Crimson Guard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| G.I. Joe character | |
| Crimson Guard | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Cobra |
| Specialty | Elite Tooper |
| File name | VARIOUS NAMES |
| Birthplace | VARIOUS COUNTRIES |
| Rank | E-4 |
| Primary MOS | Undercover Espionage |
| Secondary MOS | Accounting |
| Year introduced | 1985 |
The Crimson Guard is the name for both a fictional elite organization and its members. They are commonly referred to by a phonetic spelling of their initials, "Siegies". They serve as an elite force for the COBRA Organization, the nemesis of the G.I. Joe team.
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[edit] Toyline
The first Crimson Guard figure was released in 1985. The figure wore a red dress uniform with silver decorations and insignias. He also wore a red helmet with black mask that covered his entire face. He was equipped with a rifle and red backpack. In 1989 the figure was repainted yellow and gray as part of the special Python Patrol sub group. In 1991 an armored version of the Crimson Guard known as the Crimson Guard Immortals was introduced wielding tube rocket launchers and a squad automatic weapon. Near the end of the lines run, lightly armored Crimson Guard Commanders arrived in 1993. Tomax and Xamot (the identical twins earlier called "Crimson Guard Commanders") are the leaders of the Crimson Guard.
Other incarnations of the Crimson Guard include two recently developed toys. The first is the new Crimson Guard, part of Hasbro's Direct to Consumer line, sold exclusively on their website, which features a slightly redesigned look, most notably replacing the original military style shirt with something resembling a stylish leather jacket. Another is a new subset, featuring repaints of the 2005 Crimson Guard Force figures, redone in black and gold, with melee weapons, and named the Crimson Shadow Guard.
Another notable toy incarnation of the Crimson Guard is the 2004 Operation Crimson Sabotage K.B. Toys Exclusive. The set consisted of three Crimson Guard figures, and included two vehicles; a crimson H.I.S.S. tank (High Speed Sentry), and a crimson A.S.P. (Assault Systems Pod) mobile flak emplacement. Hasbro is also releasing a Crimson Guard for the 25th anniversary toyline.
[edit] Animated series
These warriors, which are featured in the cartoon G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, are the elite of Cobra. As with all soldiers in the first season they fight on land, sea and air acting almost as officers as well as serving as Cobra Commander's bodyguards who he refers to as on at least once occasion his "Red Guard". In the first-season episodes after the "Pyramid of Darkness" miniseries, Crimson Guard members also act as deep-cover or sleeper agents, conducting operations in civilian guises that would require either too many operatives or too long an operation time for Zartan to be a feasible agent. In the second season, they seemed to serve more as bodyguards than anything else.
The Crimson Guard is led by the mirror twins characters Tomax and Xamot, who handle all of COBRA's business affairs. They are in direct command of the Crimson Guard; however, Tomax and Xamot are loyal to COBRA Commander, in turn, putting the Crimson Guard at COBRA Commander's disposal. During the second season, Tomax and Xamot's became loyal to Serpentor, which in turn placed the Crimson Guard out of Cobra Commander's disposal and into Serpentor's disposal.
In the Dragon Fire mini-series their new leader was Destro and some were part of a group of Cobra soldiers who became Python Patrol and under the newly restored Cobra Commander overthrew Serpentor.
[edit] Comic books
In the Marvel and Devil's Due comic series, the Crimson Guard are the most elite soldiers of Cobra's Viper legions under the command of Tomax and Xamot and are completely loyal to Cobra Commander, serving as his personal guard. Building the Crimson Guard network was believed to be the first thing Cobra Commander did after founding Cobra. Each member of the Crimson Guard operates in secret all over the country in the political arenas and business world. Some even come with families, giving them further legitimacy. This allows them to serve Cobra by gaining the organization things it needs through legitimate means. Part of their mission is to move up in business and political ranks, gaining influence and power, all for the benefit of Cobra.
Each member is rigorously trained, with the most demanding training regime in all of Cobra, and inducted in a secret ceremony in the lowest levels of Cobra's headquarters. To be a Crimson Guard is to swear absolute loyalty to Cobra and Cobra Commander.
To prove their loyalty, many members of the Sieges become part of a "series", the most famous of this is the Fred Series. These Crimson Guardsmen undergo plastic surgery to look like one another, allowing a member to completely replace another member should the need arise.
The most famous Crimson Guardsman is undoubtedly Fred VII, owner of an auto repair shop and developer of advanced cybernetic and bionic devices. This Fred gained infamy when, from 1987 to the early 1990s, he successfully impersonated Cobra Commander, after believing him killed in a failed attempt on his life. He was killed when the real Cobra Commander returned.
[edit] External links
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