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BADGER. The
Badger is a small, but heavily armored land vehicle used by the G.I.
Joe
team. The jeep only carries one person and is armed with a
tandem-loading
3-stage rocket launcher. The Badger was designed to be tough and
withstand
heavy enemy fire. The Badger was first used by G.I. Joe during a
mission
in Trans-Carpathia defending Destro's Castle from Cobra forces. (GI
120, 121, 122, 123) |
| B.A.T.s |
| BATTLE COPTER. Small
one-man miniature helicopters. The Battle Copters, used by both G.I.
Joe
and Cobra were essentially helicopter-backpacks armed with weapons.
Cobra
Commander gave Destro two Cobra Battle Copters when he freed the
Baroness
from imprisonment. The G.I. Joe Eco-Warriors used Battle Copters
in their attack on the sea base of former Cobra operative, Cesspool.
During a battle to protect a top secret weapons research lab in New
York
City's Chrysler Building, General Joe Colton -- the original G.I. Joe--
led a team of Joes flying Battle Copters. (GI
124, 125, 147) |
BATTLE
WAGON. A four-wheeled armored vehicle used by the G.I. Joe
team.
The Battle Wagon included a large missle-launcher that could fre six
rockets,
and two heavy machine guns. The vehicle was manned by one driver and
three
gunners. The Battle Wagon was first used during the Joes' battle
against
Cobra in the Trans-Carpathian mountains, while defending Destro's
castle. The vehicle was later used when a group of Joes rescued
Hawk
and Lady Jaye from Borovia's war-torn capital city. Months
later,
a Battle Wagon was modified and used as a test-bed for the Rail-gun
prototype. (GI 120-123, 128, 129, 137) |
BRAIN-WAVE
SCANNER. A machine that can read thoughts and control
minds.
The Brain-wave Scanner was invented by the ruthless scientist, Dr.
Venom.
The device was ingenius, but it was also extremely painful and
dangerous.
Venom's unethical experiments allowed him to progress beyond the point
any reputable scientists would go. The scanner restrained the subject
and
monitored all his or her vital signs. A helmet was placed over the
subject's
head. The electrodes inside the helmet would monitor one's brain-wave
patterns
and record the person's reactions to thousands of images, thus creating
a "vocabulary" of the subject's thought patterns. The machine then
sifted
through the subjects mind to find memories and knowledge -- all of
which
could be displayed on a monitor screen. When Snake-Eyes was captured in
Cobra's town of Springfield, Venom used the Brain-wave Scanner to pull
the G.I. Joe team's secrets from his mind. Snake-Eyes suffered through
the ordeal by dredging up strong, painful memories that would block the
information Venom sought. As Venom continued to question him,
Snake-Eyes
used a technique learned in his ninja training to slow down his vital
signs.
When Venom thought he was dead, Snake-Eyes knocked out the scientist
and
made his escape.
Perhaps because of its failure, the Brain-wave Scanner wasn't
used for
the following months, and after Venom's death, Cobra nearly forgot
about
the machine. When Cobra Commander was almost assassinated by his own
son,
Billy, the Brain-wave Scanner was used as a way to interrogate the boy.
Use of the Scanner was actually suggested by Zartan, who had heard
rumors
of the machine in the criminal underground for years. Like Snake-Eyes,
Billy was strong-willed enough to block the machine from discovering
the
identities of his co-conspirators, instead drudging up the painful
memories
of his father's rise to power. Before too much could be revealed about
his past the Commander unstrapped Billy from the machine. The device
was
not used again on Billy, since he was freed by Storm Shadow. A
short
time later, Cobra Commander allowed the Cobra scientist Dr. Mindbender
access to the Brain-wave Scanner during his creation of Serpentor. The
machine was used to scan information about Cobra from Mindbender's
brain
and to place it in the newly-formed mind of Serpentor (Destro and the
Baroness
neglected to tell Mindbender how painful the scanning process was).
When
the Joe team member Ripcord was captured by Cobra, he was strapped into
the machine and used to give Serpentor knowledge of the team's tactics. After the creation of Serpentor, Mindbender made his own
modifications
to the Scanner, making it smaller and more efficient. In the nation of
Sierra Gordo, the new Scanner was being kept in Cobra's Terror-Drome. A
Joe made to look like Flint was captured there and strapped into the
machine
for interrogation. Mindbender soon discovered that the Joe was actually
Snake-Eyes in disguise. Snake-Eyes again fought the machine until he
was
rescued by the Joes. Unfortunately, Snake-Eyes was captured soon after
and brought to the Cobra Consulate building in Manhattan. A lab was set
up there for Mindbender and he now intended to get all the information
out of Snake-Eyes he could. But after his previous ordeals with the
device,
Snake-Eyes used a ninja calming technique to disrupt the machine,
causing
it to destroy itself. Again, Snake-Eyes slipped through the fingers of
Cobra' chief scientist, escaping with Scarlett's and Storm Shadow's
help. Years later, the Scanner resurfaced. Zarana used it to brainwash Joes Clutch and Rock & Roll when they were held prisoner in Broca Beach. This time, it was used to plant information in their minds instead of extract it. After their rescue, the post-hypnotic suggestions planted by Zarana nearly sent Clutch and Rock & Roll into a berserker rage inside Joe headquarters before their own sense of morality overrode the programming. When Cobra Commander returned from a long absense from Cobra, he used the Scanner to subjugate the American town of Millville, now using a smaller helmet-sized scanner. Some time later, the Joes freed the townspeople from Cobra's control. Over the next few years, the Commander used the Scanner in various forms to brainwash the Baroness into attempting to kill Destro, and later to take control of Storm Shadow, the Baroness and Billy in Trans-Carpathia. The Joes failed to rescue these victims of the Scanner, though it now appears that they eventually broke free. The Brain-wave Scanner remains a symbol of Cobra's casual
disregard
for anyone that could get in the way of their plans, and has made
certain
that Dr. Venom's evil legacy continued for many years. (GI 10, 38, 49, 50, 54-56, 90-100, 145-151; YB 3) |
| BRAWLER. A large tracked,
armored vehicle
used by the G.I. Joe team. The Brawler is designated a "self-propelled
missle launcher/gun". Its armaments include two surface-to-air missle
launchers,
a 77mm howitzer, gatling guns and grenade launchers. The vehicle is
protected
by 20-inch thick heavy armor. It has a top speed of 66 mph, and a range
of 175 miles. It carries a crew of 3 with room for 5 more. The Brawler
was first used during the Joes' battle against Cobra in the
Trans-Carpathian
mountains, while defending Destro's castle. (GI
120-122, 124) |
| BRAWLER II. A
heavily-armed jeep used by the G.I. Joe team. While the original
Brawler was a type of tank, the newer Brawler used by the reinstated
Joe team was based on the earlier Hammer jeep, with a number of
modifications, especially to the weapons systems. It can reach maximum
speeds of 70 mph on the road, 45 mph cross-country. The Brawler is
armed with twin side-mounted .50 caliber machine guns and a rotating,
multi-rocket launcher carrying six short-range surface-to-surface "fire
and forget" high explosive missiles. (BF 3) |
BRIDGELAYER. A
lightly-armed armored vehicle used by G.I. Joe that could deploy a
temporary
bridge, capable of supporting the weight of other armored vehicles.
Normally
driven by Toll-Booth, the Bridgelayer could be used to traverse ravines
and other obstacles. Some Joes gave the Bridgelayer the nickname "Toss
'n Cross". The Bridgelayer was used to avoid quicksand during the Cobra
Island civil war when an assault force of Joes made their way through
the
jungles of the island. (GI 76, 77; OB 4) |
| BUGG. An amphibious attack
vehicle used
by Cobra. BUGGs are large, heavily-armed "tracked submarines" that
could
deploy a smaller two-man submarine. Its armaments included torpedoes,
surface-to-air
missles and anti-aircraft guns. Eash vehicle is manned by specially
trained
troopers known as Secto-Vipers. Satellite photos of large tracks
heading
into the ocean gave the US military their first evidence of Cobra's
BUGGs.
BUGGs were deployed into the waters around Cobra Island, and were first
encountered by G.I. Joe aircraft during the Cobra Island civil war. (GI
74,
76, 80, 101, 102) |
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