General Philip Rey is a Serpentor clone created by Dr. Mindbender to replace the original Serpentor in case he were to die. However, Zandar hands him in a tank over to the Jugglers to keep, whom open the tank and allow him to serve in the military. Impressed with his service record the Jugglers place him as the leader of the GI Joe team to which he proves to be an effective leader winning over Flint's approval. When GI Joe is disbanded after their duel with the Red Shadows, Rey joins the military again before Cobra Commander disguised as Garrett Freedlowe places him on the Phoenix Guard to assault the new GI Joe base the Rock. After the attack, Rey in an effort to find redemption and forgiveness seeks out Duke who agrees to help him learn the truth about Rey. In their quest they learn the truth from Crystal Ball.