Iron Grenadiers
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The Iron Grenadiers is a faction from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. They are a private army owned and maintained by the arms dealer Destro. The Grenadiers are composed of his castle guards, personal bodyguards and mercenaries. Unlike Cobra’s troops, the Grenadiers tend to be well motivated, especially in financial concerns as the elite officers each have a share in Destro’s weapons sales.
The group first appeared in the 1988 series of the G.I. Joe toy line and also made appearances in the animated series and comics.
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[edit] Organization
The Iron Grenadiers are led by Destro. Following the storyline in the comic book series at the time, the file cards indicate that Destro had, at some time, left Cobra and formed his own army. He, too, begins having dreams of world domination just as Cobra Commander.
To lead his army, Destro enlisted first Voltar, then General Mayhem later to act as field commander (possibly due to Voltar's death in comic continuity). Just like Cobra, the Grenadiers are organized according to their specialties.
- Iron Grenadiers – the basic infantryman sent into hot spots to cause conflict and sell weapons. They have been described as "used car salesmen with machine guns"
- Ferrets – operators of the D.E.M.O.N. tanks.
- Nullifiers – pilots of the A.G.P. (Anti-Gravity Pod) flight vehicle. Nullifiers are trained and conditioned to be big and bulky.
- Annihilators – elite troopers. These troops use special helicopter backpacks and serve as Destro's personal guard.
- T.A.R.G.A.T.s – (Trans-atmospheric rapid global assault troopers). Soldiers in this unit are sent into near sub-orbit and then deployed, shooting to battlefields.
- Darklon – Destro’s cousin and ruler of Darklonia.
- Wild Boars – operator of the Razorback assault vehicle.
- Undertows – underwater combat specialists, trained and equipped to function in polluted waters near industrial and military sites..
- Metal-Head – anti-tank specialist.
[edit] Comics
An Iron Grenadier appeared in G.I. Joe #69 of the comics series published by Marvel Comics. During that time, Destro had broken his ties with Cobra. After months out of the spotlight, Destro resurfaced in Sierra Gordo where he supplied weapons to both the local government and the rebels. To mark a new beginning in his life, he adopted a new uniform and fashioned his own aide-de-camp sergeant major into the first of the Grenadiers.
The Grenadiers appeared as an army in issue #73 where they participated in the Cobra Civil War as a wild card. Destro's personal ride, a D.E.M.O.N. tank, battled a group of Dreadnoks riding the Thunder Machine. The result was a stalemate of sorts. Their objective in the civil war was to retrieve the Baroness and they managed to achieve it without any losses. Later on, when Destro’s schemes started to affect Cobra, the then Cobra Commander (Fred VII in disguise) decided to retaliate by assaulting Castle Destro. (issue #87) The attack backfired. Although outnumbered, the Grenadiers were able to prove their mettle. A clever plan by Destro allowed him to hold hostage Fred VII and Dr. Mindbender and essentially take over Cobra.
A division of Cobra troops once pretended to be Grenadiers as a way to publicly frame them for the crimes the troops were committing. The Grenadiers also come into conflict with other Cobra forces, the Dreadnoks again, partly because they found the bikers laughable.
The ties between Cobra and Destro were severed once more when the original Cobra Commander returns (issue #98). Rather than confront the Commander, Destro kept his distance. Cobra Commander still had a bone to pick with Destro and attacks the latter’s castle in issue #116. The Iron Grenadiers seem to have all perished and disappeared after that event and never seen again for the remainder of the Marvel series.
The Grenadiers resurfaced in the G.I. Joe series published by Devil's Due Publishing where they continued to be in service of Destro. The Grenadiers have gained a new second in command, Mistress Armada. This is partly due to that the Destro (at that time) they know is actually an impersonator and needs a talented person to run the troops.
[edit] Animated series
In other media, the Iron Grenadiers first appeared in the mini-series Operation: Dragonfire and then in ongoing series by DiC Entertainment. Unlike the comics and the toyline, the Grenadiers were not treated as a separate faction from Cobra but as part of Cobra’s organization. The name Iron Grenadiers is not even used. The one character from the Grenadiers to achieve some level of popularity and attention was Metal-Head who acted as comic relief in the series.
[edit] External links
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