Duke Question

[BigFore]

So did Duke get big from the toys, the cartoons or the comic?

In toys, I can only think of one release in the original ARAH line. Mail-in then released in the next wave. (I got out of toys in 1989, so I don't know about anything after that.

In the comic, I think he was a character who fit into the mythos, but never eclipsed anyone in the comic like Snake Eyes did. His role (field commander) was originally filled by Stalker.

In the cartoons, he seemed to be the go-to-guy. Everything about the cartoon seemed to revolve around Duke until Arise Serpentor Arise; then it shifted back to him after that season in the Movie.

Personally I thought Duke was bigger in the cartoon than anywhere else. It didn't seem until the 25th line that the toy did that much. I have to admit that Hawk and Flint were usually the leader(s) of my GI Joe teams. Even with the original 13, Hawk was my leader. By their file cards, he was the highest rank. In case you're wondering, yes, I am a nerd.

[Troynos]

Duke was biggest in the cartoon. He was the man until Hawk arrived after Arise Serpentor. He had a big role in DDP's G.I.Joe series and was Hawk's right hand man in that series. In Marvel's Joe run, he wasn't as big.

Edit: I liked him best in the Marvel run. I never liked Duke. Flint was always my man.

[Atreides]

Duke's popularity definetly came from the cartoon. For some reason he was chosen to be the leader in that series. The blond hair blue eyed quarter back type hero was pretty popular at the time. Heck, he was even made Scarlett's love interest.

[spacemonkeymafia]

Ahh but love is blind some time.....

[BILL]

The original gi joe comics went about 20-21 issues and hawk got a bump up the chain of command and they dident want him in the field anymore (or at least as much) so in came a few new joes. I think it was gen.flaggs funeral and a rattler was about to kill all the joes when roadblock shot it down and saved them all. Welcome two new joes one of which is your new feild commander duke (first shirt) and roadblock. Atleast i think thats right?

[BigFore]

Yeh, I recently reread that, and you're right on the money with that recollection.

[Troynos]

The original gi joe comics went about 20-21 issues and hawk got a bump up the chain of command and they dident want him in the field anymore (or at least as much) so in came a few new joes. I think it was gen.flaggs funeral and a rattler was about to kill all the joes when roadblock shot it down and saved them all. Welcome two new joes one of which is your new feild commander duke (first shirt) and roadblock. Atleast i think thats right?

Issue 16 or 17, that happened. Duke and Roadblock shot the Rattler down and Rock 'n Roll commented how Roadblock had to be a bad-ass cause he held the heavy machine gun without a stand and Roadblock pointed behind him and said something like "naw, that's the bad ass" and there was Duke, who then ripped into the Joe's for being soft. They were at Gen. Flagg's funeral.

Duke was the focus for a couple of issues after that, then kind of faded away.

[Zarana]

Duke first appearance was in issue 22 "Like Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust..."

[Troynos]

Duke first appearance was in issue 22 "Like Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust..."

Was it that late? Thought it was earlier. I know he had a major role in the next couple of issues, with the capture of Cobra Commander (his escape) and the capture of Storm Shadow. After that he kind of faded away and don't remember him having a major role until the Trucial Wherever stories where the S.A.W. Viper killed a bunch of the Joes.

[Moses]

Yes, Duke made his appearance in issue #22 at Flagg's funeral, which was shortly after the big battle where Flagg was killed in issue #19. Duke was a major player for a few issues until Snake Eyes' background started overshadowing everything and Hasbro released the next round of new Joes for '84.

[Freedom]

Duke was pushed to the forefront in the cartoon as THE leader. Hawk wasn't even in the cartoon until his 86 release. Then in most recent years Hasbro has kept Duke out front with multiple versions and repaints of figures.

So cartoon then toys.

[lister]

Hasbro needed a poster boy to sort of pin the image of the G.I. Joe line on. Duke, with his all-American good guy appearance and position as one of the leaders of the team, seemed like the perfect choice.

I know Larry Hama has expressed some distaste for Duke or, more specifically, the way Hasbro saw him and Hawk as interchangeable, making it difficult to flesh Duke out as a character beyond the boring whitebread hero.

[darthdrew13]

It may not have been THE reason Duke became big, but I think what got the ball rolling is when Duke was released as a mail-away figure. We all knew he was the field commander from the file card. Any figure that was a mail-away (near the beginning) got a lot of 'street cred' back in the early '80s. Cobra Commander, Major Bludd, Duke, Sgt Slaughter, Starduster and the Joe you could "become" yourself.

[oliverbox]

It should be noted that Larry Hama hated Duke. He's said so on a number of occasions. He felt as though Hasbro was pushing him to use this new "leader" character, after he had been developing Hawk and Stalker for the last 21 issues. Duke was invented by Hasbro to be the new "All American Leader". He looked more like a poster boy for the Arian Brotherhood.

Duke's fame comes from the Cartoon, but so does Flint's if I'm honest about it. Both Duke and Flint were pretty lame in the Comic. Duke was borderline incompetent and Flint was pretty much a self-centered jerk. Hawk was always Larry Hama's 'Leader' character, and Stalker was always Hama's choice for a Top NCO.

[Tall Creeper]

Sgt. Stalker was the man and I wish Hama would have been able to develop him as he felt. I always liked the comic better then the cartoon, and as many have posted before Duke always got caught.
Way to lead the team that's the kind of guy I want out front, getting captured all the time.

[Monkeywrench]

It was the cartoon

[delta]

Duke was invented by Hasbro to be the new "All American Leader". He looked more like a poster boy for the Arian Brotherhood.

Got that right. The guy looks like Hitlers dream.
Duke always dies in my "joeverse"

[wraith]

Duke was fleshed out a good bit more in the Devil's Due comic, going into his past as well as what he was up to during the time between when the Joe team disbanded & when it reformed.

But back in the day, it was the toon that launched Duke's fame. I, as a kid, thought Duke was awesome from the toon (mainly when he fought & beat the giant guy in the arena of sport then went on to escape from the cobra temple in the 1st Joe minni serise.) I was always a comic fan first when I was a kid & was somewhat disappointed that Duke didn't have a bigger role in the comic.
One thing that I did like about the DD comic run was that they seemed to develope a lot of characters (Duke,Flint, LJ, Stalker) in their roles outside of the Joe team.

[245am]

It was the cartoon

It was the Dukes... it was the Dukes...

Sorry the topic of this thread and that line made me think of trading places...

[Troynos]

But back in the day, it was the toon that launched Duke's fame. I, as a kid, thought Duke was awesome from the toon (mainly when he fought & beat the giant guy in the arena of sport then went on to escape from the cobra temple in the 1st Joe minni serise.) I was always a comic fan first when I was a kid & was somewhat disappointed that Duke didn't have a bigger role in the comic.
One thing that I did like about the DD comic run was that they seemed to develope a lot of characters (Duke,Flint, LJ, Stalker) in their roles outside of the Joe team.

He didn't beat the giant guy. The fight was stalemated and stopped by Destro and Cobra Commander, who were mindcontroling Duke and the giant guy.

And he needed help from Selena the slave girl to escape.

Duke is a pansy.

[chuck x goren]

Mail-in coupons for the Duke figure first started circulating around in the summer of 1983....a few months before the cartoon premiered. At the time, GI Joe #16 was on the racks (roughly June/July 1983) with the teaser of "someone will DIE in the Night Attack!" Since Hawk was shot in that issue, a lot of us felt that Hawk was being killed off for this new "First Sergeant", Duke.

Duke got his first big push in the cartoon, in September 1983. Hawk was not seen or mentioned in the cartoon, so it torqued me off that his new whippersnapper was essentially given the role of "Hawk". Although Stalker still seemed to be a field leader of sorts in the first cartoon.

Over in the comics, Stalker had clearly been the #2 guy to Hawk since the series began. When Duke came along in issue 22, Stalker was still around, but didn't receive as much of a "push" as Duke did.

Duke was the "first shirt" from issue 22 until issue 33. In issue 33, he received "field command" of the team, since Hawk was being promoted to a full general. Basically, Hawk took over General Flagg's old spot and reported to General Austin (Flagg's old boss).

This arrangement didn't last long, though. Maybe two weeks in "comic time". In issue 42, General Austin had heart problems and had to retire. Hawk was suddenly a general and returned to full-time "field command" as well. He came back in issue 46 when he returned to the Pit with the news (and a new bomber jacket that would become his trademark). Hawk would report to General Hollingsworth for the rest of the book's life. No mention was made of Duke's de-emphasized status, as he soon disappeared. Duke didn't appear much for the rest of the series, but he was still the "first shirt". He typically popped up when the team ran big missions: like the Cobra Civil War or the Springfield invasion.

Stalker seemed to maintain his importance--- as far as chain of command was concerned-- throughout the series. He seemed to be Hawk's go-to guy.

Fun Fact for us Duke Bashers: during Duke's brief comic tenure as "field commander", Cobra created their own country and discovered the location of the Pit. A less-than-stellar track record.

[oliverbox]

Fun Fact for us Duke Bashers: during Duke's brief comic tenure as "field commander", Cobra created their own country and discovered the location of the Pit. A less-than-stellar track record.

Yeah, this jerk's stellar record also included allowing Cobra Commander to escape when they had him in custody the first time, and being the NCOIC of the mission in Truscal Abysmia when the Saw Viper infamously killed all those Joes in the desert... way to go, Top.

Duke was the worst in the Comic.