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Yo Joe! 
This cheesy battle cry is one of the most memorable phrases for many us. Because everyone wanted to be a Joe and kick some Cobra ass!
I remember picking up my first GI Joe toy (which eventually grew to a collection of 100 figures-each one better than the last). They had the cool kung-fu action grip, and some phat ass weapons. I was a happy child. Girls had Barbie and now I had something cool to play with, and not dress up!
But soon I found out GI Joe wasn't just for boys, when the comic book came out me and my sister fought over who would get each issue. Eventually, I got them all, but not without a struggle.
Thankfully, the cartoon came out and soon the whole family got hooked. We were constantly teased by animated commercials for the comic, but in 1983, the show finally came to be with a five-part special entitled, GI Joe: A Real American Hero. In 1984, another five-part special was aired and finally, in 1985, the series hit the airwaves.
For two seasons, Flint, Lady-Jaye, Duke, Scarlett and the greatest character ever created, Snake-Eyes, did battle against Cobra Commander, Baroness, and the ultra-cool bad guy, Destro. The show was very successful, with over 100 episodes created.
The episodes were not really topical in nature. Usually, the show dealt with blowing up the bad guy and creating cool explosions, but there was always a lesson to be learned at the end of each episode. This was to get past a pesky educational content ruling passed by the FCC. Who can forget those rules about lying, stealing and of course the whole knowing is half the battle routine? Still, the best parts of the show were the action scenes and cool plot twists. How can we forget Cobra's nefarious plot to create duplicates of Joe officers and destroy the operation from the inside? How about the episode that sent the Joes into an alternate universe where Cobra ruled and most of the Joes were dead? Do you know how much I cried when Clutch and two other Joes decided to stay behind and restart a revolutionary group to combat Cobra?-Well, it was sad.
GI Joe was incredibly popular. Cobra Commander even guest starred on an episode of Transformers. Still, despite its' popularity, GI Joe stopped running new episodes. Fans needing a new fix were ecstatic to find out that a GI Joe movie was being created. Originally thought to be a theatrical release, instead was released as a TV movie, with Don Johnson and Sgt. Slaughter providing some of the voices. The movie became a cult hit,as Cobra Commander was transformed into an actual snake and Duke was almost killed by Serpentor, the supreme leader of Cobra. Originally, the character was supposed to die, but writers thought better of it and Duke awakened from a coma.
GI Joe didn't see new episodes appear for years until DIC picked up the rights from Marvel/Sunbow and ran a new series that many considered an insult to the original adventures. The episodes were driven more to sell toys and character plot lines seemed to be forgotten, hence the fact that Clutch came back from the alternate universe without explanation. One special hour-long episode bringing the Joes and Cobra together to battle an evil drug empire is the only memorable episode fro that one season aired.
GI Joe came back again with a whole new lineup and a new bad guy in GI Joe: Extreme. No one remembers that show or even considers it to be a part of the GI Joe franchise.
So, whatever happened to GI Joe? Well, shows are still out there on tape. About twelve volumes and the movie were released on video. The series was seen on the USA network until 1995, but today, the show is MIA. A petition was started, but it does not look for the show to air once again. It is too expensive to air on the Cartoon Network since it doesn't have a toy line to support it anymore.
Our only hope is that someone decides to launch a new toy line and series. Imagine a new series with the animation they have now and more mature storylines. The animation, voice talents and storylines were great way back when, so you know it would be ten times better with a GI Joe 2000 series. And as we all know, knowing is half the battle, GI Joe!!
Comments and questions about this article can be sent to me at Bandwidth@ybfree.com