G.I. Joe: Resolute (cartoon)

"G.I. Joe: Resolute"
Attribution
Writer(s)	Warren Ellis
Original airdate	April 17, 2009
General information
Continuity	Resolute
G.I. Joe: Resolute (cartoon)

When Cobra Commander makes his boldest move yet, the Joe team only has 24 hours to save the world!

Plot

“	G.I. Joe is a highly trained, classified special operations unit composed of men and women from around the globe. Officially, these warriors don't even exist. Few know the truth – that G.I. Joe fights a secret war, as the first and last line of defense against forces that seek to plunge our world into chaos. Wherever there's trouble, G.I. Joe is there. In G.I. Joe: Resolute, the raging battle between G.I. Joe and Cobra has never been more intense. Every life is at stake... and even the good guys can die. This is no game. Your favorite characters are back... but this time, no one is safe. No parachutes. No lasers. No rules. All games end today. Now you know... and knowing is half the battle.	”
—Hasbro official synopsis

Webisode 1

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In Washington DC, police have cordoned off the Lincoln Memorial. A body lies on the floor inside, with a Cobra dagger stuck in its heart. A CSI tech scans his fingerprints, and gets confirmation: Major Bludd is dead. Passing a trashcan, the tech sheds her cap and jacket, revealing herself as Scarlett.

The U.S.S. Flagg floats in the middle of the Pacific ocean, with its crew going about their duties, when a series of bombs in the sub-level armory rip the ship apart and leave it smoking. Simultaneously around the world, the pieces begin to move into place:

At the H.A.A.R.P. (High Frequency Active Aurora Research Program) facility, the antennae begin to glow, causing the sky to turn red.

On Cobra Island, overgrown missile silos open, sending their payloads skyward. The satellites spread open and form a constellation around the globe.

In Siberia, the Omsk-23 missile station shoots a pulse of energy into the sky.

Back on the Flagg, the Joes discuss the damage to the ship. Bazooka was on guard duty, but someone managed to get by him. The reason why is soon discovered: Bazooka is dead, killed without leaving a mark.

In Manhattan, Firefly assembles a rocket launcher and fires a missile at the United Nations building. The missile smashes into the general assembly hall and embeds itself in the front wall, projecting a holographic communication from Cobra Commander. He gives a speech about money and power, and threatens the delegates. To prove his intentions, he destroys Moscow, killing all 10,382,754 residents.

Webisode 2

Snake-Eyes has work to do.

Onboard the Flagg, Doc prepares to autopsy Bazooka's body and withdraws a rolled note from the corpse's mouth. Scarlett recognizes the Arashikage clan symbol, and Snake-Eyes uses a black light to reveal Storm Shadow's hidden message, inviting the ninja home. Duke gives him permission to go, but tells him to be ready when he's needed. Forced to choose between going with Snake-Eyes or staying with Duke, Scarlett clarifies if it is the team unit she must chose over assisting Snake Eyes or Duke himself over Snake Eyes, and with zero hesitation she opts to remain on the Flagg with Duke.

Stabby stabby!

The hypersonic transport carries Snake-Eyes to his destination, and the man leaps out. He uses a personal flight suit to glide to the island, and night-vision goggles to find the best landing zone. Selecting a convenient dock, he sheds his suit and, without breaking stride, charges the lone Cobra Trooper on guard there and kills him. When a second Trooper comes by on his patrol, Snake-Eyes hides in the shadows, then jumps on him, breaks his neck and ruthlessly stabs him.

Near the entrance to the temple, three more Cobras are startled by a sound: they focus their lights on the source, and see one of their fellow troopers, hanged from a tree and swaying in the breeze. As they cut down his body, they notice his grenade belt is missing; Snake-Eyes has used the grenades and a monofilament line attached to the dead man's back to set a trap for his enemies. The resulting blast is visible from a great distance.

One of the Cobra Troopers survives the explosion, and gets to his feet to see Snake-Eyes silhouetted against the flames. He raises his gun, but Snake-Eyes dashes past with his sword drawn, cutting the man down. As Snake starts up the temple steps, Storm Shadow watches from a nearby mountain.

Webisode 3

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On the Flagg, Duke addresses the assembled Joe team, informing them of Cobra's strike on Moscow. After hitting them with the hard news he counters it to give inspiration by reminding them that G.I. Joe is more than one good soldier and that Cobra underestimates them, and then sends them to the situation room, telling everyone to get to work with the support staff. Cover Girl works with the computer techs, Wild Bill calls Brussels to get the vehicles warmed up, Flint tries to figure out why radios still work if satellite communications are down, and Gung-Ho tells his group to figure out how Cobra incinerated Moscow without using a nuke. One of the techs says she can think of five ways to do it, and Gung-Ho declares her his new favorite Joe.

Shortly, the Joes assemble again to share what they've learned. The ionosphere has been superheated, blocking sat signals, but reflecting long-range radio waves. The techs also put together enough data to confirm Cobra used a particle cannon, firing it skyward and collecting the energy over a target anywhere in the world and destroying it. They also figured out where the cannon is located: the Siberian missile silo.

Flint points out that in order to accomplish all this, Cobra must have been working for months: a full-scale assault would be detected a mile away and chewed up by their built-in defenses. Duke recognizes it will have to be a one-man job and as leader he automatically implies that it will be him; but Scarlett reaches out to Duke insisting her partnership for a two-person infiltration unit, giving Duke a sly but tender smile with the gesture of her hand touching his shoulder.

Webisode 4

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Deep in Cobra headquarters, Cobra Commander pontificates to his assembled troops, explaining why he's always lost in the past, and how things are going to be different this time. He reminds them that it was he who killed "the traitor" Major Bludd, and warns them that his days of playing the weak fool are over. Anyone who works against him he will gut like a fish.

In the Pacific, Dial-Tone - the female tech who figured out how Moscow was destroyed - is going over data from the New Mexico radar station when she finds a string of anomalies mid-stratosphere. Meanwhile, in the wreckage of the armory, Gung-Ho, Flint and Roadblock discuss what to do next. Duke and Scarlett are prepping for their mission, but that still leaves questions unanswered. How is Cobra staying in formation if they don't have satellite access?

Dial-Tone dashes in and says she knows how: Cobra has set up a ring of Stratellites, a technology barely in prototype, floating 20 miles above the ground. Flint assigns Tunnel Rat to take out the communications, but Dial-Tone warns him that when they tried to put a UAV up there to examine the devices, something shot it down. Tunnel Rat points out that even if the Joes do take out the Stratellites, that doesn't fix the ionosphere, but Gung-Ho has the answer to that - a research station 100 miles away from the H.A.A.R.P. can see the antennas glowing. Flint orders the Joes to set up two strike-teams.

Cobra Troopers are standing guard at the H.A.A.R.P. facility. Inside, the scientists kneel on the ground with their hands behind their heads. The Baroness demands silence under the threat of death, pleased that she finally gets to spend some quality time with Destro.

Webisode 5

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On the Arashikage island, Snake-Eyes climbs the stairs to the training grounds. All is silent. The buildings are dilapidated and grass grows through the stone walkways. Pushing aside a tattered curtain, Snake-Eyes remembers what the compound used to look like.

Students practice their sword forms as the Hard Master counts off. A pair of students hone their striking power by punching a large tree stump.

Tommy breaks off from the group, and asks to speak to his uncle, the Hard Master. The Hard Master says the younger man should address him as "sensei" in front of the other students, but Storm Shadow counters that he is not speaking to him as his student. He knows that the Hard Master has been tutoring Snake-Eyes privately, and is unhappy about it. Hard Master reassures Storm Shadow that while he had been training to be a ninja since childhood, Snake-Eyes started later in life, and needed extra help to keep up with the others.

Storm Shadow is upset, however, that his uncle has not yet finished teaching him the Seven Steps to the Sun, the martial arts form he had created, and on which the reputation of the Arashikage school was founded. Despite being the greatest student in the school and the Hard Master's nephew, Storm Shadow had not yet been taught the final step, and wanted to know why. The Hard Master simply replies that Storm Shadow is not ready. He should still be grappling with the implications of the Sixth Step, itself a terrible move.

Hard Master claps his hands, and the two students who had been striking the log lift it from its platform and hurl it toward him with all their might. With a single strike, he shatters the thick wooden stump - the Sixth Step. He says that Storm Shadow can already do this, but that the Seventh Step is death. Passing that knowledge on to anyone must be a careful decision. When Storm Shadow asks who will carry on the tradition when his uncle dies, the Hard Master repeats what he said before, adding that Snake-Eyes is more ready than Tommy. Violence is a burden to him, while to Storm Shadow, it is less than air.

Storm Shadow offers his uncle one final chance to teach him the Seventh Step. When the man refuses, Storm Shadow removes the scarf wrapped around the lower half of his face and throws it in the air. On a distant hill, an unknown figure steps from the shadows and raises a sniper rifle. Realizing what is happening, Snake-Eyes rushes forward to save his master, getting a bullet through the jaw for his trouble. When the Hard Master turns around to see what is the matter, a second bullet zips cleanly through his head, and he falls to the ground.

Storm Shadow tells Snake-Eyes it had to be done - they were meant to be ninjas, not schoolboys. Unable to speak, Snake-Eyes draws his sword and challenges his best friend. Tommy reminds him that if you strike a fellow Arashikage, it means vendetta. Snake-Eyes' vision is blurry, but he does not back down. He swings at Storm Shadow, but misses. Storm Shadow knocks him to the ground, causing him to lose his sword. As Storm Shadow prepares to strike again, Snake-Eyes bashes him with his elbow, knocking him to the ground. When Storm Shadow gets up, Snake-Eyes is gone.

His memory over, Snake-Eyes hears Storm Shadow join him on the training arena. Storm Shadow repeats what his note said: all games end today.

Webisode 6

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A hypersonic transport speeds toward Omsk, carrying Duke and Scarlett to the missile station. Wild Bill is piloting, and in the back, Ripcord and Airborne help Duke and Scarlett into their jump gear. Ripcord insists on reminding his friends that the packs they're wearing haven't been cleared for HALO ops, but Duke knows that they don't have choice. They go over the plan: the transport circles for 30 minutes, listening for a beacon on Channel 23, and if there isn't on, they are to assume the two Joes are dead and return to the Flagg.

Duke and Scarlett leap from the plane, watching their altimeters. When they reach the right height, the ignite the packs: rocket-powered boosters that will allow them to fly to the target. They land safely in the snow on a cliff overlooking the decommissioned station and begin making their way inside. Showing a frightening degree of skill and professionalism the two work together like greased lightning to dispatch several Ice Vipers using both guns and knives. Scarlett hacks the security system and opens them a door.

Proceeding cautiously down a misty hallway, Duke steps on a panel that activates nano-bots that clamp onto his clothes and activate the alarms. The elevator at the far end of the hall opens, releasing three Alley Vipers. Duke and Scarlett are pinned down on opposite sides of the hall, with very little cover. Scarlett shoots the valve off a steam pipe, obscuring their position, and Duke lobs a grenade at the Cobras. As more troopers race to the area, the Joes drop through the destroyed floor into the ventilation shafts, leaving a few grenades behind for the reinforcements.

Kicking out a vent in the missile station's control room, the two Joes sneak out into the base. It turns out the missiles were never decommissioned, and Cobra has managed to use the nuclear warhead to jury-rig a working reactor. Behind them, the air crackles, and the vision of Zartan materializes as the source. Grinning viciously, he fires a rocket at the Joes, destroying the catwalk they were standing on.

Webisode 7

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In the Joes' situation room, Tunnel Rat reveals his cunning plan. Since the Stratellites will shoot down anything with an engine, he'll use 1950s' technology, floating 20 miles up in a hot air balloon. Wearing pressure suits, Tunnel Rat and his team reach the stratosphere, then use grappling guns to hitch themselves to one of the satellites and slide over. Reaching the structure, they carefully begin looking for the communications gear, unsure of what traps or failsafes the satellites might have.

Using a small oxyacetylene torch, they cut the front panel off the comms terminal. But as they work, one of the clamps breaks free above them, and begins swinging wildly, slicing the skin of the balloon and knocking free some of the equipment. Tunnel Rat leaps out of the way, but the lump of machinery knocks the two generic soldiers off the side, hurtling toward Earth.

In Alaska, Gung-Ho, Roadblock, Beachhead and Stalker reconnoiter the HAARP facility. Cobra Troopers stand guard out front, and thermal imaging shows more inside, along with "lotsa hostages." Since the element of surprise is useless, Roadblock suggests a program of shock and awe. While Gung-Ho uses his grenade launcher to take down the antennae, Roadblock maneuvers behind the Cobra Troopers and cuts them down with his .50 cal. machine gun.

Inside, Destro and the Baroness feel the ground tremble due to the Joes' assault. Baroness threatens the scientists, coldly telling them how they're going to die.

At the exterior fence, Stalker uses a metal-dissolving spray to breach the perimeter. He pries the cover off a ventilation shaft while Beachhead stands guard.

As Roadblock and Gung-Ho charge into the building, Baroness is caught off guard and asks what they're doing. Destro's replies "killing themselves" as he uses a handheld detonator to blow up the entryway.

Webisode 8

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Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow face each other beneath the full moon. The ninja draws his swords, telling Snake-Eyes how the anger over the Hard Master's death and the supposed vendetta were just lies: he hated Snake-Eyes because their sensei was going to teach him the Seven Steps to the Sun rather than Storm Shadow. With the preliminaries over, the two charge each other, their swords clanging.

Storm Shadow draws first blood, with a slash across Snake-Eyes' chest. The commando flips his enemy over his shoulder, hurling him across the training ground and causing him to drop one of his swords. Storm Shadow is undeterred, however, and the two combatants lock up again.

Dodging a leaping strike, Snake-Eyes deftly cuts the insides of Storm Shadow's forearms, splitting the cloth wrapped around them and revealing his tattoos: the Arashikage hexagram on his right arm, a Cobra sigil on his left. Storm Shadow screams in rage, and the fight is rejoined.

A series of blows and a knee to the ribs cause Snake-Eyes to lose his blade, and Storm Shadow wastes no time in knocking him to the ground. Pulling back his sword arm, Storm Shadow attacks, aiming for Snake-Eyes' heart. The Joe manages to divert the strike, however, by allowing the sword to stab through his palm and into the ground next to him. He snaps the blade using his free hand and kicks Storm Shadow in the face. As the two get to their feet, Snake calmly pulls the remnants of the sword out of his hand.

Down to fighting empty-handed, the pair continue brawling with one another. Snake-Eyes attempts to strike with the Fifth Step to the Sun, but Storm Shadow anticipates it and sidesteps the blow. Twisting Snake-Eyes' arm painfully, Storm Shadow mocks him, saying that the Hard Master may have never taught him the Seventh Step, but he also never taught Snake Eyes the Sixth. Storm Shadows pounds Snake-Eyes the same way the Hard Master pounded the tree stump, sending him crashing into some stone steps.

As the dust clears, though, Snake-Eyes is missing. Storm Shadow spins around in time to get struck in the chest so hard that his backpack explodes and his shirt is torn away. Five more hits follow swiftly, and Storm Shadow realizes the truth: the Hard Master had taught Snake-Eyes the Seventh Step.

Sometime before his death, the Hard Master took Snake-Eyes aside and told him why he was teaching him the full Seven Steps to the Sun. He knew he would not live forever, and more important than simply making sure the martial art lived on was making sure it lived on well. He knew that Snake-Eyes would only use the knowledge when nothing else could save him, and would only pass it on to a worthy student.

A shockwave ripples out as Snake-Eyes delivers the final blow, and Storm Shadow falls over dead. Snake-Eyes buries his former friend on a mountain overlooking the training ground, with his swords standing among the rocks. As Snake-Eyes ponders Storm Shadow's grave, the hypersonic transport hovers overhead - free time is over, and Snake-Eyes is needed back with the team.

Webisode 9

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In Siberia, the Cobra Troopers fire at Duke and Scarlett as they slide down the ruins of the catwalk and crash into a pile of steel drums. Despite being outgunned and surrounded, the two Joes make short work of the Cobras, standing back-to-back and carefully controlling their return fire. High above them, though, Zartan casually reloads and launches a second rocket at the pair, sending them flying in opposite directions.

Duke takes a tough hit by the blast, but Scarlett does a graceful flip, picking off Cobras even while she's upsidedown in midair. She rolls up onto her feet and swiftly kills a few more guards, but Zartan has her in his sights. She leaps away before the rocket explodes, but is still slammed headfirst against the nearby wall.

Zartan walks up to the downed Scarlett, aiming his weapon at her. She tells the mercenary to just walk away, since he was only in it for the money. Zartan recounts the first job he did for Cobra - killing the Hard Master - but he tells her he likes the idea of living in a world where he can kill anyone he likes. He says he doesn't need the money, just the killing. With Scarlett at Zartans mercy his gun draws aim at her, there's a gunshot, but it is Zartan who drops to the floor. Duke has shot him from behind.

Injured, Duke coughs and falls to one knee, holding a bloody wound in his side. Scarlett rushes to his side, but he tells her to ignore it: he just took a bullet to a rib; disabling the particle cannon is still the priority.

Scrambling up a power conduit and a steel staircase, Scarlett disengages the weapon. However, that doesn't mean it's stopped - it can easily be reactivated by any idiot with remote access. The only way to stop it permanently is to blow up the entire missile station. But with his broken rib, Duke doesn't have a chance of escaping the building in the six minutes before detonation. He orders Scarlett to set the sequence and evacuate, leaving him behind.

Scarlett obeys Dukes order to set the computer to overload the nuclear pile, but refuses to obey the order of leaving him behind. She sits down next to Duke in a personal moment, and tells him she's decided what - and who - she really wants in life. In essence, she realizes Duke is what she's wanted even if it meant to live only six more minutes and to die with him.

Ripcord breaks radio silence to say that they've registered a heavy energy buildup, and asks if everything is all right. Apprised of the situation, he points out that the two Joes don't need to climb out of the base: he can hover over the silo and drop them a line. Elated by the change of situation Scarlett blurts out "I love you" to Ripcord for his rescue but momentarily looking like she expressed her feelings to Duke, who both kid about it jovially. In no time, the line is in, Scarlett and Duke are strapped on, and Ripcord is hauling them free. With just two minutes left until detonation, Scarlett tells him to shut the door and get them all the hell out of there.

Webisode 10

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Back at the H.A.A.R.P. facility, Roadblock and Gung-Ho run down the hallway prior to Destro's blowing it up. Spotting the C4, the cajun knocks his partner into a storage closet just before the bombs go off, saving both their lives. Still threatening the scientists, the Baroness activates advanced imaging capabilities built into her glasses, pinpointing the Joes by their thermal signatures. She tells them she'll start killing hostages if the two men come any closer, and demands they go outside and bring their transport close to the building - she and Destro are planning on leaving in it.

Stuck in the hallway, the Joes discuss what to do next. They trade weapons, and Roadblock asks for a diversion.

Destro asks what the Joes are doing, and Baroness tells him they're just standing in the hall. She plans to give them another minute, but Destro suggests they start killing hostages now. They start flirting in their own twisted way.

Roadblock gets Destro's mask in his sights, and pulls the trigger, launching a grenade at the Scots arms dealer. The projectile bounces off his head harmlessly, but it's enough to knock him down and distract the Baroness while the Joes rush the room and take cover behind some of the computer equipment.

With both sides firing at each other, the scientists are trapped in the middle, covering their ears and trying to stay low. Suddenly, a grate on the floor opens, and Stalker rises out, motioning for the scientists to stay quiet. Peeking around the desk, Gung-Ho sees Stalker, who gives him a thumbs up.

When the firing stops unexpectedly, Destro and the Baroness realize something is wrong. They pop up from behind their cover to find the hostages are all gone. Distracted, they don't notice the flashbang tossed their way until it goes off. When their vision clears, the Joes are on top of them, with their guns drawn.

On the crippled Stratellite, Tunnel Rat climbs back up to the access terminal and hooks on his safety line. The entire structure shakes, and he nearly falls off again, when the balloon platform he had ridden to get up here crashes against the Stratellite, sending large chunks of debris raining down toward him. He ducks the falling panels, and continues his work.

Unsure if anyone is still listening to him or not, he records his actions on a wrist-mounted communicator. There are too many Stratellites to take out one by one, but they're all connected by communications beams. His plan is to send a massive power surge through the beams, destroying all the satellites at once.

The plan works, and the constellation of Stratellites disappears in clouds of smoke. Freefalling from the sky, Tunnel Rat opens his chute when he hits the clouds and begins drifting for home.

In Russia, the hypersonic transport speeds away from Omsk airspace as the missile station explodes, crippling Cobra's supergun. Ripcord updates Duke on everything that's happened, and Duke lays out their next step plainly: kill Cobra Commander.

Finale

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Onboard the USS Flagg, satellite communications are reacquired, letting everyone know that Tunnel Rat's mission was a success. Dial-Tone spots an energy signature matching the Siberian particle cannon, originating from somewhere in America. Suddenly the computers go out again, due to a smaller version of the H.A.A.R.P. effect - although the main facility had been captured, Cobra had a secondary system in place on Micronesia, and is targeting the Flagg. Flint orders an emergency evacuation, and the support staff runs for the transport choppers. Cover Girl directs traffic in the corridors, keeping everyone moving swiftly and safely. Everyone gets clear just as the sky turns green and a blast hits the evacuated Flagg. At least one copter is too slow, and is overtaken by the ensuing tidal wave. Flint doesn't know what to do next, but Dial-Tone reports she got a lock on the signal: it originated in a town in the Midwest; a town called Springfield.

Returning from Siberia, Duke authorizes everyone to prepare for a full-scale invasion. He points out that Cobra Commander didn't strike at the Joes first because he wanted them to witness his triumph, but now he's panicking.

In Springfield, the streets and parking lots are empty. At the local Mallspot, the lights in the parking lot lay down and the ground retracts, revealing the backup particle cannon. Cobra Commander rants for a moment, then orders his techs to ramp up the reactor - he wants to strike cities as fast as he can, until he gets what he wants. When one of the Troopers tells him that could take several hours without the Siberian station, the Commander draws his sword and cuts the man's throat, telling no one in particular to "get rid of this garbage."

The Joes have set up a temporary command center in the cargo bay of their transport plane. Flint gives Duke a full report on Cobra's weaponry, telling him that thanks to spotty coverage, the Springfield cannon isn't as good as the last one - if the Joe team can take the site within two hours, they can stop Cobra from firing again. Duke asks Scarlett to teach him how the cannon works, on the outside chance he'll be able to understand.

When he realizes the Joes are on their way, Cobra Commander furiously orders one of his morons to launch the defense swarm. As Cobra Troopers rush to their positions, half the houses in Springfield open their roofs and release automated Trubble Bubble drones.

Although Cobra knows they're coming, the Joes decide to knock on the door anyway: on of the escort jets launches its missiles, demolishing the Mallspot. The Trubble Bubbles engage the jets with their mounted Gatling guns, showing a surprising level of maneuverability. Soon they launch missiles as well. One of the pods manages to take out the number three engine on the C-130, so the plane is forced to use the abandoned main street as a landing strip, skidding to a stop just outside the Malspot parking lot.

H.I.S.S. tanks roll out from inside the store, and Cobra Troopers run to surround the downed plane, opening fire as the rear cargo ramp is lowered. The Joes pinned inside do their best to return fire, but bullets and rockets continue to bombard them. Just then, Snake-Eyes comes running into the battle, drawing his sword and cutting down legions of blue-suited soldiers. Realizing the firing has stopped, Scarlett leads the team out of the plane to find Snake-Eyes, sheathing his sword among the smoking wrecks and dead bodies. He turns and salutes with military precision. Duke says it's good to see him, and asks if he took care of business. Snake-Eyes' only answer is a small nod.

Duke and Snake-Eyes rappel into the underground bunker, leaving Scarlett and Flint up above to cover them. In no time, they're under fire from Cobra Troopers, and an entire semi-truck full of Cobras screeches to a halt and disgorges its human cargo. Snake-Eyes provides cover while Duke runs to the control room, searching for Cobra Commander. What he finds are the remains of the techs who were working in here, and blood-splattered monitors revealing that the cannon is about to fire again. Shoving a Cobra corpse out of the way, he finds that all access is locked out.

Behind him, a light comes on. As Duke spins around with his gun up, Cobra Commander tells him he can't stop it from firing. The new target, Washington DC, will be obliterated, and there's nothing Duke can do about it. Duke opens fire, but the Commander's pod is bulletproof, bomb-proof, and has its own life support and power source. Cobra Commander taunts Duke: "You should have just let me win."

Duke agrees, and shoots the lock on the door. Cobra Commander just laughs at him for thinking that would open the door. Going to the computer, Duke replies that he just expected it to keep the Commander from opening it. Over the radio, he orders everyone onto a plane and out of the area immediately: he's changed the cannon's target to Springfield. Realizing what's happened, Cobra Commander pounds vainly against the door, screaming his anger at the now-empty base. The particle cannon fires, and seconds later the beam comes right back down, wiping away the town.

In his final report, Duke notes that when the Joes returned to the site, the shielded unit Cobra Commander had been hiding in was merely... absent.

Appearances

Featured Characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

G.I. Joe	Cobra	Civilians	Others
Airborne (23) Bazooka (11) Beachhead (21) Cover Girl (27) Dial-Tone (29) Doc (12) Duke (5) Flint (10) Gung-Ho (24) Lady Jaye (18) Ripcord (26) Roadblock (6) Rock 'n Roll (20) Scarlett (2) Shipwreck (22) Spirit (8) Snake-Eyes (9) Stalker (7) Tunnel Rat (25) Wild Bill (19)	Alley Vipers (37) Baroness (31) Cobra Troopers (16) Destro (32) Firefly (14) Ice Vipers (36) Cobra Commander (15) Maj. Bludd (1) Storm Shadow (17) Zartan (35)	Arashikage trainees (33) DC police (3) H.A.A.R.P. scientists (30) Hard Master (34) UN Delegates (13)	G.I. Joe support staff (28) U.S.S. Flagg crew (4)

Featured Vehicles & Equipment

G.I. Joe	Cobra	Civilian
C-130 Hercules High-altitude hot air balloon Hyper-sonic transport Jet fighters Jetpacks Transport helicopters U.S.S. Flagg	H.I.S.S. tanks Holographic rocket Nanobot security fog Particle cannon Stratellites Trubble Bubbles	H.A.A.R.P.

Featured Locations

G.I. Joe	Cobra	Civilian
Remote storage sites Situation room	Particle Cannon control room Cobra Island Springfield	Arashikage training compound H.A.A.R.P. Micronesia Moscow Omsk-23 Siberian missile station United Nations Washington, D.C.

Memorable quotes

"A ninja? I didn't know we had a ninja!"

--Well now you know, Roadblock...

"You can go with him, or stay with me; your call. Make it now."
"You mean stay with 'the unit.'"
"You heard what I said."

--Duke, perhaps this isn't the best time to give Scarlett an ultimatum.

"It suited me once to appear weak and cowardly, because it motivated you people to think, but today...is a new day. There will be no moves to take over my command. There will be no mistakes. There will be none of your crap! None of it!"

--Cobra Commander, seriously laying down the law.

"You've been tutoring my friend privately."
"You have been training since you could walk. Your friend came to us as an older child, an orphan. He needs a little help to keep up with you. He is your best friend; do you deny him aid?"

--Storm Shadow and the Hard Master discuss Snake-Eyes' training.

"So here's my cunning plan."

--Tunnel Rat has thought of everything!

"Okay, this wasn't in my cunning plan."

--or maybe he hasn't

"Some idiots are going to break in. If we don't like what they say, we're going to start killing you. So start crying now: make it good; a little honest victims' fear always rattles these people."

--At least The Baroness is upfront with her evil.

"So many years. So many fights. So much hate."

--Storm Shadow grows weary of it all.

"Oh, to hell with your orders! It's taken me years to sort out in my head what I want - who I want - and today I did. I'm staying with you, for all the time I have left. And if that's only six minutes, then damn it, I'm spending my last six minutes with you!"

--Six Minutes in Heaven is a really odd game in Scarlett's world.

"Damn. Destro mined the entire corridor."
"He's probably made the Baroness's undies out of plastic explosives."

--Roadblock and Gung-Ho speculate on their foes' kinky personal lives.

"You nuked Siberia and all you got was a limp?"

--No need to be jealous, Flint, I'm sure Duke will get hurt again in the future.

Notes

Animation and technical errors

Differences between the broadcast and DVD releases.

• On the wall of the G.I. Joe hangar, the word is misspelled "Hanger."
• If the Baroness is looking at a thermal image of a hallway where there had just been a massive explosion, two human bodies should have appeared as cold spots, not hot.
• All the H.I.S.S.es have the same number - 788 - printed on the sides. Since this was meant to be an identification number, they all should have been different.
• During the scene before they go down and work with the support staff, Scarlett's knife can be seen having two hilts. After Shipwreck removes his hat after hearing the Moscow death totals, the screen pans behind him and he has his hat on once again despite taking it off seconds earlier.
• In the closing moments of the finale, as Duke delivers his report, the phrase "On our return to the site..." is incorrectly rendered in on-screen text as "Honor returned to the site."

Continuity errors

• Project Manhigh (see below) took place in 1957, not 1955. The project was begun in December of '55, but it was a year and a half before any real attempt was made.
• When Tunnel Rat is parachuting from the Stratellites, three other 'chutes can be seen in the background. There are two problems with this:
  • If these are meant to be the other soldiers he took up with him, they should have been on the ground by now.
  • Only three people went up in the balloon, so there's an extra parachute coming down.
• After jumping from the Stratellite, Tunnel Rat should have opened a small stabilization parachute during the freefall; the early Project Manhigh tests with dummies revealed that the atmosphere, at that altitude, is too thin to prevent a person from tumbling violently enough to lose consciousness.

G.I. Joe references

• Scarlett being forced to choose between Duke and Snake-Eyes is a reference to one of the splits between the comic and cartoon: in most continuities, she is romantically linked with Snake-Eyes, but since the Sunbow cartoon heavily downplayed his role, she was instead paired with Duke (RAH).
• Whenever G.I. Joe and Cobra troops are engaged in a firefight, the Joes' gunfire produces orange muzzle flare, while the Cobras' is blue. This subtly parallels the color-coded lasers of the Sunbow series.
• The "788" on the sides of the H.I.S.S. tanks is the same number included on the original toy's decal sheet.
• Duke has a scar on his right cheek, an homage to the original 1960s 12" G.I. Joe figure's distinctive facial scar in the same place.
• Ripcord is black, a subtle link to the then-forthcoming live-action movie continuity, where the character is played by Marlon Wayans.

Real-world references

• The H.A.A.R.P. program really exists in Alaska, and it looks almost exactly the way it is depicted in this cartoon.
• Stratellites are real, too. Somewhat.
• The parts with Duke and Scarlett sneaking around the Omsk missile station are similar in tone and execution to the videogame Metal Gear Solid.
• Project Manhigh really did send men high into the sky on specially designed balloons in 1957 and 1958. The Air Force project was designed to test the effect of cosmic rays on humans.
• The Springfield store "Mallspot" is a visual reference to the ubiquitous American monolith, Wal*Mart, with the same kind of building and signage.

Mission Codes

Each webisode was followed by a code that would unlock content on Hasbro's G.I. Joe: Resolute website. The codes, in order, are:

• HAUSER
• NINJA
• OHARA
• HINTON
• OLDSNAKE
• SIBERIA
• OMSK
• DISGUISE
• HAARP
• SPRINGFIELD

Miscellaneous notes

• This is the first animated continuity with a large scale body count. Prior to this, the Headman from the DiC series was the only on-screen fatality.
• This version of Roadblock doesn't speak in rhyme.
• The character of Dial-Tone is female - and younger - in this version.
• Destro has a pronounced Scottish accent, similar to that of actor Sean Connery.

Cast

Despite the large number of characters, only four actors provided all the voices:

Charlie Adler

• Cobra Commander
• Stalker
• Flint
• Gung-Ho
• The Hard Master
• Cop

Eric Bauza

• Storm Shadow
• Destro
• Tunnel Rat
• Cobra Soldier

Steven Blum

• Duke
• Roadblock
• Wild Bill
• Ripcord
• Zartan
• Doc
• Operator
• Technician

Grey DeLisle

• Scarlett
• Cover Girl
• Dial-Tone
• Baroness

Project history

The G.I. Joe: Resolute cartoon was announced as a series of 10 five-minute webisodes to be capped off by a 10-minute finale. The webisodes were originally going to be streamed from Hasbro's G.I. Joe website. Together, the webisodes comprise a one-hour movie that could be shown on television later or released to DVD.

A one-minute preview was shown at the Hasbro panel at the 2008 Comic-Con International at San Diego. The preview is not meant as part of

G. I. JOE Resolute Teaser

the movie's story but illustrates Hasbro's direction for this project. Viewers may expect highly-detailed animation and a more realistic approach to the story: no lasers, real bullets and open fates for the characters (i.e., any one of the "majors" may die). Several classic characters and vehicles will be updated. The success of the webisodes may transfer to other similarly-themed Hasbro properties but nothing is clarified at this time.

Before any episodes premiered online, it was revealed that the full one-hour movie would be shown on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" block on Saturday, April 25. In Canada, the full movie aired on Teletoon in the Teletoon Detour block on April 24.

The individual webisodes began to appear online on April 17, leading up to the broadcast premiere.

The cartoon has a more serious tone comparable to the G.I. Joe comics from Marvel Comics.

The story was written by noted comic book author Warren Ellis (Planetary), produced by Sam Register (former vice president of Cartoon Network) and directed by Joaquim Dos Santos (Justice League Unlimited, Avatar: The Last Airbender). Character designs are by comic book artist Dave Johnson. Their approach to the project is that of a PG-13 cartoon.

G.I. Joe: Resolute was released on DVD on November 3, 2009.

Gallery

External links

• Hasbro's G.I. Joe: Resolute webpage
• Extensive review at Republibot
• GI Joe: Resolute DVD review

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