History ComicBook / GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel

* FakeCrossOver: Duke showed up in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #268 (1985). He is unnamed, but puts in an appearance as head of a military unit assigned to carry out the wreckage of the Heroes for Hire building (which the Beyonder had turned into gold).

* FakeCrossOver: Duke showed up in Amazing Spider Man #268 (1985). He is unnamed, but puts in an appearance as head of a military unit assigned to carry out the wreckage of the Heroes for Hire building (which the Beyonder had turned into gold).

* ColdWar: Since the series began in TheEighties, it was very much on and the Joes had several run-ins with the Soviets and other communist forces. The most frequent of these was the Oktober Guard. In the final run of the series, political reality caught up and they were more or less allies, though the Oktober Guard hadn't fared so well as the Joes in terms of survivability or funding.

* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: One StoryArc of the comic was written purely to launch ''TransformersGeneration2''.

* CoastGuard: Cutter.

* ColdSniper: Lowlight, thoug a Special Missions issue shows he isn't cold enough to pull the trigger on a man begging for his life.

* SergeantRock: Duke, who despite there being other soldiers of higher rank(Flint & Falcon, for example), was pretty much completely in charge of field operations unless Hawk was there to personally oversee things.
* TechnologyMarchesOn: Back in 1984, Ace's brag about the Skystriker having 92K of memory was impressive. Today, the average MP3 player has that much or more memory; meanwhile, a modern F-22 has 300,000 times more computer capacity.

* TheFaceless: Cobra Commander's face is never shown. Snake Eyes' face is rarely shown in the 'present', but flashbacks reveal him to be a standard 'handsome blonde guy'. At least it is once he gets it fixed by a top plastic surgeon. In the issue before the operation we finally get to see him, and find he had good reason to wear those rubber masks.

* RedHeadedHero: Scarlett, and ''many'' others.

* ContrivedCoincidence: The comic ''runs'' on this trope! It seems that every character is connected through TheVietnamWar or other incidents. Here are just a few examples:

* RealityEnsues: Occasionally in the early stories, there was some concession to reality. For instance, when Cobra tries capturing the GI Joe MOBAT Tank on the streets of NewYorkCity with armed troops dressed as marching band members, a squad leader reports they are proceeding with caution. Cobra Commander roars in response that they only have a few minutes before the NYPD and the military fully realizes what is happening and responds so they have to speed things up.

** In another issue, both Billy and Candy hitched a ride with the same drunk driver. He then crashes into a train crossing while trying to avoid a collision with the Soft Master. Scrap Iron blows up the car for good measure. Later, it's revealed [[spoiler: that Candy and the drunk driver burned to death while Billy survived but lost an eye and a leg.]]

* EnemyCivilWar: Destro's Iron Grenadiers vs Cobra Commander's side of Cobra vs Serpentor's side of Cobra (which the Joes reluctantly supported for the return for stolen technology). Although, the Grenadiers never fired a shot at either side; once they established their position on Cobra Island, they literally kicked back and drank tea while the two Cobra factions slugged it out, until it was over, and Destro simply retrieved the Baroness and left.

* IconOfRebellion: COBRA, naturally enough, has a red cobra's head with it's hood open.
* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: The Crimson Guards.

* ColdWar: Since the series began in TheEighties, it was very much on and the Joes had several run-ins with the Soviets and other communist forces. The most frequent of these was the October Guard. In the final run of the series, political reality caught up and they were more or less allies, though the October Guard hadn't fared so well as the Joes in terms of survivability or funding.

* DirtyCommunists: Subverted and played straight. The October Guard and other Soviet troops were given a lot more depth than most fiction of them time. It was, however, made clear that they were still a threat to the mission. It should also be said that the [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Borovia]] arc featured an Eastern Bloc gulag and guards as sadistic as any ever portrayed in fiction.

* EnemyMine: On several occasions, the Joes teamed up with their Soviet counterparts, The October Guard, to fight against Cobra. The Joes also had relatively friendly dealings with Destro after he later split from Cobra.

* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: The Dreadnoks

* AnimalMotifs: Cobra
* ArtShift: The comic had several different artists during its run, but the most jarring was the period where Frank Springer and Rod Whigham were alternating the art chores on a string of issues. This was a side-effect of the book going biweekly for a period, which also happened to coincide with the [[EnemyCivilWar Cobra Civil War]] plotline.
** Noticeable on Issue 60 which was drawn by Todd [=McFarlane=] (yep, Todd [=McFarlane=]). [=McFarlane=] actually drew Issue 61 but his art was rejected and replaced with art by Marshall Rogers. [=When McFarlane=] became famous in the '90s, his version of that issue got released as a G.I. Joe special issue.

* TheBlank: Cobra Commander's mask is either a featureless reflective plate or a blue hood with eyeholes cut out.
** Also, [[spoiler:Firefly's face]].

* CatFight: Lady Jaye and Zarana have a ''nasty'', knock down, drag out one in an issue of the comic...while all the male Joes and Cobra watch in stunned silence.
* ChainsawGood: Buzzer and his diamond tooth chainsaw
* ChefOfIron: Roadblock
* TheChick: Somewhat averted, with the girls being competent on both sides, but the code names of the Joe girls fit this: Lady Jaye, Scarlett, and Cover Girl.
** Daina of the Oktober Guard averted this in the comics by wearing a [=BDU=] and being a badass sniper.
* CoastGuard: Cutter

* CodeName: Joes were only referred to by code names.

** Storm Shadow, Stalker, and Snake Eyes were all on the same Long-Range Recon Patrol in Vietnam.
** [[spoiler: A member of the LRRP team thought dead turned out to be a Cobra Crimson Guardsman assigned to watch GI Joe Headquarters.]]

* CreatorProvincialism: An unusually high number of the Joes are from the very small state Rhode Island, according to their file cards. Where Hasbro just happens to be headquartered at..
* CulturalTranslation: In the UK, the good guys were called Action Force, and the theme tune called them International Heroes instead of Real American Heroes. Over time this slowly changed to "GI Joe, The Action Force" (it was as awkward as it sounds) before eventually just using the GI Joe name.
** This dates back from the 60's, when Palitoy licensed the original G.I. Joe figure as ''ActionMan''. Two decades later, ''Action Force'' was launched as an independent extension of the Action Man line. This changed with Hasbro's acquisition of the Palitoy assets, after which the Joes were introduced with European birthplaces.
* CustomUniform

* DrillSergeantNasty: Sergeant Slaughter and Beach-Head.

* EnemyMine: On several occasions, the Joes teamed up with their Soviet counterparts, The October Guard, to fight against Cobra. The Joes also had friendly dealings with Destro after the later split from Cobra.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: It was revealed that Cobra Commander had a son named Billy. Zartan also worked with his brother and sister.

* TheFaceless: Cobra Commander's face is never shown.
** Snake Eyes' face is also rarely shown, but is a standard handsome if scarred face. At least it is once he gets it fixed by a top plastic surgeon. In the issue before the operation we finally get to see him, and find he had good reason to wear those rubber masks.

* FourStarBadass: Hawk, who started as a ColonelBadass, with a short stint as a DeskJockey in between.

* HeroicSacrifice: This happened on numerous occasions. The [[{{Qurac}} Trucial Abysmia]] arc featured several Joes dying in heroic ways. Other characters would also die this way, most notably in the ''Special Missions'' comic.
** Since the Joes were cleared out of the Pit for a formal review following the Springfield debacle, the only ones inside the Pit when Cobra invaded were Hawk, Generals Ryan and Hollingsworth, and Admiral Dyson. Ryan in particular had been in favor of shutting down the program, but he (along with Dyson) end up sacrificing themselves to save Hawk and Hollingsworth, getting the Joes reinstated in the process.

* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: The Crimson Guards

* MarketBasedTitle: Rather more extensive than usual

* MasterOfDisguise: Zartan.
* MechaMooks: [[GoddamnBats Goddamn]] [[IncrediblyLamePun B.A.T.s]].
** The odd mention of B.A.A.T.s isn't a case of SpellMyNameWithAnS, but a case of two similar sets of FunWithAcronyms; B.A.T stands for "Battle Android Trooper", while B.A.A.T stands for "Battle Armored Android Trooper".

* MixAndMatchMan: Serpentor
* NiceToTheWaiter: [[http://25.media.tumblr.com/352899ad0fe4d02ef725ad4ed074d073/tumblr_mhohy7uHul1ric2iqo1_400.jpg Discussed by Destro]] as he literally [[PetTheDog pets the dog]].
** Mind you, that actually backfires on Destro--that dog is [[spoiler:Junkyard, Mutt's dog, and he leads the Joes right to Zartan's cabin shortly thereafter.]]
* OneWayVisor: Cobra Commander
* PirateParrot: Shipwreck's parrot Polly

* PraetorianGuard: the Crimson Guard

* PunnyName: Cutter's real name is Skip A. Stone. You might think he's a navy man, but actually he's from the coast guard.
* RaginCajun: Gung-Ho

* RedHeadedHero: Scarlett, and ''many'' others
* ReadTheFreakingManual: In ''Special Missions'' #3, Slipstream attempts to pilot a Russian transport plane he has never flown before. He does attempt to read the manual, only to find it is Russian and Farsi; neither of which he can read. Fortunately the illustrations were clear.

* SemperFi: Gung-Ho and Leatherneck

* SergeantRock: Duke
* TheSpeechless: Snake-Eyes, when we are given a reason for his silence.

* SupremeChef: Roadblock

* TunnelKing: Tunnel Rat

* WritingAroundTrademarks: A RunningGag is that nobody can remember the name of the X-19's pilot. That's because his name is Ghostrider, and Marvel [[ComicBook/GhostRider had a slightly more visible character with the same name]].

* WritingAroundTrademarks: A RunningGag is that nobody can remember the name of the X-19's pilot. That's because his name is Ghostrider, and Marvel [[Comicbook/GhostRider had a slightly more visible character with the same name]].

* TheSpeechless: Snake-Eyes, when we are given a reason for his silence

* FourStarBadass: Hawk

* {{BFG}}: Roadblock and his vehicle mounted "Ma Deuce" are the most notable.

* EyepatchOfPower: Major Bludd and Billy.

* HeroicSacrifice: This happened on numerous occasions. The [[{{Qurac}} Trucial Abysmia]] arc featured several Joes dying in heroic ways. Other characters would also would also die this way, most notably in the ''Special Missions'' comic.

** Mind you, that actually backfires on Destro--that dog is [[spoiler:Mutt, Junkyard's dog, and he leads the Joes right to Zartan's cabin shortly thereafter.]]

A comic series launched in 1982 to promote the return of the GI Joe brand to toy shelves and to introduce the new individual characters developed for the new line. GI Joe was introduced as an elite counter-terrorist/special mission force that conducted covert operations around the world on behalf of the US Government. The primary enemy of the Joes was an organization called Cobra. Cobra was involved in various schemes and plots in an attempt to increase the organization's wealth and power by any means necessary.

** Noticeable on Issue 60 which was drawn by Todd McFarlane (yep, Todd McFarlane). McFarlane actually drew Issue 61 but his art was rejected and replaced with art by Marshall Rogers. When McFarlane became famous in the '90s, his version of that issue got released as a G.I. Joe special issue.