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Chuckles | |
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G.I. Joe character | |
First appearance | G.I. Joe issue #60 (June 1987) |
In-universe information | |
Affiliation | G.I. Joe |
Specialty | Undercover |
File name | Provost, Philip M. |
Birth place | Little Rock, Arkansas |
Rank | E-5 (Sergeant) |
Primary MOS | Criminal Investigations |
Secondary MOS | Intelligence |
Chuckles is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is the G.I. Joe Team's undercover specialist and debuted in 1987.
His real name is Philip M. Provost, and his rank is that of sergeant E-5. Chuckles was born in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Chuckles's primary MOS is criminal investigations, and his secondary is intelligence. His first exposure to "hole-and-corner" operations was working for Southeastern Insurance Group in Fort Lauderdale, he then eventually made his way to the US Army's Criminal Investigations Division before joining G.I. Joe. He is known for being conscientious about maintaining his "cover" to the point that he volunteers to go on missions no one else will accept. [1]
Chuckles is naturally likable, which has made him well suited for undercover operations. His gregarious nature also helps him to earn the trust of his marks, so that they have no idea that he's actually spying on them. Chuckles does this not for any accolades or recognition, for there is no record on file crediting him with the information he provides. He's aware of the consequences of being found out, but he's also confident in his ability to talk his way out of any situation. [2]
Chuckles first appeared as an action figure in 1987. [3] [4] He was released as part of the "Operation: Flaming MOTH" set of exclusives sold by the G.I. Joe Collector's Club in 2006, representing the first figure sold of the character in nineteen years; his filecard hinted that he is an expert at faking his own death, a nod to his demise in the Devil's Due G.I. Joe Vol. 2 comic series that was ultimately deemed uncanonical following the expiration of Devil's Due's license with Hasbro in 2008. [5]
A new mold of the character appeared in the 25th-anniversary line as a part of Hasbro's 2007 "Assault on Cobra Island" seven-figure pack, [6] and was featured in a two-pack (with series newcomer Freestyle) that was released as a 2013 G.I. Joe Convention exclusive. [7]
In the Marvel Comics G.I. Joe series, he first appeared in issue #60 (June 1987). As part of a misunderstanding, he arrests the Joe team leader Hawk. It is soon learned that Chuckles, along with Fast Draw, Lt. Falcon and Law and Order were told they were now members of G.I. Joe, without anyone telling the actual G.I. Joe team. The Dreadnoks soon attack, as part of a plan to neutralize a missile aimed at Cobra Island. Thanks to the "new" Joes' assistance, Hawk makes them all official members. [8] Chuckles did not gain full security clearance just yet, and as such almost caused an incident when he arrived at the Joes' Utah base. He was not allowed to know about the USS Defiant, yet managed to uncover many clues to its existence. [9]
Chuckles leads a Joe team consisting of Iceberg, Scarlett and Snake Eyes into the fictional country of Chomo-Lungma. They are sent with a C.I.A. officer to retrieve another agent. The Joes end up helping the local resistance fight against invading Chinese forces. [10] Chuckles spends the next three months fleeing with his team, his pick-up being delayed due to ambushes. As one last team comes for a third and final attempt, Chuckles' squad gets involved with a local conflict yet again but are safely rescued. [11] The Joes that pick up Chuckles and his team have their own difficulties, as detailed in the next issue. [12]
Chuckles assists Destro, Billy (the son of Cobra Commander), and Zartan in escaping from an attack by Cobra-allied Night Creepers. He then joins up with the Joe Ninja Force, and with the assistance of Wild Bill, everyone raids the Night Creeper Headquarters. They successfully help Destro gain back the Baroness, and remove the Cobra bounty from his head. [13]
As revealed in the Devil's Due series, Chuckles spends four years infiltrating Extensive Enterprises, the Cobra front headed up by Tomax and Xamot. [14] Known terrorist Tyler Wingfield steals a mobile biological weapons platform. Duke believes he can use this opportunity to bring Chuckles back in. His cover morphs into others believing he is a genuine traitor, and he ends up in a little-known federal prison. In a scheme to get Chuckles away from Cobra attention, Blowtorch and Gung-Ho help stage an undercover operation. The two, disguised as prison guards, "kill" Chuckles and escort him to a safe house. Cobra, however, had their own agent in the prison, allowing a raid on the safe house. [15] Chuckles ends up with Tyler Wingfield. He and an innocent airplane pilot are held hostage. This is resolved only when Tyler's mother assaults her son, sending them both plunging to an apparent death. [16]
In the 'Declassified' three parter, set during the Joes' early years, Chuckles is seen as an operative of a 'rival' intelligence agency to the Joe team. During this time, he claims to have personally witnessed the incident that Hawk was court-martialed for; accepting responsibility for his men torturing a prisoner that led to saving innocent lives. [17]
Chuckles is one of the many Joes who assaults Cobra Island, when Serpentor and his "Coil" army take over and cause the second Cobra civil war. Chuckles and Duke fight Serpentor's ally Overlord hand to hand on the beach, where Chuckles is impaled and killed. He is one of multiple G.I. Joe fatalities. [18] His name is part of a memorial to fallen Joes located in Arlington. [19]
Hawk assigns Chuckles to deep cover in an attempt to learn more about Cobra. [20] To this end, he became the Joes' undercover contact, with his only contact being Jinx. However, Cobra knew his identity from the start, and Chuckles was manipulated by Tomax and Xamot to become isolated and depressed. [21] He meets Cobra Commander, who reveals the charade, and is invited to join Cobra. [22] Chuckles agrees, and uses the opportunity to get closer to the Commander. [23] When he gets the chance, he kills the Commander and detonates a nuclear bomb on one of Cobra's main installations, killing himself and Xamot in the process. [24]
Chuckles appeared in three of the six G.I. Joe tie-in novels published by Ballantine Books in 1988, as a featured character in Divide and Conquer by Margot Becker and Jungle Raid by R. L. Stine, [25] [26] and in a supporting role in The Sultan's Secret by Peter Lerangis. [27] He is erroneously mentioned on the back cover of Fool's Gold by S.M. Ballard, as he does not appear in the book. [28]
Chuckles is a supporting character in the 1987 Sunbow/Marvel animated film G.I. Joe: The Movie. He is part of a group of new Joe recruits called the Rawhides. He has no dialogue and no mention is made of his occupation. He instead performs feats of physical strength such as manually hurling a H.A.V.O.C missile to destroy a H.I.S.S. tank during a training exercise, then jumpstarting a hotwired Tomahawk helicopter by manually spinning the rotors and taking out three Dreadnoks with a single punch as Flint and the recruits work to rescue a group of Joes imprisoned in Cobra-La. [29]
In August 2019, Paramount announced a G.I. Joe spinoff film with Chuckles as the only named character. G.I. Joe: Ever Vigilant writers Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec were hired to work on the script. [30]
COBRA is a fictional terrorist organization and the nemesis of the G.I. Joe Team in the Hasbro action figure toyline G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, as well as in related media.
Cobra Commander is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero franchise. He is the supreme leader of the terrorist organization Cobra and the archenemy of the G.I. Joe Team. He was portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and by Luke Bracey with the voice of Robert Baker in the 2013 sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
The Crimson Guard is an elite organization within the fictional G.I. Joe universe. They are members of Cobra Command, the nemesis of the G.I. Joe team. They are often referred to by a phonetic spelling of their organization's initials, as "Siegies", in the comics. Tomax and Xamot are the commanders of the Crimson Guard.
Hawk is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero media franchise. He is one of the original members of the G.I. Joe Team, and debuted in 1982 as a Missile Commander, but was later promoted to full commander of the team. Hawk is portrayed by Dennis Quaid in the 2009 live-action film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Zarana is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. She is affiliated with Cobra as a member of the Dreadnoks.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a half-hour American animated television series created by Ron Friedman. Based on the toyline from Hasbro, the cartoon ran in syndication from 1983 to 1986. 95 episodes were produced.
Baroness is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline by Hasbro, originally appearing in the first issue of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic series by Marvel Comics in June, 1982. The Baroness is a villainess, associated with the G.I. Joe Team's nemesis Cobra.
Doctor Mindbender, also known as Doctor Bender, is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is a scientist who works for the terrorist organization Cobra; like other characters in the fictional universe, his characterization has fluctuated from that of comical villain to dangerous fascist depending on the release. He is often allied with Cobra Commander and Destro. In his first live-action film appearance in 2009, he was played by American actor Kevin J. O'Connor.
G.I. Joe: The Movie is a 1987 American direct-to-video animated military science fiction film produced as a sequel to the 1983 animated series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, based on the original Hasbro toyline. It was produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions and was animated in Japan by Toei Animation Co., Ltd.
Tomax and Xamot Paoli are fictional characters from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. They are the co-leaders of Cobra's elite troops, the Crimson Guard, and debuted in 1985. Their preliminary names were Movat and Tovam.
Jinx is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. She debuted in 1987 as the G.I. Joe Team's female ninja, and since then her code name has been the identity of several other incarnations of the same character, including one of Snake Eyes' apprentices in G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, Chuckles' undercover contact in G.I. Joe: Cobra, and Storm Shadow's cousin in G.I. Joe: Renegades. She is portrayed by Élodie Yung in the 2013 film G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a 1989–1992 half-hour American animated television series based on the toyline from Hasbro. The series was produced by DIC Enterprises.
G.I. Joe: America's Elite is a series of comic books set in the G.I. Joe universe which began publication in June 2005. The events of the series begin one year after the conclusion of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, and features the G.I. Joe Team re-activated with a reduced roster. The Special Missions series features reserve specialists who are activated as needed, and expands on plots set up in the main title.
Wild Bill is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is the G.I. Joe Team's helicopter pilot and debuted in 1983.
Tripwire is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is the G.I. Joe Team's mine detector, and debuted in 1983.
Blowtorch is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is the G.I. Joe Team's original Flamethrower and debuted in 1984.
Thrasher is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is affiliated with Cobra as the Dreadnoks' Thunder Machine driver and debuted in 1986.
World War III is the title of a 12-issue comic book story that took place in issues #25-36 of the comic G.I. Joe: America's Elite, published by Devil's Due Publishing. The plot concerns Cobra Command's final attempt to take over the world. Originally begun to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero franchise, World War III also marked the end of the original G.I. Joe comic continuity, which was begun by Larry Hama in the first G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic book series.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a comic book that was published by Image Comics from 2001 to 2005. Based on Hasbro, Inc.'s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys, the series picks up seven years after the end of the Marvel Comics series.