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G.I. Joe Extreme is a line of military-themed toys from Hasbro and the next major incarnation of G.I. Joe after A Real American Hero folded in 1994. The series ran from 1996 to 1997.
It was actually preceded by Sgt. Savage and the Screaming Eagles, a one-time only series that filled the hiatus between A Real American Hero and Extreme. The only character from that line was carried over to Extreme, Sgt. Savage himself. Because of Sgt. Savage’s inclusion, the Screaming Eagles series is considered by collectors to be part of the G.I. Joe series even though it was never labeled as G.I. Joe. The only other tie the Screaming Eagles had was a cartoon short that featured characters from the A Real American Hero series.
The Extreme series lasted only two years. The action figures stand at 5” tall and the size allowed for more details especially in the facial and muscular features. However, the line is criticized by collectors for having even more limited articulation than its predecessor. The title logo is reminiscent of the one used by Hasbro for the classic 12” series from the 1960s and 70s. Extreme was supported by a short-lived comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics and even had an animated series which ran for two seasons totaling 26 episodes. The TV series was produced by Claster. The line as a whole, though, never enjoyed the success the A Real American Hero series had and lasted only two years.
The series' tagline was "Extreme times call for extreme heroes!"
Story Overview
The series is set in 2006 where a new enemy emerges, the terrorist organization SKAR. The toyline never made it clear if the name was meant to be an acronym but it was often spelled in all capitals. However, in the Dark Horse comics, SKAR was an acronym for Soldiers of Kaos, Anarchy, and Ruin. The group is led by the Iron Klaw, a former count of an European country.
In the comics published by Dark Horse, the original leader of SKAR was a woman named the Duchess, who wanted the royal line to regain control of her country’s government through whatever means necessary and was assassinated by Iron Klaw, her lieutenant, when he became more ambitious and craved world domination.
The Joe Team is a much smaller group. Their designated commander is Lt. Stone. Their main headquarters is located on an uncharted island while their presidential liaison is a man named Mr. Clancy. It has been hinted that Clancy is much older than he looks and has been battling the SKAR organization far lnger than the Joes.
Connection to A Real American Hero
It was never made clear how much of a connection Extreme had to the original A Real American Hero series. The Extreme series never made any references to A Real American Hero and was considered a separate continuity from ARAH.The only character who was carried over from ARAH was Sgt. Savage. The Screaming Eagles toyline spawned an short animated featurette that would have served as a pilot for a possible television series. In the featurette, Sgt. Savage was a World War II American soldier captured and experimented upon by Nazi forces who eventually fell into a cryopreservation sleep. He was eventually found and revived by Hawk, Lady Jaye and Doc, all characters from the A Real American Hero series.
Characters
G.I. Joe
- Lt. Stone – Commander of the G.I. Joe Team.
- Ballistic (Season 1) - Sharpshooter.
- Black Dragon – Martial artist and ninja warrior.
- Freight - Demolitions expert.
- Harpoon - Naval operations specialist.
- Mayday – The tough female pilot of the team.
- Metalhead - Communications expert.
- Sgt. Savage – World War II hero revived from cryo-hibernation.
- Quick Strike – Former Skar operative who now works for the Joe team.
- Mr. Clancy - The Joe Team's presidential liaison.
SKAR
- Iron Klaw – Leader of the Skar organization. He is also known as Count von Rani.
- Steel Raven - Iron Klaw's right-hand woman. She did not appear until later in the series.
- Inferno – Iron Klaw’s main henchman who often uses a flame thrower as his primary weapon.
- Wreckage - Cyborg henchman with a machine gun for his right arm.
- Rampage - Robotic trooper.
Comics
Dark Horse Comics acquired the rights to publish the G.I. Joe Extreme comics in 1996. The four issue mini-series was written by Mike W. Barr with art by Tatsuya Ishida and Scott Reed. The cover to the first issue was done by Frank Miller, the second issue by Norm Breyfogle and issues three and four by Walter Simonson. The mini-series was immediately followed by an ongoing series. A fickle comic market and the poor performance of the toys led to the ongoing series lasting only four issues. Dark Horse Comics claimed the comic was on hiatus in its news releases, rather than cancelled.
Episode List
Season 1 (1995-1996)
- Summoning of Heroes
- Serious Leg Work
- Point of Honor
- Chips and a Cold, Cold Drink
- To Catch a Klaw
- Relics
- Dawn's Oily Light
- Crawling from the Wreckage
- Extend a Helping Klaw
- Now Hear This
- Winner Take All
- Coup of the Klaw
- Rebellion
Season 2 (1996-1997)
- SKAR Under Siege
- Operation Underground
- A Traitor Among Us
- Iron Klaw Unmasked
- The Search for Clancy
- Sabotage in the Skies
- The Silencers
- Rampage for President
- The Hard Road Home
- Wreckage: Revenge!
- Fear at Fifty Fathoms
- Metalhead Goes AWOL
- Betrayal
External links and references
"G.I. Joe Extreme"