Character sheets for various characters in the 80s G.I. Joe cartoon here. Only mentions tropes true of the 80s cartoon version (e.g. Cobra Commander in the comics was an ordinary man gone mad, the cartoon version... not so much).
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G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe Commanders
The G.I. Joe leadership.
- A Father to His Men: Needless to say, none of them buy into We Have Reserves.
- Command Roster: The "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" mini-series that opened Season 2 reveals the Joe chain of command: Hawk to Duke to Flint to Beachhead to Sgt. Slaughter.
- Artistic License – Military: All of the Joe commanders have taken direct part in fighting, despite the fact that as a general Hawk really ought to be directing things from afar.
- Likewise, Duke's rank is First Sergeant, and yet in the Joe chain of command he outranks the higher-ranked Flint. Cutter and Ace outrank them even more as a Lt. and Captain, respectively, but they are never seen actually participating in the planning of missions unless they're related to Marine, underwater, or Air operations. Their otherwise not even mentioned in the Joe chain of command.
Abernathy, Clayton M./General Hawk.
- Voiced by: Ed Gilbert (Sunbow series and first season of DiC series), David Kaye (DiC series, season two)
The 2nd leader of G.I. Joe after taking over from Duke at some point in-between seasons 1 & 2. As with Duke, he is rarely behind a desk. In Marvel's GI Joe comic book, as well as in the first line of action figures, Hawk was the team's original commander, with Stalker as his second-in-command.
- Four-Star Badass: Kind of. A scene of him using a rocket belt in Paris showed he's a one star in "Arise, Serpentor, Arise".
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Averted. He is always seen in action with his on, the goggles fitted over that helmet however...
- Sunglasses at Night: He is always seen wearing sunglasses in the second season of the DiC series.
Hauser, Conrad S./Duke.
Voiced by: Michael Bell (Sunbow series), Ted Harrison (DIC series)
- All-American Face: He's basically the Joe version of Captain America - chiseled good looks, blond hair, blue eyes, intensely loyal, and a natural-born leader.
- Avengers Assemble: He's usually the one to shout "YO JOE!" when leading the team into battle.
- Badass in Distress: He constantly gets captured in spite of being a formidable fighter.
- Sergeant Rock: He's the Joes' First Sergeant and prefers to lead from the front.
- Standardized Leader: Compared to even the Joes in the original mini-series Duke was pretty straight-laced and "regular" military. By the series proper you'd swear he came from a completely different show.
Faireborn, Dashiell R./Flint.
Voiced by: Bill Ratner
- The Cameo: Makes an appearance as an older man in The Transformers season 3, though only as a hologram to trick his daughter into a trap.
- Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: A confusing case. Flint generally comes off as being smoother than the more boisterous Duke and looking at their ranks, Flint is actually higher up the military totem pole. However, Duke is explicitly higher up the Joe chain of command.
- Establishing Character Moment: His exchange with Lady Jaye in her javelin made oxygen bubble during the Pyramid of Darkness arc.
- The Lancer: He's the tactician and planner while Duke's the "man of action".
- Official Couple: With Lady Jaye. Their daughter, Marissa Faireborn, makes several appearances in the third season of the Transformers cartoon.
Sneeden, Wayne R./Beachhead.
Voiced by: William Callaway
The G.I. Joe drill sergeant. He's a mean, by the book military man who acknowledges the Joes are the best there are, but they could still use a bit more military discipline. He's no slouch himself: as an Airborne Ranger he's often the first one into a firefight and can be counted on to lay down covering fire for his comrades.
- Always Someone Better: When a recruit is such a screwup even Beachhead can't do anything with him, then the Joes call in Sergeant Slaughter.
- By-the-Book Cop: The military equivalent. Beachhead accepts that a certain amount of leeway and improvisation is crucial on the battlefield, but off the field he generally prefers things to be done according to military regulation. This has sometimes been used against him, such as in "The Most Dangerous Thing In The World" he complies with orders to inform Shipwreck, Dial-Tone and Lifeline that they've been made colonels (despite correctly pointing out Shipwreck isn't even in the army) or being fooled by Zarana's forged papers in "Computer Complications" and allowing her access to the Joe computer centre because said papers claimed she was authorised.
- However, in the latter case Beachhead's insistence on sticking to regulation makes him a Spanner in the Works to Zarana's infiltration, since her forged papers only give her Secret access while her target is in the Top Secret area. Mainframe manages to get her inside by pointing out to Beachhead that his orders come straight from Duke, and so Beachhead reluctantly allows her in.
- Butt-Monkey: Outside of Shipwreck, Beachhead often gets this treatment partially because he's the Comically Serious.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Was definitely this in the movie, topped only by Sgt Slaughter. This is his actual function, making sure the Joes stay sharp.
- Honest Advisor: If Beachhead thinks something is wrong, he's going to speak his mind. It doesn't matter if he's talking to Flint, or Duke, or General Hawk himself.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- In the first episode of the "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" he spends much of his time either complaining to General Hawk, Duke and Flint that they're letting discipline lapse too much or yelling at the other Joes for not taking their duties seriously. Him yelling at Mainframe gets the tech expert to show him that everything is fine by displaying the security camera feed... just in time for them to see a fleet of school buses drive up to Joe HQ. General Hawk barely has time to order a general alarm when Cobra launches their attack, and even then the Joes were almost wiped out.
- In the movie, he's extremely hard on the "rawhides" for their unorthodox methods and refuses to let them go into battle against Cobra-La because relying on half-baked plans is a good way to get yourself and the rest of your team killed.
- Married to the Job: Beachhead has trouble seeing things in anything other than through a military lens. The best example is likely after the Joes recovered the MacGuffin device: when Lifeline observes the Joes have done well Beachhead agrees, listing off the capture of a Cobra vehicle, the recovery of the MacGuffin device and the successful repelling of Cobra's counterattack. Lifeline clarifies he was talking about rebuilding an orphanage that had been destroyed in the crossfire, the rescue of some orphans, and the fact the Joes helping out managed to cheer up the kids.
- Mildly Military: He's the last person who'd ever be this. He sometimes makes it clear he thinks the Joes really ought to be more professional, or at least more by-the-book.
- My Greatest Failure: In a blink and you'll miss it moment, in "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" Part One after Sergeant Slaughter has just almost single-handedly turned back a Cobra attack that almost wiped out the Joes and is then berating the Joes for letting themselves get soft and sloppy, Beachhead looks away as if he was ashamed. Considering his actual job is keeping the Joes sharp and Sergeant Slaughter is a sort of professional rival, Slaughter's (well-deserved) criticism must've felt very personal.
- The Neidermeyer: A very mild example, but his ideas of running a tighter ship if he were in charge of the Joes aren't exactly popular with most of his comrades. No one really holds it against him, though, since they know Beachhead's very much Married to the Job and even harder on himself than he is on them.
- The Pigpen: Doesn't use deodorant. His filecard said he eschews all sorts of hygiene products, saying that it's a lot easier to track someone in the jungle when they smell of soap. This is actually Truth in Television.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: While he hates when people don't do things by the book, he's more than willing to swallow his pride when the reasoning behind those actions are explained.
- Sergeant Rock: While he can sometimes come off as a Jerkass compared to some of the more easygoing Joes, Beachhead is often one of the first into a battle and his bio notes that he does this in order to provide covering fire for his fellow Joes.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: On a few occasions, it's pretty clear that Beachhead isn't happy with how Mildly Military or Military Maverick tendencies among the Joes is overlooked simply because such things bring results. As an example, in "Computer Complications" he grumbles "Blast Duke and his rule bending" when he's forced to let Mainframe bring in Sgt Carol Weaver (a disguised Zarana) into a Top Secret zone despite her only being authorised for Secret zones.
Sgt. Slaughter
Special Drill Instructor for G.I. Joe. Runs his own boot camp called "The Slaughterhouse", which is the last stop before someone washes out of the Joe team - if he can't whip you into shape (and he means whip), then no one can.
- Always Someone Better: Is this to Beachhead in their roles as Drill Sergeant Nasty. The really big screw ups get sent to him.Sgt. Slaughter: There are only two ways out of my command; on your feet like a man, or in a ditty bag. An itty-bitty ditty bag. Got it?
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: When General Hawk orders Sergeant Slaughter to put the Joe team through the "Slaughterhouse Routine" to whip them back into shape, Slaughter agrees... before noting that General Hawk is also a Joe and needs to start running along with the others. Hawk doesn't argue the point and starts running.
- He's not strictly speaking part of the Joe command structure, but no one really wants to argue with him when he gives orders.
- Atop a Mountain of Corpses: Actually Battle Android Trooper wreckage, but same basic principle.
- Badass in Distress: In spite of ordinarily depicted as among the strongest, if not the strongest, of the Joes, his getting captured and held prisoner was part of Cobra's goal during their plot to create Serpentor in the latter half of the season 2's first few episodes.
- Cool Shades: Always wears mirrored sunglasses, even at night.
- Ink-Suit Actor: He looks exactly like Bob Remus.
- Lantern Jaw of Justice: He has a big chin and he's affiliated with the Joes.
- Worf Effect: Makes quick work out of the previously unbeatable B.A.T.s in his first appearance.
G.I. Joe Operatives
Note: Listed in alphabetical order of their real names.
- Artistic License – Military: As mentioned in the G.I.Joe Commanders folder, ranks don't seem to matter. For example, Shipwreck technically outranks Beachhead while Ace outranks just about everyone except for General Hawk, Doc and Cutter.
- Do-Anything Soldier: While the filecards state the Joes have particular military specialties and skills, in the cartoon nearly any Joe can take part in any mission. For example, despite Deepsix, Torpedo and Airtight being the Joe underwater specialists, in the episode "Worms Of Death" many of the other Joes like Duke participate. Likewise, the "Revenge Of Cobra" miniseries shows several Joes manning their space station in orbit, including Dusty (a desert specialist) and Mutt.
- Mildly Military: The Joes aren't exactly a typical military outfit.
- Redshirt Army: The Joes have their own. While there was no term for them in the original cartoon, they were later given the name "Greenshirts".
- Universal Driver's License: While some Joes have a trademark vehicle, most of them seem to be able to fly or drive just about anything in their arsenal.
Armbruster, Brad J./Ace.
Voiced by: Pat Fraley
- Ace Pilot: Naturally. Tends to be a steamroller (when he's leading the air assault) or plugger (when he's been ambushed).
- Captain Crash: Comes with the territory, given how hard he pushes the envelope.Ace: I'm going in!Duke: Every time you say that, it gets expensive!
- The Gambling Addict: Zig-Zagged Trope. To quote from his Action Figure File Card:Ace has one major character flaw: cutthroat poker. A predilection for gambling would ordinarily disqualify an applicant for the G.I. Joe team but in Armbruster's case you can hardly call it gambling since he NEVER LOSES. That's why we call him Ace!
- Improbable Piloting Skills: He's a natural at the stick, but half the things he does in a Skystriker flagrantly violate the laws of physics and aerodynamics.
- Transplant: Sabre Jet from Inhumanoids is implied to be the same character as Ace due to having the same real name. (That said, he looked and sounded completely different there than he did in G.I. Joe, implying a lack of communication on that part.)
Delgado, Hector X./Shipwreck
Voiced by: Neil Ross
- The Cameo: Was planned to make one in My Little Pony: The Movie (1986) before it was cut by Hasbro higher-ups (as it would've had him thinking the flying ponies were the result of him having had too much to drink; Hasbro's reaction was "Very funny...no").
- Casanova Wannabe: He flirts with every pretty girl he sees, and gets shot down more than a Cobra Rattler.
- Friend to All Children: Is very good with kids, as seen when he's the one to takes the time to comfort and tell stories to a group of orphans while the Joes rebuild their orphanage. It likely stems from his relationship with his young adoptive nephew Jesse, who he helps come to terms with the revelation that he was adopted.
- General Failure: In "The Most Dangerous Thing In The World", Shipwreck gets promoted to Colonel (even though he's in the Navy) as part of a Cobra plot. He's terrible in command because he lacks both the desire and the ability to lead, which he overcompensates for by becoming The Neidermeyer. All this does is piss off everyone under his command, making him even less effective than Lifeline (who could be a leader, but doesn't like commanding troops to hurt others) and Dial-Tone (who wants to command but is too fastidious to be effective at it).
- Large Ham: If someone's gonna do something big, brash and stupid, it'll be Shipwreck.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: His appearance and voice were based on Jack Nicholson's portrayal of a Navy non-com in The Last Detail.
Fine, Seymour P./Sci-Fi
Voiced by: Jerry Houser
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Mostly averted, since he only takes his off once in Computer Complications.
- Highly-Visible Ninja: While not a ninja, his filecard suggests he has the patience of one... despite having an outfit you can spot from a mile away.
Greer, Carl W./Doc
Voiced by: Buster Jones
The Joe Chief Medical Officer.
- Actual Pacifist: His filecard mentions he's a pacifist, and as a medic he isn't supposed to be armed anyway.
- Non-Action Guy: As the chief medical officer, he's not normally seen on the battlefield.
- Outranking Your Job: As a Captain in the US Army, he outranks his superiors on the Joe team Duke (First Sergeant), Flint (Warrant Officer), Beachhead (Sergeant) and Sergeant Slaughter. He's not normally involved in planning of operations unless some sort of particular hazard is involved and his medical expertise is needed.
Hardy, William S./Wild Bill
Voiced by: Pat Fraley
- Ace Pilot: Best helicopter pilot on either side. He once pulled off a loop-de-loop in a F.A.N.G. gyrocopter, something even Cobra's ace Wild Weasel thought was impossible.
- Cowboy: And how. Talks with a thick Texas drawl, loves roping, riding and shooting, and punctuates shooting down Cobra aircraft with a "YEE-HAW!"
Hart-Burnett, Alison R./Lady Jaye
Voiced by: Mary McDonald-Lewis (Sunbow series), Lisa Corps (DiC series, "Operation: Dragonfire" arc), Suzanne Errett-Balcom (DiC series, first season)
- Action Girl: She is this more than the other two in the series, if only due to having slightly more screentime.
- Badass in Distress: She is often in peril in spite of being a capable Joe.
- Combat Tentacles: She's encountered these on five of her missions; four in the series, and once in the movie.
- Tap on the Head: She gets knocked out multiple times throughout the show, often being hit by someone in the back of her head.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: One of the season one episodes makes her a distant relative of Destro.
- Mistress Of Disguise: She's often the Joe relied on to disguise herself as part of a mission, though nowhere near as often as the Baroness does.
- Official Couple: She's in as much of a relationship with Flint as a 1980s cartoon would allow.
- Trick Arrow: She carries javelins with a whole host of gimmicks. Among others, she carries explosive tipped javelins, rope bridge javelins, and pole vaulting javelins.
Hinton, Marvin F./Roadblock
Voiced by: Kene Holliday (Sunbow series), Blu Mankuma (DiC series)
- The Big Guy: The team's heavy machine gun operator, Roadblock is one of the strongest Joes around.
- Demoted to Extra: He appeared regularly in the Sunbow series, but the DiC continuation only features him in a handful of episodes.
- Rhymes on a Dime: Starting from the third 5-parter, he frequently speaks in rhyme.
- Scary Black Man: Subverted. He's big, bald and muscular, but he's one of the most easy-going and jovial members of the team.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: Until the second season, the only reason he'd subvert this was during cold-climate missions, or when off-duty.
- Supreme Chef: His secondary specialty is as a cook (he joined the Army because they promised they'd teach him how to be one), and ends up being a gourmet chef who can take combat rations and make them into fine dining.
Katzenbogen, David L./Bazooka
Voiced by: John Hostetter
- BFG: As the Joe's anti-armor specialist, he's never without his rocket launcher.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He's not the brightest Joe, but he can flatten Cobra grunts like there's no tomorrow.
- Shout-Out: His shirt is based off of a New England Patriots jersey from the late 70's-early 80's (specifically, quarterback Steve Grogan's)
- Terse Talker: As an indicator that he's not the brightest, Bazooka rarely said more than two words in the cartoon.
- Those Two Guys: With Alpine. Alpine's the brains, Bazooka's the muscle.
Krieger, Courtney A/Cover Girl
Voiced by: Pending.
- Chickification: Inverted as she was a simple fashion model, but a case of restlessness caused her to join the army.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Zig-Zagged. In the first five-parter, she had long blonde hair. Every other episode she appeared in showed her with short auburn hair. She regained her original hair length, but kept the color, in the animated movie which is set after the second season, but aired while the first season was only half finished.
- Official Couple: Zig-zagged: Sunbow's original character description stated she would be paired with Thunder, she kissed Duke once, which Scarlett never did... but on-screen, Cover Girl was most often seen with Shipwreck.
- Wrench Wench: She's the only female Joe assigned to the base's motorpool.
LaFitte, Ettiene/Gung-Ho
Voiced by: Chris Latta
- Berserk Button: Only two groups of people really piss Gung-Ho off - Cobra operatives and Russians. He and Horrorshow of the October Guard really don't get along.
- Boisterous Bruiser: Gung-Ho loves a good fight.
- Chest Insignia: Has a tattoo of the "Eagle, Globe and Anchor" on his chest (a Writing Around Trademarks version of the USMC's insignia)
- The Clan: There are 137 members of the LaFitte family that live in and around Gung-Ho's Louisiana birthplace. And when The Baroness and a squad of Cobra troopers tried to capture them, the snakes found out what a Badass Family they were before the Joes showed up.
- Lethal Chef: The Joes joke that the last time Gung-Ho made his famous "Cajun gumbo" they used it to fuel the Skystrikers.
- Mama's Boy: The loud, brash, tough Gung-Ho only really knuckles under to one person in the whole world - his Grand-Mère, who scolds him for being late to the LaFitte family reunion.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Unless the mission explicitly calls for specialized clothing like cold-weather or scuba gear, he spends all his time wearing just a sleeveless blue vest, camo pants, boots and his Marine cover hat.
Lonzo, Wilkinson R./Stalker
Voiced by: Arthur Burghardt
- Demoted to Extra: In the toyline, comics and on the filecards Stalker is mentioned as being the first Joe ever recruited to the team and essentially acted as General Hawk's second-in-command until Duke arrived. In the cartoon, while he is prominently featured in the M.A.S.S. Device and Revenge Of Cobra mini-series, he makes fewer voiced appearances as the cartoon goes on.
- You Are in Command Now: He basically shares leadership with Scarlett during the clashes over the M.A.S.S. device after Duke is inadvertently kidnapped by Cobra.
MacBride, Cooper G./Low-Light
Voiced by: Charlie Adler
- Abusive Parents: Implied in "Nightmare Assault" that Low-Light's father was at a minimum verbally and psychologically abusive to him.
- Badass Boast: In "Computer Complications" he spots Zandar's attempt at breaking into the Joe computer centre and fires upon him, chasing the Dreadnok all the way out of Joe HQ with a steady stream of fire. Iceberg notes that he'd never seen anyone move so fast, and Low-Light responds, "That's cause you never saw me shooting at 'im."
- Night-Vision Goggles: He always wears them, due to his childhood fear of the dark scarring him.
- Plagued by Nightmares: His childhood fears and his abusive father cause him to continue to suffer night terrors as an adult. Lifeline says that the sleep he's getting at the end of "Nightmare Assault" is the first peaceful rest he's gotten in years.
- The Stoic: Low-Light isn't sociable, speaking only when necessary and even then using only a few words.
Morelli, Jack. S/Dial-Tone
Voiced by: Hank Garrett
The G.I.Joe comms officer.
- Communications Officer: Takes Breaker's place as the primary comms technician in the second season.
- General Failure: In "The Most Dangerous Thing In The World", Dial-Tone gets promoted to Colonel as part of a Cobra plot. Dial-Tone is terrible at it because his fussy nature as an equipment technician hampers his ability to make decisions under fire. Hawk later apologetically explains that he simply isn't cut out for leadership, in contrast to Lifeline who — in theory — does have the capacity for leadership, but whose unwillingness to command troops in battle makes him just as ineffective.
- The Peter Principle: What makes him such a General Failure. His fussy nature makes him very effective at maintaining and running the team's communications equipment, but it leaves him completely incapable of making decisions, especially during a crisis.
- Tragic Dream: Neither Lifeline nor Shipwreck desired a leadership position, but Dial-Tone did. His inherent quirks, however, mean he just doesn't have the ability to lead. Learning that firsthand is a sad realization for him.
O'Hara, Shana M./Scarlett
Voiced by: B. J. Ward
- Action Girl: She mixes it up just as well as the male Joes.
- Badass Family: Her father and brothers are all karate instructors and held their own against Storm Shadow and a group of troopers.
- Chickification: Downplayed in the DiC series. She's still as capable as ever, but the gray parts of her uniform were recolored pink and the episode "Chunnel" has a scene of her dragging Duke into a shopping spree.
- Southern Belle: Downplayed. She occasionally will use an exaggerated antebellum Southern accent for laughs. Her name is "Scarlett" O'Hara, after all.
- Tomboy And Girlygirl: Played with. Scarlett is close enough to the latter in that she is more a gymnast while Lady J's a boxer.
- Trick Arrow: Has a few. Mostly explosive or incendiary, though she also has a grappling one to pull her out of traps and pits.
Parker, Blaine L./Mainframe
Voiced by: Patrick Pinney
One of the Joe tech experts alongside Dail-Tone. Where Dial-Tone specialises in communications, Mainframe specialises in information technology.
- Badass Bookworm: His file mentions he'd already completed two tours of duty in the US Army before getting a degree at MIT.
- Dating Catwoman: Develops an attraction with Zarana in "Computer Complications".
- The Charmer: Appears to be this in "Computer Complications", when he realises that Sgt Carol Weaver is a very attractive woman. He immediately suggests dropping military protocol (though that might be because G.I.Joe is a fairly Mildly Military outfit) but then suggests they go out with the excuse that he can bring her up to speed. Carol (actually a disguised Zarana) shoots him down and even threatens to hit him with harassment charges.
- Taking You with Me: In "Grey Hairs And Growing Pains", he claims to Doctor Mindbender to have used his knowledge of computers to set the factory they're in to overload and explode. Doctor Mindbender accuses him of bluffing, but since Mainframe is the only combat capable Joe around (with the others in no shape to assist), the other Cobras fear he plans to pull this and so flee, a furious Mindbender chasing after them. Mainframe admits that he was indeed bluffing.
Pine, Albert M./Alpine
Voiced by: Lee Weaver
- Grappling-Hook Pistol: Uses one when he needs extra power to launch his ropes.
- Motor Mouth: Is one of the most talkative Joes in the series.
- Steven Ulysses Perhero: Al Pine being the Joe's mountain warfare expert. Go figure.
- Those Two Guys: With Bazooka. Alpine's the brains, Bazooka's the muscle.
Schnurr, Kurt/Airtight.
Voiced by: Pat Fraley
- Collector of the Strange: The comics show that he collects plastic dinosaurs, and more helpfully, scorpions.
- Practical Joke: Airtight's filecard states him to do these constantly.
Snake Eyes
- Demoted to Extra: In comparison to other versions, he wasn't a particularly major character in the Sunbow run, possibly because of it being difficult to build plots around a silent character.
- Ninja: He's a ninja.
- Power Creep, Power Seep: Originally he was just a quiet, highly competent Joe operative. By the DiC seasons, he's known as "the greatest ninja in the world".
- Universal Driver's License: Averted. Unlike most of the other Joes, Snake Eyes is rarely seen piloting or driving.
- The Voiceless: He never speaks in the series. Unlike his depictions in other media, it is never clarified on whether or not he actually can't speak.
Steen, Edwin C./ Lifeline
Voiced by: Stan Wojno
- Actual Pacifist: He's such a pacifist he can't bring himself to touch a rifle even when it's being used to try to pull him to safety.
- Adaptation Personality Change: His original filecard says nothing about him being a pacifist (unlike the case with Doc). In fact, Lifeline's action figure came with a handgun, whereas Doc's only had a flare gun and a stretcher.
- A Day in the Limelight: "The Million Dollar Medic".
- Badass Pacifist: His debut comic reveals that he is a master of Aikido, which he uses to win fights against much tougher opponents without harming them. Also, fighter or not, he's still a medic in an elite military organization, so this is a job requirement.
- Black Sheep: His father considers him this for joining a military outfit like G.I. Joe, due to being an even more extreme pacifist than Lifeline is.
- Combat Medic: Subverted. In theory, Lifeline is this, but he refuses to take part in any of the combat-oriented aspects of warfare, limiting himself strictly to the Medic part.
- General Failure: A Cobra plot in "The Most Dangerous Thing In The World" involved hacking into the Pentagon and promoting him to Colonel, specifically because Lifeline has no desire to be a combat leader due to his beliefs. He'd much rather just be a medic.
- Obstructionist Pacifist: Averted in most cases, as Lifeline's pacifism is usually only a danger to himself. However, anytime he's put in command of troops, he tends to do things like command troops to fire at the ground or make them train with disarmed tanks.
Stone, Skip A./Cutter
Voiced by: Gregg Berger
The Joe's W.H.A.L.E. hovercraft pilot.- Coast Guard: The only "Coastie" on the team. His filecard says he found out that there wasn't anyone from the Coast Guard in G.I. Joe, so he kept pestering his superiors about it until they transferred him there to get him out of their hair.
- Hollywood New England: Has a somewhat exaggerated Boston accent.
- Meaningful Name: "Skip A Stone", which is very similar to how a hovercraft operates.
Talltree, Franklin E./Airborne.
Voiced by: Peter Cullen
- Psychic Powers: Him and his brother Tommy have them in the 80's cartoon.
Cobra & allies
Cobra Leadership
The Cobra High Command. In theory, Cobra Commander is absolute ruler. In practice, he often has to convince the others to go along with his plans. When Cobra Commander is supplanted by Serpentor following the "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" multi-parter, Serpentor is able to rule with absolute power the way Cobra Commander was never able to.
- Legion of Doom: In theory, Cobra is a single organization under Cobra Commander's control. In practice, the Cobra High Command works more like one of these. Xamot and Tomax, despite being in command of the Crimson Guards, often threaten to cut off funding from their Extensive Enterprises business empire. Likewise, Destro often complains about Cobra Commander's plans (he's only really working with Cobra because he's selling them their weapons and vehicles), while Zartan sometimes has to be outright bribed (he's a mercenary, go figure).
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: When things are going well, they work... reasonably well together. But it's very clear that none of them really trusts the others.
Cobra Commander
Voiced by: Chris Latta
The original and the most notable lead of the terrorist organization Cobra, this mysterious masked man rules over the organization with an iron fist, though his competency levels differ between the animated works and the comics.
- Big Bad: As the leader of Cobra, he is the main antagonist.
- Demoted to Dragon: In the Arise, Serpentor, Arise mini-series, Dr Mindbender and Destro are so tired of his incompetence they create Serpentor to supplant him. Cobra Commander manages to convince Serpentor to keep him around as a scapegoat that can be blamed when things go south.
- Creepy High-Pitched Voice: A quite high and shrill voice.
- The Dog Bites Back: In Operation: Dragonfire, after returning to a humanoid form and slowly re-rallying Cobra back under his command, he's able to capture Serpentor and transforms him into an iguana. He does point out that he'll return to normal shortly, but it's the idea of the humiliation of it all that gives the transformation a pass.
- Dirty Coward: Among the 80s villains, Cobra Commander is particularly known for screaming "Retreaaaaaaat!" the moment something goes wrong. At least Megatron usually got his behind kicked by Optimus Prime first before calling for a retreat, while Skeletor generally could actually stand up to He-Man before he decided to cut his losses.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Will often point out the flaws in Serpentor's plans.
- While people both in and out of universe tend to make fun of him for ordering retreats the moment the tide seems to turn against Cobra, when Serpentor takes over and is a much more aggressive leader Cobra's military losses mount heavily. G.I. Joe has the might of the US backing them: an outright war of attrition is just not something Cobra can win.
- Evil Genius: When he wants to be, he can actually be reasonably quick-witted, like the time he reprogrammed an entire squad of B.A.T.s to kill both Serpentor and Sergeant Slaughter, and did it within a few minutes.
- Evil Sounds Raspy: One of the best examples and likely one of the Trope Codifiers.
- Facial Horror: In "Lights! Camera! Cobra!" Destro walks in on Cobra Commander having a meal to make a report, and the following conversation take place:Destro: "I've located the captured Firebat! It's...!!! *turns his head away* Commander, your hood. Put it on."Cobra Commander: *laughs* "It takes a strong stomach to watch me eat, doesn't it, Destro?"
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Cobra Commander claims to once been a humble cadet at a military academy... where he led a mutiny. In the movie he's revealed to actually be a member of Cobra-La, a race of lizard people.
- General Failure: The animated version of Cobra Commander wasn't the greatest leader out there to the point where the rest of Cobra eventually overthrow him in favor of Serpentor.
- I Control My Minions Through...: Money. Cobra Commander is a very big believer in the power of money to open doors. His filecards and bios often mention that part of the reason he rallied so many people to his cause is because he pays very, very well.
- An episode reveals that Cobra offers a medical plan, much to Shipwreck's surprise. In addition, Cobra actually has recreational facilities all over the world where Cobra's troops can relax and enjoy themselves.
- Malevolent Masked Man: As silly as he can seem, never doubt Cobra Commander is a very, very bad man. Several episodes show that he makes heavy use of slave labour, and that he isn't above a bout of watching people fight to the death in a gladiator ring.
- Miles Gloriosus: There are times when Cobra Commander's actual strategy is sound, but his insistence on being there on the field coupled with his Dirty Coward tendencies means he'll scream "retreat" the moment someone shoots at him. His dialogue in the first episode of "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" suggests he insists on being on the battlefield because he wants to be the one to claim victory over the Joes.
- Never My Fault: He tends to blame his screw-ups on others.
- No Indoor Voice: He's almost always shouting when he speaks.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Zigzagged. He might call a retreat pretty quickly, but he's also often on the front lines. His most notable action was rescuing the entire Cobra High Command following Serpentor's ill-advised occupation of Washington D.C. by holding off the pursuing Joes with a flamethrower. In addition, he sometimes demonstrates a certain level of superhuman strength, ripping metal chairs right out of the floor or performing the occasional Neck Lift.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: Some of his plans were genuinely clever and only foiled by sheer good luck on the part of the Joes.
- In his appearance as Old Snake in season 3 of The Transformers, he easily helps the actual villain of the episode disable Rodimus Prime, Springer, Arcee and Ultra Magnus. He's also the one who makes the suggestion to use their inactive bodies as weapons, rather than simply scrap them as his employer intended.
- He also destroyed the Golden Gate Bridge with a Kill Sat.
- Off Screen Villain Dark Matter: While there are several episodes that involve Cobra trying to refill their coffers or even going bankrupt, Cobra Commander somehow manages to pay for massive flying aircraft carriers, at least three gigantic snake-themed temples, and a lot of soldiers.
- Several episodes hint that part of this is because he makes use of slave labor and cuts costs wherever he can. Filecards also mention he has a steady stream of income from weapons sales outside of the US.
- Sssssnake Talk: In the very early episodes of the series, he recognizably hissed his S's. Even when this was downplayed later on, he was prone to ending bouts of laughter with a sinister hiss.
- Smug Snake: Pun not intended. Cobra Commander sometimes comes up with genuinely clever plans, but he almost always starts gloating before victory is assured and is prone to make stupid mistakes because of his ego and histrionic personality.
- The Starscream: Becomes this after being supplanted by Serpentor. Fitting, considering his voice actor also voiced the Trope Namer.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: The DiC series has him regain his humanity and control of Cobra, and he manages to get revenge on Serpentor in the process. His appearance on The Transformers shows that, while he fails to Take Over the World and loses control of Cobra, he was able to escape justice and become a legend to the criminal community.
- Villain Decay: His schemes become less effective and more buffoonish over time. This becomes deconstructed later; Cobra eventually becomes sick of him and wants a more effective leader, resulting in them creating Serpentor as his replacement.
- Visionary Villain: While some of his plans are certainly out there, others are actually quite clever, such as the Synthoid infiltration plan (which would've worked if he hadn't pissed off Destro to the point Destro allied with G.I. Joe to put him in his place). He also understands the value of PR and propaganda, using them more than once against the Joes.
- Most notably, he's a firm believer in the power of money; one of his more notable schemes
involved causing all the paper money in the US to turn to ash, and then taking advantage of the subsequent economic chaos to get everyone to invest in "Cobra Currency". Even in his appearance in Transformers, when asked if his Synthoid technology is still available and for sale, he laughingly responds, "This is the world. Everything is for sale!" - The episode "The Wrong Stuff" demonstrates just how much of a Visionary Villain he is: he takes over all TV signals in order to indoctrinate people into his line of thinking, uses the monopoly this gives him to make a killing on advertising, and when G.I.Joe launches an attack on Cobra's space station, he broadcasts it live in an example of If It Bleeds, It Leads.
- Most notably, he's a firm believer in the power of money; one of his more notable schemes
James McCullen Destro XXIV/Destro
Voiced by: Arthur Burghardt (Sunbow series), Maurice LaMarche (DiC series)
Cobra's weapons manufacturer and supplier.
- Arms Dealer: His profession is selling weapons.
- Consummate Professional: He's just as petty and evil as any of the other Cobra High Command... but he really, really hates to see shoddy workmanship. If you buy weapons or equipment from Destro, you can be certain it works.
- He's also not very fond of Zartan, as Zartan's Only in It for the Money tendencies makes him rather unreliable: during the battles for the pieces of the Weather Dominator Zartan outright stole one of the components and tried to auction it to either G.I. Joe or Cobra. Both sides simply sent their forces to take it from him.
- The Dragon: He generally operates as Cobra Commander's right hand man... when it suits him.
- Evil Sounds Deep: He's evil and has a deep voice.
- Honest John's Dealership: Averted. When you buy from Destro, you buy quality. He actually gets offended by inferior or shoddy workmanship.
- Mad Scientist: Is credited with the creation of the Weather Dominator.
- Malevolent Masked Man: Wears a metal mask (which inexplicably has moving lips), verging on a Cool Helmet; it goes from silver to gold during the DiC run.
- Official Couple: With the Baroness.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Destro is usually the most reliable of Cobra high command to keep a firm grasp of the situation. Throughout the pilot, he's critical of Cobra Commander's early celebrating of a victory they've not yet guaranteed and even attacks him when he finds out that he used up their resources in a failed attempt to destroy New York. Destro himself later attempts to destroy New York, but only after he's made sure they have enough resources to make sure their threats aren't empty.
- Religion of Evil: In this version he runs a secret cult dedicated to appeasing the "Great Old Ones" which once attempted to sacrifice Lady Jaye, whom he found to be distantly related, to them, and had to call a truce with the Joes in another episode when Cobra Commander freed one of the creatures in an attempt to destroy Serpentor.
- The Starscream: More than willing to work against Cobra when it suits him... or when he wants to remind them how valuable he is.
Cisarovna, Anastasia/The Baroness
Voiced by: Morgan Lofting (Sunbow series and first season of DiC series), Suzanne Errett-Balcom (DiC series, season two)
Cobra's Intelligence officer and infiltration specialist.
- The Baroness: the Trope Namer.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Towards Destro. On at least one occasion, she interfered with his plan solely because he didn't share the plan with her.
- Fanservice: Besides her usual catsuit, there was also "The Gamesmaster" where she spent the entire episode in a bikini.
- Femme Fatale: A kid-friendly version, at least.
- Mistress Of Disguise: She's impersonated everything from tourists to doctors to high-level American officers. She even once impersonated a male cameraman working for Hector Ramirez.
- Official Couple: It's pretty much acknowledged that she and Destro are an item. Cobra Commander once called them and was outraged when the screen came on to show them making out.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: Her accent slides from German to Russian to something vaguely Eastern European.
Tomax and Xamot/The Crimson Twins
Xamot (left), Tomax (right)
Voiced by: Corey Burton (Tomax) and Michael Bell (Xamot)
Twin brothers who by day work in the world of high finance and by night serve as Cobra's Crimson Guard commanders.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: They do not appear in the DiC continuation. Their company Extensive Enterprises does appear in the two-part episode "Long Live Rock and Roll", but the fates of the twins themselves after the events of G.I. Joe: The Movie remain unaddressed.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Their cover is running "Extensive Enterprises", which is a front for Cobra's financial interests.
- Identical Twin ID Tag: Xamot has a wicked-looking scar on his face.
- Open Secret: Just about everyone knows that Extensive Enterprises is one of Cobra's biggest, if not the biggest, backer.
- Thrill Seeker: The more daring and dangerous the stunt (such as riding a ballistic missile), the more they enjoy it.
- Twin Telepathy: They have a deep mental connection, which allows them to finish each other's sentences but also means any pain inflicted on one twin is felt by the other.
- The "Pyramid of Darkness" episodes reveal that when separated (e.g. one has been captured by G.I. Joe), they can pinpoint each other's location. The only issue is they have to be roughed up first.
Serpentor
Voiced by: Richard Gautier (Sunbow series), Maurice LaMarche (DIC series)
Pronounced "Sir-PEN-tor", Serpentor was the creation of Dr. Mindbender and Destro who, tired of Cobra Commander's constant failures, scavenged the graves of the greatest military minds throughout history and used their DNA to create the greatest leader the world has ever seen. Among his "donors" were Napoleon, Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Rasputin, Vlad the Impaler
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: This is generally his main strategy. To be fair, several of his DNA donors like Napoleon and Genghis Khan put a lot of value on offensive maneuvers note , but Serpentor tends to prefer straightforward frontal attacks.
- Badass Boast: Upon his "birth" at the end of the penultimate chapter of his premiere miniseries, he delivers this awesome speech to Sgt. Slaughter and the Cobra leaders in attendance:Now that I am the one you seek- I am the one born to rule! Destined to conquer! Let those who fear me, follow me! Let those who oppose me, DIE! For I am Serpentor, and THIS, I COMMAND!!!
- Bald of Evil: Implied to be this in the cartoon; since, much like Zartan, the top of his head was never shown.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: The Cobra High Command wanted a new leader who would be more effective, more powerful than Cobra Commander. They got one... but unlike Cobra Commander he's more than physically strong enough to manhandle them and force them to obey him through sheer brute strength, while being much less likely to actually listen to them.
- Born as an Adult: He is created in a fully-grown adult body and with the knowledge of all the historical figures he is cloned from.
- Catchphrase: "THIS I COMMAND!"
- Even Evil Has Standards: In "My Favorite Things" Serpentor proudly boasts of the many genetic templates that form him, referring to them as "conquerors, tyrants and kings". When a Strato Viper arrives and presents him with a portrait of Rasputin, he wryly notes, "Ah, Rasputin. What an evil scoundrel he was."
- Flawed Prototype: Serpentor was created from many brilliant, yet incredibly egotistical and sadistic, individuals. The end result, without Sun Tzu's disciplined mind to balance it out, is a boastful and hot-headed leader who can't strategize his way out of a paper bag.
- General Failure: He makes Cobra Commander look like a military genius by comparison.
- Improbable Weapon User: He has some kind of infinite snake generator mounted on his headdress, and fights by pulling those snakes out (quickly replaced by new ones) before shaping them into spears or staves that he then throws or fights hand-to-hand with.
- Informed Attribute: He's supposed to be created from military conquerors and legendary commanders like Napoleon, Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan... but he rarely shows any actual strategic ability.
- Most obvious is his ill-advised invasion of Washington: if he has Napoleon's memories like he claims, he ought to remember what happened the last time he thought taking a nation's capital city automatically meant he'd win the war.
- Leeroy Jenkins: He is a physical powerhouse and likes to lead from the front... but he's even worse about launching attacks than Cobra Commander ever was. In the "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" mini-series, shortly after his creation and usurpation of Cobra he immediately orders a full scale assault on Washington DC. Cobra Commander points out the foolishness of this: you can't just invade US territory and expect to hold it.
- Serpentor does actually take Washington... but because no planning went into the invasion when the Joes launch their inevitable counterattack the Cobras crumble almost instantly because they're out of ammunition and fuel. Serpentor apparently thought taking one city, even one as important as Washington, would be enough to get the entire US to surrender.
- No Indoor Voice: His normal tone is an elevated shout. When he starts ranting or bellowing orders, it rattles windows.
- Serpent Staff: Serpentor has a pair of cobras that rest on his shoulders. In the movie, he can command them to become rigid and throw them like javelins, probably as a reference to Thulsa Doom.
- Uncertain Doom: He is last seen in the DiC series being chased by Gnawgahyde after being turned into an iguana and being informed that the transformation is only temporary. Since Serpentor never appeared again, it's unclear whether Gnawgahyde killed him or if he actually managed to escape the Dreadnok before the transformation wore off and simply never came back out of the shame and disgrace the experience brought him.
Cobra Operatives
Storm Shadow
A ninja in Cobra's employ. One of their most competent agents.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Is definitely not one of the good guys, but lives by his own personal code of honor that has seen him give up his objective or refuse to fight in order to maintain it.
- Heel–Face Return: During the DiC seasons, he's switched sides and joined the Joes.
- Highly-Visible Ninja: Sometimes, particularly when he wants to be seen. The white outfit with the large Cobra sigil on the front doesn't help.
- I Owe You My Life: Storm Shadow and Spirit find themselves trapped in a cavern with rapidly depleting air in "Battle on the Roof of the World," when fighting over a piece of the Weather Dominator. Spirit finds a way for them to escape and Storm Shadow lets him keep the piece of the weapon as thanks.
- Stock Ninja Weaponry: Uses a katana and shuriken as his primary weapons.
- Worthy Opponent: With Spirit. They have saved each other's lives more than once, and Storm Shadow regards him as a kindred spirit even when fighting him.
Major Bludd
An Australian mercenary who exclusively works for Cobra.
- Eyepatch of Power: Averted. He wears an eyepatch, but that's about it.
- The Heavy: Is often the one who goes out to actually carry out Cobra's plans, if none of the top leaders aren't doing it themselves.
- Mook Lieutenant: Generally takes this role. He's actually fairly good at it, generally lasting just long enough to succeed at his objectives before retreating.
- Pet the Dog: During the MASS Device multi-episode miniseries, his forces corner a group of Joes in a mine and he unleashes a radioactive mist into the mine. When Snake Eyes, irradiated to the point he's glowing, staggers out of the mine with a canister containing samples of the rare mineral both sides were trying to seize, Bludd orders his men to hold their fire. Seeing Snake Eyes' condition, Bludd refers to him as "the poor devil" and orders his troops to let him go, reasoning he was as good as dead anyway. He was wrong because Snake Eyes survives, but still.
Scrap Iron
Voiced by: Michael Bell
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He does not appear in the DiC continuation.
- The Dragon: Because Destro is technically an outside contractor (and because Cobra Commander didn't fully trust him), Scrap Iron effectively acts as his confidant and right hand man despite his comparatively low rank.
- Evil Genius: While not on Destro or even Cobra Commander's level, he's generally entrusted with building weapons and equipment.
- Evil Sounds Raspy: Michael Bell gives Scrap Iron the same raspy tone he used for the Constructicon Scrapper.
- Undying Loyalty: Averted. He seems to like Cobra Commander well enough, but after Serpentor's creation he sometimes has to be outright bribed to go along with Cobra Commander's schemes.
- Villainous Friendship: A strange example. While he shifts his loyalties from Cobra Commander to Serpentor, Cobra Commander is still fairly willing to share his plans with him or at least explain them. Scrap Iron basically acts as the Watson to Cobra Commander's Holmes.
Firefly
Voiced by: Gregg Berger
A mercenary in Cobra's employ. Especially skilled at demolitions.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He does not appear in the DiC continuation.
- Demoted to Extra: Despite being the single most dangerous Psycho for Hire on the planet, Firefly rarely did much than be a more competent than usual soldier for Cobra in the cartoon.
- Mad Bomber: If it needs to be blown up, Cobra calls on him.
Wild Weasel
Voiced by: Pat Fraley
Cobra's ace pilot.
- Ace Pilot: Is this for Cobra. The Joe pilots hate him, but begrudgingly respect his skills as a pilot.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He does not appear in the DiC continuation.
- Worthy Opponent: Is generally seen as this by Joe pilots like Ace and Wild Bill, and the reluctant respect is returned.
Dr. Mindbender
Voiced by: Brian Cummings
Cobra's Mad Scientist and the creator of Serpentor.
- Bald of Evil: He's a bald villain.
- Cowardice Callout: In The Movie, Dr. Mindbender casually calls Cobra Commander out on his "frequent displays of cowardice" among the many criticisms of his incompetent leadership.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He's one of the most noticeable Cobra members to cease appearing in the DiC continuation.
- Depraved Dentist: At least according to his filecard, he was a nice dentist who attempted to alter brainwaves to reduce pain during dental procedures...and he tested it on himself, turning him into the mad scientist he is now.
- High-Class Glass: He wears a monocle.
- Mad Scientist: His deal is using his genius to create inventions and chemicals that can be used to assist in Cobra's schemes.
- Remember the New Guy?: He just abruptly appears in the "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" five-parter and is treated as if he was an established Cobra member from the start.
Cobra Troopers
Voiced by: various
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: Some episodes show female Troopers.
- Faceless Goons: Played with. The Troopers all wear bandannas that cover the bottom half of their faces but leave their eyes visible.
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil: These guys are at the very bottom of the Cobra hierarchy.
Larry Hama made no distinction between the Troopers and the Vipers, but most fans agree the Vipers are the next step up. - Universal Driver's License: At first, Cobra Troopers are seen driving or flying just about every vehicle Cobra has. As time went on, more specialized drivers or pilots like the Strato-Vipers and S.T.U.N Drivers/Motor-Vipers were introduced to the toyline and cartoon, causing the Troopers to be phased out in that role.
- Zerg Rush: How they generally overcome Joes in hand-to-hand combat.
Vipers
Voiced by: various
- Faceless Goons: The Vipers wear faceplates resembling Cobra Commander's, and thus their faces are completely concealed.
- Last Stand: In the finale of the "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" mini-series, several Vipers stay behind to cover Serpentor and Cobra High Command's escape. They surrender once their leaders are clear.
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil: The Vipers are the first step into the more specialized branches like Strato-Vipers (pilots), Eels (underwater warfare) or Snow Serpents (cold climate specialists). This is part of the reason why fans consider them the next step up from the Cobra Troopers.
- Undying Loyalty: Strangely enough, Serpentor gets this treatment from them partially because he's so charismatic, and partially because he's usually leading them from the front... and unlike Cobra Commander does not scream "Retreat!" at the first sign of trouble.
- Zerg Rush: Like the Cobra Troopers, this is how they get the better of Joes in hand-to-hand combat.
Crimson Guards
Voiced by: various
Cobra's elite troops. Notable for their bright red uniforms.
- Bling of War: Their uniforms are very snazzy.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: In one episode, a couple of Cobra Troopers see a Crimson Guard arrive and refer to him as "one of the Crimson elite". They also grumble about it.
- Elite Mooks: Are much rarer than the regular Cobra Troopers or Vipers, and are generally seen in important Cobra facilities.
- Informed Attribute: Their filecards mention that the Crimson Guards are nicknamed Siegies in-universe (from the pronunciation of CG) and that all of them have at least a college education (most often in law, business administration or economics) that makes them even more useful off the battlefield than on. Neither of these really come up in the cartoon.
- Despite being described as elites, they rarely if ever perform better against the Joes than the regular Cobra troops.
- Mook Lieutenant: On the occasions when one of the more famous Cobra operatives isn't leading (e.g. Major Bludd), a Crimson Guard can sometimes be seen leading squads of regular Troopers.
- Praetorian Guard: Function as this for Cobra Commander and other high-ranking Cobra leaders.
- Funnily enough, a group of Crimson Guards were among those who forced Cobra Commander into going along with Dr. Mindbender's Serpentor project, the way the historical Praetorian Guard eventually gained a reputation for making emperors instead of defending them.
- They Look Just Like Everyone Else!:
A.V.A.C.
Voiced by: Various
The elite among the Air Vipers. Specifically trained to pilot the Firebat interceptor mini-jets.
- RetCon: The writer's bible for the Sunbow cartoon defined A.V.A.C. as "Air Viper Attack Corps", but later filecards would give it the meaning "Air Viper, Advanced Class".
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil: The next step up the Cobra air forces, just below the Strato-Vipers in terms of skill and prestige.
- Thrill Seeker: Filecards note that the A.V.A.C.s have plenty of applicants because there's just no greater thrill than piloting a Firebat... a jet so basic that it has no instruments outside of the basic control panel, stick, pedals and weapons control. There are no engine status readouts, navigation aids, or even an ejection seat (but a parachute is at least provided). An A.V.A.C. relies purely on their skill and ability to keep track of a dogfight without the aid of sophisticated technology.
Strato-Vipers
Voiced by: Various
Cobra's elite pilots. Normally seen piloting the Night Ravens.
- Ace Pilot: While not to the level of Wild Weasel, the Strato-Vipers are Cobra's best pilots. The Strato-Viper in "In The Presence of Mine Enemies", for example, manages to pull off a Mutual Kill against Slipstream, shooting down his Conquest at the cost of her Night Raven.
- Elite Mook: Sometimes treated as this, as they're often entrusted with high profile missions. They even sometimes share the Praetorian Guard role with the Crimson Guards, like in "Grey Hairs And Growing Pains" where a couple of Strato-Vipers successfully convince Serpentor to retreat rather than risk himself in combat.
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: Female Strato-Vipers are seen every so often, most prominently in "In The Presence of Mine Enemies" (where the Strato-Viper Raven pulls a Mook–Face Turn) or the Movie, where a large number of female Strato-Vipers are seen in the TerrorDrome.
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil: The pinnacle of the Cobra air forces.
Battle Android Troopers (B.A.T.s)
Voiced by: N/A
Robotic infantry created by Cobra. Their threat level tends to vary.
- Conservation of Ninjutsu: After their first appearance in the "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" miniseries, they are generally and quickly gunned down by the Joes by the dozen (as mentioned under Villain Decay). However, whenever a single B.A.T. is present, you can be sure it'll be a lot harder to bring down than its brethren. A prime example is the solo B.A.T. from "My Favourite Things", which among other things successfully steals a painting of Rasputin from a hotel in the Swiss Alps before surviving a mountain fall with little damage and then walking back to base, gets impaled on a spike in Vlad the Impaler's castle and then snaps the spike to continue attacking, and is only brought down when Wetsuit splatters it with a highly potent acidic venom during the climax.
- Another example appears in "In The Presence of Mine Enemies", where despite an entire squad of B.A.T.s hunting Slipstream and an injured Strato-Viper, the one B.A.T. that corners them is basically a Boss in Mook's Clothing and only goes down when Slipstream manages to smash it in the faceplate with a beaker of concentrated hydrochloric acid, causing its internal mechanisms to short out. The remaining B.A.T.s aren't quite as threatening.
- Implacable Man: When not brought down straight away, the B.A.T.s come off as this.
- Informed Attribute: Their filecards state that Cobra troops tend to dislike the B.A.T.s because their rudimentary computers sometimes are unable to tell the difference between friend and foe on the battlefield. This isn't really seen on the show.
- That said, in "In The Presence of Mine Enemies" one of the things that triggers Strato-Viper Raven's Mook–Face Turn is the B.A.T.s repeatedly attempting to kill her alongside Slipstream. That could simply be chalked up to the Cobra officers simply deciding she was expendable.
- Mecha-Mook: It's right there in their name.
- New Tech Is Not Cheap: In their first appearance, the B.A.T.s seemed unstoppable, easily shrugging off Joe firepower until Sergeant Slaughter started taking them apart in hand-to-hand. Cobra's High Command were furious with Cobra Commander squandering them, since they were both expensive and now the Joes knew what they were to their shock value was lost. Later B.A.T.s are implied to be much cheaper made and are nowhere near as dangerous as the first batch.
- Villain Decay: In their first appearance, the B.A.T.s freak the Joes out and almost finish them until Sergeant Slaughter arrives and devastates them with his bare hands. They're never quite the same threat again, partially because now that the Joes know what they are, they know how to handle them. Knowing is half the battle indeed.
Dreadnoks
A biker gang affiliated with Cobra.
- All Bikers are Hells Angels: They're all violent criminals that follow the stereotypes of biker gangs.
- Badass Biker: Most of them are bikers and they are very tough and formidable enemies of G.I. Joe.
- British Accents: The key members of the Dreadnoks (Zarana, Zandar, Torch, Buzzer and Ripper) all speak with Cockney accents... despite most of them not being from the UK.
- Cool Bike: They have their own cool hogs.
Zartan
Voiced by: Zack Hoffman
Leader of the Dreadnoks and a master of disguise.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Even though the Dreadnoks continued to appear in the DiC continuation, Zartan himself was conspicuously absent.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite being as quick to mock Zarana for being attracted to Mainframe as the other Dreadnoks, in "The Glamor Girls" when he learns that Buzzer, Ripper and Torch tricked her into the same trap as the various other women he's beside himself with rage. He even goes so far as to aid the Joes to save her.
- Evil Is Petty:
- Master of Disguise: His special skill is being able to disguise himself as anyone.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Is prone to screw things up thanks to his mercenary tendencies and nasty, Evil Is Petty personality.
- In "The Revenge of Cobra" mini-series, his interference directly prevents Cobra from securing the parts of the Weather Dominator quickly (and thus gives the Joes a chance to fight back).
- In "Computer Complications" Zarana has already succeeded in her mission to seize control of the Joe robot subs, but as the Dreadnoks retreat he mocks Zarana by referring to her as "Delilah" note . This prompts her to taser him and turn back to save Mainframe from the bomb the Dreadnoks left behind.
- Voice of the Legion: His voice frequently had a reverberating effect in earlier episodes, presumably to emphasize his ability to disguise himself.
Buzzer, Ripper and Torch
Torch (left), Ripper (middle), Buzzer (right)
Voiced by: Neil Ross (Buzzer), Chris Latta (Ripper), Frank Welker (Torch)
The three main underlings of Zartan.
- Beard of Evil: Ripper and Torch both have beards.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: None of them were anywhere to be seen in the DiC continuation.
- Chainsaw Good: Buzzer's signature weapon is a chainsaw.
- Sinister Shades: They're all villains with sunglasses.
Zarana
Voiced by: Lisa Raggio (Sunbow series), Lisa Corps (DiC series)
Zartan's sister introduced in the "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" five-part episode. Becomes the go-to Cobra operative for infiltration when a woman is needed (whenever the Baroness isn't present).
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Part of the reason she develops an attraction to Mainframe in "Computer Complications" is just because he's nice to her.
- Dating Catwoman: Averted. While both Mainframe and Zarana acknowledge that their attraction was real, they also both know that there's no way it'd work out. That doesn't stop her from giving him valuable assistance in "Grey Hairs and Growing Pains", while he tells her to hurry and get away before someone sees her and realise she's just betrayed Cobra.
- Fiery Redhead: She's no quiet wallflower, and her temper is bad enough that the other Dreadnoks scatter when she gets riled up enough.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: When Mainframe proves to be a hindrance to her mission, she tries to crush him by unsettling some crates of parts down onto him. Unfortunately for her, the crashing crates cause a domino effect that almost crushes her too if not for Mainframe tackling her to safety.
- Master of Disguise: Like her brother, she is adept at disguising herself.
- Rescue Romance: What actively triggers her interest in Mainframe is him pushing her out of the way of some falling crates (not realising she'd tried to crush him using said crates). He then follows up by apologising for hitting on her, and then taking her out to dinner, and then defending her honour from an overly familiar waiter that turned out to be Zartan in disguise.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: As her disguises can attest, she can be outright beautiful when she wants to be.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's the sole female Dreadnok.
- Villainesses Want Heroes: During her undercover operation in "Computer Complications", she and Mainframe develop an attraction to one another. It's powerful enough that in "Grey Hairs and Growing Pains" she quietly assists him by informing him where to go and providing him with valuable information. This relationship was dropped in the DiC continuation, where she'd suddenly hooked up with Destro while Mainframe didn't even appear.
Zandar
Voiced by: Peter Cullen
Zartan's brother introduced in the "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" five-part episode.
- The Brute: In regards to infiltration. While both Zartan and Zarana infiltrate facilities by using masks, forged papers and acting skill, Zandar does so by simply sneaking in (e.g. scaling walls and the like).
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Like his brother, he ceased making appearances in the DiC continuation.
- Highly-Visible Ninja: Unlike his brother and sister, Zandar isn't much of a Master of Disguise. He is, however, almost as good as they are at infiltration. He does this despite wearing bright red warpaint and no shirt.
- This Means Warpaint: He wears bright red warpaint on his chest and face.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: He doesn't wear a shirt.
- Worf Had the Flu: In "Computer Complications" he attempts to infiltrate the Joe computer centre. Unluckily for him, one of the Joes on duty that night happens to be Low Light, the Joe night vision specialist.
Monkeywrench
Voiced by: Neil Ross
One of two additional recruits who joined the Dreadnoks in "Arise, Serpentor, Arise".
- Beard of Evil: Another Dreadnok with a beard.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Nowhere to be seen in the DiC continuation.
Thrasher
Voiced by: Ted Schwartz
One of two additional recruits who joined the Dreadnoks in "Arise, Serpentor, Arise".
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Yet another Dreadnok who doesn't appear at all in the DiC continuation.
- The Engineer: He maintains the Dreadnoks' vehicles.
Gnawgahyde
Voiced by: Ian James Corlett
A Dreadnok introduced in the DiC series.
- Evil Poacher: He has the motif of being a hunter.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Sided with the Baroness in restoring Cobra Commander to power in the premiere of the DiC series because he couldn't stand Serpentor's abuse.
Road Pig
Voiced by: Gary Chalk
A Dreadnok introduced in the DiC series.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: The cartoon changed his hair from white with red streaks to orange with greens streaks to match his second action figure.
- The Brute: He's a big muscular thug on the Dreadnoks' side.
- Psychopathic Manchild: In "Cobra Land", he and Metalhead are distracted from Cobra Commander's orders near the end of the episode because they're too busy fighting over a giant teddy bear.
Other Characters
Other military figures
Captain George Lattimer
Voiced by: Frank Welker
Commanding officer of the U.S.S. Montana, who chooses to turn traitor and join Cobra when the Navy decides to scrap his battleship and send him into retirement.
- Fate Worse than Death: His honor is tarnished, his reputation destroyed, and he's headed for court-martial and imprisonment for treason. But to him, the worst part is that his beloved ship was sunk."It would have been more merciful to let me drown."
- Going Down with the Ship: Once it's clear the Montana is doomed he refuses to leave her. Hawk has to overpower him and drag him off before the stricken battleship sinks.
- Old Soldier: Has been at sea with the Navy (and specifically aboard the Montana) for most of his career.
- Rank Up: Cobra offered him a promotion to Admiral as well as letting his ship serve them.
- Regretful Traitor: After he betrays the Navy and joins Cobra, he spends most of his time brooding about it and wondering if he made the right choice.
- Reluctant Retiree: For both him and his ship - he's being forced out of the Navy, and the Montana is headed for the cutter's torch, before he defects.
- We Used to Be Friends: General Hawk considered him one, until Lattimer joined up with Cobra.
Admiral Warren Ledger
Voiced by: Hal Rayle
Commanding officer of G.I. Joe's assigned aircraft carrier.
- Old Soldier: Navy variant. In the episode he debuts in, he brags that whales ask him for directions.
Colonel Sharp
Voiced by: Robert David Hall
A top military officer who often has dealings with G.I. Joe.
- Colonel Badass: During the Weather Dominator multi-part episodes, Colonel Sharp is on his way to the Blackwater Prison when he receives word that Cobra Commander has been captured and on his way there. He comes under attack by the Dreadnoks on the way, Sharp draws a pistol and trades shots with them while ordering his boat pilot to get them out of there. He's still overcome and captured, but props for being willing to fight.
Civilians
Dr. Mettier
Voiced by:
Dr. Shakur
Voiced by: Stan Jones
Hector Ramirez
Voiced by: Neil Ross
A famous journalist. His relationship to the Joes is acrimonious; he has no problems taking them to task on his news show if they screw up.
- Badass Bystander: On one occasion he assists the Joes by interviewing Cobra Commander, buying the Joes time to come up with a counter strategy.
- Catchphrase: "This is Hector Ramirez!"
- Canon Welding: His presence is used to prove that G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Transformers, Jem and Inhumanoids all take place in the same universe, despite his appearance and voice varying across the four cartoons.
- Kent Brockman News: Hector's an investigative reporter with more foolhardiness than common sense. Which is how he got turned into a 15-foot tall living zombie by D'Compose. Don't worry, he got better.
- Mr. Exposition: After his first appearance, he mostly is used for info dumps.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: A parody of "investigative journalist" Geraldo Rivera.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: The DiC series episodes "Injustice and the Cobra Way" and "Cobra Land" feature a journalist named Jose Riviera, who is basically the same character as Hector Ramirez except for the name and a drastically different wardrobe. The reason he was used in place of Hector Ramirez is unknown, but it's speculated to be legal issues involving Sunbow (it's to the point a newspaper article is credited to Ramirez and not Riviera).
- You Don't Look Like You: His appearance was never quite consistent both within this show and the others he appeared in.
Satin
Voiced by: Ketty Lester
A lounge singer Shipwreck and Snake Eyes encountered while MIA during the third 5-parter.
- Badass Bystander: If having a van with bulletproof plates, personally chasing off someone named Col. Slash (who had 5 goons backing him up), and shoving Cobra Commander himself isn't this, then what is?
- Noodle Incident: After temporarily parting ways with two Joes, she tells them that Cobra framed her father somehow.
- The Bus Came Back: She returns for a season two episode that shows that she met Low-Light and his sister at some point.
Non-Cobra villains
The Gamesmaster
Voiced by: Stan Jones
A lunatic armed with weaponized toys who once kidnapped Flint, Lady Jaye, the Baroness and Cobra Commander in an attempt to have them all killed as part of some twisted game.
- Bald of Evil: He's both.
- Bad Vibrations: His weight and strength is enough to make a rumbling sound everytime he moves or strikes something.
- Beard of Evil: He has a beard.
- Fat Bastard: He is very hefty.
- Outside-Context Problem: He's a completely independent threat to both the Joes and Cobra with no explanation given for how he acquired a toy and game themed island staffed by robotic minions.
- Psychopathic Manchild: He captures Flint, Lady Jaye, the Baroness and Cobra Commander with the intent of killing them all for his amusement, he has an obsession with toys, he taunts his prisoners childishly and he throws fits when things don't go his way. It really says a lot when he makes Cobra Commander look sane and mature in comparison.
- Robot Buddy: His companion is a clown robot named Koko.
- Stout Strength: He's huge and strong enough to throw a man across the room. Basically an even bigger Wilson Fisk.
- We Will Meet Again: His episode ends with him escaping and vowing revenge.
- Wicked Toymaker: He uses lethal toys on his captives.
The Headman
Voiced by: Scott McNeil
A drug lord who makes a profit off of selling a drug called Spark. He ends up being a mutual enemy of G.I. Joe and Cobra.
- Arc Villain: He is the main threat of the DiC continuation two-part episode "The Greatest Evil".
- Character Death: Has the honor of being the only named character in the cartoon to explicitly die, considering that Duke's intended death scene in G.I. Joe: The Movie was altered into him being in a coma at the last minute and it wasn't known if Serpentor survived Gnawgahyde pursuing him after he was changed into an iguana.
- Dead-Hand Shot: The final shot of the two-part episode featuring him is a close-up of his lifeless hand protruding from the rubble of his lair, confirming that he's died.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: While he died from a lethal overdose of his own drug in the DiC cartoon, the Devil's Due comic mentioned in the 31st issue of America's Elite that he was killed by Tomax.
- Getting High on Their Own Supply: Near the end of the two-parter he appears in, he prepares for his final battle against the Joes and Cobra by snorting some Spark himself.
- Karmic Death: The drug dealer ends up killed from an overdose of his own drug right when he attempted to use it on the Joes and Cobra. For good measure, the one who changed the course of the Spark spraying was Lt. Falcon, one of the Headman's victims.
- Last Breath Bullet: Right before his Spark overdose does him in, the Headman makes one last effort in defeating the Joes and Cobra by setting his lair to self-destruct. G.I. Joe and Cobra manage to get out with their lives before the base is reduced to rubble.
- Sinister Shades: He's a villain who wears sunglasses.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Zig-zagged. His counterpart in the Marvel Comics continuity was captured alive in his final appearance, but he was killed off in the Devil's Due continuity, which was eventually rendered non-canon due to being supplanted by IDW's own continuation of the comic, in which the Headman never resurfaced and presumably remained incarcerated.
