The Making of "Transformation" Chapter2
FEAR OF THE DARK

Part 2

Yesterday, I discussed how the corridors were created. Today, I discuss the team that I used, how they were created (well, not how the figures were created, that's actually done in the 1st chapter of the dio), WHY they were created and the influence of the team.

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After watching the ultra cool movie DOOM, it totally changed my idea of how GI Joe should be set up. I've never been a big believer of GI Joe being the type of force that would just melee across the battlefield, tho that's what the cartoon tends to portray. I figure that smaller, specialized teams make more sense. As a kid, I didn't know better. But there was a point in the comic where I questioned just WHY certain characters were used for missions. Barefoot Quick Kick running around really didn't do much for me, y'know?

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I took a look at my Joe collection and formed a 7-man team that could work in any situation. The original 13-man GI Joe crew was great like that. They were trained for just about any situation. Series 2 brought in some speciality guys but it also departed from the uniform look that really sucked a lot of us kids into the toy. At the same time, the more distinctive outfits the characters wore, well, they weren't as outlandish as what would come 10 yrs later.

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I'm not the biggest customs guy. There's a whole community out there who likes to create their own characters and revamp established ones. I got into the whole frankensteining bug and came up with some decent stuff. Some good, some incredibly poor that they ended up in the garbage can. Out of the several I've done, 2 are most memorable. (but more importantly, I can 'play' with them. not all customs can be played with due to the paint applications)

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Lt. Graydon was created and since he had no role in my 'verse, I quickly came up with one. He became the leader of the RRTS (Rapid Response Tactical Squad). He hasn't found a decent codename yet. I figured if General Rey from the comic book doesn't have one, then Graydon doesn't either. In any case, I love the figure because he is incredibly usuable and he looks cool.

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In my JoeVerse, Hawk is the commander, Duke is the Field Commander, Flint is part of Rescue Ops, and Falcon is off doing his own thing. I would love to use Falcon but he is a part of the Jungle Strike Force. Graydon was the one officer who didn't have an actual command or role.

Stalker gets a spot for a few reasons. He's got a cool JvC figure, he's an eod guy, he can give advice to Graydon and he carries a big gun. That's right. I changed his specialty to heavy weapons. He carries a grenade launcher much like Poncho in Predator.

Gung Ho gets a shift in heavy weapons specialty too. Everyone probably remembers GH carrying a grenade launcher. That duty's been given to Stalker. GH gets the chaingun. And believe me, he doesn't mind!

Bombstrike. She's the newest of the crew in terms of both GI Joe and RRTS. She acts as the sniper of the team. Her best friend on the team is Gung Ho who she looks to for advice.

Snake Eyes is a commando w/ martial art and bladed weapon skills. His focus is infiltration and acting as scout.

Beach Head is the cheerleader of the team. That doesn't mean he's jumping up and down and doing cheers. He's the old war dog who pushes the crew forward when they want to turn and run. He also brings in a sense of reasoning and a kick-ass attitude.

Footloose provides a bit of light-heartedness to the team. He's a soldier and he knows it. His job is to follow orders and shoot bad guys. He adds extra firepower when needed.

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The other Joes on the team act as back-up or support for the RRTS. Any member can be replaced if one is already on assignment. ie; Snake Eyes can be replaced by another member if he's active in another team.

Until next time...