GI Joe Army / Characters

The Original GI Joe

The Original G.I. Joe

G.I. Joe

Real Name: Joseph B. Colton

"Duty… Honor… Country! Not just words… a way to live your life!"

Portrayed By: Bruce Willis (G.I. Joe: Retaliation)

Based on the original 12-inch G.I. Joe figure, he has since been incorporated into the modern franchise by establishing him as a seasoned war veteran that the team was named after. During his prime, he was the leader of the Adventure Team back in The '70s, the team's predecessors. Always there to lend a hand to the team named after him.

Adaptational Villainy: His counterpart in the 2008 IDW continuity turns out to be the true identity behind Baron Ironblood and teaming up with other villains of the Hasbro Comic Universe to commit genocide against the Cybertronians.
Adapted Out: None of the animated adaptations feature him or acknowledge his involvement in the organization's history.
Authority Equals Asskicking: He may be retired, but once He's Back! into action, each and every Joe defers the command to him out of pure respect.
Broken Pedestal: Scarlett's perception of him in the 2008 IDW continuity. Originally looking up to him for pushing her to her true potential and recruiting her into G.I. Joe, she becomes disillusioned towards him during the events of the First Strike miniseries when he turns out to be using the identity of Baron Ironblood and working with supervillains to wipe out all Cybertronians, regardless of whether they're Autobot or Decepticon.
Composite Character: In the Hasbro Comic Universe, Sgt. Savage exposes him as being Baron Ironblood, a character who originated as the archenemy of G.I. Joe's UK equivalent Action Force.
Cool Old Guy: He still is very capable of kicking ass, leading soldiers to battle and being a friendly fellow in general.
Disabled in the Adaptation: His counterpart in the 2008 IDW continuity ends up losing a hand.
Expecting Someone Taller: It doubles as a Mythology Gag since he comes from a 12-inch toyline, higher than the 3 3/4 inch toyline representing the G.I. Joe team.
Famed In-Story: He is THE G.I. JOE, the legendary soldier the unit's named after.
A Father to His Men: More like a fatherly inspiration for at least 3 generations after him.
Four-Star Badass/Frontline General: Nowadays. He started up as a second lieutenant.
Genius Bruiser: When he was reintroduced in the Marvel comics he was the head of the U.S. government's laser defense satellite program, and was well versed in the technical aspects of the project.
Humble Hero: He tends to refer to himself as "just another guy called Joe".
The Jailer: Downplayed. In IDW his main function was to arrest and keep the most dangerous members of Cobra and The Coil in a top-secret facilty called "The Coffin".
No Celebrities Were Harmed: G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers: Black Horizon gives him the face of Chuck Norris.
Not Quite Dead: In the 2008 IDW continuity, the Revolution (2016) miniseries has Joe Colton turn out to be a Dire Wraith impersonating him who is swiftly terminated by Rom. While the real Joe Colton was initially assumed to be deceased like other humans impersonated by the Dire Wraiths, it was revealed in Revolutionaries that the real Joe Colton is still alive and actually managed to escape the Dire Wraiths before they could kill him.
Official Couple: With his then field nurse, later a full-fledged medic: G.I. Jane.
Old Soldier: And likewise, he may never die.
Retired Badass: He's no longer an active soldier, but that doesn't mean he can't hold his own anymore. Averted in IDW when he had to replace Hawk as leader.
Scars Are Forever: His right cheek scar, same as Action Man (who began as a UK version of the original G.I. Joe).
Shout-Out: He's from Central Falls, R.I. The place where it all started.

Generals

General Austin

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rah_mini02.jpg

Voiced By: John Stephenson (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series)

A U.S. Army Major General who played adviser to the G.I. Joe commanders.

The Brigadier: Major General indeed.
Composite Character: The first Sunbow miniseries essentially combines Austin and General Flagg into one character, using Austin's model for the animated trailer for ARAH #1.
Embarrassing Nickname: He's called "Old Iron-Butt" by the men under his charge for his stubbornness, a moniker he despised but at the end of the day even him admits it's quite fitting.
No Name Given: His first name is classified. According to the Essential Guide it's Aaron, making his an Alliterative Name.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He has a thorough understanding of politics that enable him to see viewpoints from all sides. Consequently, he did not have as much trouble with "The Jugglers" as Hawk did.
Take Up My Sword/You Are in Command Now: At the beginning, he had to take the role of the team's handler after Gen. Flagg was K.I.A. Working on this capacity he suddenly suffered a heart attack after the invasion of the first "Pit", so he decided to retire and named Hawk as his successor but under the wing of his replacement on the command chain, Gen. Hollingsworth.

General Flagg

Real Name: Lawrence J. Flagg

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flagg_decl.gif

"I didn't reach the rank of General by standing in the shadows, I got out and EARNED it on the front lines."

Mentor to Hawk, successor to General Colton and the man the U.S.S. Flagg is named after. He created the modern iteration of the team, handpicking many of the original recruits himself.

Alternate Company Equivalent: Flagg's Marvel UK counterpart was Colonel Raymond Trent, a former Royal Lancer who gave Action Force their missions and mentored Flint similar to how Flagg mentored Hawk. He too succumbed to Mentor Occupational Hazard, forcing his protege to step up.
Big Good: For the first twenty issues of the ARAH comic.
Front Line General: The way he got his pay rank off-screen. Averted in the comic, which had him behaving like a Real Life Brigadier, only seeing action when he was in the wrong place at the right time and the second time it gets him killed.
Killed Off for Real: Killed by Major Bludd in ARAH #19.
Lantern Jaw of Justice: Combined with the glasses, he looked a bit like Clark Kent in an Army uniform.
Legacy Character/Generation Xerox: His son James Longstreet Flagg III eventually becomes a Brigadier: General Flagg II in a sense.
The Mentor: To Hawk.
Mexican Standoff: He gets one with Cobra Commander in ARAH #5, and another with Major Bludd in ARAH #19. He does not survive the latter.
Older Than They Look: Was 51 at the time of his death, ^noteaccording to his headstone but didn't look it. In ARAH #1, Hawk mistakes him for a young officer who "hasn't worn out his first set of khakis yet."
Reasonable Authority Figure: Even more level-headed than Hawk himself.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: "Mr. Clancy" the presidential liaison and true leader of G.I. Joe Extreme.
Take Up My Sword: He does it for Colton. Hawk does it for him.
Toyless Toyline Character: Yes and no. Lawrence died before he could be immortalized in plastic, but James got a figure and he had a posthumous one in 2004.
Worthy Opponent: Cobra Commander openly acknowledged that he was Flagg's Evil Counterpart.

General Hawk

Real Name: Clayton M. Abernathy

"We're soldiers… our job is to follow orders… to do the impossible — and make it look easy."

Voiced By: Ed Gilbert (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series, G.I. Joe: The Movie and first season of DiC series), David Kaye (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, second season of DiC series and Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles), Phil Hayes (Valor vs. Venom), Anthony Salerno (G.I. Joe: Sigma 6), Lee Majors (G.I. Joe: Renegades)

Portrayed By: Dennis Quaid (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra)

The Leader of the Joes.

Adaptational Abomination: In Valor vs Venom he was turned into the Serpentor's Expy, Venomous Maximus.
Adaptation Dye-Job: He was blond in the comics, but when he appeared in the cartoon and after his second action figure his hair became deep-dark brown to make him different from Duke. Eventually the comic went that way as well.
- Third-Option Adaptation: His hair has already turned gray in modern iterations of the franchise, thus sidestepping the hair color issue.
Adaptation Name Change: During Devil's Due continuity, his code name was changed to "General Tomahawk".
Authority Equals Asskicking: He's the highest authority among the Joes and will kick serious ass when he needs to.
Big Good: He's usually the only Joe higher in authority than Duke.
Colonel Badass: Later promoted to The Brigadier.
Expy: It is either him or the original Joe who can be seen as the Nick Fury's one within the franchise.
A Father to His Men: Refuses to stay behind a desk while his men are out there risking their lives.
Frontline General: Spends most of his time leading the Joes in the field. He pays the price for this in the comics, getting injured numerous times and earning a Cowboy Cop reputation with his superiors in the Pentagon.
Handicapped Badass: In IDW and Sigma 6 continuities he's left bound to a wheel chair. Renegades has him walking cane-assisted.
Kicked Upstairs: The Jugglers ^note tried this by making Hawk one of their own. It didn't work.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Even back in The '90s, before the whole hair color issue came forth, some cartoon and comics artists graced Hawk's facial features with those of Clint Eastwood.
Officer and a Gentleman: He was born into a wealthy, prestigious family, and was a Valedictorian at West Point.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He will give his soldiers a chance to redeem themselves or prove their intentions when they are suspected of going rogue.
Remember the New Guy?: In the cartoon, Hawk just appears as the team's commanding officer at the start of the second season. The reason for this was Hasbro had just released a new action figure of Hawk to showcase his promotion to General and the cartoon was required to include him. This wasn't an issue with the Marvel comics since Hawk was a regular character from the first issue.
Sunglasses at Night: In the second season of the DiC series, he's always wearing sunglasses, reflecting his current action figure of the time.

Operatives

Airtight

Real Name: Kurt Schnurr

"Dealing with dangerous toxins is only a part of the mission, the other is capturing the enemy who released it in the first place, and make sure they never do it again."

Voiced By: Pat Fraley (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Troy Baker (Renegades)

A weird kid who became an even weirder adult, Airtight serves as the team's Hostile Environment specialist.

Adaptational Nationality: In the Marvel UK Action Force comic he's German.
- Ambiguously Brown: In Renegades his file name is never mentioned, but it's heavily implied that he was made Mexican for he's in charge of a Cobra Industries plant in that country.
Determinator: It takes a lot of courage and resolve to willingly walk into a cloud of toxic gas that's "strong enough to kill a mutant weight-lifter cockroach" wearing a protective suit built under contract for the government by the lowest bidder.
Expy: He's essentially what Peter Parker would have been like if he never got bit by that radioactive spider, but managed to get a job in S.H.I.E.L.D. instead.
The Friend Nobody Likes: Averted. Though many of the other Joes consider him to be a "pencil-necked geek" and "childish prankster", he's highly valued as the guy most likely to save their bacon if the enemy decides to really fight dirty.
Otaku: Rare Western example. The guy loves his plastic dinosaurs collection, apparently.
The Prankster: Sneezing powder, plastic barf, whoopee cushion… you name it!! But as noted above, not every Joe is fond of his practical jokes.
Science Hero: Specializes in chemical, biological and radiological science.
Those Two Guys: With Barbecue. They're frequently paired together for hostile environment missions. And both of them are jovial pranksters when they're off duty.

Alpine

Real Name: Albert M. Pine

"Anybody can jump out of an airplane. That's just giving in to gravity. What I do is an attempt to defy gravity."

Voiced By: Lee Weaver (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series)

Mountaineer who grew up in Idaho. Best buddies with Bazooka.

Black and Nerdy: His secondary specialty is accounting. In the DDP run after the G.I. Joe team was disbanded, he retired from the military and became a full-time accountant.
Climb, Slip, Hang, Climb/Literal Cliffhanger: His main day-by-day occupational hazards.
Hidden Depths: He's quite good doing yodeling.
Scaling the Summit: A mountain warfare expert.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: His codename can be interpreted as a colloquial form of his real name (i.e. Alpine = Al Pine).

Barrel Roll

Real Name: Dwight E. Stall

"With me, it's not so much wanting to hit the bulls-eye as really hating to miss."

Voiced By: Paul Dobson (Spy Troops)

A high altitude sniper and reconnaissance expert who is also a fairly decent fixed-wing pilot. He is the brother of Bombstrike and Blackout.

Big Brother Instinct: His and Bombstrike's filecards, and the filecard for Cobra operative Blackout contain a story where Barrel Roll acts as Knight Templar to rescue his sister Bombstrike after blacksheep brother Blackout kidnaps her. He was also protective towards Tom before the latter's defection to Cobra.
Cain and Abel: He's a Joe and his brother Blackout is affiliated with Cobra.
Creator Cameo: His name, hometown, and his toy's face are based on those of the toy's designer.
Friendly Sniper: More affable than Low-Light, and more fettered than Blackout.
Punny Name: His duties include being a pilot, and he happens to share his surname with a certain piece of aviation terminology.

Bazooka

Real Name: David R. Katzenbogen

"When I explode into battle against those puny Cobra Vipers, it's like shooting fish in a barrel!"

Voiced By: John Hostetter (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series)

Armor Defeating Weapons Systems specialist. Former tank driver, until he realized how vulnerable tanks were to rocket launchers, and transferred to anti-armor. Best pals with Alpine.

The Klutz: How he's portrayed in the cartoon. A potentially Lethal Klutz in one case - the scene from "The Funhouse" where he trips and accidentally fires his LAW was immortalized in the season 1 Credits Montage. (Fortunately, it hit the HISS tank he was going to fire on anyway!)
- Definitely edging into lethality in the intro for The Movie, wherein he trips and falls flat on his face, and fires his LAW again, this time nearly decapitating Shipwreck. Fortunately for all parties involved, he only vaporizes Shipwreck's hat and successfully sinks a Cobray Moray-class PT boat with his shot instead.
Posthumous Character: The Joes discover him to be murdered by Storm Shadow in Resolute.
Shout-Out: Starting in 1986, Hasbro decided to have at least one sports-themed character per year. His jersey is reminiscent of that worn by Larry Hama's personal friend, the then New England Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan.
- Bazooka's favorite sport is fishing, quite appropriate given his hometown of Hibbing, MN.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Basically replaced original Joe member Zap as the team's bazooka soldier, especially in the cartoon. They did appear together in "The Funhouse". Their personalities are polar opposites, though: while Zap is a cool-headed professional who inspires the up-and-coming recruits, Bazooka is a clumsy, grumpy slob.

Beach Head

Real Name: Wayne R. Sneeden

"If those snakes had ANY backbone... I'd be the one to break it!"

Voiced By: William Callaway (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Matt Hill (Spy Troops), Lee Tockar (Valor vs. Venom)

Ranger. Growing up both dirt poor and a bully target drove him to overachieve. When the Joes called him up, he went in without hesitation. Has a crucial role in the team as the Joes' drill sergeant, being the final arbiter on whether rookies are ready to join the team.

Ascended Meme: After an incidental gag in "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!", fans took it as gospel that Beach Head does not bathe or use deodorant. This "fact" was eventually added to one of his official file cards; it explained that it's much easier to track someone smelling of soap.
Berserk Button: Several things, since he has proven time and again he has a Hair-Trigger Temper. But whatever you do, no matter who you are, don't you EVER make fun of Johnny Cash in his face.
Depending on the Writer: His characterization switches between extremes. Comics present him as a relaxed, thoughtful man who avoids strife, while cartoons portray him as very irritable. The one constant is that he abhors laziness. And then there's his appearance in the Spy Troops CGI movie from The Aughties, where he got a surfer personality complete with voice by Matt Hill.
Drill Sergeant Nasty: He has to push the most elite fighting force in the world to the breaking point. And does.
Informed Ability: His original filecard indicates that he sees anger as a waste of time and energy, so he "doesn't get angry...he gets even." While his characterization in the comic is fairly consistent with this, the cartoon depicted him angry, frustrated, or otherwise annoyed quite often.
Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: In G.I. Joe: Reloaded, he threatens a captured Alley-Viper with eating his ear.
Jerkass Has a Point: In the 80s cartoon, he is vocally disgusted about the presence of Actual Pacifist Lifeline in the Joes in their mutual introductory episode, clearly implying that if Beach Head had his way, he would expel Lifeline. The thing is, as obnoxious as he comes off in that moment, he does have a point that an active combat military unit like the Joes is really not the best place for someone like Lifeline, and Lifeline's own...quirks... would probably get him expelled as unfit on philosophical grounds in any real-life military force.
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Or at least this is how he saw his recruits, even nicknaming them Rawhydes in The Movie.

Breaker

Real Name: Alvin R. Kibbey (1982-1990) / Abel Shaz (2009- )

"He's efficient and self-assured and has an uncanny ability to turn adverse situations to his favor."

Voiced By: Chris Latta (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Greg Ellis (G.I. Joe: Renegades)

Portrayed By: Saïd Taghmaoui (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra)

An expert in communications and computer technology.

Communications Officer: He deals with communications.
Killed Off for Real: Among the casualties in Trucial Abysmia, he was one of the Joes killed fleeing in a stolen Cobra Rage tank when it was destroyed.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: At the end of the first five-part TV cartoon series, Breaker tries to use the MASS Device to return the Eiffel Tower to Paris, but it ends up in London. Then, at the second series's end his fiddling with the Weather Dominator ends up making it snow at Joe Headquarters.
Omniglot: Speaks 7 languages (Not specified).
Race Lift: He became Moroccan in the film, one of the biggest changes from the source. He does chew bubblegum, though.
Spared by the Adaptation: In Renegades Alvin Kibbey is a blogger/reporter out to expose the insidious enemy that is Cobra.
Trademark Favorite Food: He's almost always chewing bubblegum. It comes in handy in an early issue when the M.O.B.A.T.'s been stripped of its ammo for a parade; a Cobra unit has been sent to steal the high-tech tank, but Breaker tricks them into surrendering by using its sound system to amplify the sound of his bubble popping, leading them to think the M.O.B.A.T. just fired a live round.

Bullhorn

Real Name: Stephen A. Ferreira

A level-headed E-5 who the Joes rely on for negotiations.

Exactly What It Says on the Tin: He's a Joe who carries a bullhorn everywhere.
Reasonable Authority Figure: What he would have been if he hadn't joined the armed forces.
The Friend Nobody Likes: There was the time he used his namesake device in IDW ARAH #272 while on a tourbus... from one foot away from the nearest Joes.

Chuckles

Real Name: Phillip M. Provost

"I've been working undercover for so long that nobody is sure about who I'm actually working for."

A former CID investigator who serves as the Joes' primary deep cover operative. His only animated participation was in G.I. Joe: The Movie but he was more prominent in several comic continuities.

Alliterative Name: Phil Provost
The Big Guy: His introduction in The Movie shows him not caring too much about the required calculation to fire a missile while learning how to operate a H.A.V.O.C. vehicle. He simply jumped out from the cockpit after it's left CIWS malfunctioned and carried the missile throwing it at one of the captured automated HISS tanks, instead.
Boisterous Bruiser: His fighting style.
Cowboy Cop: Had this reputation in the CID before he joined the Joes.
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Kills the first (seen in series) Cobra Commander in the IDW comics.
Expy: Started out as a loose one for Sonny Crockett or Thomas Magnum. Modern iterations gradually made him closer to a John le Carré style spy protagonist.
Hawaiian-Shirted Tourist: He wears loud Hawaiian shirts to throw off suspicion. Nobody who dresses like that could possibly be an undercover agent... right?
Meaningful Name: It's said that nobody tells a joke (...or a lie) better than him.
The Mole: His shtick.
Mundane Utility: Apparently Chuckles is the best insurance policies seller ever, and it's been said the only thing he's loyal to is the insurance company he works for since it is making him rich.
Official Couple: With Jinx in IDW's continuity.
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Part of the Beach Head's Rawhydes in The Movie.

Clutch

Real Name: Lance J. Steinberg

"Why just outrun Cobras when I can drive circles around them?"

Voiced By: Michael Bell (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series)

A mechanic and driver of the VAMP jeep. He gets a far bigger role in the comic than he ever did in the cartoon, and gets one of the biggest roles out of the original squad of "green fatigues" guys.

Adaptational Intelligence: In Skybound's Energon Universe he has an engineering degree from MIT.
Adaptation Name Change: During Devil's Due continuity, his code name was changed to "Double Clutch".
Abhorrent Admirer/Casanova Wannabe: To Scarlett, Cover-Girl... well, any of his female teammates really.
Badass Driver: Usually of the Vamp Mark II Jeep.
Cool Car: When he's off-duty, you can find him riding his fully restored crimson hemi-convertible 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda.
Grease Monkey: He has said that he learned all there's to know about car mechanics at his uncle's garage, "Manny's Mean Machines".
Lovable Sex Maniac: In the comics, he hit on Scarlett any chance he got, and was a notorious pervert.
Perma-Stubble: His original figure had a beard, and some later figures have been clean-shaven, but the character in the comics always has stubble.
Put on a Bus: In the cartoon, he's one of the three Joes who stays behind in the Alternate Universe of "Worlds Without End" to help rebuild La Résistance.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute/Race Lift: Oddly enough, he has two within the Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles spin-off:
- His duties as the team's head mechanic were filled-in by "Grill", who was African-American.
- Their main vehicle driver was the aptly named "Tank", who was Asian-American.
Those Two Guys: Became this with Rock'N'Roll after more colorful Joes displaced the other "green fatigues" Joes.

Cover Girl

Real Name: Courtney A. Krieger

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/COVRGIRL_8754.JPG

"People realize I'm more than just a pretty face when they bring in a busted up vehicle and I give it back to them running smoothly and ready for battle."

Voiced By: Liz Aubrey (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Grey DeLisle (G.I. Joe: Resolute)

Portrayed By: Karolína Kurková (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra)

A former professional model who decided she'd rather drive tanks for a living.

Action Girl: Just because she's hot enough to be hot for a living doesn't mean she can't like driving around 65 tons of metal and blowing shit up.
Adaptation Dye-Job: She was made a blonde in the first cartoon miniseries, changed back to redhead in the proper series to accurately reflect her action figure design. The 2013 IDW series has her back to being a blonde.
Adaptational Nationality: She's German in Rise of Cobra.
Darker and Edgier: The IDW version made her a ruthless killer, cold-bloodedly wiping out a group of pirates in G.I. Joe #6 admitting later that she's found something she's good at. She doesn't even miss a beat while chewing her gum.
Grease Monkey: She doesn't just know how to drive tanks, but also how to keep them in working condition.
Killed Off for Real: In the movie.
Meaningful Name: "Krieger" is German for "warrior".
Official Couple: With Shipwreck in the Devil's Due comics. Played for Laughs in Renegades.
Wrench Wench: Her file card explicitly states she decided to specialize in working with big military machinery because that was the most unfeminine role she could think of.

Dial-Tone

Real Name: Jack S. Morelli

"One of the scariest things that can happen to you out in the field is to lose contact with your base. That means you are ALONE. No artillery support, no air-strikes, no medvac, no extraction, no NOTHING! The cavalry ain't comin' until the man with the radio tells 'em to."

Voiced By: Hank Garrett (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Grey DeLisle (G.I. Joe: Resolute), Curt Bonnem (G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout)

The Joes' affable but nerdy radioman.

Chick Magnet: Dialtone is depicted as having many individuals among the fairer sex interested in it, Joe or non-Joe. Even Zarana.
Child Prodigy: As young as ten, he was already dabbling in making his own radio communications devices and becoming part of a radio network group.
Dating Catwoman: Zarana and he become a couple for a short time in the Sunbow cartoon.
Death by Adaptation: Dial Tone is mentioned by Tunnel Rat as a casualty in the war against Cobra in issue 9 of G.I. Joe (2019).
Gender Flip: The character is female in G.I. Joe: Resolute and both the 2008 and 2019 IDW continuities.
I Just Want to Be Special: Has the desire to be a leader, but lacks the ability.
Nerds Are Sexy: Dialtone has a large number of female admirers despite being a Nice Girl (or because of it) without much personal aggressiveness among a sea of alpha males.
The Peter Principle: In "The Most Dangerous Thing in the World," Dial-Tone is temporarily promoted to Colonel, but his obsequious, eager to please attitude makes him a poor leader.

Doc

Real Name: Carl W. Greer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carlDOCgreer_8259.JPG

"When the going gets rough, they need more than a pill-roller. I'm their main man!"

Voiced By: Buster Jones (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Jullian Christopher (Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles), Steve Blum (G.I. Joe: Resolute), Phil LaMarr (G.I. Joe: Renegades)

The most iconic G.I. Joe medic.

Actual Pacifist: The reason why he is a medic and not a soldier.
Adaptation Species Change: Post-Revolution (2016), both Docs in the 2008 IDW continuity are revealed to be Dire Wraiths rather than humans, with the original's daughter specifically being a Half-Human Hybrid.
Badass Preacher: His info card indicates that he's a chaplain in addition to being a medic.
Creator Cameo: His face is based on a Hasbro's toy designer, Khipra Nichols.
Decomposite Character: In the 2008 IDW continuity, his Gender Flip incarnation from G.I. Joe: Reloaded is included as his daughter and successor.
Gender Flip: Changed to a female in G.I. Joe: Reloaded.
Half-Human Hybrid: The 2008 IDW continuity reveals after the Revolution crossover that Doc is actually a Dire Wraith and that his daughter is a human/Wraith hybrid.
Killed Off for Real: In the Marvel Comics continuity, he is one of the victims of the S.A.W.-Viper in Trucial Abysmia.
The Medic: While the comics stayed true to his characterization in the figure's Action Figure File Card, the cartoon made him more of a scientist.
Outliving One's Offspring: Issue 263 of the IDW continuation to the Marvel Comics continuity shows his grave being visited by his surviving parents.
Spared by the Adaptation:: In Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles VHS and complete with an Adaptation Dye-Job turning his whole hair gray in Resolute.

Duke

Real Name: Conrad S. Hauser

"They tell me that an officer's job is to impel others to take the risks—so that the officer survives to take the blame in the event of total catastrophe. With all due respect, sir...if that's what an officer does, I don't want any part of it."

Voiced By: Michael Bell (G. I. Joe A Real American Hero, Sunbow series and G. I. Joe: The Movie), Ted Harrison (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series), John Payne (Reel FX films), Frank Frankson (G. I. Joe: Sigma 6), Steve Blum (G.I. Joe: Resolute), Jason Marsden (G. I. Joe Renegades). Ian James Corlett (G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout)

Portrayed By: Channing Tatum (G. I. Joe: Rise Of Cobra) and (G. I. Joe: Retaliation)

The First Sergeant of the G.I. Joe team, and the original, intended poster boy for the franchise. Second in command of the Joe team and main battlefield leader.

Adaptational Villainy: In G.I. Joe: Reloaded, he is revealed to be a traitor in league with Cobra.
All-American Face: He's a hero who fights for American freedom.
Badass Bookworm: While it's not otherwise emphasized, a flashback in A Real American Hero shows him up late studying.
Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: He's not especially boisterous or mean, but he's more no-nonsense than the cooler-headed Hawk.
- The Lancer: He's typically portrayed as the field leader and one of the most important Joes' member, nevertheless he's also the second/third in-command within the Joes' ranks.
Cunning Linguist: Specialized in German, Chinese Han and South-East Asian dialects.
Death by Adaptation:
- G.I. Joe: Reloaded ends with Scarlett stabbing him in the back out of disgust at him betraying the team by siding with Cobra.
- He is killed off in G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
- In the 2019 IDW continuity, he is executed by Major Bludd.
Distressed Dude: Each of the three five-part miniseries that began the first cartoon saw him getting captured in the beginning.
Not Quite Dead: Was originally slated to die in The Movie, but public backlash of Optimus Prime's death caused the writers to spare him at the last minute. This is particularly strange because he literally got a snake thrown ''into'' his chest cavity, entering where his heart should be. It is especially jarring because the scene quite easily plays as an actual death scene if one were to mute or ignore the lines about him being in a coma and recovering that were added at the last minute.
Rugged Scar: He has a scar on his right cheek in Resolute and also ends up getting one over his eye in the Grand Finale of Renegades.
Sergeant Rock: A tough leader who doesn't mess around. He's the Joes' First Sergeant, which means it's his job to lead the team in battle.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
- Originally Duke was supposed to substitute Hawk after Hawk was Put on a Bus for a while in the comics, which is why they're so similar. The animated version of Duke was practically Hawk from the comics before they decided to bring Hawk to the animated series as well.
  - Divergent Character Evolution: To differentiate Duke and Hawk, Duke became more of a "tough guy" while Hawk is more of the "veteran" leader. It's still very minor and only noticeable when they are placed together in the same scene.
- The original "Lt. Stone" from G.I. Joe Extreme. The only difference was there he was a Marine.

Dusty

Real Name: Ronald W. Tadur

"Snakes, scorpions, sandstorms, searing heat, freezing nights — You can't avoid any of it, but you can learn to adapt to it. That's the only way you'll survive."

Voiced By: Neil Ross (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Maurice LaMarche (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series), Alessandro Julliani (Spy Troops), Andrew Toth (Valor vs. Venom), Joe Zieja (G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout)

Tracker and Desert environments expert, he was seen often in the Sunbow's cartoon and in the Marvel comic, prominently in Special Missions.

Author Avatar: Of a Hasbro head designer's: Ron Rudat, creator among other things of Cobra's logo.
Canine Companion: Starting with his v3 action figure, he was followed everywhere by his coyote pet, Sandstorm.
Cunning Linguist: Fluent in Arabic and Hebrew, and conversant in Kazakh and the Oirat-Khalkha languages of Central Asia.
Death by Adaptation: In the ninth issue of the 2019 IDW comic, it is revealed that he sacrificed himself to help Tunnel Rat escape into the sewers.
Fake Defector: The Sunbow cartoon episode "The Traitor" had him appear to defect to Cobra, but it was really all so he could deceive them.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Sandstorm never took quite well to be called "Sandy" in the DiC's cartoon.
Mundane Utility: His second specialty is A.C. and refrigeration repairing and maintenance.

Agent Faces

Real Name: Michelino J. Paolino

Voiced By: Ward Perry

An infiltrator who can impersonate Cobra agents.

Author Avatar: His face was based on Michelino Paolino, who was a Hasbro employee at the time of his release.
Master of Disguise: One of his talents. His figure came with a Doctor Mindbender mask and a Crimson Guard mask.

Lieutenant Falcon

Real Name: Vincent R. Falcone

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lt__falcon_6326.jpg

"I will Duke... I'll make you proud, you'll see!"

Voiced By: Don Johnson (G. I. Joe: The Movie), Scott McNeil (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series), Scott Menville (G.I. Joe: Renegades)

A green beret member of G.I. Joe who frequently leads the Night Force, the team's black ops division. He is Duke's brother in the Sunbow/DiC cartoons and Renegades.

Adaptation Name Change: From Vincent Falcone to Vincent Hauser in Renegades, as he's Duke's full brother instead of half-brother.
- Military Rank Names: Lieutenant and later Captain Falcon until that posed a problem. Nowadays he's called plainly "Falcon".
Break the Haughty: His training with Slaughter's Renegades in the cartoon.
Sgt. Slaughter: You better start hot-footing it if you want to make it in time for breakfast. It's a long haul.
Falcon: You expect me to walk?!
Sgt. Slaughter: No. You can RUN!
[Falcon finally arrives at the base, VERY late.]
Sgt. Slaughter: Sorry you missed breakfast, Falcon, but that's what happens when you're out of shape.
The Casanova: He really has a way with ladies!
Combat Medic: As his Action Figure File Card states it.
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: He was made member of two in The Movie, actually. First he was a Beach Head's Rawhyde and later a Sgt. Slaughter's Renegade.
Related in the Adaptation: Both the Sunbow/DiC cartoon and Renegades made him Duke's full brother.
Unlikely Hero: His animated version is shown as an irresponsible recruit until his brother's near-death injury, and by then he becomes the hero who defeats Serpentor and Golobulus.

Flint

Real Name: Dashiell R. Faireborn

"This is bad... a pro shouldn't let the fight get personal... I should calm down and — NAAAH! I'll worry about it after I stomp a few more Cobras!"

Voiced By: Bill Ratner (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Michael Donovan (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series), Brian Dobson (Reel FX films), Charlie Adler (G.I. Joe: Resolute), Johnny Messner (G.I. Joe: Renegades)

Portrayed By: D. J. Cotrona (G.I. Joe: Retaliation)

The Joes' Flight Warrant Officer. In the cartoon series, he serves as Duke's second in command until the debut of General Hawk, when he is bumped down to third.

Adaptational Name Change:
- The Marvel UK Action Force comic, as well as a few foreign dubs of the cartoon, changed his real name to David Faireborn.
- IDW's 2019 reboot changed his codename to Frontier, and his real name to Daniyal Farooqi.
Badass Bookworm: Believe it or not, before enlisting he was a Rhodes scholar with a degree in English literature. Turns out that rigorous study wasn't challenging enough for him.
Decomposite Character: The Transformers/G.I. Joe continuity features two Flints, with Nathaniel Faireborne being the first Flint and Dashiell being his successor featured in the sole issue of the Divided Front continuation that was published prior to Dreamwave's bankruptcy.
Heartbroken Badass: In the Devil's Due comics, he takes the murder of his wife Lady Jaye very hard.
Hero Antagonist: Serves this role in Renegades, where he's dead set on turning in Duke, Scarlett, Roadblock, and Tunnel Rat and refuses to believe that Cobra framed them without proof.
Named After Someone Famous: His first name comes from Dashiell Hammett. Less obviously, his last name Faireborn comes from William Fairbairn, who trained many sorts of special forces personnel during the concept's formative years during the Second World War. The latter's inspiration feels more obvious in the UK adaptation where Flint is British instead of American and received SAS training.
Official Couple: With Lady Jaye. In one possible future, the two happen to have a daughter named Marissa. They are also established as a married couple in the Devil's Due comics.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: His main squeeze Lady Jaye is the impulsive one (red), while Flint is the logical one (blue). This of course gets blown apart whenever someone dares to hurt Lady Jaye.
Reluctant Hero: Never one to pull ranks, and he has said that he's not in the military to be called "hero".
The Strategist: The Joes' main intelligence officer and tactician.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: His role was filled by "Ballistic" in G.I. Joe Extreme, a former F.B.I. Special agent and Sharp-shooter.

Footloose

Real Name: Andrew D. Meyers

An infantry soldier in the GI Joe military.

Naïve Newcomer: He plays this role in the comics, to highlight Flint's skill.
Ridiculously Average Guy: In a team full of highly trained specialists, he's a rank and file soldier.
Those Two Guys: Is often serving as backup to Flint.

Captain Grid-Iron

Real Name: Terrence Lydon

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/captgrid.JPG

"...if he would only stop trying so hard to be likeable and put a halt to his John Wayne imitation, they might let him play quarterback at the annual G.I. Joe Fish Fry Football Game!"

Voiced By: Dale Wilson (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series)

A West Point graduate and quarterback who joined G.I. Joe as a hand-to-hand combat specialist. He was the field commander of G.I.Joe in the first season of the DiC cartoon.

Black Knight: Since that's the name of West Point's football team, one of the most prestigious squads amongst the military college sports.
Captain Ersatz: Ironically, a Composite Character between Hawk, Snake-Eyes and Duke. A West-pointer Hand-to-hand combat instructor who happens to be "The Duke"'s fan.
Death by Adaptation: Is revealed by Tunnel Rat to have been killed in the fight against Cobra in the 2019 IDW continuity.
I Know Madden Kombat: Not only does he have a football helmet and use football-shaped grenades, the DiC cartoon had him often use football metaphors to describe his plans and make frequent references to his background as a West Point graduate. In the first NES video game, his gun shoots football-shaped grenades at his enemies.
The Leader: The most prominent field commander in the DIC cartoon.
New Meat: His original file-card describes him as a newbie a bit too eager to fit in.
Wolverine Publicity: Despite his short-lived prominence, Hasbro went a long way trying to make him the new franchise's poster boy. He even was the lead character in the NES video game.

Grunt

Real Name: Robert W. Graves

An infantryman who would later leave the Joes to get his engineering degree.

Genius Bruiser: He's both an engineer as well as infantryman.
Happily Married: To his wife, Lola. They met after he retired from the Joes.
Origins Episode: GI Joe Declassified was an issue showing how he ended up joining the military as opposed to a Cobra soldier.
10-Minute Retirement: Some of the Grunts in continuity come back after leaving.
Those Two Guys: With Clutch, they prove to be the most "normal" soldiers of the GI Joe team.
Unfazed Everyman: Provided a grounded and "normal" view of most of the conflicts he's in unlike more specialized characters.
Working-Class Hero: Until Grunt gets his engineering degree, he's working the GI Joe primarily as a job and because of patriotic duty. His origin also emphasizes he could have been anyone.

Heavy Duty

Real Name: Lamont A. Morris/Herschel Dalton

"The rich sounds of the violin and the explosion of anti-tank missiles are both music to my ears."

Voiced By: William Taylor (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series), Blu Mankuma (Reel FX films), E.B. Owens (G.I. Joe: Sigma 6), Keith Ferguson (G.I. Joe: Renegades)

Portrayed By: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (G. I. Joe: Rise Of Cobra)

A mountain of a man who, to the surprise to his teammates, is also a talented classical cello player. His musical background helped him to develop the dexterity needed to operate specialized heavy weapons systems.

Adaptation Name Change: Changed for both, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and G.I. Joe: Renegades.
Adaptational Nationality: He was British in the film.
Badasses Wear Bandanas: As stated below.
Death by Adaptation: In the 2019 IDW continuity, he is the first of several Joes killed in the war against Cobra that Tunnel Rat mentions in issue 9.
Gatling Good: Most of his weapons of choice tend to be prone of this.
Gentle Giant: Despite his roughed appearance, he has a very calmed and amicable demeanor. He is even less prone to violent outbursts than Roadblock himself.
More Dakka: His original weapon system included twin cannons, two huge-ass missile launchers, and as a Roadblock Clone it packs a .30 Cal. mini-gun.
- Unusual Weapon Mounting: Both his twin cannons/mini-gun are placed right in front of his stomach and both missile launchers hanging to each side of them, nevertheless all the system is rigged to his back pack.
Real Men Wear Pink: An accomplished cello concertist, no less!
Related in the Adaptation: Beginning in Spy Troops, it's implied that he and Roadblock are cousins.
Scary Black Man: Like Roadblock, he can be very intimidating.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For a while in the 2000's, he became one to Roadblock due to Hasbro losing the trademark to the latter's name.
- G.I. Joe Extreme's "Freight", is this in spades. A successful former pro-football defensive-end expert in explosives.

Hi-Tech

Real Name: David P. Lewinski

Voiced By: Mark Hildreth

A genius gadgeteer and operative.

Brain/Computer Interface: Is the inventor of the MIRC (Mind Interface Remote Control) which allows him to control machines with his mind.
Gadgeteer Genius: Creates and uses a bunch of tools to help the Joes against their foes.
Voice with an Internet Connection: Provides technological backup to the Joes.

Hot Sauce

A Puerto Rican GI Joe member.

Fanon: Doesn't actually exist save as a background extra created by Robert Atkins in many crowd scenes and covers.
Lady Not-Appearing-in-This-Game: A rare male example. Robert Atkins kept putting him in background scenes and covers despite him never being confirmed to exist in-universe.
Spicy Latina: His name is meant to invoke this by Robert Atkins who wanted a fellow Puerto Rican as a GI Joe.

Ice Cream Soldier

Real Name: Tom-Henry Ragan

A flame-thrower using GI Joe.

Ironic Nickname: He's a GI Joe with a flamethrower despite being named Ice Cream Soldier.

Lady Jaye

Real Name: Allison R. Hart-Burnett

"Acting comes easy to me, been doing it since I was a kid. Acting out my fantasies, relating to imaginary friends... the whole bit!"

Voiced By: Mary McDonald-Lewis (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Lisa Corps (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, "Operation: Dragonfire" arc of DiC series), Suzanne Errett-Balcom (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, remainder of DiC series), Kathleen Barr (Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles), Nika Futterman (G.I. Joe: Renegades)

Portrayed By: Adrianne Palicki (G. I. Joe: Retaliation)

A gifted linguist, former actress and covert operations expert, she has led the G.I. Joe team on many undercover missions.

Action Girl: She's a very formidable female member of the group.
Adaptation Dye-Job: She was blonde In the Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles VHS.
Adapted Out: Never wore her cap in the Sunbow cartoon, as animators wanted to avoid clipping issues.
Canon Character All Along: A reluctant assistant towards Dr. Mindbender who appears in issue ten of G.I. Joe (2019) is revealed to be that continuity's Lady Jaye when she turns out to be a G.I. Joe operative infiltrating Cobra, is in a relationship with Frontier (this continuity's version of Flint) and is referred to by Frontier as "[his] Lady Jaye".
Fighting Irish: She's Irish-American ^note and attended Trinity College, Dublin.
Killed Off for Real: She dies in the main Devil's Due comics continuity (while G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers was also published by Devil's Due, it was a separate continuity).
Long-Lost Relative: She and Destro have a common ancestor in the cartoon.
Master of Disguise: The original within the Joes, disguising herself and others to pull one over Cobra.
Ms. Fanservice: She's well endowed and the cartoon took nearly every effort possible to have her either flirt or show her legs as much as they could. Having her in a mission actively competing against The Baroness for a man's affections while wearing a plunging cleavage dress, dressing down to a slip once, or wearing a bare-legged SCUBA outfit while all the men wore full-leg suits. In the comics, however, this was toned down when she became more of a desk-driving intelligence officer. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II had her sent back to The '70s wearing a form-fitting jumpsuit with lapels.
Official Couple: With Flint. Word of God even states that Marissa Faireborn from a The Transformers third season episode is their daughter. The two are also depicted as married in the Devil's Due comics.
Omniglot: So much that she can pass as a native in Afghanistan, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Spain.
Race Lift: She was made Hispanic in Renegades.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: The second Lt. Stone, an accomplished actor/Spy Master Englishman and Firefly's mentor in Sigma 6. Also he's a Composite Character of some sorts with Chuckles.
Trick Javelines: Although in the comics, she always carried a Colt Python .357.
Unrelated in the Adaptation: In the Hasbro Comic Universe, she is no longer Marissa Faireborne's mother, with Flint instead conceiving her from an affair with a random woman.

Law and Order

Real Name: Christopher M. Lavigne

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mplaw.png

"He finds the bombs, I drive the car. We tried it the other way, but it didn't work."

Voiced by: Ron Ortiz (G.I. Joe: The Movie), Corey Burton (G. I. Joe Renegades)

An M.P. and the second dog handler on the team. His dog is named Order.

Ambiguously Brown: He was given a stereotypical Mexican accent and demeanor in G.I. Joe: The Movie, Gratuitous Spanish included.
Animal Companion/Canine Companion: A grey German Shepard named Order.
Deadpan Snarker: In G. I. Joe: The Movie.
Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Averted. He always has a white one on.
Heroic Dog: Order fills this role in The Movie.
Humble Hero/Only Sane Man: In his episode at G. I. Joe Renegades.
Insistent Terminology: "I'm Law, the dog's name is Order."
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Both he and Order as part of the Beach Head's Rawhydes in The Movie.

Lifeline

Real Name: Edwin C. Steen

"When I'm working in combat zones with bullets ripping past my ears, I know I'll either save a wounded soldier or become one."

Voiced By: Stan Wojno (G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Jordan Reynolds (G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout)

A staunch pacifist who serves as the Joes' medic.

Abusive Parents: In Marvel's continuity, he developed his pacifistic philosophy as a result of his physically, verbally abusive and pastoral father, who had always see him as a disappointment.
Actual Pacifist: To the point that in Sunbow's cartoon he won't even grab a rifle to pull him out of a Piranha filled trap. This make his original action figure a bit jarring having him with gun accessories (originally marketed as a Rescue Trooper). A bit more of a Technical Pacifist in the Marvel comic, as he practices Aikido (a purely defensive, non-lethal martial art) but still rougher than the animated version would ever be.
Adaptation Dye-Job: He was blond up to his 4th action figure, where he has black hair.
Brilliant, but Lazy: In "The Most Dangerous Thing in the World," Hawk describes Lifeline as having the ability to be a leader, but not the desire. Lifeline agrees, saying he'd rather be a doctor.
Composite Character: Lifeline's pacifism in adaptations, which had not previously been an aspect of his character, is a trait he gets from Doc, who is Demoted to Extra.
The Friend Nobody Likes: Downplayed; Lifeline doesn't get a lot of respect in the cartoon due to how preachy his pacifist beliefs can be. Beach Head in particular, makes a disgusted comment about Lifeline being a member of the team at all in their first mutual appearance, with the obvious implication he would gladly boot Lifeline out as unfit for service.
Informed Attribute: His aforementioned "ability to be a leader". The implication in the episode is that his dumber decisions as a commanding officer are rooted in his discomfort with harming people, but the fact that he's apparently too short-sighted to realize that this means he's putting his own troops in danger makes this highly questionable.
Soapbox Sadie: A downplayed Rare Male Example in the cartoon, his pacifism can result in him getting preachy, it really makes you wonder how he ended up being accepted as a Joe in the first place. Once Lifeline refused to pass a mechanic a tool he needs because he's is working on the weapons systems for one attack helicopters, Lifeline considers this too close to being complicit with violence himself. May be In the Blood; his father is such a pacifist that he considers Lifeline a disgrace to the family for being associated with a military organization, despite of the fact that he is a doctor and only joined so that he could respond as quickly as possible to Cobra's terrorist attacks.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: In one comic, Lifeline is forced to take on Horrorshow of the Oktober Guard in a "loser's team dies" fight after both Joes and the Guard are captured by river pirates. Using aikido to defeat Horrorshow without landing a blow, trades the lives of the Guard for the Cobra black box both teams had been tracking down, telling the pirate leader that she could get paid handsomely selling it back to Cobra. She decides to let both teams go, and tosses the box into the river, because she was impressed that Lifeline had the courage to stand up for his own convictions.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Doc. Both are pacifist doctors. Less so in the animated series, where Doc was more of a scientist.
Too Dumb to Live: In the cartoon, his passion for upholding his beliefs can get... intense. Like the aforementioned "rather drown in quicksand than allow a rifle to pull him to safety".
- In "Cobrathon" he did the same, avoiding to being pulled out of a pool of ravenous piranha and then just stood by and watched as Cobra Vipers shoot to him and Low-Light.
- In "The Most Dangerous Thing In The World" he first demands the heavy artillery practice not to commence until the weapons have been disengaged, and then orders the Joe air support to deliberately aim to miss when Cobra is on the verge of wiping out their base.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: In the cartoon, he dearly wants to make amends with his father — in this continuity a pastor who is even stricter a pacifist than he is — due to the rift that developed when he joined the Joes.

Low-Light

Real Name: Cooper G. McBride

"It's crazy, but I see better in the dark than I do in the light. That's something the enemy should keep in mind when they start skulking here at night."

Voiced by: Charlie Adler (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), (G.I. Joe: The Movie) and Maurice LaMarche (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'', "Operation: Dragonfire" arc of DiC series)

The taciturn team's marksmanship instructor and sniper.

Adaptation Dye-Job: For some reason, his v3. action figure hair changed from blond to black.
Facing Your Fears: When he was a kid, he used to be afraid of the dark and to loud noises, then after getting lost for two weeks in the woods following his father in a hunting expedition, he learned to overcome his fears and how to survive by his own means.
Friendly Sniper: To the point he used to hit his marks with tranquilizing darts instead of bullets in the original Marvel saga.
Genius Bruiser: His filecard mentions he tinkers with light amplification technology himself, and holds several patents from the improvements he has made.
The Quiet One: Not very fond of starting or keep conversations going in the cartoons.

Muskrat

Real Name: Ross A. Williams

A swamp dwelling GI joe with experience hunting gators.

Crossover: Muskrat is actually related to Megan, Molly, and Daniel of the 1986 My Little Pony movie.
Drugs Are Bad: Was originally supposed to be part of the Drug Elimination Force.
Ragin' Cajun: Muskrat is a swamp dwelling resident of Louisiana as well as dangerous soldier with a temper.

Mutt and Junkyard

Real Name: Stanley R. Perlmutter

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gimutt.jpg

"If you're sitting next to Mutt in the mess hall, don't try filching anything from his tray... he'll bite your leg off!"

Voiced By: Bill Morley (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Dale Wilson (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, "Operation: Dragonfire" arc of DiC series) and Don Brown (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series)

K-9 handler and security expert, well versed in jungle warfare and spec-ops.

Adaptational Nationality: In the Marvel UK Action Force comic he's Spaniard.
Age Lift: He has a Continuity Cameo in Renegades where he is depicted as a young boy.
Animal Companion/Canine Companion: Originally it was Junkyard, and later its cub, Junior.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: Junkyard was even more attuned to prevent potential threats than Law's Order ever was. This may have to do with their handlers personalities, Mutt may be not very social and gruff at times, but he's as down to business as he goes, and Order may have inherited Law's natural laid-back attitude.
Berserk Button: Don't you ever dare to imply that his protective mask looks like an attack dog's muzzle. This was Played for Laughs in the Marvel comic where his mates assured that this was because his bite was even harder than Junkyard's.
Better with Non-Human Company: Grumpy variant. Mutt is somewhat ill-tempered and not the best in social situations, but gets along better with animals. Junkyard is the most prominent example of his animal-friendliness, but not the only one.
Christmas Episode: Surprisingly he and Junkyard were the main protagonists in Sunbow's Cobra Claws is coming to Town.
Continuity Cameo: In the Renegades pilot, we can see a little boy called Stan and his Rottweiler being saved in the nick of time by the Joes from a crazied Cobra monster.
Dark and Troubled Past: His sad origin story as told in the Sunbow's Christmas episode, is that no matter how hard they tried, his parents were very poor, so he had to grow up not knowing what it was to receive a Christmas present or even setting up a Christmas tree.
Man Bites Man: The Joes will joke, but it's heavily implied Mutt has bitten someone before. This is in humorous comparison to Junkyard, who is much more people-friendly.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In the original Marvel saga, Junkyard was severely injured by Buzzer, Mutt didn't stop until he could have his hands on him. Since that day on, Mutt bore an exacerbated grudge against all Dreadnoks.
Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Junkyard and Junior were way more popular than Mutt himself In-Universe and amongst fans. Granted since they had a lot more of exposition in comics and cartoons than him.
Those Two Guys: With Spirit, prominently in the Marvel comic.

Outback

Real Name: Stuart R. Selkirk

"I always teach three things: be tough, be dedicated and kick Cobra butt."

Survival training instructor in forest, mountain and jungle. Never near to appear in the cartoons but he was huge in comics, prominently in Marvel's Special Missions.

Alliterative Name: Stuart Selkirk.
Crazy Survivalist: Of the bug-eating / Pee-on-a-rag for an instant gas mask kind to be more specific. He's adapted to anything the wilderness is willing to do with him.
Expy: He's the closest thing the Joes ever had to Rambo.
Fun with Acronyms: Scrawled on his t-shirt is "SURVIVAL", this actually comes from the U.S. Army Ranger Handbook (1969 Edition) and stands for:
- Size up the situation. Undue haste makes waste. Remember where you are. Vanquish fear and panic. Improve your situation. Value living. Act like the natives. Learn basic skills.
The Quisling: Averted. In the Joes' first failed and government-disavowed black-ops incursion to Borovia where Quick Kick, Snow Job and Stalker ended up in a gulag, the latter ordered him to escape and tell only to the Joes' high-brass what happened. At least in the eyes of Leatherneck, Outback escaped not caring about his teammates' welfare, a subsequent "Clear My Name" moment and Top-Secret Rescue Arc were assured.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: As a matter of fact he had two in the toy line, the first one was Ambush and the second one a tall and hefty New Yorker called Big Brawler.
Those Two Guys: With Tunnel Rat.

Ozone

Real Name: David P. Kunitz

A member of the Eco-Warriors and later Star Brigade.

Doomed Hometown: Was born in Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania.
Genius Bruiser: Is an environmental scientist, chemist, and astronaut in addition to a GI Joe.

Pathfinder

Real Name: William V. Iannotti

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pathfind.JPG

"I don't stop until all objectives have been accomplished. And I mean ALL objectives."

Voiced By: Gary Chalk (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series)

G.I. Joe's rough terrain specialist.

Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Recondo. Both are jungle troopers. His second toy's bio changed his function to "All-weather specialist" to differentiate him a bit more.
Those Two Guys: He was paired up with Ambush in the DiC cartoon.
Unusual Weapon Mounting: His toy came packed with a rather unusual hip-mounted dual machine guns.... and a back pack powered lawnmower!

Psyche-Out

Real Name: Kenneth D. Rich

"What can you say about a guy whose doctoral thesis was entitled: `The Use of T-Shirt Slogans In Enemy Troop Demoralization´?"

Voiced by: Maurice LaMarche (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, "Operation: Dragonfire" arc of DiC series)

A former CIA Psy-Ops agent who is also a licensed psychiatrist. After a stint at Fort Bragg's Deceptive Warfare Center, he joined G.I. Joe, serving as the team's counselor, profiler, and interrogator.

Beware the Nice Ones: Comes across as the kind of guy you feel safe spilling your secrets too. But he's also a scarily effective interrogator. Deanna Troi meets Edward Fitzgerald in a sense.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Has an uncanny ability to outthink his opponents, usually by confusing them into thinking he is weighing two different courses of action when he isn't.
Science Hero: While he was in Berkeley, Psyche-Out studied the effects of ultra-low frequency sound waves affecting the human mind. His work attracted the attention of DARPA and the CIA and ultimately got him a gig at the Deceptive Warfare Center.
The Smart Guy: A PhD in Psychology from Berkeley.
Those Two Guys: Paired almost always with Chuckles in the original Marvel saga.

Recondo

Real Name: Daniel M. LeClaire

"A jungle is like some single, gigantic, hostile organism. It can sense when you fear or hate it-and it is wholly without mercy."

Voiced By: Bill Morley (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series),

G. I. Joe jungle survival expert. He was more prominent in the Marvel comic than what he ever was in the Sunbow's cartoon.

Ace Pilot: As second file card states, he's well versed piloting rotary wing aircraft^noteHelicopters.
Adapted Out: Back in The Aughties, he stopped sporting his 'stache and went bald for a while, later on it all came back to normal.
Mighty Whitey: In Sierra Gordo, he was already the anointed chieftain of a warrior tribe called "Tuccaros" by the time he was recruited by the Joes.
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: He was assisting the Tuccaro tribe in their attempt for independence against their tyrannical president only known as "El Jefe" for a while.
Nature Hero: His "Being One With Nature" approach is unparalleled by any other Joe. Recondo's capability of using whatever the jungle provides him to get the upper hand in battle is also worthy to be noticed.
- He prefers to stay as most as he can in the jungle because he was born and raised in Wheaton, Wisconsin… a place he hated from day one.
Older Is Better: Discontinued by the time the figure hit the market, he was still carrying an M-14 assault rifle.

Ripcord

Real Name: Wallace A. Weems

"Rip Cord joined the Civil Air Patrol in high school. Discovered skydiving and joined the G.I. Joe team so he could jump from much higher altitudes."

Voiced By: Gregg Berger (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Khary Payton (G.I. Joe: Renegades)

Portrayed By: Marlon Wayans (G. I. Joe: Rise Of Cobra)

The team's primary HALO Jumper.

Adaptational Badass: His Renegades incarnation gains Bio-Viper powers.
Adaptational Comic Relief: He is played more for comedy in the 2009 live-action film.
Adaptational Job Change: In the 2009 live-action film, he is an army pilot instead of a paratrooper.
Alliterative Name: Wallace Weems.
Character Focus: For issues #32-50 of the ARAH comic, he was a star character. He's remained a fixture since then, but never really regained the prominence he had in 1985.
Death by Adaptation: Tunnel Rat mentions him as one of the Joes killed in the war against Cobra in the 2019 IDW continuity.
Determinator: During a sniper's duel with Zartan on Cobra Island, he gets an arrow to his left arm (rendering it useless for the rest of the fight) and gets his temple grazed (which results in him bleeding profusely, messing up his aim), but he doesn't give up.
Dressing as the Enemy: Not his idea at first, but after Zartan steals his identity in an attempt to infiltrate the Joes, Ripcord returns the favor by infiltrating Cobra disguised as Zartan, feeding information that helps the Joes launch an attack on Cobra's hidden base in Springfield.
Friendly Rivalry: With Ace, though this is mainly at the poker table. In one episode of the cartoon, Ripcord finally does succeed in breaking Ace's winning streak.
Race Lift: He's African-American in Renegades and the live-action movie.
Those Two Guys: With Blowtorch, as they joined the team at roughly the same time.

Roadblock

Real Name: Marvin F. Hinton

"Baste a turkey every 20 minutes and change the barrel of a Ma-Deuce .50 cal. gun every second belt."

Voiced By: Kene Holliday (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Blu Mankuma (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series), Steve Blum (G.I. Joe: Resolute), Kevin Michael Richardson (G.I. Joe: Renegades), Dave Fennoy (G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout)

Portrayed By: Dwayne Johnson (G. I. Joe: Retaliation)

The BIG G.I. Joe team's heavy machine gunner, as well as their cook. His dream is to become a gourmet chef, and joined the army after learning they could train him as such.

And Knowing Is Half the Battle: He was the most promiment Joe in Sunbow's PSAs.
Beard of Evil: Inverted, for he's an heroic character. His omnipresent soul patch, either he's sporting or not his Bubba Smith-like mustache.
- Third-Option Adaptation: In Renegades he still had one, only this time accompanied by Hot Blooded Sideburns.
Berserk Button: He's a Gentle Giant, big and amiable, unless of course you desecrate a United States symbol.
BFG: His weapon of choice is an 84-pound .50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun - the kind usually mounted on vehicles and aircraft, or requiring a tripod and a team to set up - and he carries it by hand. Add 50 pounds of ammo to that. From the (unattributed) quote on his file card: "Anybody who can handle that doesn't need a machine gun to keep me away!"
The Big Guy: Type II to a tee, he's often as good-natured as he is strong.
Chef of Iron: He's a skilled fighter and he's a skilled cook.
Fat and Proud: As he was depicted in Renegades.
More Dakka: He loves his firearms as much as his fine palate loves rich, hearty meals.
Mighty Glacier: Carrying around all that weight means he must move really slow. Nevertheless, the bullets cover any distance for him.
New Powers as the Plot Demands: When in Prohibition Chicago thanks to Teletraan 3 in G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II, issue 2, he shows he can play trumpet while taking the alias Miles Davis.
Put Their Heads Together: How he tends to dispose of any pair of Cobra mooks, as seen in the image on that page.
Real Men Wear Pink: The man is very serious about his gourmet cooking. That does not in any way mean he is a less capable fighter.
Religious Bruiser: He triples as the official team's chaplain.
Rhymes on a Dime: He constantly speaks in rhyme in the Real American Hero cartoon.
Scary Black Man: Not very often but he has being shown as this in his very rare O.O.C. Is Serious Business moments.
Those Two Guys: His "Powerhouse duumvirate" with Gung-Ho. Justified since one is a great cook and the other a fun loving Big Eater.

Robo-J.O.E.

Real Name: Greg D. Scott

A Hollywood Cyborg GI Joe who later joins Star Brigade.

Cyborg: A scientist rebuilt into a soldier for GI Joe after being critically injured.
Expy: Of Robocop as a critically injured individual rebuilt into a super soldier.
Genius Bruiser: A scientist who invented GI Joe's battle suits before being critically injured by Destro.
Revenge: He wants to get even with Destro for destroying his body.

Rock 'n Roll

Real Name: Craig S. McConnel

"I don't even have to like you, I could even hate your guts, but if you're on my team and you're calling for my help, I am there."

Voiced By: Frank Welker, later Will Ryan (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Kevin Conway (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series)

A Cali Surfer Dude who likes big guns, rocking hard, partying hard, and not wearing shirts.

Badass Biker: When he's not providing central fire, he's seen around riding the G.I. Joe's R.A.M. (Rapid-fire Armed Motorcycle).
BFG: He is the team's original Heavy machine gunner.
Death by Origin Story: In G.I. Joe: Reloaded, his main motivation for fighting against Cobra is because the destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge by Firefly killed his girlfriend Minh.
Metalhead: Lead Guitar, lyricist and founder of his own hard rock band, Hypnohustler.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Rock 'n Roll" is both a musical genre and another way to say "full auto".
More Dakka: He originally wielded an M-60 machine gun, but in 1989 traded it out for a pair of custom-made, backpack-fed dual Gatling guns!
Muscle Beach Bum: His second military specialty is P.T. instruction.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Two, as a matter of fact.
- In Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles we have "Head Banger", the team's radioman.
- In the G. I. Joe Extreme we find their first recruit, "Metalhead", a crack hacker.
Those Two Guys: Became this with Clutch after more colorful Joes displaced the other "green fatigues" Joes.
Walking Shirtless Scene: Applies mostly to his civilian life as a surfer.

Salvo

Real Name: David K. Hasle

"Nothing worse than going on patrol and not finding any Cobras. That means I have to carry all my ordinance back to base."

Voiced By: Brent Chapman (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series)

A rough and tumble Joe with a distrust of high-tech weapons.

Boring, but Practical: His original file-card says Salvo distrusts complex weapons due to their potential unreliability, instead carrying a large amount of conventional weapon "to overwhelm enemy forces with massive expenditures of sheer firepower".
Brainwashed and Crazy: The first regular episode of the DiC cartoon had him inhale a mind control gas and become a mindless minion of Cobra Commander.
Gender Lift and Race Lift: In G.I. Joe (2016), Salvo is a Samoan woman.
Might Makes Right: His motto is "THE RIGHT OF MIGHT", scrawled on his t-shirt.

Shooter

Real Name: Jodie F. Craig

GI Joe's first sniper who only later made an appearance.

Action Girl: Comes with being a woman and GI Joe.
Cold Sniper: Very good at taking out individuals from a distance with little emotion.
The Ghost: They had their codename listed but not their face on the original Joe team list during the comic's early run.
Killed Off for Real: In the Devil's Due comics that are now discontinuity.
Samus Is a Girl: Her eventual face and name were revealed to be Jodie, making her one of the earliest Joe women.

Snow Job

Real Name: Harlan W. Moore

"...you know when I pick up a rifle, sure as heck something's going to fall down."

Voiced By: Rob Paulsen (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series) and Nolan North (G.I. Joe: Renegades)

The original Joes' artic trooper and sniper.

Cold Sniper: A more than fitting case. His expertise is such he was also the team's original rifle instructor.
Con Man: As stated by many of his teammates.
Rock 'n Roll: "You think we call him `Snow Job´ because he does his job on skis? Negative. He's a con artist, pure and simple!"
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass/Real Award, Fictional Character: Olympic gold medalist in Biathlon.
Exposed to the Elements: He can stay up to two months in the worst climate conditions watching over Cobra arctic operations, reporting back to the Joes.
The Friend Nobody Likes: Especially if he's asking you to lend him some bucks.
The Gadfly: Set up an elaborate prank about setting up a GI Joe with another's model sister before revealing she was a child model.
The Matchmaker: Albeit coincidentally, he was the responsible in his both animated debuts for introducing Timber to Snake-Eyes.
Only in It for the Money: He enlisted initially for the special training and support privileges that the army gives to Olympic champions.
Sixth Ranger: He was (officially) the thirteenth member to be recruited in the team.

Sparks

Real Name: Alessandro D. Verdi

A communication's officer and computer expert.

Cunning Linguist: A master of numerous languages and the GI Joe translator.
Retired Badass: Left the GI Joes to work at a television station.
Secret-Keeper: When Recondo faked his death, Sparks was the only one allowed to know his secret.

Spearhead

Real Name: Peter R. Millman

A former insurance salesman who joined the military.

The Atoner: Cheated many people as an insurance salesman but denies guilt was a factor.
Death Seeker: One interpretation in-universe for his willingness to always be the first in any charge.
Traveling Salesman: Used to be one of these and was quite effective at it, too.

Spirit

Real Name: Charlie Iron-Knife

Voiced By: Gregg Berger (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Maurice LaMarche (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series), Darren Dunstan (G.I. Joe: Sigma 6)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SPIRITIRONKNIFE_6221.JPG

"When the Eagle Spirit is in me, I'm the lightning from the skies. I am the thunder from the storm."

The Joes' expert scout and tracker. Highly spiritual and one with the land.

Almighty Janitor: A shaman who is also the team's resident Social Services clerk. Doubles as a Combat Medic on the field thanks to his knowledge in herbalism.
Animal Companion: Freedom, a bald eagle in the 1980's. Later Billy, a cyber-falcon in Sigma 6.
Badass Native: He's a Native American member of the team.
Braids, Beads and Buckskins: On a few versions, he dresses like a stereotypical Native American.
Expy: One of his most recent action figures he has the whole look of Sonny Landham on a similar character.
Happily Adopted: As Outback learned when visiting him at home, Spirit’s parents died young and he was taken in by a well-to-do childless couple who encouraged him to become a shaman.
Improbable Aiming Skills: He used to be hunting guide in his teens to support his family and pay for his education. Turns out he's even more of a Cold Sniper than most professional sharp-shooters in the team.
Magical Native American: He's a Native American shaman, hence his codename.
- Parodied in the DDP series. When tracking down a Cobra BAT in a sewer system, he is asked how he is able to track it so well. Spirit jokingly responds that he prayed to the spirits for guidance, only to follow up with a more practical explanation immediately after.
- Subverted/Deconstructed in his issue of IDW's "Hearts and Minds", where he suffers from sensory integration dysfunction ^note. Learning how to deal with the Sensory Overload turned him into a natural tracker.
Neglected Rez: Implied. Charlie grew up on a reservation and his original bio mentioned how poor his family was when he was a kid.
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: In the original Marvel saga, over-emphasized in DDP comics where they turn him into The Spock. Incidentally, while serving as the entrance guard in the third Joes´ base known as "The Pit", Sesquipedalian was the password he granted entrance with.
Scarily Competent Tracker: It is said that once he puts his mind into it, there's no escape from him.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: In G.I. Joe Extreme there's a native shaman aptly code named "Tracker" assisted by his wolf "Lakota". It's heavily implied that they're related.
Those Two Guys: With Mutt, mostly in the original Marvel saga.
Unlimited Wardrobe: For some reason, Spirit has suffered multiple changes in his apparel. Ranging from functional military garbs to biker-like skin-tight bodysuits.

Stalker

Real Name: Lonzo R. Wilkinson

"Generals may win campaigns, but is the sergeants who win the battles."

Voiced By: Arthur Burghardt (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Lee Jeffrey (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DiC series), Charlie Adler (G.I. Joe: Resolute), Andrew Kishino (G.I. Joe: Renegades)

A former street gang leader prior to his enlistment. During The Vietnam War, he served at the same Long Range Recon Patrol as Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow. He also helped Hawk to assemble the G.I. Joe team and recommended Snake-Eyes to him. Larry Hama based him off of a real person, and he was the most commonly-seen field leader in the comics. Because of this, he also had the longest list of failed missions, though it never got held against him. Similarly, he always got stuck with many "unpopular decisions", such as leaving dead Joes' bodies behind or abandoning the missions.

Afro Asskicker: Back in his rebellious youth.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Most of the time he's assigned to command the most ruthless members in the team.
Badass Bookworm: In Marvel's issue 13, he fights a crocodile with a knife and wins, all while explaining to Gung-Ho that it isn't an alligator.
Gung-Ho: Gator!
Stalker: This ain't no 'gator! This here's an Orinoco crocodile, known as Crocodile intermedius, of the phylum chordata, sub-phylum vertebrata, class reptilia, order crocodilia, family crocodilidae- Present status: Dead!
- Given since he's an autodidact zoologist and botanist.
Based on a Great Big Lie: His mother thought he was studying engineering in Germany when he was really serving IN VIETNAM!
Combat Medic: Yup, he was the original one for the Joes.
Dark and Troubled Past: Losing his two brothers in gang warfare led him to quit the gang and enlist, because he figured if he was going to die young, he'd rather it actually mean something.
Demoted to Extra: He's one of the most important characters in the comic book, but becomes a background character in the TV series.
A Father to His Men: He hid it well, especially from newbies.
Happily Married: In the Devil's Due continuity.
Hidden Depths: His favorite hobby is to take long trips into the wilderness and take as many wildlife photos as he can.
The Lancer: Originally to Hawk, later co-lancer with Duke or Flint.
Mr. Exposition: Since Snake-Eyes cannot talk, it was Stalker who had to talk about their common past in Vietnam when needed. He also served to give running descriptions on how to lay out a military mission.
Omniglot: Fluent in Spanish, Arabic, French and Swahili.
Reformed Criminal: Stalker was the leader of a street gang during his youth. But after losing both of his brothers to gang violence, he quit the gang and enlisted to "be all he could be".
Shell-Shocked Veteran: Stalker is one of the Joes depicted as fighting in the Vietnam War and losing many friends.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: In G.I. Joe Extreme there was a S.K.A.R. Defector from Decadence named "Quick-Stryke" who lost his older brother while working within the same organization. The resemblance between them both is such that in Resolute Stalker is given Quick-Stryke's long dreadlocks and leather jacket, he was just a pair of round shades shy of being identical.

Stardust

Real Name: Edward J. Skylar

A former circus acrobat turned soldier.

Charles Atlas Superpower: He's the child of circus acrobats and is thus incredibly agile.
Circus Brat: He was raised in a circus before being recruited by Duke.

Steeler

Real Name: Ralph W. Pulaski

"What other people call `reckless´ is me just making absolutely sure the other guy knows exactly where he stands. You loose, Cobra!"

Voiced By: Chris Latta (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Eddie Mata (G. I. Joe Renegades).

The team's armored warfare expert, driver of the MOBAT Tank.

Boisterous Bruiser: Regularly challenges his teammates to feats of strength and stamina. This backfires when Scarlett joins the team and Worfs him to demonstrate her martial arts skills.
Cool People Rebel Against Authority: Recognized as a tough and dedicated soldier, but has a tendency to clash with his superiors.
I Choose to Stay: In the cartoon, he's one of the three Joes who stays behind in the Alternate Universe of "Worlds Without End" to help rebuild La Résistance.
Stronger Than They Look: His role in the team was the Working-Class Hero, in Marvel's comics he was seen lifting tremendous weights. Given since he was a heavy machines mechanic before enlisting and is stated that he has changed broken tank tracks by himself.
Meaningful Name: From Pittsburg, PA.
Out of Focus: A victim of this like most of the other "green fatigues" Joes, but a bit of a Cyclic Trope in his case: Steeler was initially displaced by Heavy Metal (who drove the MBT Mauler), but regained some of his original prominence when Heavy Metal was killed in Trucial Abysmia.
Tank Goodness: Drives a Mobile Battle Tank.

Super Trooper

Real Name: Paul Latimer

A graduate of a prestigious military school.

Humble Hero: As a graduate of West Point, he could have been a staff officer but chose to be a Joe instead.
Military School: A graduate of the real life West Point and at top of his class (getting in was already a prestigious accomplishment).

Tate Musashi

A Japanese member of GI Joe and protagonist of the Comic BomBom tie-in.

But Not Too Foreign: He's a Japanese member of an American Special Forces unit. However, this is nothing new for GI Joe.
Hot-Blooded: A hot blooded shonen protagonist.

Tripwire

Real Name: Tormod S. Skoog

"You need to know everything there's about explosives before you even go near them, I make sure that anything that goes `BOOM´ only do so if I want it to!"

Voiced By: Rob Paulsen (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Andrew Kishino (G.I Joe: Renegades)

The explosive disposal expert of the G.I. Joe team.

Comic Relief: Involuntarily if you will, but he's your to-go guy when doomsday clock is ticking.
- Find a panel in his first thirty appearances where he isn't tripping over his own two feet. Only in IDW Publishing is he allowed to be a soldier outside of explosives.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He is very clumsy most of the time, but when he's close to a bomb becomes an all-business professional.
Death Seeker: His IDW incarnation deliberately takes dangerous risks; he doesn’t fear death because he sees it as reuniting with his girlfriend, who was killed in a London bus bombing.
Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: His teammates' reaction every time he's doing his thing... don't worry, his hands are way safer than his feet.
Hidden Depths: He has practiced zen buddhism to be focused when he needs it.
The Klutz: When he isn't around explosives.
The Rival: Surprisingly to Firefly, maybe the most ruthless member of Cobra ever. Hawk even has stated that if Firefly is known as "The Rembrandt of plastic explosives", Tripwire most be "The Picasso".
Suspiciously Similar Substitute/Race Lift: "Dynamite", the Argentinian Che Guevara look-alike and explosives expert in Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles.
Those Two Guys: Either with Flash or Zap.

Tunnel Rat

Real Name: Nicky Lee

"This job's great... I get to go to weird and exotic places, meet interesting people who are all out to surprise me, and at the end of the month I get paid! What more can I ask for?"

Voiced By: Laurie Faso (G.I. Joe: The Movie), Doron Bell (Valor vs. Venom), Michael Sinterniklass (G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, first season), Sebastian Arcelus (G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, second season), Eric Bauza (G.I. Joe: Resolute), Matthew Yang King (G.I. Joe: Renegades)

An explosive disposal expert. He's also good at tunneling.

Author Avatar: A downplayed example: his face and military specialty (bomb squad) are based on those of Larry Hama.
Compact Infiltrator: Perhaps the smallest Joe, but his short stature means that he's perfect for working as a Tunnel King, able to get through small cracks to insert bombs where they are needed.
Idiot Ball: In his first appearance, his casual use of "the 'New Army' plastic" helps Raptor (a Cobra accountant and falconer) track the Joe convoy headed for Fort Collins. In his file cards it is stated that his serial number had to be change, probably because of this.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Typically portrayed as a very short man, but usually carries around an M60 machine gun.
Same Character, But Different: The Reel FX films' depiction of him was consistent to how he appeared in G.I. Joe: The Movie and the Marvel Comics continuity, but had his character radically changed in Sigma 6, which was hinted to (in some capacity) follow the events of the Reel FX films. He becomes a hermit with No Social Skills, serious lack of understanding concerning basic hygiene, eats live insects, and will happily ignore his mission, not to mention his own safety, to chase said insects even if doing so leads him right into the path of a passing Cobra patrol. His only saving grace is that he's a Genius Ditz who is both a master mechanic who can keep what few vehicles survived Cobra Commander's rampage in episode 1 running smoothly despite lacking even the most basic parts and equipment, and is a Demolitions Expert who can jury-rig very effective improvised explosive devices or disarm them.
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Possibly the most outstanding member of the Beach Head's Rawhydes in The Movie.
Stuff Blowing Up: He often detonates stuff.
Those Two Guys: With Big Lob in the movie and Outback in the comics.
Tunnel King: He can make his way through any passage, hence the codename.

Wild Bill

Real Name: William S. Hardy

"It's my job to get the boys in to do theirs, if that means hanging tough in hairy situations, that's okay! That's what I get paid for. Heck, if it was easy, they could get anybody to do it!"

Voiced By: Frank Welker (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Sunbow series), Don S. Davis (Reel FX films), Steve Blum (Resolute), Charlie Schlatter (Renegades), Ian James Corlett (G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout)

A former Long Range Recon Patrol officer who transferred to the Armored Air Cavalry Division, Wild Bill serves as the Joes' ground support chopper pilot.

Ace Pilot: Of both, fixed ^noteAirplanes and rotary ^noteHelicopters wings.
Wild Weasel: Nobody can do that with a FANG! Nobody!
Wild Bill: ...well my name ain't "Nobody"!.
Catchphrase: "Well... Shoot fire!"
Cowboy: Types II and III for sure.
Death by Adaptation: Ends up biting it in Revolution, where he is revealed to be a Dire Wraith in disguise and is killed by Rom.
Depending on the Artist: Whether or not his is a Stetson or a U.S. Cavalry hat. Also if he does or doesn't wear a silver beltbuckle.
Good Ol' Boy: Just from 'round good ol'e Fort Brady Texas, son!
The Gunslinger/Revolvers Are Just Better: Favors a couple of Colt Single Action Army M1873 Peacemakers as his personal sidemen, Gun Twirling and Improbable Aiming Skills assured.
Hidden Depths: Man's has a pretty decent singing voice, and knows how to play six chords as well.
Scarily Competent Tracker: As a result of his time in a LRRP.
Sunglasses at Night: Almost never removed.
Those Two Guys: Three instances, to be precise. His most constant partner is Airborne, in comics often assists Lift-Ticket as Tomahawk's co-pilot. And also with Ace, as they both pilot huge C-130 Hercules transport aircrafts when massive personnel and equipment deployment is required.

Characters / GI Joe Army

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