Games - October Guard

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	Games - October Guard

The October Guard (or Oktober Guard) is a group of special operations military team first introduced in the pages of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comics and cartoon in the 80’s and later appeared in the toylines in the 90’s. The name is a reference to Russia’s October Revolution. Usually thought to be the Soviet/Russian equivalent of G.I. Joe, they are in fact composed of members from Warsaw Pact countries. Unlike the Joes, the team is composed of just a small squad and most do not sport a fancy codename.

Originally, the October Guard was to be called the Pravda Patrol with the members sporting far different costumes. The designs were created by Tom DeFalco and Herb Trimpe, but Hasbro did not approve of the design. Further revisions led to the final design as seen in #6 of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comics. The team name was initially spelled October with a “c”, during the latter half of the series, the name was spelled with a “k”: Oktober Guard.

The October Guards often operate out of their countries, protecting and promoting Soviet and Warsaw Pact interests. Despite the fact their countries are rivals with the United States during the Cold War, the October Guards are never portrayed as evil, but as professionals doing their job. Their missions often put them at odds with G.I. Joe and encounters with the terrorist organization, Cobra. Sometimes, when their (and the Joe’s) survival matter or successful execution of a mission demands it, they will find themselves in a temporary alliance with G.I. Joe.

During a mission in the fictional country of Sierra Gordo, the October Guard lost all but two of their members. With their deaths and the Cold War cooling down, it was assumed the October Guard was disbanded, but it turns out that their roster was simply refilled. Their last known mission prior to truly being disbanded was a joint operation with the G.I. Joe subgroup Star Brigade.

Characters

Original members

Col. Brekhov – The original commander of the October Guards. He was killed in action in Sierra Gordo.

Daina – Czech sniper and helicopter pilot. The only woman in the team. She often has to put up with the sexist attitudes of her comrades. She is one of two surviving original members. In the Devil’s Due G.I. Joe series, she joined the Joes after mourning Lt. Gorky’s death. She is now code-named Vorona.

Dragonsky – Flamethrower. First appeared in G.I. Joe Yearbook #2, years after the October Guard’s first comic book appearance but is one of the original members. Current whereabouts unknown.

Horrorshow – RPG trooper from Soviet republic of Georgia. He was killed in action in Sierra Gordo.

Shrage – East German infantry. He was killed in action in Sierra Gordo.

Stormavik – Russian para-trooper. He was killed in action in Sierra Gordo.

Replacement members

Big Bear – Russian anti-armor specialist.

Lt. Gorky – Russian Naval Infantry. He is one of the replacement members. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he was demoralized by the rampant corruption in the Russian armed forces. In the Devil’s Due G.I. Joe series, assigned to assist the Joes, but turned out to be a traitor. He tried to redeem himself but got killed in the line of duty.

Red Star
– Real name Col. Anatoly Krimov. He has an uncanny resemblance to Col. Brekhov, but their relationship was never explained. Current whereabouts unknown.

Sgt. Misha – Russian Spetsnaz trooper. He is one of the replacement members. Current whereabouts unknown.

Dragonsky - A Russian Flamethrower specialist, he was the only Member of the October Guard to use a codename. Current whereabouts unknown.

Cartoon

Wong – The only made-for-TV member. He is the only one from the Asian part of Soviet Union. He wears what looks like a black cowboy costume, and bears more then a passing resemblance to Larry Hamma. (While uncofirmed, this is probably a deliberate joke on the part of the show's writers)

Reference

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for October Guard ]

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