G.I. Joe

The brother series to "Transformers", two of many fondly remembered 80s cartoons that were based on popular toy lines. The difference being that the GI Joe toyline had been around for decades and seen many reduxes over the years. Prior to this series GI Joe was usually a doll that was the embodiment the Marines, the Navy, and the Air Force.

This interpretation redesigned/redefined GI Joe as "the code name for America's highly trained special missions force." In other words, the commandos of the GI Joe company were responsible for fighting Cobra, the "ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world."

GI Joe and Cobra both had a couple of different figure head/leaders. Originally GI Joe was represented by Duke (voice of Michael Bell among others), a tall blond guy with blue eyes. Later, GI Joe's official leader became General Hawk (voice of the late Ed Gilbert, who also voiced Baloo on "Tale Spin"), while Duke remained 2nd in command. 3rd in command was Flint (voice of Bill Ratner), the rugged warrant officer who later replaced Duke as the main character of the many countless GI Joe adventures. 4th in command was Beach Head (William Callaway, who also voiced Aquaman a few years earlier), a ball busting drill sergeant type. Later we met Sgt. Slaughter (voiced by an actual Professional Wrestler of the same name), who shared the ball busting drill sergeant role with Beach Head. Originally Cobra was led by the cowardly yet mysteriously charismatic Cobra Commander (voice of Chris Latta, who also voiced Gung Ho among other characters and also had the memorable of the whiny Star Scream Decepticon on "Transformers"), who was always butting heads with the iron masked Destro, who had a thing going on with the bifocal Baroness babe. Then we got Serpentor, a super strong test tube baby forged from the DNA of various tyrants plus Sgt. Slaughter (the latter's blood making him very tempermental).

Other romances include Scarlett (BJ Ward, who recently voiced Velma in a couple of those Scooby-Doo direct to video features) being at crossroads between a relationship between Duke and the scarred, silent ninja Snake Eyes (comic books later made her relationship with Snake Eyes famous) and Flint's affection for the spear tossing brunette Lady Jay.

Like "Transformers", this show had a cast of thousands on account of the constant new toys being made and many of the same voice actors worked together on both series. Not surprising, seeing as how they were made by the same companies.

This and "Transformers" were probably the most violent cartoons of the era, seeing as how "He-Man & The Masters of the Universe" and "Thundercats" didn't get too heavy on the violence. GI Joe didn't feature deaths but people did get hurt (Duke was always getting into comas) and there were a number of shoot outs and fist fights. But what made people forgive GI Joe was that these guys would show up at the end of each episode to tell kids a moral or give a public service announcement about what to do if your house is on fire or you're confronted with drugs or how to fix up your bike or how to ask for help or simply encourage kids to be nice to each other and tolerant and find non-violent resolutions to their problems and disputes (this may explain why we had to put up with the pacifist army rescue doctor Lifeline).

And like Transformers and countless other shows, quality of stories and animation often varied depending on the budget. But they did have some very memorable ones, and it sported heroes you couldn't help admiring and wishing you could either become or at least play sidekick to. Too bad you don't get 'em like this anymore.

Long live GI Joe, the real American Hero.

GI Joe was essentially an advertisement for the toys; it, like the comic, was designed to tie in with the toy line, to support the storyline of the comic and toys, and to introduce new characters and vehicles.

Given the constraints of the advertising medium, the show was pretty good. The characters seemed to develop over time, and there were identifiable (and diverging) personalities. Unfortunately, GI Joe suffers from the same problem may other cartoons that depict battle show; no one gets hurt or killed.

I don't want to sound like a sadist or cheap thrill seeker, but one would think that a show depicting two large armed forces continuously battling over the globe would suffer casualties. Planes were constantly shot down, but no one ever died. Highly unrealistic, and with Robotech showing at the same time, GI Joe lost its edge. It may have been more popular than Robotech, but couldn't maintain interest for very long. ...and then there's the episode where Cobra has a high-powered laser, and- no, doesn't try to destroy Joe- attempts to carve the Cobra logo onto the face of the moon. What an effective use of technology and power! Graffiti!

As a skeptical TV watcher (especially of old stuff) this is one of those 80s "made-for-kids" cartoons that can appeal to youth of today, as well as be interesting enough for teens/adults to watch.

This cartoon has the action, thrills and memorable characters that a 6 year old seeks, but has the literary complexity, subtle humour, and general excellent entertainment value that teens and adults would appreciate.

The Joes, a diverse team of commandos, fight the evil forces of Cobra day in and day out. Each Joe brings a different attribute and personality to the team (personalities that come to life thanks to the talented voice cast - read the credits, you'll see!)

The plots always entail an interesting and often elaborate storyline featuring a diabolical plot for world-domination by Cobra Commander and/or his subordinates (Destro, Baroness, Crimson Guard Twins, Maj. Bludd e.t.c...)

The art quality is excellent - it has an 80s super-hero comic style to it which adds a lot to that nostalgic effect. The animation is satisfactory; it varies between episodes.

Best part is learning the names (real and code) of all of the characters (good and bad), as there are literally tons of characters mixed into the salad bowl that is G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero.

For you 80s toon a-holics out there, this is an absolute MUST HAVE in your library. I only wish it was still on TV for today's generation to see.

It's remarkable that people in the 80s were inventive enough to make a series this rich in appeal and character, just to sell toys! I returned to this show after nearly fifteen years' absence, expecting it to be bland and lacking the rosy tint that so often glorifies childhood TV shows. I was in for a surprise when I rented a 4-episode video from the local Blockbuster. This show is just as good, if not better than it was.

The Joes are likable, but the villains are the eye-catcher here. Cobra Commander, Destro, the Baroness, and Zartan are delightful and give the enemy cause such charm that one is secretly disappointed when they consistently bungle their schemes for world domination. Cobra Commander is the easy favorite for his arrogant and hypocritical personality, and his passion for the job is what really makes the show work. He is much more honest, expressive, and intense about his goals than any of the "Good Guys." Then we have Destro, who is the "Straight Man" of Cobra: smart and level-headed, ever-irritated with Cobra Commander's foolishness, but forced to go along with the program.

Rounding out the enemy ranks are a host of clever characters like Zartan and Stormshadow, and the Lady in the Boys' Club: The Baroness with her intelligence and subtle sensuality, but just as much fire as any of her coworkers. Definitely puts the "bra" in Cobra and is one of many examples of what a fair and politically correct show this is. And the gals don't wear PINK, folks! Also you will generally not see a light/dark stereotype happening for good and evil in GI Joe. The Cobras and Joes are all multicultural and all dressed in random color arrangements. In fact it is even Cobra's ninja who dresses in white and the Joe's who dresses in black, and Cobra Commander and his troops are in red and blue. They reversed the color stereotypes that virtually every other cartoon series has strictly adhered to; This show is about good vs. evil, NOT light vs. dark.

Now of course, it's not *perfect.* The Joes are often too good to be human, meaning that their triumph and infallible integrity seem to set their meters at "Superhuman" rather than, ironically enough, "Average Joe." And you just can't feel for Perfect People as much as you can for regular morons who can't catch a break. Unwavering integrity means that the Joes' dialog rarely strays from The Course: cooperation and scout-inspired helpfulness.

This is unlike the Cobra characters, who are sometimes almost friendly and helpful with each other, then critical and insulting, then with unspoken consensus.Sometimes united in their smugness, other times in conflict about the correct course of action. The Cobras are more like real people, because they are not so perfect that they can't fail, or get enraged, or be confused or combative, and these states allow them a lot of interesting and character-deepening dialog. The Joes' limited emotional expression also limits their dialogue, and requires the "space" to be filled up. And GI Joe Filler is really awful. It is long strings of clichés and dumb metaphors that only make the Joes seem even more like ciphers.

However, this is a great show because it depicts the struggle between good and evil (even though you may find yourself disappointed when the good guys win), and it does it with a style and maturity that blows modern cartoons out of the water. Yes, there are cheesy moments and some bad lines. There is the type-cast "Dignified Indian" character who isn't allowed to escape camera range without posing serenely and imparting something profound and prophetic and overwhelmingly Indian, while his bald eagle with inexplicably white wing feathers and brown tailfeathers perches nobly on his shoulder. And it doesn't make sense that the foley people were able to find genuine stock effects for said eagle and other animals such as cougars and crows and lions, but a *person* had to perform the whining and growling and barking for the Rottweiler in the show. And no one will ever understand how you can run through a dense barrage of laser fire without being grazed in the slightest, or parachute safely through the fireball of an exploding helicopter without the flames damaging the chute.

But "GI Joe" is a nostalgic and wonderful TV show. It is full of goodness and morals, of justice and fair play winning the day over greed and cruelty. It is the shining example of what a better world TV provided for "80s Kids," what strong lessons it taught because it was intense and riveting. Every child everywhere would grow into a better adult for watching "GI Joe". They were what they claimed to be: "Real American Heroes" and stood for everything that parents continue to try to instill in their kids. They didn't pull punches; they told the whole story, violence and all, because to take that from it would detract from the power of the message: that we must fight evil, for the benefit of all people.

I think I read it here, that "80s kids were made of tougher stuff"? And they were. And better stuff, too. Because they were built on shows like this.

This is one of the best 80s cartoons! It was always action packed and there was tons and tons of characters to like!The music was good and the color and animation was great!I recommend this to 80s cartoon lovers and you want to see classic animation then this is it!