Lady Jaye (G.I. Joe)

Infobox G.I. Joe character
name = Lady Jaye


caption =
affiliation = G.I. Joe
function = Covert Operations
realname = Hart-Burnett, Alison R.
birthplace = Martha's Vineyard, MA
serial = 856-71-6749
rank = E-6
primaryMOS = Intelligence
secondaryMOS = Personnel Clerk
subgroup =
series =
voiceby = Mary McDonald-Lewis
debut = 1985

Lady Jaye is the code name of Staff Sergeant Alison R. Hart-Burnett, a character in the "" animated and comic book series of the 1980s. She is the covert operations specialist.

She was born on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. She is a Bryn Mawr graduate and also did graduate work in Trinity College in Dublin. She is an accomplished actress and fluent in several languages. She has a knack for impersonation, right down to the subject's voice and mannerisms. Something in her heritage makes her easily pass for a number of cultures, particularly European and some Middle Eastern. She has a famed romance with Flint, the rugged warrant officer, and their banter was a trademark of the animated series and one of the few things the animated series and the comic book had in common. Both first appeared in the "Revenge of Cobra" miniseries. She is generally the second main female character of the series, after Scarlett.

Comics

Marvel

In the comic books, Lady Jaye's relationship with Flint got off to a rocky start. Flint was drawn to her from the moment he saw her, but she was turned off by his occasional arrogance, and basically thought he was a jerk. Through an act of courage, holding off invading Cobra Eels long enough for Lady Jaye to alert the other Joes, which almost cost Flint his life, she started to reconsider her opinion of him. While Flint was recovering from his injuries, he confided some of his fears and doubts in her, and they grew closer, eventually falling in love.

Lady Jaye's first comics appearance was in issue #32, where her codename was spelled "Lady J".

Later, during a Cobra-led war in an Eastern European country, the team of Lady-Jaye and Flint would hit a snag. In battle with two Cobra soldiers, Flint is forced to kill his opponent but Lady-Jaye manages to subdue hers. Faced with the 'burden' of a live, healthy prisoner, Flint urges her to kill him and she resists. Flint even offers to do it himself.

Reinstatement — Devil's Due

After G.I. Joe disbanded, Lady Jaye married Flint. When G.I. Joe was re-formed, many Joes commented that her marriage to Flint seem to have a positive effect on Flint, given how much more mellow he seemed in his later years than he had during the unit's earlier days. She was killed by Red Shadows member Dela Eden while trying to save Flint. Flint was devastated by her death, yet could not bring himself to kill his wife's murderer. Her death marked a critical turning point in Flint's life.

Lady Jaye also appeared in the Devil's Due "G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers" series and the Dreamwave Transformers vs. GI Joe series.

Animation

unbow

In the animated series, she is voiced by Mary McDonald-Lewis. In the first season episode "Skeletons in the Closet," it is revealed that she is related to the Joes' enemy, Destro, but it was never specified to what extent the relationship was. Lady Jaye was a more mellow and level-headed person compared to her comic book incarnation, but she did occasionally display a potent temper.

Lady Jaye also made use of a variety of specialized throwing javelins as signature weapons that featured unique properties like energy projectors, a pure diamond head for cutting through hard materials, one that released nets for capturing enemies, rescue flares, and even one that generated a protective force field-like bubble that let her and another person breathe underwater, and which included small propulsion units that could carry them to the surface.

Sunbow — "Transformers"

In the "Transformers" series, a character named Marissa Faireborn was featured, and Faireborn happened to be the surname of Flint's real civilian name. In one episode, Bill Ratner, who voiced Flint, gave voice to Marissa's father. In another episode, "The Killing Jar," her father is shown as a slightly shadowed version of Flint. It has often been theorized by fans that Marissa was the daughter of Flint and Lady Jaye, and on the commentary track of "" 20th Anniversary DVD, it was confirmed by Flint Dille, story consultant on the Transformers movie as well as a writer, story editor and producer on GI Joe. This was also verified years before in an [http://www.joeheadquarters.com/interviews_dille.shtml interview] Flint Dille did with the Ultimate GI Joe Cartoon Website.

"G.I. Joe: The Movie"

Like many of the original characters, Lady Jaye does make an appearance. However, like most of the characters from the original series, she is not shown as part of the main focus of the movie.

DiC

Lady Jaye makes her first appearance as a member of the Slaughter's Marauders, wearing a blue version of her original uniform in the five part mini-series, "Operation Dragonfire". She still uses her javelins as her primary weapon. As the regular season progressed, Lady Jaye’s personality began to change from her original version. She would be used in episodes paired with Captain Grid-Iron instead of Flint, as Flint was not around at this time (Flint did come around in the second season, but by that time Lady Jaye was dropped from the roster).

Beyond

Lady Jaye is the only female Joe to appear in the direct to video cartoon [http://www.geocities.com/kepulver/mushes/savageguide/sgtsavage2.html "Old Soldiers Never Die"] which was the only cartoon appearance of Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles (which was also produced by Sunbow Productions, the same company that produced the original Real American Hero cartoon). Lady Jaye, along with Doc and Hawk were part of the team that rescued Sgt. Savage from cryogenic storage. These three Joes appeared in this cartoon perhaps as a way of bridging the change from the Real American Hero toyline/comic/cartoon continuity to the new Sgt. Savage line. This theory is further bolstered by a cameo appearance from Cobra Commander.

In this incarnation, Lady Jaye's hair is blonde and approximately shoulder length. She was voice by Kathleen Barr.

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/thefreighter89/savageguide/sgtsavage.html Sgt. Savage and His Screaming Eagles] -- information on "Old Soldiers Never Die" as well as some information on the Sgt. Savage toyline.
* [http://www.myuselessknowledge.com/joe/ladyjaye.html Lady Jaye] -- a profile of Lady Jaye outlining her history in the Marvel/Devil's Due comic continuity at the GI Joe Comics Home Page.