OVERLORD. Lieutenant Mikhail Derenko was a former Russian Spetznaz commando when he joined the Hammer Team, a U.S. covert ops unit. The team's five-member roster included Sean Collins, the son of former Crimson Guardsman Wade Collins. Derenko was recruited by the CIA, who promised to take care of his elderly mother. The Hammer Team's first mission took them to Afghanistan to weed out a rogue Cobra cell that had continued operating years after Cobra was disbanded in 1995. U.S. intelligence later learned that Derenko actually helped a number of Cobra agents escape during that mission. The team's second mission was led by the former G.I. Joe sergeant, Duke -- who had been working for a secret government organization since the break up of the Joe team -- and undercover operative Chuckles. The goal of the mission was to take down the mercenary Firefly after an elaborate trap was set. Unfortunately, the mission was a disastrous failure. Firefly set off a series of explosions that apparently killed all of the Hammer Team except for Sean Collins. In reality, Derenko survived and continued working as a mercenary. Working with the former Cobras he freed in Afghanistan, Derenko apparently began to work for a revived Serpentor, and began recruiting soldiers, mercenaries and more former Cobra operatives to organize the Coil, an army loyal to Serpentor. Eventually, under the name "Nowhere Man", Derenko met with Firefly in Tokyo, where he was to try and recruit Storm Shadow. The meeting was disrupted when Snake-Eyes, Sean Collins (now ninja apprentice Kamakura), Jinx and Budo arrived, hoping to stop Firefly. After a fight with the Joes, Derenko's men helped Firefly escape, and the ninjas learned that Storm Shadow was working for Duke and Chuckles to expose the Nowhere Man. At a nightclub in Japan, the mercenaries and the former Joes fought again as Derenko and his men attempted to access an old Cobra weapon locked in a vault that could only be opened by Cobra's high command or members of the Crimson Guard. Sean Collins was shocked to discover that Derenko's latest recruit was his own father. Wade explained that he only joined with Derenko to bring down his organization from the inside to atone for his past and to make his son proud. As Sean lunged at his former teammate, Derenko redirected his attack, causing Sean's sword to fatally wound his father. Derenko made his escape, but not before Sean attacked him with throwing stars and blinded him in one eye. The Joes never realized that he had been working for Serpentor.

Years later, after the G.I. Joe team was reinstated to fight a renewed Cobra, Serpentor finally revealed himself and the Coil. Derenko served as Serpentor's field commander under the name "Overlord". His battle armor included a helmet that kept his face hidden and a deadly claw weapon that attached to his arm. Based on Cobra Island, the Coil appeared seemingly out of nowhere to attack various nations and the United States. Eventually, the Coil faced off against the invading armies of G.I. Joe and Cobra. During the fighting, Overlord killed Chuckles, though he never revealed his true identity. In the wake of the battle both Overlord and Serpentor were missing. As the Joes and Cobra regrouped, Overlord was contacted by General Gibbs and other members of the Jugglers -- a cabal of Generals who plagued the Joes in the past -- who asked him to help them recover Serpentor's body. He agreed to help in exchange for use of military medical facilities. He began spending most of his time in a laboratory where Serpentor's body floated in a tank as scientists worked to modify his DNA and "re-educate" him into an operative to use as Gibbs sees fit. General Gibbs' ultimate goal and final plans for Serpentor and Overlord have yet to be revealed.

Overlord's filecard background does not match his comic book origin.

(GIv2 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 36, 40; MA 1-4; Figures: 1, 2)