History ComicBook / GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel

* {{Crossover}}: Quite a few with ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'', including ''G.I. Joe and the Transformers'' where the team attacking Bumblebee caused his transformation into Goldbug in the Marvel contiunity, and an arc to help set up ''ComicBook/TransformersGeneration2'', where Cobra rebuilds Megatron into his G2 form.

* TheChick: Somewhat averted, with the girls being competent on both sides, but the codenames 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.

In 2010, Creator/IDWPublishing added ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroIDW'' to [[ComicBook/GIJoeIDW its catalog]] of ''Joe'' comics, effectively restarting the original Larry Hama continuity and picking up where the Marvel series had left off while rendering the Devil's Due continuity [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]].

* AluminiumChristmasTrees: Does the concept of a volcanic island rising from the sea and several factions rushing to claim the land strike you as unbelievable? [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Island_(Mediterranean_Sea) It actually happened.]] In 1831, a small island emerged near Sicily due to volcanic activity. England, France, Spain and Sicily (which was at the time a sovereign kingdom) all tried to claim the island.

* 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.

The primary writer of the comic was Creator/LarryHama, who wrote all but a handful of issues over a twelve year run (as well as many of the [[ActionFigureFileCard character bios for the action figures]]). Prior to the relaunch, Hama had an idea for a Franchise/MarvelUniverse comic called ''Fury Force'', which would have seen the son of ComicBook/NickFury put together a team to fight Hydra, Marvel's resident terrorist group; his ''G.I. Joe'' series was based primarily on this unused pitch. Despite a large amount of restrictions and interference from Creator/{{Hasbro}}, Hama was able to make the comic more mature than [[WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero the cartoon]]. It allowed bloody fighting, multifaceted characterization, losses for the heroes, and characters who could be killed off, eventually growing into a functional canon that developed into a fleshed-out background for its universe.

* AllAmericanFace: The whole team.

* AndSomeOtherStuff: In ''G.I. Joe: Special Missions'' #13, Lightfoot explains how he is MacGyvering a fuel-air explosive out of supplies found in an enemy bunker. However, the panels have censor boxes placed over them so the reader cannot see what he is actually doing.

* TheBaroness: First appeared in the comic.

* {{BFG}}: Roadblock and his vehicle mounted "Ma Deuce" are the most notable. At one point, two average sized Joes (Rock & Roll, himself a machine gun specialist, and somebody who escapes recollection for the moment) unload the machinegun from a car that is already buckling from it's weight. They state that the two of them can barely lift it off the ground and ask how Roadblock can possibly wield it in battle. [[TheBigGuy Roadblock]] takes it in one hand and calmly responds "good diet and high pain tolerance".

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

* CanonImmigrant: Certain characters were originally created for the comics and cartoons before they were introduced to the toyline such as the Baroness, General Flagg and the Oktober Guard.

* ChefOfIron: Roadblock. His dream is to attend the Escoffier School in France, one of (if not '''the''') premiere gourmet cooking schools in the world.

* ColdSniper: Lowlight, in a Special Missions issue, shows he isn't cold enough to pull the trigger on a man begging for his life.
* CodeName: Joes were usually only referred to by their code names.

** Snake Eyes is informed that he lost his whole family in a car wreck by his future CO, Hawk, which leads to...

** [[spoiler: The Baroness' brother was killed in Vietnam. Snake Eyes was among one of the soldiers who responded. Thinking that her brother was accidentally killed by the Americans, The Baroness blamed her brother's death on Snake Eyes.]]

** The early planes were largely based on some real-life Cool Planes. The Joes' Skystriker was based on the F-14 Tomcat, while the Conquest X-30 was based on the X-29; on Cobra's side, the Rattler was basically a tri-engined, VTOL-capable A-10 Thunderbolt II, and the Night Raven was loosely based on the SR-71 Blackbird. Later planes got a lot more fanciful with their designs.

* CovertGroupWithMundaneFront: The chaplains' assistants motor pool at Fort Wadsworth not only concealed the original Pit, but provided the cover operation for the Joes themselves, since a number of them were vehicular specialists. Still, the chaplains' assistants were always put off by those "ruffians" from the motor pool.

** In the 83rd issue of the main series, Zartan threatens to pull out Dr. Mindbender's tongue through his left nostril if he ever raises his voice at him again.

* DrunkDriver: Snake-Eyes' family was killed by one on their way to pick him up from the airport after he returned from Vietnam. [[spoiler: The drunk driver's brother later became Cobra Commander and the driver's death started his decent into villainy.]]

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

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Cobra Commander started to lose it after his brother was killed in a car wreck. later on, it was revealed that he had a son named Billy. Zartan worked with his brother and sister, and The Baroness became a terrorist after her beloved older brother was (she thought) unjustly killed by an American soldier.

* LongRunner: At 155 issues, the original ''G.I. Joe'' is easily the longest-lasting toy tie-in comic. For comparison, for the runners-up, the original ''Transformers'' comic only made it to #80 and ''ComicBook/RomSpaceKnight'' made it to #75. That's without counting the ''Special Missions'' series, Yearbooks, Orders of Battle... oh, and Larry Hama wrote almost every word of it.

* MacGyvering: In ''G.I. Joe Special Missions'' #13, having lost the explosives necessary for the mission, DemolitionsExpert Lightfoot jury-rigs a fuel-air explosive out of some foodstuffs he finds in an abandoned bunker and the detonators he still had. [[ShownTheirWork The method he describes would actually work]] and the comic obscures the art so the reader [[AndSomeOtherStuff cannot see what he is actually doing]].

* NoEnding: The original run ended with the war against Cobra still unresolved and the Joe team being disbanded to be folded into the regular army to advise on how to combat them.

* OverzealousUnderling: In #109, the Crimson Twins botch an order from Cobra Commander and order several captive Joes executed. An overzealous SAW Viper steps forward and immediately shoots; actually killing several of the prisoners. As this was not what Cobra Commander intended, this cause problems for everyone involved.

* PlotBasedPhotographObfuscation : A variation occurred with the Faceless Master, a member of the the Arashikage ninja clan whose face was always blurred in photographs. He accomplished this by quickly shaking his head just as the shutter clicked, to prevent a clear recording of his features.

** Cutter's real name is Skip A. Stone. You might think he's a navy man, but actually he's from the Coast Guard.

* 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.

* TheSpeechless: Snake-Eyes, when we are given a reason for his silence. While he was always a bit taciturn by nature, when a helicopter he and Scarlett were on was going down, she was restrained by a piece of equipment. Snake-Eyes stayed inside to save her, and a fuel line blew up in his face; he inhaled some burning gasoline and scorched his vocal cords beyond the point of recovery.

* UnrevealAngle: Issue #55 was advertised as finally showing the real faces of Snake Eyes, Cobra Commander, and Destro, three major characters who had never been seen without their masks. The [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unmaskings_1065.jpg cover]] of the comic book and the title of the story ("Unmaskings") further tease the supposed reveal. And sure enough, during the story all three characters take off their masks and show their true faces... but only to other characters. "Camera angles" and shadows are used so that the reader never gets a proper look at the faces.

* 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]]. Whether it's because Marvel requested it or as an in-joke, Hama has continued this in the IDW series.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters

* WrenchWench: Cover Girl is a former high fashion model turned missile-tank driver. Who insists on doing all of the upkeep and maintenance on her vehicle.

* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: The "Fred" series of Crimson Guards.

* {{Crossover}}: Quite a few with ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'', including ''G.I. Joe and the Transformers'' where the team attacking Bumblebee caused his transformation into Goldbug in the Marvel contiunity, and an arc to help set up ''ComicBook/TransformersGeneration2'', where Cobra rebuilds Megatron into his G2 form.

* 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 of stolen technology). Although, the Grenadiers never fired a shot at either side[[note]]''technically'', Destro's [=DEMON=] ''did'' fire on the Thunder Machine, but it was only because Thrasher had inadvertently crashed into it and had locked bumpers, and it was the quickest way to dislodge the vehicle[[/note]]; once they established their position on Cobra Island, they literally kicked back and [[SpotOfTea drank tea]] while the two Cobra factions slugged it out until it was over, and Destro simply retrieved the Baroness and left.

* BadassBeard: Many of the Joes were designed with beards to add detail to the figure head-sculpts. This carried over to the comic.

* 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 UsefulNotes/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.

** The 155th issue of the main series has G.I. Joe being ordered to disband and features Snake Eyes reflecting on the hardships he and his comrades have endured before deciding that he doesn't regret being part of the fight at all.

* WhamEpisode: Issue #19 ends with the deaths of General Flagg, Kwinn and Doctor Venom. While not toy line characters, their prominent role in the stories made the deaths unexpected. This was the first indication of how this is a series where AnyoneCanDie.