Thrasher 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 the

Dreadnoks 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 ...

Thunder Machine The Thunder Machine is a fictional, four wheeled, armored, weaponized vehicle used by the Dreadnoks, a biker gang/mercenary group in the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic books and cartoon series. The Dreadnoks work for Cobra, the primary ene ...

driver and debuted in 1986.

Profile

Thrasher was spoiled as a child by his middle-class parents, who never disciplined him in fear that this would "stifle energies he might need later in life". His parents never denied him what he wanted, even when those things caused destruction or disaster. After his parents were crippled in a car wreck, which may or may not have had anything to do with Thrasher's repair work on their brakes, Thrasher wandered into the swamps where to do whatever he wanted. There he met

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 ...

and the Dreadnoks, who welcomed him in as one of them. Thrasher derives a slight pleasure from inflicting suffering on others.

Toys

Thrasher was first released as an action figure in 1986, packaged with the Dreadnok

Comics

Marvel Comics

In the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

G.I. Joe series, he first appeared in issue #51. According to dialogue, he had wandered off into the swamps some time ago. He returns because the swamp held nothing left to smash. Further more, the pollution had killed off all the wild animals so there was nothing left to strangle. Later, in a conflict with the Joes, he purposely drives the Thunder Machine through a moving train, using the guns to create a hole. In issue #69, Thrasher, Monkeywrench and

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.'' ...

had been part of a team overseeing a Cobra

Terror Drome 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 ...

base in the fictional country of Sierra Gordo. When the country erupts in civil war, the three take Thrasher's

to a local airstrip. They take several civilians hostage. This gets them transport from Wild Bill, Crazylegs and

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

of the G.I. Joe team. Eventually the Dreadnoks, Joes and the civilians willingly work together in an attempt to escape to safety. Thrasher is injured during this attempt; eventually everyone makes it out alive. During the Cobra Civil War, the Dreadnoks sided with

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 ...

(in reality, the

Crimson Guard The Crimson Guard is an elite organization within the fictional G.I. Joe universe. They are members of Cobra Command, the nemesis of the G.I. Joe team. They are often referred to by a phonetic spelling of their organization's initials, as "Sieg ...

sman

Fred VII Cobra is the fictional nemesis of the G.I. Joe Team in the Hasbro toylines and related media. This is an alphabetical listing of Cobra members with unique identities as well as the members of its factions. Alexander McCullen Alexander McCullen ...

, who was impersonating Cobra Commander) against

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 ...

. A new Thunder Machine served as Fred's transport during the conflict. While fellow Dreadnok

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 ...

was fighting G.I. Joe general Hawk on top of the Thunder Machine, Thrasher crashed it into

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. ...

's personal D.E.M.O.N. tank, locking bumpers. After the Thunder Machine was evacuated, Destro ordered the D.E.M.O.N. to fire on it, freeing the vehicle but knocking it over. Thrasher used Monkeywrench's grenades to upright it, a decision he later regretted; while the vehicle remained structurally sound, its engine was damaged, although it remained operational enough to return Fred back to his troops. Later, he battles G.I. Joe soldiers and their sub-team

Battleforce 2000 G.I. Joe is the code name of a fictional elite covert special operations unit operating under the control of the United States Military in the G.I. Joe universe. In the 1960s and 1970s, a toy military adventure character based on General J ...

. In the first battle his Thunder Machine is destroyed by Joe equipment. In the second battle, Thrasher and the Dreadnoks only escaped due to interference from the local police.

Devil's Due

As seen in the Devil's Due series, he stays with the Dreadnoks as it turns into a multi-state operation. Joe forces assault the Dreadnoks'

Florida Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimm ...

headquarters. Thrasher and

flee in the Thunder Machine, are run off a hidden road by Joe forces and left behind. Later, he teams up with Buzzer,

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 ...

and Road Pig to supervise the purchase of a nuclear weapon from Russian forces. Thrasher is entrusted with the supervision of the

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

, Canada chapter of the Dreadnoks; most of the gang's power structure had retreated to this city after the Everglades raid.

IDW

Thrasher is younger in this continuity. He is a stable technological genius, maintaining a Dreadnok camp deep in the Australian outback. He is loyal to Zartan to the point of betraying other Dreadnoks. However Zartan betrays him as soon as it is beneficial.

Animated series

Sunbow

He first appeared in the ''

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...

'' second-season episode "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!: Pt. 1". He attempts to earn a spot on the Dreadnoks as he uses the Thunder Machine to pursue Joes

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 ...

, Beach Head and Low-Light. Thrasher joins the Dreadnoks afterwards, much to the disgust of the other members. Thrasher was voiced by Ted Schwartz.

G.I. Joe: The Movie

Thrasher also appeared briefly in the 1987 animated film '' G.I. Joe: The Movie''. In one scene, he teases a woman named "Heather" as she is changing out of her dress. "Heather" then throws him into a nearby lake and reveals herself as Zarana in disguise.

Other works

Thrasher's figure is briefly featured in the fiction novel ''6 Sick Hipsters''. In the story, the character Paul Achting spent four years collecting G.I. Joe figures to set up a battle scene between the Joes and Cobra. As he imagined the characters in his head, he described the Dreadnoks as "an elite team of maniacal mercenaries allied with Cobra for this battle", with the figures lying in the thick of the shag carpet, and Thrasher as "the psycho, mounted on the Thunder Machine, a red and black behemoth that was as postapocalyptic as Mad Max himself".

References

{{G.I. Joe Comics characters introduced in 1986 Dreadnoks Fictional drivers Fictional henchmen Male characters in animated series Male characters in comics Villains in animated television series