Rock 'n Roll (G.I. Joe)

Infobox G.I. Joe character
name = Rock 'N Roll


caption =
affiliation = G.I. Joe
function = Machine Gunner
realname = McConnell, Craig S.
birthplace = Malibu, CA
serial = RA989091452
rank = E-5
primaryMOS = Infantry
secondaryMOS = PT Instructor
subgroup = Star Brigade
series =
voiceby =
debut = 1982

Rock 'n Roll is a character from the toy line, comic books and cartoon series of the 1980s. He is the G.I. Joe team's original machine gunner and debuted in 1982. His real name is Craig S. McConnel, and his rank is that of sergeant E-5 (later promoted to E-6). A surfer, weight lifter and bass guitar player from Malibu, the noise of machine gun fire is music to his ears.

Rock 'n Roll's primary military specialty is infantry, and his secondary military specialty is PT instructor. He is familiar with all NATO and Warsaw Pact light and heavy machine guns. He graduated from advanced infantry training (top of class), and received specialized education in covert ops school.

Rock 'n Roll is cunning but naive, and forceful but shy. He possesses a strong sense of loyalty to his teammates and is sincerely concerned about their wellbeing. Rock 'n Roll is a man of honor and integrity who can be counted on to hold the line.

In time, Rock 'n Roll moved on from being a machine gunner to a gatling gunner

Toy history

Rock 'n Roll is part of the first group of characters in the 1982 G.I. Joe relaunch. His character is re-issued with a new action figure design in 1989 with a slight name change to Rock & Roll, however, his file card's content continued to maintain the code name Rock 'n Roll. The name change is temporary as the next few editions of his action figure all used the Rock 'n Roll name. The character also became part of Super Sonic Fighters and Star Brigade sub-lines.

Fiction

Animated series appearance

Rock 'n Roll first appeared in the animated "A Real American Hero" mini-series.

Marvel Comics

In the Marvel comics G.I. Joe series, he first appeared in issue #1, along with the rest of the original team. He participates in the rescue of nuclear phyicist and noted peace activist Adele Burkhart from a minor Cobra facillity. Adele is rescued 'safely, only suffering from a gunshot wound to the arm.

Rock 'n Roll is featured in the Joe's second recorded adventure. He, Snake-Eyes and Scarlett are far behind enemy lines and low on ammo. Needing to get valuable info back to friendly territory, Scarlett orders both of them, at gunpoint, to run for it. Rock 'n Roll begs Snake-Eyes to be allowed to go back but finds he is talking to empty air as Snake-Eyes already has.

Rock 'n Roll finishes his mission, then steals a Joe motorcycle. He arrives just in time to kill another wave of enemy soldiers and rescue his friends. Reinforcements endanger all three, until General Hawk, bending orders himself, saves the day.

A flashback reveals that around this time, he is part of the mission where, due to a helicopter crash, Snake-Eyes loses his ability to talk.

The Joe team manages to capture Cobra Commander for a time and Rock'N'Roll is assigned to be one of his guards. The Cobra ninja Storm Shadow takes their prisoner. Some time after, the original thirteen joes, Rock'N'Roll included, are taken off active duty. While on leave and headed for Malibu, Cobra mercenaries called Dreadnoks run Rock'N'Roll's classic 1956 Bel Air Nomad off the road. He and his two friends, Clutch and Breaker are injured. Spotting the Dreadnoks while in an ambulance, Rock'N'Roll commandeers the vehicle and chases them down, resulting in the capture of the Dreadnok named 'Buzzer'.

He would later be featured in a multiple-issue storyline where he and Clutch find the Cobra-owned town of Broca Beach. Rock 'n Roll realizes the Broca Beach police are Cobra agents by a ring they sport. They are recognized as Joes and captured by the Dreadnoks. They are brainwashed by the Baroness, using an old device left behind by the evil scientist Doctor Mindbender. The two later escape.

They team up with Canadian police officers to destroy a Cobra distribution facillity in Canada. Broca Beach is read from documentation, causing odd headaches with the pair.

In a later attack on a Joe facillity, the Baroness manages to activate the duo's hypnotic suggestions, which was to kill and destroy. Unknown to the Baroness, Rock 'n Roll and Clutch were minding visitors to the base. Unwitting visitors, two young girls who had gotten in way over their heads. The presence of the girls helped to break the brainwashing, as the inherent decency of the two men would not allow them to kill innocent teenagers, no matter how intense the brainwashing.

Devil's Due

In "G.I.Joe A Real American Hero" #14 - 15, (Jan 2002), Rock 'n Roll would be instrumental in discovering a Cobra town. Spending a vacation with Alpine, Mutt and Bazooka. they decide to go to a local bar (this would also be Mutt's second time in discoving a Cobra town, he and Spirit had discovered Millville). The bartender's odd behavior leads Rock 'n Roll to investigate. A Cobra ring is spotted on the man's finger and a confrontation breaks out, as the other bar patrons are Cobra agents. Rock 'n Roll takes the bartender hostage but none of the other agents care.

Bazooka, who had been in the restroom, is hit with a bottle from behind. Out of it, he is tied up in a storage room. In the basement facillity, the awake Joes are questioned and beaten by Cobra agents. One questions why the Joes are not simply shot and is told that they are being kept alive by strict orders. Years before, Cobra Commander had failed to make his orders clear and several Joe team members were executed.

Cobra Commander himself arrives to question the group. Upstairs, Bazooka, who had been faking it, escapes and kills several Cobra agents. He starts a destructive fight with Big Boa. The Joes take advantage of this distraction and though tied up, subdue many of their captors and ultimately escape.

Afterwords, there is no sign of Cobra, not even the remains of the soldiers Bazooka killed. The foursome's veteran status is enough for their story to be believed.

G.I.Joe Declassified

Rock'N'Roll is featured in this Devil's Due look back at the early days of the Joe team. He, Stalker, Grunt and Zap had been sent into Sierra Gordo to observe the local "Liberation Front". While discovering the front was actually a murderous terrorist group, they are discovered by enemy forces and forced to retreat. The group is confronted with many problems, such as backup being very far away and Stalker's insistence on carrying a wounded prisoner.

G.I. Joe Reloaded

Rock 'n Roll is heavily featured in the alternate continuity of "G.I.Joe: Reloaded" as he tries to track down a seeming traitor within the team. Traveling alone for some time, he deals with Snake-Eyes, who is a suspect.

Resources

* [http://www.yojoe.com/filecard/82/rocknroll.shtml Original 1982 Rock 'n Roll file card]
* [http://www.yojoe.com/filecard/89/rocknroll2.shtml 1989 Rock & Roll file card]
* [http://www.myuselessknowledge.com/joe/rr.html Myuselessknowledge.com Rock'N'Roll entry]