Spirit (RAH)

The name Spirit refers to several versions of the same character.
For a list of the other versions, see Spirit.

We need visual confirmation

This article is in need of images.

Spirit is a G.I. Joe character from the A Real American Hero series. He is sometimes referred to as Spirit Iron-Knife.

Spirit is mysterious. He's mysterious not because he wouldn't tell people his secrets but because you can't figure him out. He went through the education and rites of a Shaman and became a mystic himself. He's a medicine man but he's not a doctor, he performs rituals but he's no priest, he knows how to fix what ails you that he couldn't be a quack. He is so attuned to nature and his surroundings that his tracking skills just may be second to none. He can read even the faintest of trail signs. As a Native American mystic warrior with a degree in psychology, he has a whole different perspective on how his quarry thinks and moves.

Spirit was raised to respect nature and in the ways of his ancestors. His family was poor but he made extra money as a hunting guide during high school. After graduating, he enlisted in the Army and even saw action in Southeast Asia as a member of long range recon patrols. He returned to civilian life and completed his education but re-enlisted once more, an action very few people may ever understand. He is familiar with most NATO small arms and is proficient with the compound bow and throwing knife.

Fiction

Comics

A Real American Hero continuity

Marvel Comics continuity

   Write up

Devil's Due Comics continuity

   Write up

G.I. Joe Reloaded

   Write up

G.I. Joe vs. Transformers

   Write up

Action Force (British) Comics continuity

Charlie Iron-Knife was born the Grand Canyon, Arizona.^[1] He was part of a G.I. Joe team in the Latin American country of Sao Cristobel who prevented Cobra from securing a nuclear warhead.^[2]

Blackthorne Comics continuity

   Write up

Dreamwave Comics continuity

   Write up

Hasbro Comics continuity

   Write up

Animated continuity

Sunbow animated series

Voiced by: Gregg Berger

Spirit from the A Real American Hero animated continuity.

DiC animated series

   Write up

Toys

Generation 1
	A Real American Hero (1984) Spirit was part of the 1984 series of A Real American Hero toys. He came with his pet eagle, Freedom. Spirit is the second character issued with an animal sidekick, a feature that became increasingly popular. Appearance: black hair braided on sides and red headband; light blue short-sleeved shirt with red undershirt and stripes on sleeves; beige holster and pants; brown boots Accessories: large, olive-green arrow backpack; olive-green auto-arrow rifle; brown belt with red loincloth; brown and white bald eagle named Freedom. YoJoe.com page/Filecard
	A Real American Hero (1989) A re-colored version of Spirit's original figure was part of the 1989 Slaughter's Marauders subset. A note of interest is that his filecard has erroneously listed his birthplace as Grand Canyon, Arizona. His second occupational specialty was changed to cartography. Appearance: black hair braided on sides and blue headband; short-sleeved shirt striped brown, yellow-green, dark green; blue undershirt, gloves, and boots; pants striped dark green, yellow-green, dark green, and brown; black belt and boots Accessories: black "Spirit" backpack; black "Spirit" auto-arrow rifle; black "Spirit" belt with brown loincloths; brown and white bald eagle named Freedom. YoJoe.com page/Filecard
	A Real American Hero (1992) In 1992, Spirit was designated as leader of the Air Commandos subteam. In the filecard, his birthplace is corrected back to Taos, New Mexico. Appearance: long black hair with red and white headband; sleeveless neon green vest with black trim and grenades; red gloves; blue pants with black belt and light brown boots. Accessories: black pistol (new, "Chief's assault gun"); red, white, and blue glider with Joe logo. YoJoe.com page/Filecard
	International Action Force (1993) Spirit is included in the limited edition International Action Force pack that is mail orderable from Hasbro. The other figures included in the pack are Big Ben, Big Bear and Budo.
Generation 2
	Online exclusive (2005) An online exclusive version of Spirit was available as part of the direct-to-consumer series. For this edition, he is renamed as Spirit Iron-Knife. 2005 filecard
	Comic Pack (2006) A contest was held which G.I. Joe comic published by Devil's Due would be included as part of Hasbro's G.I. Joe Comic Packs. The eventual winner was G.I. Joe #16. He is packaged together with Agent Courtney Krieger, Hannibal: Reborn and a copy of the comic. Comic Pack filecard

Trivia

Since Snake-Eyes was only a small part of the cartoon, Storm Shadow instead seemed to have a rivalry with Spirit, a pairing not repeated in any other sources. It was never explained how an Indian tracker was supposed to be an equal for a trained ninja, although in the comic they were both Long Range Recon Patrol soldiers.
Even though it's mandatory that men serving in the military cut their hair short, Spirit has long hair. This is likely due to the fact that members of Delta anti-terrorist units are given greater leeway in personal appearance since they often have to go undercover, and "military" haircuts would be a dead giveaway that they were US Army personnel.^[3]

External links

My Useless Knowledge biography

Footnotes

↑ Intelligence Profile in G.I. Joe Annual 1992.
↑ Thunder in the Mountains
↑ The non-standard haircuts and facial hair restrictions for Delta anti-terrorist operatives were discussed in Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden

Is this all there is?!!

This character article is a stub and is missing information. You can help Joepedia by expanding it.

[1] Intelligence Profile in G.I. Joe Annual 1992.

[2] Thunder in the Mountains

[3] The non-standard haircuts and facial hair restrictions for Delta anti-terrorist operatives were discussed in Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden

[1]

[2]

[3]