G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero | |
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Also known as | Action Force (UK version) |
Genre | Action-adventure Military science fiction |
Created by | Hasbro |
Based on | G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero by Hasbro |
Developed by | Ron Friedman (miniseries 1–2) Steve Gerber (season 1) Buzz Dixon (season 2) |
Directed by | Dan Thompson (miniseries 1–2) John Gibbs (season 1) Terry Lennon (season 1) Ray Lee (season 2) |
Voices of | |
Narrated by | Jackson Beck |
Composers | Johnny Douglas Robert J. Walsh |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 95 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers | Don Jurwich Jim Duffy |
Animator | Toei Animation [1] [2] |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production companies | Sunbow Productions Marvel Productions |
Original release | |
Network | First-run syndication [3] |
Release | September 12, 1983 – November 20, 1986 |
Related | |
G.I. Joe: Renegades |
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero [4] (retitled Action Force in the United Kingdom) is a half-hour American animated television series created by Ron Friedman. [5] Based on the toyline from Hasbro, the cartoon ran in syndication from 1983 to 1986. [6] 95 episodes were produced. [7]
"G.I. Joe is the code name for America's daring, highly-trained special mission force. Its purpose: to defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world!"
When Hasbro launched the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline in 1982 alongside the Marvel Comics series, it commissioned Marvel Productions to produce a series of fully animated 30-second television commercials which were broadcast in order to promote the comic book publication, since advertising regulations for a literary work were more lax than for a direct toy commercial. [8] The commercial for the first issue began airing throughout the Spring of 1982. [9] The popularity of these commercials led to the production of a five-part G.I. Joe mini-series which aired in 1983 (later titled "The M.A.S.S. Device" when it re-aired as part of the ongoing series). The plot centers on the titular M.A.S.S. Device, a powerful matter-transporter, and G.I. Joe and Cobra's race around the world to acquire the three catalytic elements which power the machine. A second five-part mini-series followed in 1984, G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra (titled "The Weather Dominator" in later airings), with a similar plot that involved the Joes and Cobras traveling around the world to recover the scattered fragments of Cobra's new weather-controlling weapon, the Weather Dominator. Both mini-series were written by Ron Friedman. G.I. Joe was promoted to a full series in 1985, with an initial order for a first season of 55 more episodes (in order to make up the required 65 episodes for syndication). [10] This season began with a third Friedman-penned five-part adventure, "The Pyramid of Darkness"; the story sees most of the existing cast from the two previous mini-series held captive by Cobra, while a new assortment of characters (that is, the new 1985 range of toys) thwart Cobra's attempts to surround the Earth with the electricity-negating Pyramid of Darkness. Both the new and old characters then shared the spotlight throughout the course of the remaining fifty episodes of the series, which were primarily stand-alone single-episode adventures, with the occasional two-part story. The season was story edited by Steve Gerber. A second season of 30 episodes followed in 1986, beginning with a fourth five-part story, "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!" in which Cobra scientist Doctor Mindbender, inspired by a recurring dream, uses the DNA of history's most ruthless conquerors and rulers to genetically engineer Serpentor, who usurps Cobra Commander's leadership of Cobra. This mini-series introduced the new 1986 range of toys into the story, which were at the center of most stories across the rest of the season; in particular, the mini-series debuted former WWF and then-current AWA professional wrestler Sgt. Slaughter as a member of G.I. Joe, played by himself. For this season, Buzz Dixon replaced Steve Gerber as story editor. [11]
G.I. Joe: The Movie, a feature-length film version of the series, was intended to be released theatrically, followed by the release of The Transformers: The Movie . However, the movie encountered unexpected production delays which allowed the Transformers feature to be released first. Due to the poor box office performances of the Transformers and My Little Pony films, G.I. Joe was relegated to direct-to-video status. It was released on VHS on April 20, 1987, and was later split into a five-part mini-series for television syndication. The movie follows up on the events of Season 2, revealing that Cobra Commander is actually an agent of a secret civilization known as Cobra-La led by a half-serpent being named Golobulus. The same organization is also revealed to have had a hand in the creation of Serpentor, as the dream that inspired Doctor Mindbender to create him is revealed to be a subconscious suggestion that was implanted into his mind by one of Golobulus's bugs called the Psychic Motivator. In addition to Cobra-La, two new sub-teams were introduced within the Joe Team, the Rawhides and the Renegades, both of which were composed of characters which were introduced into the toyline during its 1987 lineup. [12]
Marvel Productions continued to produce animated commercials for the toyline and comic books (which featured a new theme song with the lyrics "Nobody Beats G.I. Joe") after the broadcast of G.I. Joe: The Movie, [13] which was intended to set up Season 3. [12] However, the company never produced a third full season, ending up losing its license to the competing animation company DiC during pre-production. Michael Charles Hill, who wrote several episodes of the show, had already proposed an outline for Season 3 that would have followed the events of The Movie. In this unmade third season, a criminal organization named "The Coil", which is composed of a group of former Cobra elites who are led by Tomax and Xamot, would have served as the new enemy faction, while a mutated Cobra Commander would have tried to secretly rebuild his organization after the destruction of Cobra-La, shifting allegiance between the Coil and the Joes in order to further his own ambitions. [14] [15]
A second G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series was produced by DIC Entertainment that ran from 1989 to 1991. It premiered with a five-part mini-series which was titled "Operation: Dragonfire," lasted two seasons, and consisted of a total of 44 episodes. The DiC series served as a continuation of the Sunbow series, but it did not use the aforementioned season 3 pitch. Sunbow would later return to the G.I. Joe franchise, co-producing the 1994 straight-to-video animated pilot Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles and the G.I. Joe Extreme TV series, which aired from 1995 to 1996. The Screaming Eagles pilot featured appearances by characters from the A Real American Hero series (namely Hawk, Doc, Lady Jaye, and Cobra Commander) in supporting roles, but its primary focus was on new heroes and villains.
GI Joe fights off the plans of Cobra to undermine the world governments and takeover. Following the failure of Cobra's more elaborate plans, the organization starts coming up with ridiculous and outlandish ways to takeover. By the second season, Dr Mindbender along with Destro, Tomax and Xamot, have tired of the constant failures Cobra Commander has brought them. Leading to them creating a new leader from the combined DNA of past ruthless dictators: Serpentor. However, Cobra Commander persists as the field commander and slowly builds his own faction to dispose of their usurper.
This section needs additional citations for verification .(February 2023) |
G.I. Joe was a co-production between Marvel Productions and Sunbow Productions. Sunbow's staff would write the scripts based on the character and vehicle designs provided by Hasbro, while the artists at Marvel Productions would draw storyboards based on the scripts and record voiceovers. [11] [12] The animation was outsourced to Toei in Japan, who worked on all 95 episodes, as well as the movie. [1] [2] The G.I. Joe comics and animated series share a few common plot elements that were not products of the toyline at the time such as the town of Springfield, the Oktober Guard and the character of The Baroness (who was only introduced into the toyline in 1984). However, they did not share the same continuity and as a result, they differed significantly in terms of how the characters were written and the direction the stories took (particularly regarding the nature of Cobra Commander's true identity). In contrast to the comics (in which non-toyline characters such as G.I. Joe commanding officer General Flagg and Cobra scientist Dr. Venom, were killed off early during its run), the TV series had to adhere to children's programming regulations and as a result none of the characters were allowed to use actual firearms and nobody was ever killed on-screen. Instead, characters used laser guns to fight their battles (which were color-coded for each side, red for the Joes and blue for Cobra) and whenever a vehicle was destroyed on-screen, the pilot or driver would often be shown exiting from it or parachuting before the destruction. However, the show was still allowed to make references to off-screen casualties, as the term could be used interchangeably for injuries and deaths. One particular episode in Season 1, a two-parter titled "Worlds Without End" in which the Joes are transported to an alternate universe where the Joes have been defeated by Cobra, features a scene in which three members of the Joe Team (Steeler, Grunt and Clutch) find the skeletal remains of their counterparts from that world (the second part of the episode ends with the aforementioned characters deciding to remain in the alternate universe and replace their deceased counterparts). A public safety lesson was usually featured at the end of each episode, using G.I. Joe characters in brief scenarios to impart safety tips to children. These lessons gave birth to the catchphrase, "Now we know!", and the response, "And knowing is half the battle". In each episode's opening title sequence voice actor Jackson Beck states that, "G.I. Joe is the code name for America's daring, highly-trained, Special Mission force. Its purpose: To defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world". Because the series was produced as a vehicle to sell the toys, most of the episodes would focus on the newest characters being sold in stores at the time, while older characters would fall by the wayside as they were being phased out from the toyline. [14] Most notably Hawk, who was part of the 1982 launch lineup and the original G.I. Joe leader in the Marvel comics, was absent during the entirety of Season 1 in favor of having Duke (a character introduced in 1983, the year when the first miniseries aired) serve as the leader instead. When Hawk was reintroduced to the toyline with a new action figure in 1986, the character was suddenly part of the team in Season 2 as Duke's superior and the head of G.I. Joe's chain of command with no explanation for his absence in the prior season. [a]
Various episodes were released on home video by Family Home Entertainment in North America. A total of 12 numbered volumes were produced on VHS and Betamax from 1984 to 1986. Vol. 1 and 2 featured the first two mini-series, "The M.A.S.S. Device" and "The Revenge of Cobra" respectively, edited as feature-length movies, [9] while Vol. 3 through 11 featured a single episode each from the first season. These tapes were originally released in clamshell cases packaged in large boxes and were subsequently reissued with standard cardboard sleeves. Vol. 12 contains three episodes, each preceded by a live-action introduction hosted by Sgt. Slaughter, although certain versions of this volume only contains two episodes. All 12 volumes featured comic book-like packaging artwork. The "Arise Serpentor, Arise" mini-series was later released as an edited feature-length movie on VHS and LaserDisc in 1991, making it the sole G.I. Joe release in the latter media format. [17] [18] Rhino Home Video would later acquire the home video rights to the series and release a second series of VHS tapes under their "Kid Rhino" branding. Nine volumes were released for general retail between 1999 and 2000, each containing two episodes (including two-part episodes). A tenth volume was released in 2001 as part of Blockbuster Video's exclusive "Kidmongous" series, which contained four episodes. Outside North America, episodes of G.I. Joe were also released on VHS in other countries by various local companies, with the Action Force version of the show receiving a total of 27 VHS releases in the United Kingdom. [17]
In 2003-2004, Kid Rhino Entertainment (a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner) (a Warner Family Entertainment and WEA/Warner Music Group-distributed label) began releasing G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero on DVD in Region 1. They released the original two mini-series in 2003 followed by Season 1 in 2 volume sets in 2004. The first half of Season 2 was released in late 2004 but the remaining episodes were never released due to quality issues when the original DVDs were released (such as adding more sound effects when watched in 5.1 surround sound, since they did the same to the Transformers G1 DVD sets, also done by Rhino). These DVD sets have since gone out of print as Rhino lost the distribution rights. [19] In 2008, Hasbro reacquired the worldwide distribution rights to the Sunbow library which includes G.I. Joe. [20] During 2008 and 2009, Hasbro released five gift packs of cartoon-inspired action figures, each including a DVD. [21] [22] The first four sets included the four miniseries, and the fifth an assortment of Sunbow series episodes. [23] In March 2009, Shout! Factory acquired the rights to re-release G.I. Joe on DVD in Region 1 with Vivendi Entertainment. They have subsequently released Season 1 in 3 volume sets. On July 22, 2009, they released G.I. Joe - A Real American Hero: Complete Collector's Set, a 17-disc boxset featuring all 95 episodes and extensive bonus features including archival Hasbro toy commercials and a collectible 60-page book. [24] The second and final season was released as a stand-alone set on April 27, 2010. [25] This series is available for streaming on Hasbro's own channel on YouTube dedicating to this series; as well as on the Tubi streaming service.[ citation needed ]
DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
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The Original Mini-Series: A Real American Hero and The Revenge of Cobra | 10 | May 13, 2003 |
Season 1, Part 1 | 27 | January 27, 2004 |
Season 1, Part 2 | 18 | June 29, 2004 |
Season 2, Part 1 | 15 | August 17, 2004 |
Season 1, Part 1 | 22 | July 14, 2009 |
The M.A.S.S. Device | 5 | September 1, 2009 |
Season 1, Part 2 | 21 | November 3, 2009 |
Season 1, Part 3 | 22 | February 2, 2010 |
Season 2 | 30 | April 27, 2010 |
The Complete First Series | 95 | June 26, 2012 |
VHS title | VHS Studios | Release Date | Episodes | Notes | |
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Action Force – The Synthoid Conspiracy (Parts 1 & 2), Lights! Camera! Cobra! | St. Michael Video | 1987 | The Synthoid Conspiracy – Part 1, The Synthoid Conspiracy – Part 2, Lights! Camera! Cobra! | ||
Action Force – Captives of Cobra (Parts 1 & 2) and Eau de Cobra | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | 1987 | Captives of Cobra – Part 1, Captives of Cobra – Part 2, Eau de Cobra | ||
Action Force – Worlds Without End (Parts 1 & 2) and Flint's Vacation | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | 1987 | Worlds Without End – Part 1, Worlds Without End – Part 2, Flint's Vacation | ||
Action Force – The Pyramid of Darkness (Parts 1-5) | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | 1987 | The Pyramid of Darkness – Part 1, The Pyramid of Darkness – Part 2, The Pyramid of Darkness – Part 3, The Pyramid of Darkness – Part 4, The Pyramid of Darkness – Part 5 | ||
Action Force – Arise, Serpentor, Arise! (Parts 1-5) | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | 1988 | Arise, Serpentor, Arise! - Part 1, Arise, Serpentor, Arise! - Part 2, Arise, Serpentor, Arise! - Part 3, Arise, Serpentor, Arise! - Part 4, Arise, Serpentor, Arise! - Part 5 | Promo: Action Force, The Transformers, Robotix, Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines | |
Action Force: The Movie | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | September 19, 1988 | |||
The Action Adventure Collection - Volume 1 | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | 1988 | Action Force - Where the Reptiles Roam, Inhumanoids - Negative Polarity, The Transformers - Starscream's Brigade | ||
Action Force – Sink the Montana | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | September 19, 1988 | Sink the Montana | This Video Also Contains Advertising 3 Action Force Toys Commercials, 3 Transformers Toys Commercials, Promo: Action Force The Movie, The Transformers, Action Adventure - Volume I, Jem, Sparky's Magic Piano, Spot's First Video, The Shoe People, MoonDreamers, Little Clowns of Happytown, My Little Pony And My Little Pony & Other Friends and Tempo tape cassettes | |
Action Force – Synthoid Conspiracy (Parts 1 & 2) | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | 1989 | Synthoid Conspiracy – Part 1, Synthoid Conspiracy – Part 2 | ||
Action Force – Grey Hairs and Growing Pains & Into Your Tent I Will Silently | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | 1989 | Grey Hairs and Growing Pains, Into Your Tent I Will Silently | ||
Action Force – There's No Place Like Springfield (Parts 1 & 2), The Spy Who Rooked Me | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | 1989 | There's No Place Like Springfield – Part 1, There's No Place Like Springfield – Part 2, The Spy Who Rooked Me | ||
Action Force – Let's Play Soldier & Cold Slither | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | 1989 | Let's Play Soldier, Cold Slither | ||
Action Force – My Favorite Things | Collins Video | 1989 | My Favorite Things | ||
Action Force - The Most Dangerous Thing in the World & Once Upon a Joe | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | 1989 | The Most Dangerous Thing in the World, Once Upon a Joe | ||
The Action Adventure Collection - Volume 2 | Tempo Video (MSD Video) | 1989 | The Transformers - Ghost in the Machine, Action Force - My Favorite Things, COPS - The Case of COPS File #1 - Part 1 |
In January 2009, IGN ranked G.I. Joe as number 19 on its list of the Top 100 Animated Series. [26]
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.
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.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a military-themed line of action figures and toys in Hasbro's G.I. Joe franchise. The toyline lasted from 1982 to 1994, producing well over 500 figures and 250 vehicles and playsets. The line reappeared in 1997 and has continued in one form or another to the present day. It was supported by two animated series as well as a major comic series published by Marvel Comics.
Zandar 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 a member of the Dreadnoks. He is portrayed by Matt Gerald in the 2013 film G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Sgt. Slaughter is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy line. G.I. Joe modelled the character on the American professional wrestling character Sgt. Slaughter. Sgt. Slaughter's G.I. Joe version makes no reference to his professional wrestling inspiration, although the character uses wrestling moves and was voiced by Remus. Remus also appeared in person to introduce the episodes that were originally G.I. Joe: The Movie and was the spokesman for the G.I. Joe toy line from 1989 to early 1990, introducing new vehicles and figures in commercials.
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 action 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.
Sunbow Entertainment was an American animation studio and distributor, founded on June 23, 1980, and owned until May 4, 1998, by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in New York City and in the United States. Griffin-Bacal's first animations were animated commercials for Hasbro's G.I. Joe toy line. The success of the animated commercials led partners Tom Griffin and Joe Bacal to form the company. Due to their close working relationship with Hasbro, Sunbow came to be recognized as the toy giant's unofficial television arm.
Dusty 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 desert trooper and debuted in 1985.
The Transformers is an animated television series that originally aired from September 17, 1984, to November 11, 1987, in syndication based upon Hasbro and Takara's Transformers toy line. The first television series in the Transformers franchise, it depicts a war among giant robots that can transform into vehicles and other objects. The series was produced by Marvel Productions and Sunbow Productions in association with Japanese studio Toei Animation for first-run syndication. Toei co-produced the show as the main animation studio for its first two seasons, having been tasked with creating and finalizing animation models, designing transformation schemes, storyboarding some episodes, and general direction. In the third season, Toei's involvement with the production team was reduced and the animation services were shared with the South Korean studio AKOM. The show's supervising producer was also AKOM's founder. The fourth season was entirely animated by AKOM. The series was supplemented by a feature film, The Transformers: The Movie (1986), taking place between the second and third seasons. This series is also popularly known as "Generation One", a term originally coined by fans in response to the re-branding of the franchise as Transformers: Generation 2 in 1992, which eventually made its way into official use. The series was later shown in reruns on Sci-Fi Channel and The Hub / Discovery Family.
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 is the code name of a fictional elite covert special operations unit operating under the control of the United States Armed Forces in the G.I. Joe universe. In the 1960s and 1970s, a toy military adventure character based on General Joseph Colton was available. From 1982, the name "G.I. Joe" referred to the team, also known as the "Joe team" or the "Joes". The G.I. Joe team was introduced as the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline by Hasbro. Later, the Marvel G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic books and the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero television cartoons were released. The team's battle cry is "Yo Joe!"
G.I. Joe vs. Cobra is the G.I. Joe toy line series that ran from 2002 to 2005. The toy line was produced by Hasbro.
G.I. Joe is a line of military-themed action figures produced by Hasbro.
Slip Stream 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 Conquest X-30 pilot and debuted in 1986.
Lifeline 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 first class rescue trooper who debuted in 1986. He is seen as a compassionate and dedicated medic who is always willing to put himself in danger to save his fellow Joes. Lifeline is also a skilled pilot and is often seen flying the G.I. Joe Tomahawk helicopter.
G.I. Joe is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier, Action Sailor, Action Pilot, Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse. The name is derived from the usage of "G.I. Joe" for the generic U.S. soldier, itself derived from the more general term "G.I.". The development of G.I. Joe led to the coining of the term "action figure". G.I. Joe's appeal to children has made it an American icon among toys.
Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles is a line of military-themed toys produced by Hasbro that was sold between 1994 and 1995. It was intended to be a companion line to G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Comic book artist Joe Kubert provided the packaging artwork for the toys and also drew the mini-comics included with certain figures. The line was short-lived due to the cancellation of the entire A Real American Hero line in favor of the Kenner-produced G.I. Joe Extreme series.
The Cobra Troopers serve as the basic foot soldiers of the Cobra Organization, as part of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. They are generally depicted as legions of uniformed soldiers, nearly all of them masked to appear anonymous, and widely diversified according to specialties and functions.