, or a "breaker", a shallow over which waves break * Circuit breaker, an electrical overload switch * Breaker (hydraulic), a percussion hammer attached to an excavator People * Breaker Mo ...

Frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the ha ...

Gung-Ho ''Gung ho'' () is an English term, with the current meaning of "overly enthusiastic or energetic". It originated during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) from a Chinese term, ( zh, hp=gōnghé, l=to work together), short for Chinese I ...

Ripper Ripper or The Ripper may refer to: People * Ripper (surname) * Paul Burchill, ring name "The Ripper", a professional wrestler based on Jack the Ripper * Kirk Hammett, nicknamed "The Ripper", the lead guitarist in the heavy metal band Metallica ...

, Steeler, Tele-Viper *

Loren Lester Loren Lester (born October 4, 1960) is an American screen, stage and voice actor best known as the voice of DC Comics superheroes Nightwing and Robin in various media, starting with the DC Animated Universe. He is also a graduate of the Occidental ...

- Barbecue * Morgan Lofting -

Baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

* Chuck McCann -

Leatherneck Leatherneck is a military slang term in the USA for a member of the United States Marine Corps. It is generally believed to originate in the wearing of a "leather stock" that went around the neck. Its original purpose was to protect the neck fr ...

Michael McConnohie Michael McConnohie is an American voice actor, writer and director who has provided many voice roles in movies, anime, and video games. He and fellow actress Melodee Spevack run a production company called VoxWorks. Some of his major works includ ...

- Cross-Country * Mary McDonald-Lewis -

* Bill Morey - Mutt,

Recondo Recondo is an American military acronym (from RECONnaissance commanDO, or RECONnaissance DOughboy) for a highly specialized infantry training or a graduate of a Recondo School who leads a small, heavily armed long-range reconnaissance team that patr ...

* Rob Paulsen - Snow Job,

Tripwire A tripwire is a passive triggering mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to a device for detecting or reacting to physical movement. Military applications Such tripwires may be attached to one or more mines – especially fragm ...

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...

Patrick Pinney Patrick Cullen Pinney (born June 30, 1952) is an American television, film and voice actor. Early life, family and education Pinney was born in San Francisco County, California. His mother's maiden name is his middle name. He attended college a ...

- Mainframe * Lisa Raggio -

Zarana Zarana is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. She is affiliated with Cobra as a member of the Dreadnoks. Profile Zarana is the sister of Zartan and fraternal twin of Zandar.'' ...

* Bill Ratner -

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

, Cobra Trooper, Strato-Viper *

Hal Rayle Hal Rayle (born January 4, 1955) is an American voice actor. He has done many roles for both animated series and live action movies. Career Rayle has had a number of voice acting jobs over his career. Rayle's animated series roles include Miss Pi ...

- Deep Six * Bob Remus -

Neil Ross Neil David Ross is a British-American voice actor and announcer. Noted for his Trans-Atlantic accent, he has provided voices in many American cartoons, most notably ''Voltron'', '' G.I. Joe'', and ''Transformers'', as well as video games, incl ...

Buzzer A buzzer or beeper is an audio signaling device, which may be mechanical, electromechanical, or piezoelectric (''piezo'' for short). Typical uses of buzzers and beepers include alarm devices, timers, train and confirmation of user input such as a ...

Dusty Dusty may refer to: Places in the United States * Dusty, New Mexico, an unincorporated community * Dusty, Washington, an unincorporated community * Dusty Glacier, Washington People * Dusty (given name) * Dusty (nickname) * Slim Dusty, Austra ...

, Heavy Metal, Monkeywrench, Shipwreck,

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

* Dan Roth - Grunt *

Will Ryan William Frank Ryan (May 21, 1949 – November 19, 2021) was an American voice actor, musician and singer. He provided the voice of Petrie in the 1988 animated film ''The Land Before Time''. He was also known for his voice work as Eugene Meltsner ...

Footloose Footloose may refer to: * ''Footloose'' (1984 film), a musical film ** ''Footloose'' (1984 soundtrack) ** "Footloose" (song), performed by Kenny Loggins * ''Footloose'' (2011 film), a remake of the 1984 film ** ''Footloose'' (2011 soundtrack) ...

Rock 'n Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

* Ted Schwartz -

Thrasher Thrashers are a New World group of perching bird, passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family (biology), family Mimidae. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genus, genera. T ...

* John Stephenson -

, General Hawk (in "The Spy Who Rooked Me" and a single spoken line in "My Favorite Things") * B.J. Ward - Scarlett *

Lee Weaver Lee Weaver (born April 10, 1930) is an American film and television actor. Early life Weaver was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the son of Josephine and Primus Jest Weaver, a chef. Weaver was the voice of Alpine in the animated television ...

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

* Frank Welker -

Copperhead Copperhead may refer to: Snakes * ''Agkistrodon contortrix'', or copperhead, a venomous pit viper species found in parts of North America * '' Austrelaps'', or Australian copperhead, a genus of venomous elapids found in southern Australia and Ta ...

, Freedom, Horrorshow, Junkyard, Polly, Short-Fuse, Timber,

Torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. I ...

, Wild-Bill,

, Cobra Trooper, Tele-Viper * Stan Wojno - Lifeline * Michael Yama -

Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

Keone Young Keone Joseph Young is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as Dr. Michael Kwan in '' Kay O'Brien'' (1986), Mr. Wu in '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006) and as the dual roles of Judge Robert Chong and Mr. Wan in ''The Young and t ...

Storm Shadow Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French low-observable, long-range, air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA. Storm Shadow is the weapon's British appellation. In French service, it is ...

Crew

Wally Burr Walter Story Burr (June 2, 1924 – July 9, 2017), also credited as Wally Burr and Walter Burr, was an American voice actor and director. As the voice director for '' The Transformers'' and '' The Transformers: The Movie'', Burr was known for h ...

- Voice Director * Junichi Hayama - In between Animation * Don Jurwich - Voice Director *

Russ Heath Russell Heath Jr. (September 29, 1926 – August 23, 2018), was an American artist best known for his comic book work, particularly his DC Comics war stories and his 1960s art for ''Playboy'' magazine's "Little Annie Fanny" feature. He also prod ...

- Model Design *

Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...

- Model Design (Season 1)

Home media

VHS, Betamax and LaserDisc

Various episodes were released on home video by

Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment (FHE) was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California. History The company was founde ...

in North America. A total of 12 numbered volumes were produced on VHS and Betamax from 1984 to 1986. Vol. 1 and 2 featured the first two mini-series, "The M.A.S.S. Device" and "The Revenge of Cobra" respectively, edited as feature-length movies, while Vol. 3 through 11 featured a single episode each from the first season. These tapes were originally released in clamshell cases packaged in large boxes and were subsequently reissued with standard cardboard sleeves. Vol. 12 contains three episodes, each preceded by a live-action introduction hosted by

, although certain versions of this volume only contains two episodes. All 12 volumes featured comic book-like packaging artwork. The "Arise Serpentor, Arise" mini-series was later released as an edited feature-length movie on VHS and LaserDisc in 1991, making it the sole ''G.I. Joe'' release in the latter media format.

Rhino Home Video Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was originall ...

would later acquire the home video rights to the series and release a second series of VHS tapes under their "Kid Rhino" branding. Nine volumes were released for general retail between 1999 and 2000, each containing two episodes (including two-part episodes). A tenth volume was released in 2001 as part of Blockbuster Video's exclusive "Kidmongous" series, which contained four episodes. Outside North America, episodes of ''G.I. Joe'' were also released on VHS in other countries by various local companies, with the ''Action Force'' version of the show receiving a total of 27 VHS releases in the

DVD

In 2003-2004, Kid Rhino Entertainment (a subsidiary of

AOL Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

) (a Warner Family Entertainment and WEA/Warner Music Group-distributed label) began releasing ''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' on DVD in Region 1. They released the original two mini-series in 2003 followed by Season 1 in 2 volume sets in 2004. The first half of Season 2 was released in late 2004 but the remaining episodes were never released due to quality issues when the original DVDs were released (such as adding more sound effects when watched in 5.1 surround sound, since they did the same to the Transformers G1 DVD sets, also done by Rhino). These DVD sets have since gone out of print as Rhino lost the distribution rights. In 2008,

reacquired the worldwide distribution rights to the Sunbow library which includes G.I. Joe. During 2008 and 2009, Hasbro released five gift packs of cartoon-inspired action figures, each including a DVD. The first four sets included the four miniseries, and the fifth an assortment of Sunbow series episodes. In March 2009, Shout! Factory acquired the rights to re-release G.I. Joe on DVD in Region 1 with

Vivendi Entertainment Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment (formerly known as Vivendi Entertainment, Vivendi Visual Entertainment and Visual Entertainment) is an independent film, television, DVD and digital distribution company operating in the United States and Canada. It is ...

. They have subsequently released Season 1 in 3 volume sets. On July 22, 2009, they released ''G.I. Joe - A Real American Hero: Complete Collector's Set'', a 17-disc boxset featuring all 95 episodes and extensive bonus features including archival Hasbro toy commercials and a collectible 60-page book. The second and final season was released as a stand-alone set on April 27, 2010. This series is available for streaming on Hasbro's own channel on Youtube dedicating to this series; as well as it's available on the Tubi streaming service.

UK VHS releases

* St. Michael Video (1987) * Tempo Video (MSD Video, Tempo Super Video Then: Tempo Kids Club) (1987–1992) * Collins Video (1989)

Reception

In January 2009, IGN ranked ''G.I. Joe'' as number 19 on its list of the Top 100 Animated Series.

Notes

References

External links

* (1st mini-series) * (2nd mini-series) *
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
at Retrojunk.com
G.I. Joe (Sunbow)
at YOJOE.com {{Toonami Cartoon Network 1980s American animated television series 1980s American science fiction television series 1983 American television series debuts 1986 American television series endings American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated science fantasy television series Animated television series based on Marvel Comics English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States G.I. Joe television series Ninja fiction Television series by Claster Television Television series by Hasbro Studios Television series by Marvel Productions Television series by Sunbow Entertainment Toei Animation television Toonami