I've caught some shows on Cartoon Network and they brought back good memories of my childhood.

However, there are a few things that really annoy me about this cartoon.

1. Nobody ever dies. This part doesn't annoy me that much but I figured I'd mention it since a lot of other people are probably annoyed by this. In hindsight, it's probably a good thing that we weren't subjected to seeing tons of people get killed in a cartoon while we were kids.

2. Cobra never won. Okay, it's a cartoon and in cartoons (as in the movies, usually), the good guys always win. But come on! At least throw Cobra a bone once in awhile to make the cartoon more dramatic! Again, cartoons try to teach morals, so the moral is be a good guy and you'll win. A minor annoyance, but no biggie. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

3. Here's the biggie: Why the hell was Duke the GI Joe Commander? Before General Hawk came onto the scene, Duke was the Commander...although he was only a First Sergeant (E-8).

General Hawk was an O-7 (Brigadier General). When Hawk came along, Hawk was the 1st in command and Duke was 2nd.

Among the "regular (re-occuring)" GI Joes, these guys were all higher ranking than Duke:

Ace (the Sky Stryker pilot) was an O-3 (Captain).
Doc (the black doctor) was an O-3.
Cutter (the Hovercraft pilot) was an O-2 (1st Lt.).
Falcon (Duke's half brother who appeared in GI Joe: The Movie) was an O-2.
Slipstream (the Conquest pilot) was an O-2.
Torpedo was a CWO-4 (Chief Warrant Officer).
Wild Bill (Dragonfly pilot) was a CW-4 (Chief Warrant Officer).
Flint was a CW-3 (Chief Warrant Officer).
Lift Ticket (the Tomahawk pilot) was a CW-2 (Chief Warrant Officer).

I guess you could argue that the warrant officers shouldn't be the commanders, but how do you explain Ace, a captain, having to take orders from Duke, a first sergeant? I don't know why the whole rank thing annoys me so much. I guess because I'm an Army brat. It's funny (yet also kind of sad) that I never really liked Duke when I was a kid because I didn't think he was a high enough rank to be the GI Joe commander. Anyway, carry on. As you were.

Heh, what got me even back then was that they always had their gear on. Cobra could take them prisoner and they would be standing in the dungeon with backpacks decorated with knives, grenades, rope etc.


No wonder cobra always lost. Anyone that incompetent couldn't help but loose.

Not that it makes any sense, they laid out the "chain of command" on last Thursday's episode (Cartoon Network). General Hawk said "first there's me, then Duke, then Flint, then you".. You was Beachhead.. What rank was he?

I've watched all the recent CN episodes. Who knew Shipwreck was such a HUGE character on the show? Yikes. And what the hell sort of accent does Barbeque have?! Still love the show ...

I've always wondered why we never got to see any shows focusing on Snake Eyes. Who was that masked man?

A episode focusing on a character who doesn't speak would have not sparked the interest of the kids (atleast thats what I've heard).

tofubomb,

Ah, you'll have to read the comics for that answer...but here's what I remember (hopefully my mind hasn't been clouded that much in 15 years )

He was a blond haired American soldier. He fought in Vietnam and learned his ninja skills beside Storm Shadow (I think that was the name of the white costumed ninja). I think Snake Eyes' face was mangled in an explosion in Vietnam and that's why he's always wearing the mask. Snake Eyes' and Storm Shadow's sensei was killed by someone (maybe Zartan??!?), and Storm Shadow went off to kill him. Snake Eyes saw him running out and their sensei dead and thought Storm Shadow killed him, thus the long running battle between the two. The finally reconcile and talk about what really happened, but I think they still stayed on their respective "teams".

If anyone else remembers any more, feel free to add on

I'm pretty sure Lampei's got the groundwork right.

If I remember correctly, Snake Eyes' face and vocal chords were burned while saving Scarlett from some sort of gas explosion. I think they were in a helicopter at the time, but I could be wrong.

Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow were indeed trained as brothers by their senseis...the Hard Master and the Soft Master. The Hard Master was assassinated by Zartan via an arrow through the heart. Why Zartan killed him, I do not recall, but I do think Lampei's right in that Snake Eyes though Storm Shadow was the killer.

Hi guys,

Zooiiks was right, Snakes was messed up on an early Joe team mission in the middle east. He was trying to pull Scarlett out, who was snagged on something, when their chopper hit another.

Zartan was trying to kill Snakes at the time he shot Hard Master. Hard Master was imitating Snakes' motions and sounds at the time.

Corba Commander hired Zartan to kill Snake Eyes. I could be wrong, but I think the motivation was that CC's brother was also killed in the car crash the took out Snakes family.

Beach Head is an E-6 (Staff Sgt.). That totally doesn't make any sense, either, because I think Sgt. Slaughter was an E-7 (Sgt. First Class). I remember when some of the newer GI Joes came on, Beach Head was like their drill sergeant or something, though.

Shipwrech was one obnoxious dude...I could barely stand the guy.

I don't remember what Barbeque's accent sounded like...

I remember the episode where they gave the history of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. I definitely remember a helicopter crash...which I think messed up Snake Eyes' vocal chords so he couldn't speak...and I think the crash might have disfigured him as well. I think he and Storm Shadow are sword brothers.

To give you a full history of G.I.Joe let me pull out my comics and tell you...

... um, wait, its been a decade or so since I've read these, so give me a week to refresh my memory...

[to self]Now #1 is around here somewhere...[/to self]

... and as for the question of who's got what rank, I would suggest reading the 4-part series "Order of Battle"...

[to self]... and that's around here somewhere too...[/to self]

Whoa! Sho Kosugi! I dressed up as you for Halloween a couple times (I had a full black ninja outfit with tabi boots, real throwing stars, and everything)! I lived in Glasgow, KY for a little while (I was the only Asian kid in the entire town) and dressed up in my ninja outfit for school (it was Halloween). Everybody asked me who I was supposed to be and I said "Sho Kosugi". They all had these blank stares because they had absolutely no idea who the hell he was. I used to love watching his movies when I was younger...I think I've seen just about every one. And "The Master" was one of my favorite TV shows as a kid.

ditto on everything you said zeus for my childhood as well. since you dig 80's ninja action, you like enjoy this site in case you've never been:

http://www.geocities.com/ShoKosugiTheNinja/home.html

no, it's not my site

Nice site, thanks for the link.

Who were your favorite characters?

I really liked Snake Eyes and Flint. Snake Eyes was a badass ninja. I think I liked Flint because of his beret....my dad was Army Special Forces, so I have an affinity for berets (although Flint's was black, not green like SF). I also thought Beach Head was pretty cool (maybe cause he was a Ranger and his balaclava made him look kind of like a ninja).

On Cobra's side, I liked Storm Shadow because he was a ninja. Also, I think Storm Shadow was probably the coolest GI Joe action figure. I also liked Firefly, the saboteur in the camouflage ninja-like outfit. Nemesis Enforcer was cool in the movie.

Gees, up until I wrote this, I didn't really realize how obsessed I was with ninjas when I was a kid!

what time does this come on? i would love to watch some gi joe. i have been enjoying my transformers first season on dvd. ahhh how great it was to be a kid.

Well for me, it comes on at 1:00 AM in California on the Cartoon Network. I'm not sure if that means it comes on at 4:00 AM in AL or if it'll be 1:00 AM for you. Check your local listings.

1 AM in FL too.

Better hurry nchhabra!!!

This is just a temporary run at 1 AM on cartoon network, all that's left is the last 2 parts of "Arise Serpentor Arise!" and then 2 more episodes after that.

I believe GI Joe is getting dropped from Cartoon Network after August 22.

Two more episodes...

I'm annoyed that they never told us what the other half of the battle was.

Knowing is one half of the battle, doing/practicing what's been learned is the other half