Scarlett (G.I. Joe)

Infobox G.I. Joe character
name = Scarlett


caption = Scarlett from Scarlett Declassified
affiliation = G.I. Joe
function = Counter Intelligence
realname = O'Hara, Shana M.
birthplace = Atlanta, GA
serial = RA242967434
rank = E-5
primaryMOS = Intelligence
secondaryMOS = CLASSIFIED
subgroup = Ninja Force
series =
voiceby = B.J. Ward (Sunbow)
Lisa Ann Beley (Spy Troops and Valor vs. Venom)
Amy Birnbaum (Sigma 6 Episodes 1-8)
Veronica Taylor (Sigma 6 Episode 9 on)
debut = 1982

Scarlett [1982 File Card Packaged with action figure ©Hasbro - [http://www.yojoe.com/filecard/82/scarlett.shtml] ] (aka Agent Scarlett) [2002 File Card Packaged with action figure ©Hasbro - [http://www.yojoe.com/filecard/02/agentscarlett.shtml] ] is a fictional character from ', a line of military-themed toys created by Hasbro. The character is one of the original members of the fictional team and toy line. She is a major character of the ' comic book series and the animated series. She has also appeared in , appearing in both the animated series and comic book. Scarlett, along with Lady Jaye, are generally regarded as its leading ladies.

A Real American Hero Series

She was the first female action figure in the "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" toy line and is also the only member of the original team to see much action in both cartoon and comic incarnations. The official line on Scarlett is that her full name is Shana M. O'Hara. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Although she is as adept with standard weapons as any of her comrades, her weapon of choice is the crossbow which fires various bolts with specialized functions. Her rank is Master Sergeant, and she serves from time to time as team leader. Her primary specialty for the team is counter intelligence and is additionally skilled in martial arts and acrobatics. Of note, her secondary military specialty remains classified in all of her file cards.

She learned her martial arts skills from her father, who trained her and her three brothers as he was an instructor. She has several black belts in various forms of martial arts. She has long red hair, which she tends to put up into a pony tail. In some of her appearances, it is shown she may speak with a southern drawl or localized Georgian Accent.She also graduated from a prestigious university, and passed her Bar Exams to practice law before moving into the military.

Her quote is "Beauty may only be skin deep, but lethal is to the bone"

Hasbro Toys

Scarlett is the first female member of the G.I. Joe team to be given an action figure. Her first figure was made back in 1982, making her one of the only figures of that year to have a completely unique mold. At some points during the releases of figures, the trademark on the name Scarlett was lost, so she has been released as Scarlett and as Agent Scarlett. As of 2006, she has 12 figures in the 3 and 3/4 inch line. She is usually packaged with some form of crossbow. She usually is part of the regular line of figures, but has been a member of the Ninja Force (which used a synthetic hair material to make her pony tail).Although she is a member of the Sigma Six team, she has not yet been made as a figure for the 8 inch figures. She is rumored to be released at some point as a member of the 2 and a 1/2 in figure line with a vehicle.

Comics - Original Reality/Continuity

Origin - Devil's Due Scarlett: Declassified

This one-shot reveals that before she joined the G.I. Joe team, she was a member of the Army. She was given training above and beyond what a female was allowed to receive at the time, as the generals putting G.I. Joe together wanted a secret weapon that enemies would not suspect. It is revealed that during her time in the CIA she is first given a Cross Bow, which eventually becomes her weapon of choice. Also, much of her history with martial arts is revealed. Her last mission before joining the G.I. Joe team faces her off against Destro for the first time. It is because of the intelligence that she gathers, as well as her skills, that she is brought into the team. This story takes place before the events in G.I. Joe Declassified as she is shown at the end of the story to be talking to an unmasked, uninjured Snake-Eyes.

Real American Hero - Marvel

Updated and changed slightly by Devil's Due in Snake-Eyes DeclassifiedScarlett's first assignment on the G.I. Joe team was to train the new team in hand-to-hand combat. During the exercises, she met Snake-Eyes for the first time. While she bested most of the team's members, she recognized that Snake-Eyes was a superior fighter despite the fact that he had allowed her to beat him, allowing her to keep her dignity and respect with the other Joes. Scarlett was intrigued by his actions, and as a result, they became very close. On a mission in the Middle East, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, Rock 'n Roll, and Grunt were sent to save George Strawhacker from Cobra. On the way, the helicopter in which they were traveling began to malfunction, forcing Rock 'n' Roll and Grunt to bail out before it crashed. Scarlett remained stuck in the burning helicopter, however, and Snake-Eyes stayed behind to save his lover. He rescued her, but a window exploded right in his face, scarring him and damaging his vocal cords. Despite his injuries, Snake-Eyes convinced Hawk to let him continue with the mission.

Scarlett recovered from her injuries but Snake-Eyes harbored no ill will and the two became even closer. She almost died when a vengeful Baroness, who thought Snake-Eyes had killed her brother, shot her in the midst of kidnapping Snake-Eyes. Scarlett eventually recovered from her coma and was reunited with Snake-Eyes. The two would continue to serve G.I. Joe, even becoming members of the Ninja Force special team, until the Joe Team disbanded.

Master & Apprentice

Scarlett and Snake-Eyes were slated to be married until circumstances (his first apprentice was killed) stopped the wedding ceremony from happening.

Reinstatement - Devils Due

When the team reformed, the two were forced to work together. Scarlett was initially angry at Snake-Eyes but came to forgive him in the end. In 2002, Snake-Eyes proposed to Scarlett a second time and they are again engaged to be married in the current storylines. They continued to serve on the team together through the final wake of the Red Shadows, the death of Lady Jaye, and the eventual second disbandment of the team.

America's Elite - Devils Due

Scarlett again joined the team with Snake-Eyes as part of the much smaller, specialized G.I. Joe team. During one of her early missions to find a terrorist, she was kidnapped and eventually brought onto one of Destro's subs. He wished for her to be killed, so that G.I. Joe would know the loss he felt as Destro believed them to have killed his beloved Baroness.

Snake-Eyes revealed that he and Scarlett had implanted tracking devices into one another for special circumstances. He was able to use this to find her location. However, during the mission to rescue Scarlett, Snake-Eyes apparently died from drowning. His body was brought back to G.I. Joe headquarters where the Red Ninjas stole it.

Scarlett later used the same tracking device implanted in Snake-Eyes to find him. She went with the team to recover his body, but was shocked to learn he was somehow alive & dressed in red. During a final battle that Storm Shadow (now a member of G.I. Joe) knew he could not win, he took Scarlett as a hostage and threatened to kill her. This caused Snake-Eyes to regain his senses.After this, Snake-Eyes is training when Scarlett walks in on him. She discovers that he is only using his commando training, and not his Ninja Skills. She later takes his mask off and asks what they have done to his face. This has not yet been revealed.Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, and Stalker next confront General Joseph Coloton about information Storm Shadow told Snake-Eyes while recovering. They have learned that the Baroness is being held prisoner in the new base.

Comics - Alternate Realities/Continuities

G.I. Joe Reloaded

This series has a drastically different approach to G.I. Joe's creation. Scarlett is still working with her father and brothers when he receives a mysterious package and is killed by the poisonous contents. She later joins the new team, and eventually leads the team in its final mission to liberate Hawaii before the US Army bombs the state after Cobra takes it over. Because the series was ended early, the relationship with Snake-Eyes in the continuity was not completely fleshed out. She does trust him but not completely as he was a traitor from Cobra.

G.I. Joe vs. Transformers

This is made up of four mini-series as of 2007. This series takes a drastically different approach to the formation of the G.I. Joe team as being a special missions team to defend Earth against Cobra who has Cybertronian technology. As part of this, Scarlett is one of the few Joes who operates a giant mecha robot of her own. Scarlett appears during the third miniseries and it is shown that Snake-Eyes has a love interest with Scarlett. Scarlett returned those feelings to Snake-Eyes with a passionate kiss. In the final issue of the third miniseries, Scarlett is looking for Snake-Eyes as Arcee is synthesizing a meal. He is hiding up in the ceiling behind her and sticks a note on her back. Scarlett responds to his message by saying: "Do you want to continue playing our little game?". [G.I. Joe Vs. The Transformers III: The Art of War issue #5 - Cover Date: August 2006 - ©Devil's Due Publishing - Script: Tim Seeley, Pencils: Alex Milne, James Raiz & Joe Ng, Inks: Rob Ross, Colors: Rob Ruffolo & Kevin Yan, Letters: Brian Crowley, Editor: Mike Sullivan, Art Produced by: Udon, Udon Chief: Erik Ko, Special Thanks: Mark Powers, Cover: Joe Ng, Espen Grundetjern & Tom Liu] She is briefly shown in the fourth mini-series still being a member of the G.I. Joe team.

Cartoon

unbow

Scarlett first appeared in the MASS Device mini-series. She was portrayed as the typical tough female member of the team, intelligent and strong- willed. Like Duke and Flint, she was almost characteristically interchangeable with Lady Jaye when the latter woman was introduced in the series. Generally, though, if Flint is not present, she takes command after Duke. She was primarily responsible for calling the Joes into action against orders from their superiors who were actually synthoid duplicates. She was the only one to suspect that the Duke that led the mission was a synthoid himself. She tested that idea in battle by pretending that her Skystriker jet fighter was losing control. The fake Duke was her co-pilot and she pleaded for him to save himself. When he ejected instead of staying to help her, it proved to Scarlett that he was an impostor and moved to later stop him. As mentioned earlier, Scarlett makes use of a variety of specialized arrows with her crossbow, such as flare arrows, grappling lines, and high explosive tipped arrows.

All through the Sunbow-produced series, Scarlett was voiced by actress B.J. Ward.

=

Like many of the characters from the previous seasons, Scarlett is shown in a small part of the movie.

DiC

Scarlett appeared in five of the second season DIC series episodes -- Chunnel, The Sword, Long Live Rock and Roll (two parter), Messenger from the Deep, and Shadow of a Doubt. She was primarily featured in a variation of her 1982 outfit, in a different color scheme. (Pink replaced gray, for example.)

Action Force

The Z Force character Quarrel in the European G.I.Joe equivalent, Action Force is a re-work of Scarlett. Quarrel was cast as a Swiss diplomat's daughter, specialised in martial arts, and was packaged with the Z Force Rapid Fire motorcycle and Attack Cannon. Released in 1984 with the second generation of Action Force, she was again re-painted and re-characterised in the accompanying "Battle Action Force" comic books in 1985, this time as "Scarlett", with the introduction of the third generation AF range. However, her character did not conform fully to her G.I. Joe counterpart as she was cast as a Belgian undercover operative. The range was discontinued in Europe in the late 1980s.

G.I. Joe Direct to Video Movies

Scarlett was a member of the G.I. Joe team in both Direct-to-video movies, "Spy Troops" and "Valor vs. Venom". These movies seem to be more associated with the continuity in Sigma Six, and do not really seem to have any direct ties to previous animated continuity.

py Troops

Serves as a second in command to the team. She is taken hostage by Zartan when he steals a helicopter. She is later rescued by Snake-Eyes and the team.

Valor vs. Venom

igma 6

Animated Series

In the new series, "" , Scarlett's background is substantially altered. This version of Scarlett is more of a hard charger and appears younger (although that may be due to the anime-influenced art style of Sigma 6). She serves as the team's second in command under Duke. The 4Kids TV website for Sigma 6 also mentions her expertise as a helicopter pilot while at the same time dropping any mention of her specialty in counter-intelligence.
Tunnel Rat seems to have a crush on her (which is based on nothing from the comic book) after a mission they were on and after TR tried on cologne that was suppose to attract women but failed after he was covered in a rash. Scarlett also appears to have a rougher edge to her as she explained she hasn't worn a dress since senior prom.In the final episode of Season 1, we see hints of a Snake-Eyes and Scarlett relationship when Snake-Eyes risks his life to save Scarlett. After this point, TR is no longer seen being around Scarlett much, and for a while she has to defend advances from Firefly during the beginning of season 2.

Comic Series

This comic series was a 6 issue mini series released by Devils Due with direct connection to the new Animated TV Series. Like the Animated TV Series, this comic line does not tie into the continuity of the original G.I. Joe universe.

Scarlett appears as the main star of issue 4, where she is pitted against the Baroness. Scarlett is requested to serve as a body guard for a visiting Prime Minister at a fashion show. He reveals that he chose Scarlett because he wanted her to be his date, not his protector, which she feels very upset with for being under estimated. Baroness lures Scarlett away, and the Dreadnoks kidnap the Prime Minister. After realizing it was all a set up, Scarlett follows, and single handedly defeats all of the Cobra Agents, and releases the Prime Minister. The issue ends with him admitting he did in fact under estimate Scarlett, and she comments, "Now you know, and knowing is half the battle!"

This issue again stresses that Scarlett is a no nonsense woman, who does not take being a soldier lightly. She feels that she has a lot more to prove, especially against all of the other men she serves with, but she shows that when push comes to shove, she is a Joe and will win the battle.

Feature film

Actress Rachel Nichols has been cast to play Scarlett in Stephen Sommers' live-action "G.I. Joe" adaptation.

carlett & Snake-Eyes Relationship

A debate rages on differences between the cartoon and comic continuities of A Real American Hero. One of these is the argument as to where Scarlett’s true romantic intentions lie. In the comics, it is with Snake-Eyes while in the Sunbow-produced cartoon, she and Duke are clearly in a relationship. Some fans of the comic book series are dismayed at this seeming discrepancy. Speculations ranged from the TV show's writers inability to work around Snake-Eyes' limitations to Hasbro having a greater dictate and control over the show.

Although the television and the comic’s production remain independent: the comics debuted a year ahead making the main G.I. Joe comic book storyline canon. The show's writers only had a handful of issues of the comic series to draw inspiration from. The character dynamics were still being worked out. The introduction of new characters from the toyline meant that the show's writers could not rely on the comics to provide personalities for them. The show had to come up with its own continuity. When the duo once again appeared in animated form in the DiC -produced series, their relationship more closely followed the pattern in the comics in the final episodes "The Sword" and "Long Live Rock N Roll I & II".

When Duke was introduced in the comics, no attempt was made to pair him with Scarlett. In the comic, series writer Larry Hama gave a more definite answer in a letter column stating "Scarlett's heart belongs to Snake-Eyes." Then in 1984 in issue #27 of the Marvel Series, Scarlett admitted her feelings that she had always loved Snake-Eyes from the very first time they met. This is seen again in Snake-Eyes origin, Snake-Eyes: Declassified, by Devils Due. In issue #95, Scarlett wanted to tell Snake-Eyes one more time that she loved him. This was the issue that Scarlett was shot in the head by the Baroness. Then in #119, guest writer Herb Trimpe playfully takes the Snake-Eyes/Scarlett relationship a bit further when at the end of that story Storm Shadow asked the two who were at the back of the Tomahawk helicopter how they were doing. The only response he received was silence.

In some issues of alternate realities in G.I. Joe Reloaded, Snake-Eyes is not a member of the team at all; he has never met Scarlett, but he is in love with her. In the Season One finale of , it is hinted to some degree that Snake-Eyes has some interest in Scarlett. He goes out of his way to save her and put her out of harms way before moving on to complete his mission.

References

External links

* [http://www.myuselessknowledge.com/joe/scarlett.html JMM's G.I. Joe Character Guide]
* [http://scarlett.virtualogik.com/ Virtualogik Scarlett Character Page]