Grunt (G.I. Joe)

Infobox G.I. Joe character
name = Grunt


caption =
affiliation = G.I. Joe
function = Infantry Trooper
realname = Graves, Robert W.
birthplace = Columbus, OH
serial = RA52779623
rank = E-4
primaryMOS = Infantry
secondaryMOS = Small Arms Armorer, Artillery Coordinator
subgroup =
series =
voiceby =
debut = 1982

Grunt is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe series. Grunt is an infantryman with the G.I. Joe Team. His real name is Robert W. Graves and born in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Advanced Infantry Training and is in top ten of his class.

A Real American Hero

The character was part of the original 1982 line of . His action figure featured him in a gray combat body suit. A re-colored version was released in 1984 and bundled with the Falcon attack glider. It would not be until 1991 that he would receive another action figure edition with an all-new mold and head sculpt. The file card that came with the 1991 version followed the comics’ storyline where he did leave the Joe Team and went to get his engineering degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology but differed in continuity by having him come back.

Marvel comics

Grunt first appeared in the first issue of the G.I. Joe comics by Marvel Comics. For 100 issues, he appears on the front cover, in a logo-section in the upper left corner.

As with most of the other original Joes, his body suit is a full green rather than the gray of the toy. He was featured regularly in the early issues of the series. One of his first missions was working with General Hawk and Snake-Eyes to bring down a murderous militia commander named Wingfield. At the conclusion of this mission, he works with Zap to disable Wingfield's nuclear bomb. As more new characters were introduced, he was shunted into the background. In issue #55, Grunt leaves the Joe Team to go to Georgia Tech but still keeps in touch. He offers to go on a mission to Borovia when Stalker’s team was captured by Borovian militia. When the Joe Team is suspended after the events of the Cobra Civil War, Grunt and his girlfriend, Lola, heed Roadblock’s call to help clear the Joe Team of charges of illegal action. They join with several freed Joe members and allies in an attack on a hospital where General Hawk and another ally are being held. After that, Grunt was never seen again until issue #145 where his former teammates expresses their wish he go back to join them but Duke encourages him to stick to his civilian life.

The comics never had Grunt rejoin the Joe Team, going in a different direction from the toy’s storyline. A character who very much looked like the 1991 edition of his action figure appeared in issue #130. This may have been an artistic error.

Devil’s Due comics

With the renewed threat of Cobra, former Joe team members are called back in to action. The rank-filling Greenshirts, with a uniform very similar to the one Grunt wore.

Grunt was not among the first to heed the call to duty. Readers would not know the Devil’s Due comics had followed the toy’s storyline of Grunt returning to the Joe Team until issue #24 where he is listed as among the Joes tasked with invading Cobra Island. His last appearance, thus far, is in issue #36 where the original Joe Team is assembled before being disbanded once more.

He is not seen in the G.I. Joe: America’s Elite series as he is not one of the active members. He is a member of the reserves as indicated in the Data Desk Handbook special.

Grunt is featured in the series "G.I.Joe Declassified", which focuses on early missions of the Joe team. He and several other Joes get into trouble far behind enemy lines.

Grunt has since appeared in his own issue explaining why he joined the army, and later the GI Joe team. It covers events both passed and present including his marriage and his return. Throughout the issue the story of another young man who joins Cobra is told which shows how much character Grunt truly has. While Grunt serves for patriotism the other man only wants wealth and personal glory. It is one of the most realistic portrayals of a character to date.

Animated series

Grunt is first seen in the A Real American Hero mini-series of the Sunbow-produced . However, much of the series’ focus was on the newer characters and Grunt was quickly shunted to the background. His final appearance in that series was in two-part "Worlds Without End" where the Joe Team find themselves in an alternate universe where Cobra is victorious in ruling the world. After finding out the fate of that universe’s Grunt, the series’ Grunt, along with Steeler and Clutch, elected to stay behind and win the world back from Cobra.

In the second season of the , Grunt is seen again in the episode "Keyboard Warriors". While the second series purports itself as a continuation of the first animated series, no explanation is made how Grunt escaped from the alternate universe or whether this is supposed to be the same character.

External links

* [http://www.myuselessknowledge.com/joe/grunt.html My Useless Knowledge.com]
* [http://www.yojoe.com/filecard/82/grunt.shtml Original 1982 Grunt file card]
* [http://www.yojoe.com/filecard/91/grunt3.shtml 1992 Grunt file card]
* [http://joes.propadeutic.com/1982.html#Figures Guide to Grunt action figure]