BACKBLAST. The code name used by G.I. Joe team anti-aircraft soldier, U.S. Army Sergeant Edward J. Menninger. Backblast was born in New York city. He is an expert in using various portable ground-to-air missle launchers.On his first mission with the G.I. Joe team, Backblast was part of the covert team sent into Sierra Gordo to rescue captured members of the G.I. Joe team and the USSR's October Guard. He shot down a Cobra Condor jet attempting to destroy the Joes' vehicle before the team could get across the border into the friendly nation of Punta del Mucosa. Backblast was in G.I. Joe headquarters when Clutch and Rock & Roll nearly went berserk after being brain-washed by Cobra. He was one of the many Joes involved in the conflict in the Middle Eastern nation of Benzheen. Backblast served with G.I. Joe until its 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. After the Joe team stopped a plot by Cobra to unleash the weapon known as the Tempest, and defeated a new threat, the Red Shadows, the military again disbanded the team. One year later, the Joe team was reformed with a smaller roster of active members. Backblast, like most former Joes, is a reserve member of the new team. He fought in Uzbekistan during the conflict known as World War III.

One of many Joes listed on the World War III member assignment map first seen in AE #28.

(GI 92, 100, 115; GIv2 24; Figures: 1, 2, 3, 4)