[Omegawrath]

Since you cats seem afraid of the Motor Pool, I'll post this here.

Don't let Damon or Pythias see it.

I'm not sure why the decision has been made to use Heavy Duty as the strongman for the team.

I love Heavy Duty as a character. He's not just a big hardcore dude, he's also a classical guitarist. This (in my experience) usually leads to an interest in Heavy Metal.

I think he can be an awesome character. He feels a little out of place because he never played a particularly major role in the comics and he was only created after the initial run of Marvel/Sunbow cartoons. (He did feature in the later, campier DIC toons.)

Heavy Duty FINALLY came into his own in the 2000's with a righteous repaint (along with the lackluster Thunder rip off "Thunderwing"). By 2003 he was a pivotal and important character in the mythos, replacing Roadblock as Duke's right-hand dude.

Of course, this is where we learn that he is Roadblock's cousin. Larry Hama wrote it so it must be true, right? Of course, his prep techniques are... toxic. He continued to be an important character through Valor vs. Venom and continuously through Sigma Six, the anime' styled recent Joe incarnation.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a great choice for the character. I find it interesting that he's from London England though. I would have preferred to see Roadblock, but I'm not just thinking in terms of "which giant black dude fits best here." Roadblock might have embarassing implications today as used in the 1980's cartoon. He rhymes like it's a disorder. I gotta be honest though. I know guys that do that. Nevertheless, this is not a part of Roadblock's character that I consider important or necessarily even present.

In those Marvel Comics that I quote from like the Bible, Roadblock was a VERY important character. There is some misconception that he is Duke's muscle. He's actually one of the instructors who worked with Duke in training the new team members. Far more than that though, Roadblock was the heart and soul of the G.I. Joe team. He wasn't a chef because it made him some sort of stereotype (which it didn't). He was a chef because THAT was what was in that man's soul. Along the way he found himself pulled into the Army where they discovered he could hand-fire a 50-cal machine gun.

During the Cobra Island Civil War he refused a ride from Crankcase, claiming that he was too large a target already. Later, after Crankcase was wounded (his vehicle was hit) Roadblock carried him AND his weapon. Heart of gold and an ironclad soul.

When a South American dictatorship was crumbling, the American embassy was being looted. He singled out a man with a lighter planning to torch old glory. He spat on Roadblock, but RB didn't lose his cool. The man asked what made a flag more important than office equipment, to which RB replied, "No one ever died for a typewriter.

He displayed his loyalty routinely, both joining Gung-Ho to cheer up a lovesick and injured Ripcord and showing his "band of brothers" mentality when Storm Shadow sliced up Gung-Ho with his sword. Roadblock proved the point that no matter HOW skilled the martial artist is, put your money on the giant.

And at one point the Joes had been locked up underground and they were going a bit stir crazy. Roadblock was the big brother who pulled them apart during fights and herded them out to play football to blow off tension.

I think that Roadblock and Gung Ho are the two best strongmen on the team. Using a latter-day character seems odd, but I know that HD has acquired quite a following among the youngsters, so why not? He's definitely a Joe.

Also, I want to make just one point about Marlon Wayans as Ripcord. As long as it's Wallace Weems, it's Ripcord. I don't care if the actor that plays him is black if the character is who I remember. Ripcord WAS a hothead. He got himself into plenty of bad scrapes all over a woman in a bear suit. Wouldn't it be awesome if Bongo showed up? James Earl Jones could be Professor Appel! Wayans can do it.

We won't know how the rest of the character breakdown goes for a while. With Transformers, we were told all at once who would be in the film. I must admit, I'm slightly astounded that I mentioned replacing the character of Hi-Tech with Breaker (so he could die meaningfully) and now Breaker is suddenly of the roster. Let's see if he dies.

Also, kudos to the guys casting for mixing up the nationalities of the characters. I am REALLY interested to see French-Moroccan Said Taghmaoui playing the boy from Tenessee. If that's the international take on the film then I say they hit the nail on the head. If he's Albert Kibbey from Paris, France I'll be a little perturbed.

So open your minds and stop whining. It's a little awkward when Hollywood translates a character differently than we recognize him, but there's nothing in this equation that says it's wrong. A little weird, but by no means wrong. I have a feeling that this movie is going to make several careers, as well as several sequels. Remember, what you've seen isn't necessarily what you'll get from these actors.

As for my size chart, it has been my belief that Destro was the tallest character, at around 7'. Roadblock wasn't much shorter, and though Destro is built, I think Roadblock is much thicker. Much more muscular. Gung Ho is another tank of a man.I think he and Heavy Duty fit into a smaller mold than Roadblock, but larger than say, Duke or Stalker.

And hey, where the hell IS Stalker? He's at least as important a character as Duke.

Sorry for the rant, but I've always believed that the Joe comics were the ones who managed to get racial and cultural diversity right. I've been told this by others as well. It's an opinion that spans the spectrum. I believe that this would not have been the case if anyone besides Larry Hama had written the comics. I mean, look at the cartoons...

[Astrokreep]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omegawrath

And hey, where the hell IS Stalker? He's at least as important a character as Duke.

THANK YOU. I've so far really disappointed in the lack of Stalker! Glad I'm not the only one.

[xhairs]

man i do hear ya on all points.

[CynthiaCM]

Yeah, I, too, really hope that Stalker makes it into the film. And if he does, they need to have him say "Dag!" at least once. That's all I ask for.

[Omegawrath]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CynthiaCM

Yeah, I, too, really hope that Stalker makes it into the film. And if he does, they need to have him say "Dag!" at least once. That's all I ask for.

LOL! Right on!