The Joes took Candy into custody suspecting that she was also involved with Cobra. Candy was very upset and could not convince the Joes that she didn't know her father was a member of Cobra. Candy was being transported on a bus in military police custody when the other prisoner, the Dreadnok known as Buzzer, knocked out the two military policemen on the bus and escaped with Candy still trapped on the bus. After several attempts at escaping, Candy eventually got away from Buzzer. She was picked up by a drunk hitch-hiker, who also picked up the son of Cobra Commander, Billy, who was trying to find his father in Springfield. The driver caused an accident when he swerved to avoid colliding with the Soft Master who was being chased by Cobra agents. The car crashed and caught on fire, trapping Candy and the others inside. The Cobra agents, Scrap-Iron, Firefly and Buzzer fired a missle at the Soft Master when he tried to help the trapped passengers. The car was destroyed and all were killed except for Billy, who remained in a coma for years. The Joes and Ripcord did not find out about the deaths of Candy and the Soft Master until Billy came out of his coma. Candy's father never knew what happened to his daughter, dying shortly after the accident. (GI 33, 37, 38, 40, 42, 43, 47, 63) Yes, it's true. Her name really is "Candy Appel".
 

After the death of the original Fred Broca, Collins replaced him as the head of his family. His wife and children -- Heather and Sean -- knew he was not the first Fred, but accepted him as any good Cobra family would have. He continued Fred's surveillance of Fort Wadsworth, which Cobra expected was a center for G.I. Joe activity. Soon afterward, Collins tracked down the G.I. Joe member Scarlett on the Staten Island ferry. At the time, he didn't realize that her companion was Snake-Eyes, wearing a mask to cover his scarred face. After a brief fight, Collins and Snake-Eyes grappled with each other, hanging over the river. Collins noticed that Snake-Eyes was wearing a mask and pulled it off, revealing the horribly scarred face underneath. Shocked, Collins lost his grip and fell into the water below. He survived, but became ill. He had a high fever and was nearly delirious. He became angry at his adoptive family and obsessed with his surveillance. It eventually paid off when he spotted Hawk leaving the base in a jeep, with two other soldiers. Collins placed a homing device on the jeep and followed them to Washington. As the device was transmitting, he overheard the names of the other two soldiers: Stalker and Snake-Eyes. The Joes dropped Hawk off at a meeting and visited the Vietnam War Memorial. Just as they noticed his name was not on the list of those killed in action, Collins confronted them at gunpoint and revealed his true identity. He hated them for leaving him behind so many years before. As Collins forced Stalker to drive them all to Springfield, Stalker began to try and convince him that was just being used by Cobra. But it wasn't too late to reclaim his life. Wade returned to Springfield, where he apologized to his adoptive family. His wife and children had come to love them as much as the real Fred, and they agreed to leave Cobra with him. They all headed off to live somewhere in suburban America. Stalker promised not to reveal where Wade had gone. Many years later, Stalker and Storm Shadow called on Wade to help them rescue Snake-Eyes, who was being held in the Cobra Consulate in New York. Donning his old Crimson Guard uniform, he strode into the building and learned where Snake-Eyes was being held. He even helped his old friends storm the Consulate. A short time later, Snake-Eyes went on a commando raid into the chaotic nation of Borovia. He returned home with a little girl named Marina, whose family had been lost to civil war. The Collins' agreed to take care of the girl and Marina became just another adopted member of the family.

Three years after Marina's arrival, Wade was arguing with his son Sean, who wanted to join the Army. Collins still had nightmares about his experiences in Southeast Asia, and was worried that Sean was simply joining the Army to get away from home. He suggested Sean write a letter to Snake-Eyes to get the opinion of a long time soldier. The letter that Snake-Eyes wrote back explained what the commando thought about life as a soldier, and told the stories of the rest of the people from the long range recon patrol unit that Wade and Snake-Eyes were a part of. Moved by the letter, Sean promised his father that he would think about all that Snake-Eyes said before making his final decision. Sean eventually decided to enlist in the Army, not long before the Joe team was shut down. A short time later, Wade's wife died, devastating him. He moved to Seattle and got a job working at a local marina, but became depressed and reclusive. He continued to dwell on trying to atone for his past and make his children proud of him. After Sean served on a covert ops unit for a time, he became Snake-Eyes' ninja apprentice. As he, Sean and other former Joes were tracking down Cobra agent Firefly and mercenary Mikhail Derenko, a former teammate of Sean who was recruiting former Cobra agents. When Wade was contacted by Derenko, he decided to agree to his offer and worked covertly with the CIA, hoping to infiltrate Derenko's group and stop them. Sean had no idea his father had done this until they met in the midst of a battle between the former Joes and the mercenaries. Derenko redirected Sean's attack toward Wade who was stabbed and mortally wounded. As he lay dying in his son's arms, he said that he loved him and admitted that he did it all to make him proud. Sean answered that he had always been proud of him. After his father's death, Sean completed his ninja training under the name Kamakura. He currently serves on the reinstated G.I. Joe team, alongside Wade Collins' old friends, Stalker and Snake-Eyes. (GI 32, 36, 42, 43, 96, 106, 155; MA 1, 3, 4)

On Crankcase's last training mission before joining the Joes in the desert outside of Las Vegas, he and several other new recruits led by Lady Jaye were ambushed by a group of Cobra's Battle Android Troopers. The BATs ran straight into the Joe vehicles as they headed down the highway. When they collided, canisters on their backs broke open, relasing Dr. Mindbender's creeper vines. The fast-growing vines clogged the vehicles' wheels and released a sleeping gas that knocked out the Joes. When they awoke they were trapped in a junkyard maze and forced to fight more BATs and the vines. Crankcase and the others eventually found a way to defeat the vines without weapons and sent Cobra into retreat. Crankcase later participated in the Battle of Springfield, when nearly the entire Joe team invaded the Cobra-controlled town. Some time after that battle, Crankcase and a small team of Joes traveled to a wartorn Middle Eastern nation during the battle between Colonel Sharif and those loyal to the overthrown Emir. Crankcase and the others modified a civilian van to serve as an undercover armored vehicle in a mission to steal a Russian plane being used by Sharif. After returning from the Middle East, Crankcase began working with a team of Joes researching and testing new vehicles and weapons in the Utah desert. He was one of those responsible for the security of the testing grounds. After one testing mission, the Joes and their vehicles fought the new Cobra Pogo on a highway through the Rocky Mountains. The next major operation for the Joe team was their involvement in the Cobra Island civil war. The Joes entered the war on Serpentor's side, fighting against Cobra Commander's forces. Crankcase's AWE Striker spent most of the conflict as Hawk's command vehicle. The vehicle was hit by a shell and tipped over, injuring Crankcase's leg. Roadblock carried the injured Joe to safety and medical treatment. Crankcase's final mission began as a supposedly simple raid on Cobra Terror-Dromes in the desert nation of Trucial Abysmia. The mission went sour when the Joes stumbled upon a large contingent of Cobra soldiers and vehicles. Crankcase's AWE Striker was one of the vehicles that was destroyed, though all onboard bailed out beforehand. The team was captured and held prisoner by Cobra. A SAW-Viper, misunderstanding orders, killed several of the Joes in cold blood. Crankcase was one of the first. He and his fellow Joes were given heroes' funerals in Arlington National Cemetary. (GI 44, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 59, 63, 64, 74, 75, 83, 108, 109; OB 1; SM 3; Figure: 1)
 

On his first mission for the Joe team, Crazylegs was part of the crew of a C-130 that brought a small Joe rescue team into Sierra Gordo to retrieve U.S. Ambassador Winthrop. While Crazylegs, Wild Bill and Maverick waited at the airfield for the rescue team to return, a group of Sierra Gordan refugees arrived, begging for passage out of the nation as it became consumed by civil war. The Joes had to refuse due to their mission, but things changed when Zarana and two Dreadnoks arrived, also wanting to leave. When they took the refugees hostage, Wild Bill and his crew had no choice but to take off and abandon the other Joes. Crazylegs saw to the safety of the refugees when the plane was hit by enemy fire and made a crash landing. When the Dreadnok, Thrasher, needed to be knocked out to set a broken arm sustained in the crash, Crazylegs used the butt of his rifle as "anesthetic". The Joes were forced to find their way through the jungles with three Dreadnoks and a planeload of refugees. After a chaotic series of events, they eventually stole a plane and made their way back to America. Not long after that mission, the Joe team entered the Cobra Island civil war on the side of Serpentor. Crazylegs was one of the many Joes that participated. Crazylegs' final mission began as a supposedly simple raid on Cobra Terror-Dromes in the desert nation of Trucial Abysmia. The mission went sour when the Joes stumbled upon a large contingent of Cobra soldiers and vehicles. The team was captured and held prisoner by Cobra. A SAW-Viper, misunderstanding orders, killed several of the Joes in cold blood, including Crazylegs. He and his teammates were given heroes' funerals at Arlington National Cemetary. (GI 69-71, 74, 75, 108, 109; Figures: 1, 2)
 

Cross-Country's first mission for the Joe team began just after the Joes returned from the invasion of Springfield. The Dreadnoks broke Zartan out of Joe headquarters, where he was being held prisoner and Cross-Country was part of the team sent to find them in the New Jersey swampland. The Joes came up against the Dreadnok's Thunder Machine for the first time, and Cross-Country found himself playing a game of chicken with the vehicle on a submerged highway. As the two vehicles headed straght for each other, the passengers in the Thunder Machine all leaned to one side, sending the vehicle up on two wheels, and right past the HAVOC. The Dreadnoks soon got away, leaving the angry Cross-Country with a bruised ego. Some time later, Cross-Country was one of the many Joes who participated in the Cobra Island civil war on the side of Serpentor. The HAVOC was part of a second wave of reinforcements sent through the swamps to ambush Cobra Commander's forces. When the Cobras ended the war with a deal that left the Joes defeated, the committee of corrupt Generals who had authorized the mission claimed the Joes had acted without their consent. Cross-Country and the other Joes involved were arrested and held in custody until the remaining Joes went underground and exposed the Generals' guilt. Just after their release Cross-Country was part of a small group tracking the Dreadnoks to their hideout in New Jersey. He finally got the chance for a rematch with Thrasher's Thunder Machine, and this time Cross-Country came out on top. Cross-Country's most difficult mission started as a routine raid on Cobra Terrordromes in the desert nation of Trucial Abysmia. The mission soon turned disastrous when the team, led by Lt. Falcon and Duke, discovered that Cobra was involved more in the Middle East then was first believed. Trying to retreat into friendly territory, the group was overrun by Cobra soldiers led by Tomax and Xamot. Surrounded on all sides, Duke knew it was suicidal to fight on and surrendered to save his troops. When Tomax and Xamot reported to Cobra Commander, they misunderstood his orders and sent a SAW-Viper to kill the prisoners. Four Joes were shot in cold blood before the rest of the group could escape in a captured Cobra tank. The escaping Joes were followed and the tank exploded, killing all of the Joes except for Duke, Falcon and Cross-Country. When a Joe rescue team arrived, Cross-Country and the others went after the SAW-Viper, but Duke couldn't bring himself to shoot the now-unarmed man. The discoveries made on that mission led to the Joes biggest operation, fighting against Cobra in the nearby nation of Benzheen. The remainder of Cross-Country's missions remain classified, but he stayed with the team until it was shut down in 1994. Like most former Joes, he is currently a reserve member of the team. (GI 51, 52, 59, 67, 72, 76, 77, 79, 92, 108, 109, 110, 111; Figures: 1, 2)
 

In his first mission on the Joe team, Cutter piloted the WHALE hovercraft in a battle against Cobra in the Florida Everglades. He and some other Joes were injured and the WHALE was damaged in a firefight. Cutter recovered, and the Joes managed to patch up the hovercraft and strike back at Cobra. Cutter also occasionally served as captain of the G.I. Joe frieghter, the Jane. On one of those occasions, Cutter and a handful of Joes fought off Cobra Rattler jets in the middle of a stormy sea. The Joes destroyed the Rattlers, but not before the Jane had been damaged enough to sink. Cutter and his crew boarded a life raft and were eventually rescued. One of Cobra's biggest operations was the creation of Cobra Island. The Joes were tricked into aggravating an undersea faultline, causing a chunk of land to thrust up out of the ocean. The resulting tidal wave capsized the Whale, though the hovercraft was largely intact afterward. The Joes staged an assault to push Cobra's occupying forces off of the island with Cutter piloting the hovercraft through enemy fire and onto the beach to deliver the troops. Cutter returned to Cobra Island months later during a rescue mission to save Ripcord and Snake-Eyes. A short time later, Cutter captained a fishing boat carrying a group of undercover Joes on a mission in the North Atlantic to assist a Soviet Admiral in defecting to the United States. Because of their cover mission to recover a sunken submarine, the Joes fought both Cobra and the October Guard. Years later, when the Joe team entered the Cobra Island civil war on the side of Serpentor, Cutter's Whale carried the Joe demolitions team onto the island to destroy anti-aircraft emplacements. The hovercraft was hit during the landing, though all the Joes escaped unharmed. In the aftermath of the war, Cutter was one of the many members of the team arrested when the Joes were accused of acting without orders from the Pentagon. They were later freed when the remaining Joe team went underground to prove their innocence. For a time, Cutter was a member of the short-lived G.I. Joe Drug Elimination Force. The small team fought a group of drug dealers led by Headman and his troops, the Headhunters. Cutter had experience chasing down drug traffickers in the Coast Guard. Headman was eventually defeated by Cobra Commander after the terrorist leader discovered Headman was selling drugs in Cobra's town of Broca Beach. Cutter's subsequent missions remain classified, but he stayed with the G.I. Joe team until it was shut down in 1994. He was later called back to join the reinstated Joe team in its battle against the forces of a revived Serpentor on Cobra Island. A short time after that battle, Cutter began a well-deserved retirement. Some time later, when Duke and a small group of Joes were on the run from a group of corrupt Generals who were trying to shut down the team, Cutter let them use his home as a safehouse before they continued on to rejoin the Joes. (GI 25, 28, 29, 33, 36, 40, 41, 47, 48, 74, 75, 124, 125, 127; YB 2, 4, SM 1, 28; GIv2 24, 38; Figures: 1, 2, 3, 4)