Games - G.I. Joe Extreme

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	Games - G.I. Joe Extreme

G.I. Joe Exteme is a line of military-themed toys from Hasbro and the next major incarnation of G.I. Joe
after G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
folded in 1994. The series ran from 1996 to 1997.

It was actually preceded by Sgt. Savage and the Screaming Eagles, a one-time only series that filled the hiatus between A Real American Hero and Extreme. The only character from that line was carried over to Extreme, Sgt. Savage himself. Because of Sgt. Savage’s inclusion, the Screaming Eagles series is considered by collectors to be part of the G.I. Joe series even though it was never labeled as G.I. Joe. The only other tie the Screaming Eagles had was a cartoon short that featured characters from the A Real American Hero series.

The Extreme series lasted only two years. The action figures stand at 5” tall and the size allowed for more details especially in the facial and muscular features. However, the line is criticized by collectors for having even more limited articulation than its predecessor. The title logo is reminiscent of the one used by Hasbro for the classic 12” series from the 1960s and 70s. Extreme was supported by a short-lived comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics and even had an animated series which ran for two seasons totaling 26 episodes. The TV series was produced by Claster. The line as a whole, though, never enjoyed the success the A Real American Hero series had and lasted only two years.

The series' tagline was "Extreme times call for extreme heroes!"

Story Overview

The series is set in 2006 where a new enemy emerges, the terrorist organization: Skar. Or SKAR, the toyline never made it clear if the name was meant to be an acronym but it was often spelled in all capitals. However, in the Dark Horse comics, SKAR was an acronym for Soldiers of Kaos, Anarchy, and Ruin. The group is led by the Iron Klaw, a former count of an European country.

In the comics published by Dark Horse, the original leader of Skar was a woman named the Duchess, who wanted the royal line to regain control of her country’s government through whatever means necessary. The Iron Klaw was her lieutenant. She has since been assassinated by Iron Klaw when he became more ambitious and craved world domination.

The Joe Team is a much smaller group. Their designated commander is Lt. Stone. Their main headquarters is located on an uncharted island. Their presidential liaison is a man named Mr. Clancy. It has been hinted that Clancy is much older than he looks and has been battling the Skar organization for far much longer.

It is never made clear how much of a connection Extreme had to A Real American Hero (ARAH). The series never made any references to ARAH. The one character that bridges the two series is Sgt. Savage. The Screaming Eagles series managed to produce a cartoon short that would have served as pilot for a possible TV series. In that only episode, Sgt. Savage was a World War II American soldier captured and experimented upon by Nazi forces. Sgt. Savage falls into a cryo-preservation sleep. He was eventually found and revived by Hawk, Lady Jaye and Doc, all characters from the ARAH series.

Savage is a member of the Extreme team and while toy and press releases mention his World War II background, no reference is ever made to the Screaming Eagles cartoon or the ARAH characters who participated in it. The Extreme series is, for all purposes, considered a separate continuity.

Characters

G.I. Joe

Lt. Stone – Commander of the G.I. Joe Team
Ballistic (Season 1)/Eagle Eye (Season 2) - Sharpshooter
Black Dragon – Martial artist and ninja warrior
Freight - Demolitions expert
Harpoon - Naval operations specialist
Mayday – The tough female pilot of the team
Metalhead - Communications expert
Sgt. Savage – World War II hero revived from cryo-hibernation
Quick Strike – Former Skar operative who now works for the Joe Team
Mr. Clancy - The Joe Team's presidential liaison

SKAR

Iron Klaw – Leader of the Skar organization. He is also known as the Count von Rani
Inferno – Iron Klaw’s main henchman who often uses a flame thrower as his primary weapon
Wreckage - Cyborg henchman with a machine gun for his right arm
Rampage - Robotic trooper

Comics

Dark Horse Comics acquired the rights to publish the G.I. Joe Extreme comics. It was first published in 1996 and in a four-issue mini-series format. The series is written by Mike W. Barr with art by Tatsuya Ishida and Scott Reed. The cover to the first issue is done by Frank Miller, the second by Norm Breyfogle and issues 3 and 4 by Walter Simonson. The mini-series was immediately followed by an ongoing series. A fickle comic market and the poor performance of the toys quickly ended the series at four issues. Interestingly, Dark Horse Comics never mentioned it was cancelled but on hiatus in its news releases.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for G.I. Joe Extreme ]

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