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First Appearance: G.I. JOE #44 (February 1986)

    Battle Android Troopers, or B.A.T.s, are Cobra's robotic soldiers. BATs are built in human form and are programmed to be the ultimate soldier. They are single-minded and will fight until they are destroyed. BATs pose a threat when even partially functioning. They have been known to drag themselves into battle by their arms when their legs have been destroyed, and can take incredible amounts of punishment. Their single-mindedness allows for no independent thought and the BATs can be easily out-smarted. Mass-produced, Cobra often drops them into battle without parachutes and in large numbers, defeating enemies by outnumbering them Their main weakness is a tendancy to burst into flames when hit from behind.

    BATs were designed by the Cobra scientist Dr. Mindbender. Just prior to joining Cobra, Mindbender demonstrated his android troopers for Destro and the Baroness by sending them to attack new G.I. Joe members on a training mission. The Joes managed to defeat the robots and Mindbender's creeper vines, but Cobra was impressed enough to allow Mindbender to join their organization.

    Soon afterward, BATs were used by Cobra Commander in an assault on G.I. Joe's headquarters, the Pit. At the time, the Joes had been temporarily suspended and the only people left in the Pit were the Joes' commander, Hawk, Admiral Dyson and Generals Hollingsworth and Ryan. As the B.A.T.s descended into the Pit by vehicle elevator, Hawk shut off the elevator, causing the androids to walk off into the elevator shaft and deal with a fifty foot drop. Many of the BATs were destroyed, but many continued to fight, essentially broken parts carrying weapons. Cobra Commander sent a BAT covered with plastic explosives into the Pit to kill the officers, but Admiral Dyson stalled the android, allowing the others to escape. He hit the robot's detonator causing it to explode, sacrificing himself to save the other officers.

    During the Cobra Island Civil War, BATs were a major part of Serpentor's army that fought Cobra Commander's supporters. After the war was over, Dr. Mindbender stored all the extensively damaged BATs inside the land-locked freighter on Cobra Island. Destro later revealed that the BATs' logic systems were supplied by a little-known subsidiary of his company, M.A.R.S. The BATs included hidden transmitting equipment that allowed Destro to receive data feeds from the androids and gave him the ability to override their commands. Cobra Commander had trapped some of his enemies in the land-locked freighter and buried it under the volcano on Cobra Island. The mercenary Firefly escaped from the freighter by finding the damaged BATs and programming them to dig him out of the volcano. Cobra later manufactured upgraded BATs, which could take more punishment than the original and had fewer weaknesses. These BATs were used when Cobra attacked the Joes' headquarters in Utah.

    Shortly before the G.I. Joe team was shut down, a highly advanced type of BAT was created by Cobra scientist Dr. Cassandra Knox and sent to kill Scarlett. In addition to its weapons systems, this android had the ability to track and identify a specific human target by its brainwave patterns. The BAT was dispatched by Knox from a transport helicopter and found Scarlett walking along a busy street. Scarlett damaged the robot's tracking systems and eventually the BAT was defeated by being smashed in the back of a garbage truck. Scarlett managed to recover its head so it could be analyzed. Knox vowed to kill Scarlett, but was forced to flee when G.I. Joe helicopters arrived on the scene. Luckily, that model of BAT was a prototype, and it was never used by Cobra again. Despite her fears of failing Cobra Commander, Knox would return to Cobra many years later.

    After the return of Cobra after a long absence from the United States, Dr. Mindbender began work on a new advanced version of BAT. Though it's exterior design was based on the original BAT, it was much more powerful and packed with multiple weapons systems. When the prototype was finally activated within the Dreadnok compound in Chicago, Mindbender lost control of the android and was nearly killed. The rogue BAT made its way to the streets of Chicago where both the Joes and the Dreadnoks fought to stop it. Firefly soon arrived, and gained control of the BAT after stealing its control unit. He explained was hired to acquire the BAT for its armor technology. His unnamed client was in reality rogue member of the Jugglers, General Winters. Firefly took the BAT away via helicopter. The status of that BAT is currently unknown, and Cobra has yet to reveal a new version.