Sgt. Slaughter (G.I. Joe)

Infobox G.I. Joe character
name = Sgt. Slaughter


caption =
affiliation = G.I. Joe
function = Drill Instructor
realname = CLASSIFIED
birthplace = Parris Island, SC
serial = 817-76-981
rank = E-7
primaryMOS = Infantry/Drill Instructor
secondaryMOS = Survival Instructor
subgroup = Slaughter's Marauders
series =
voiceby = Sgt. Slaughter
debut = 1985:"This article is about Sgt. Slaughter as he appeared in the "G.I. Joe" series. For the professional wrestler (on whom this character was based), see Sgt. Slaughter."

Sgt. Slaughter is a character from the G.I. Joe toyline series . Sgt. Slaughter is based on the real-life professional wrestler Sgt. Slaughter (whose real name is Robert Remus). The G.I. Joe Sgt. Slaughter was the first real person to be made into a G.I. Joe figure. Chicago Bears defensive tackle William "the Fridge" Perry was the second. Sgt. Slaughter was also the most successful toy character, with several versions of his toy action figure released. Unlike other real-person action figures, Sgt. Slaughter's toy version makes no reference to its real-life inspiration, although the figure does have wrestling moves. The real-life Remus also did the voice for the cartoon character. Sgt. Slaughter also appeared in person doing introductions to the episodes that were originally "".

Production

From 1985-1989, there were new Sgt. Slaughter action figures almost every year. Hasbro, the maker of G.I. Joe toys, discontinued production in 1990, partly because the World Wrestling Federation storyline featured Slaughter as a "bad guy" and Iraqi sympathizer.

toryline

According to the G.I. Joe storyline, narrated in the cartoon and comic book series, Sgt. Slaughter was born in Parris Island, South Carolina. His real name was deemed top secret. He serves as the team's drill instructor and also engages in special missions (though this is not stated on the file card).

Cartoons

Sgt. Slaughter is often described as the toughest of all the Joes.Specify|date=January 2007 As an instructor and trainer, he spurs his trainees through the most physically challenging exercises, which he can perform quite easily. He is almost unnaturally strong and can fend entirely for himself in the roughest missions. In fact, he easily fends off several dozen B.A.T.s by himself in one mission.

He first appeared in the second season opener, "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!". He was one of Dr. Mindbender's DNA candidates in the latter's attempt to create Serpentor, because Cobra failed to capture a much different DNA sample. But his DNA sample was destroyed accidentally (by himself) during the fight while Serpentor was created. So Serpentor never got Sgt. Slaughter's DNA sample. In the Sunbow cartoon series, Sgt. Slaughter is listed Commander of the G.I. Joe team as a drill Instructor, he is a legend among his fellow Joes.

In the DiC cartoon Series, Sgt. Slaughter was made third in command of the G.I. Joe.

Action Figures

Sgt. Slaughter led two G.I. Joe special teams. One was the "Renegades", a mercenary-type group that partakes in highly sensitive, bottom drawer-classified missions for the United States. They included former football thug David "Red Dog" Taputapu, circus performer/Interpol agent Varujan "Taurus" Ayvazyan, Green Beret Lt. Falcon, and ex-Cobra Viper Felix "Mercer" Stratton. Later, he led the "Marauders", a G.I. Joe assault squad composed of Spirit, the tracker; Low-Light, the night operations sniper; Barbecue, the firefighter; Mutt, the K-9 handler; and Footloose, the groundpounder. (Note: In the animated miniseries "Operation Dragon Fire", Lady Jaye also serves on the team, but she does not have an action figure. Her uniform is based on her original cartoon appearance, and colored blue like other team members.) Rock N Roll also makes an appearance in Operation Dragonfire. Rock and Roll Version 2 (packaged with twin-linked personal miniguns) resembles the DIC series character from operation Dragonfire. G.I Joe "Scoop" was also recruited into the Marauders in operation Dragonfire by Sgt. Slaughter himself but was later found to be a COBRA spy.

Comics

Marvel

In the Marvel comic book series, issue #48, his first appearance, [http://www.yojoe.com/comics/joe/joe48.shtml] Sgt. Slaughter led the hunt for Zartan, who was loose in G.I. Joe headquarters. He was ultimately responsible for Zartan's recapture. In issue #51, [http://www.yojoe.com/comics/joe/joe51.shtml] he places Thunder in charge of the Joe HQ and accompanies Cross-Country on the HAVOC to pursue Zartan (and the Dreadnoks) after another escape attempt. After losing track of Zartan and his accompanying Dreadnoks, Sgt. Slaughter takes the HAVOC's hovercraft for recon. He actually does find them but is fooled by the disguises the Dreadnoks have worked up. This is seemingly his last Marvel appearance.

Devil's Due

A very similar looking (but different in name) character showed up in a panel during the Devil's Due run of G.I. Joe #7. He is not listed on the official listing of personnel in the Battle Files mini-series which lists all active and reservist members. However, Sgt. Slaughter is listed as an active member of the G.I. Joe team in G.I. Joe: America's Elite #28.