G.I. JOE:
Order of Battle


Marvel Comics - 1986-1987

4 issues; trade paperback collection

    Order of Battle is a "who's who" miniseries, which prints all the text of Hasbro's filecards and includes new artwork from Herb Trimpe depicting the characters. Trimpe worked on several early issues of the regular series and nearly every issue of Special Missions. At the time, Larry Hama wrote all of Hasbro's acton figure filecards. Several of the profiles are variations on the action figure filecards, and a handful of the earliest Joes' profiles are different, unedited versions of what Hama probably first wrote. Those variations and other oddities are mentioned below.
Issue #1 - December, 1986

Characters included: Ace, Airborne, Airtight, Alpine, Barbecue, Bazooka, Beach Head, Blowtorch, Breaker, Cover Girl, Crank-case, Cross-Country, Cutter, Deep Six, Dial-Tone, Doc, Duke, Dusty, Flash, Flint, Footloose, Frostbite, Grunt, Gung-Ho, Hawk, Heavy Metal, Iceberg, Lady Jaye, Leatherneck, Lifeline, Lift-Ticket, Low-Light

  • The issue is notably missing a profile for Clutch, who was a more important character to the series than many of the other Joes included.
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  • Crank-Case's profile lists him as the "Rampage Driver", instead of AWE Striker driver.
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  • Cross-Country's profile lists him as the "Rhino Driver", though the text below correctly mentions the HAVOC. Also, his file name is "Arlen W. Slaughter", instead of the Hasbro card's "Robert Blais". Interestingly, with this name and his rank, Cross-Country could be called Sergeant Slaughter.
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  • Cutter's profile is a much longer version of the action figure filecard. The text of the Hasbro version is simply edited to fit the same information in a smaller space. Cutter's Hasbro name "Skip A. Stone" is listed here as "Skip (no middle initial) Stone". Unique to this profile is this section: "Alternate code names: Speed-Boat, Drydock, Hurricane, Cruiser". Maybe these were names considered by Hama or Hasbro before a final decision was made.

Issue #2 - January, 1987

Characters included: Mercer, Mutt, Outback, Quick Kick, Recondo, Red Dog, Ripcord, Roadblock, Rock & Roll, Rocky, Scarlett, Sci-Fi, Sgt. Slaughter, Shipwreck, Short-Fuse, Slip-Stream, Snake-Eyes, Snow Job, Spirit, Stalker, Steeler, Taurus, Toll Booth, Torpedo, Tripwire, Tunnel Rat, Wet-Suit, Wild Bill, Zap; In Memoriam: Bongo the Balloon Bear, Kwinn, The Soft Master

  • The character Rocky is named Rocky Balboa, and is obviously meant to be the movie character played by Sylvester Stallone. Supposedly, there was to be a Rocky figure -- similar to other celebrity figures like Sgt. Slaughter and The Fridge -- but the deal fell through at the last minute. The next two issues contain a retraction.
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  • Rock & Roll's profile is a much longer version of the action figure filecard. The "quote" from the Hasbro card is longer here and is presented as an excerpt from a psychological profile by Col. D. O'Neil USAMC. It mentions that Rock & Roll's concern for the well-being of his teammates could be detrimental to him, which is what happens in the second story of G.I. JOE #1 when he almost disobeys orders instead of leaving Scarlett behind. There is a second quote which is from a "peer personality profile" by an anonymous sergeant.
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  • Steeler's profile is also longer than the Hasbro version and his rank is Sergeant, instead of Lieutenant. Two quotes are from a psychological profile from Maj. A. Milgrom USAMC and a "peer personality profile" by Specialist Clayton M. Abernathy. The last name is actually Hawk's file name, though his rank is much lower than it should be. He describes Steeler as likeable with appalling manners, highlighting Hawk's wealthy upbringing and education. The comments include nothing about Steeler clashing with superior officers as his filecard says.
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  • Mainframe seems to be one of the Joes on the back cover, but he does not appear inside.
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Issue #3 - February, 1987

Characters included: Baroness, BATs, Big Boa, Buzzer, Cobras, Copperhead, Crimson Guard, Croc Master, Crystal Ball, Destro, Dr. Mindbender, Eels, Enemy Leader (Cobra Commander), Firefly, Major Bludd, Raptor, Scrap-Iron, Serpentor, Snow Serpents, Storm Shadow, Strato-Viper, Tele-Vipers, Thrasher, Tomax & Xamot, Torch, Vipers, Wild Weasel, Zandar, Zanzibar, Zarana, Zartan

  • The "Cobras" are the Cobra soldier and officer with only pictures and no text.
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  • The Eels uniform is not the same as the action figure's. It's a simple red and gray wet suit with few details besides the Cobra sigil.
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  • Cobra Commander is listed as "Enemy Leader" in the contents and on his page, though that is actually what the Hasbro filecard says.
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  • Tomax and Xamot's profile lists their place of birth as Corsica, instead of Hasbro's "Island in the Mediterranean". Strangely, Corsica actually is an island in the Mediterranean.
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  • Ripper is seen on the back cover of the issue, but has no profile on the inside.
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  • The last page of the issue reads: 
  • RETRACTION

    The character of Rocky Balboa (Code Name: ROCKY) was incorrectly included as a member of G.I. JOE in the G.I. Joe ORDER OF BATTLE, Issue #2 on page 10. ROCKY is not and has never been a member of G.I. Joe.




Issue #4 - May, 1987

Vehicles included: APC, ASP, AWE Striker, Bridgelayer, Cobra HISS, Cobra Hydrofoil, Cobra Mamba, Cobra Nightraven, Conquest X-30, Devilfish, Dragonfly, Dreadnok Swampfire, Dreadnok Thunder Machine, FANG, Firebat, Hovercraft, Mauler, MOBAT, Polar Battle Bear, RAM, Rattler, SHARC, Skyhawk, Skystriker, Slugger, Stinger, STUN, Tomahawk, Vamp Mk II, Water Mocassin, Wolverine

  • The retraction from issue #3 is reprinted again.
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Trade paperback collection - 1987
  • All four issues of the miniseries are reprinted in this book, with Joes, Cobras and vehicles all mixed together.
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  • Pages for Sgt. Slaughter and the RAM motorcycle were left out of the collection
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  • Profiles of Chuckles, Fast Draw, Jinx and Lt. Falcon were included here but were not in the miniseries.

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