Phoenix Guard
Cobra Commander, having done a Kill and Replace of the White House Chief of Staff Garrett Freedlowe, attempts to shut down GI Joe. When that fails, he creates their Evil Counterpart in the Phoenix Guard. He proceeds to send them to "test" the GI Joes at their HQ in the Rock but this is a cover for destroying them.
- Expy: The Phoenix Guard is for the Thunderbolts when Baron Zemo attempted to pass them off as heroes.
- Evil Counterpart: They're a bunch of Cobra agents disguised as a replacement GI Joe team.
- The Reveal: The Phoenix Guard are actually all dedicated Cobra agents.
- Psycho Rangers: A bunch of very GI Joe-esque soldiers that are in the service of Cobra Commander.
- Thou Shall Not Kill: This is only meant to apply to them when they're "testing" GI Joe because, of course, they're supposed to be on the same side.
- Whole-Plot Reference: This is very similar to the "Freedom Force" arc where the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants worked for the US government.
General Rey/Serpentor
The leader of the Phoenix Squad and a dedicated servant of the United States.
- Ambiguous Situation: It was not initially clear if this was the original Serpentor from the comics or a clone. He's a clone.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: he is unaware that he's Serpentor.
- Expy: As a clone of a Super-Soldier working for a patriotic cabal, he's one for Solid Snake.
- Four-Star Badass: He is a general despite leading the squad.
- The Leader: The leader of the Phoenix Guard.
- Token Good Teammate: He doesn't know that the Phoenix Guard are actually Cobra members, as he doesn't even remember his own Serpentor identity.
Friday (Jennifer K. Larson) /Zarana
The second in command of Phoenix squad. Friday's specialties were infantry, heavy weapons, tracking, unit supply specialist and mechanical technician. She received basic training at Fort Jackson, and advanced infantry training at Fort Lee. She also completed the Unit Armorer School at Fort Hood, the Marksman Instructor course and Airborne School at Fort Benning, and the Counter-Sniper course at Camp Robinson, Arkansas. She was the team's weapons specialist, and second-in-command to General Rey.
- Action Girl: As capable a fighter as her male colleagues if not more so.
- Jack of All Trades: Friday is capable of doing just about anything and everything compared to her fellow soldiers.
- The Lancer: Phillip Rey's most trusted officer and the actual leader of the squad.
- Master of Disguise: Comes with being Zarana.
- Only Sane Man: Friday seems to be the only one of the group willing to maintain their covers.
- The Smurfette Principle: Is the only female member of the Phoenix Guard.
High-Tide (Edward T. Johnson) /Copperhead
- The Big Guy: The chief bruiser and enforcer of the team.
- Dramatic Irony: He's able to disguise his identity by removing his mask because no one has seen his face as Copperhead.
- Dual Wielding: Uses two machetes simultaneously as swords.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Pretends to be a Navy SEAL as part of his cover identity.
- Machete Mayhem: Uses one of these as part of his cover identity.
Mech (Timothy P. Janes) /Scrap-Iron
- The Cracker: He gets into the Rock by getting past their systems as a computer hacker.
- Demolitions Expert: He absolutely loves blowing things up and most of his skills relate to it.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: His military file is the most doctored, giving him a large amount of unearned qualifications and credentials.
- The Smart Guy: As his extensive laundry list of credentials above proves, Mech is incredibly well trained.
Snake-Eater (Jason B. Lee) /Firefly
Snake-Eater's specialties were ranger, counter-intelligence and cartography. He attended basic training, advanced infantry training, Airborne School and Ranger School all at Fort Benning, and also completed the Special Forces Qualification course at Fort Bragg.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Pretends to be an Army Ranger as part of his training.
- Mysterious Past: Mostly because Firefly couldn't be bothered to maintain much of a pretense at not being himself.
- Psycho for Hire: Is the first of the Phoenix Guard to break cover and kill some of the Rock's personnel despite it being a "training" mission.
- Token Evil Teammate: Although technically, they're all evil, Snake-eater appears to be the most selfish of all of them.
- The Sneaky Guy: Is a capable infiltration agent and Saboteur.
Halo (Kenneth P. Leggitt) /Wild Weasel
Air infantry, aeronautical engineer, and fixed wing pilot for the Phoenix Guard. Is actually Wild Weasel
of Cobra.
- Ace Pilot: Easily one of the best pilots in the military and serves as their transport in and out of hot zones. Comes with being Wild Weasel.
- The Heart: Although Friday is the only woman on the team, General Rey's file says that Halo may be the glue holding the team together. But this may be a miscalculation or part of his disguise on part of Rey, given Wild Weasel's extreme introversion.
- The Quiet One: According to the files of General Rey. However, he becomes more talkative when the Phoenix Guard attacks the Joes in the Rock, after being outed as Wild Weasel, so this could just be an Informed Attribute, or a way of disguising his sibilance.
- The Smart Guy: Is also an engineer in addition to being a pilot. This is likely nonsense.
