Though its '80s incarnation is a pop-culture classic, the G.I. Joe franchise hasn't really had a major hit in a while. Neither of the previous movies made much of a splash, and it seems as if the recent Snake Eyes will follow in their footsteps. However, one forgotten series that definitely should have been a much bigger hit for the franchise was G.I. Joe: Renegades.
Combining G.I. Joe with The A-Team, Renegades was perhaps the series' best animated adaptation that sadly found itself stuck on a niche network. With the franchise looking at another potential dark age on the horizon, here's a look back at what should be considered its crowning moment.
What Was G.I Joe: Renegades?
Renegades' premise was an interesting twist on the usual formula while still maintaining the military concept of G.I. Joe fighting the terrorist organization Cobra. Here, Cobra is actually a company behind much of the world's services and technology, essentially Amazon meets Google on steroids. A team led by Duke and Scarlett discover the nefarious machinations that Cobra engages in behind the scenes. However, they're subsequently caught and framed for attacking Cobra.
Sent on the run and hunted down by Flint and Hawk (who's simply referred to as General Abernathy), the team travels around as mere "ordinary Joes" trying to clear their name while taking down Cobra. Other threats also appear along the way, such as Zartan and his Dreadnoks biker gang and the twin cult leaders Tomax and Xamot. By the end of the show's one and only season, the status quo had begun to much more closely match up with the classic series, but it was sadly too little too late for Renegades.
Why G.I Joe: Renegades Deserves More Credit
Renegades succeeded due to its loyalty to the source material and its ability to still mix things up quite a bit. While some of the characters' situations may be different from what fans are used to, their actual characterizations are spot on in terms of representing their classic interpretations. Duke is still a fearless leader. Snake Eyes is a silent yet resourceful ninja. Roadblock is a loud and boisterous bruiser, and Cobra Commander is still a scheming megalomaniac of a villain.
Cobra Commander is voiced by Charlie Adler, who voiced Starscream in the live-action Transformers movies. This reflects how the original Cobra Commander was voiced by Christopher Collins, who used essentially the same voice for him as he did for Starscream. Adler's Cobra Commander and Starscream voices are identical in this case too. Likewise, Duke's father is voiced by Generation 1 Duke voice actor Michael Bell, with his mother being voiced by B. J. Ward, who voiced the original Scarlett.
The characterizations and some of the plot threads combine elements not only from the classic '80s cartoons but also the darker and more mature comic books written by Larry Hama. This sees both heroes and villains receive far more development on screen than any previous versions in film or television. Renegades wasn't afraid to kill characters off or have dark themes, such as Ripcord sacrificing himself in the first episode or Snake Eyes' origin story. Some of the controversial elements from Rise of Cobra were also unused here, and the early death of Ripcord, who resembles Marlon Wayans' version from the film, further reflects this.
Even in spite of some of the more egregious changes, the show succeeded far more than many recent shows at harnessing the appeal of an old franchise for a new generation. Sadly, it went fairly under the radar when it was released and has since only slipped even further into obscurity. This is likely for two reasons. For one, the somewhat unorthodox art style may have turned off older fans, especially for those who may have assumed that it was simply a cheaply made cash-in after the first movie. This is similar to the initial reception to Transformers: Animated, though that show went on to be lauded by longtime fans and newcomers alike.
Unlike Animated, which aired on the much more mainstream Cartoon Network, G.I. Joe Renegades and Transformers: Prime were stuck on The Hub. This niche network wasn't in most basic cable packages, so the ratings were certainly less than they should have been. With the G.I. Joe franchise having since been in famine mode, the Renegades failed to even gain a cult following in spite of its quality. It's currently available for free on Tubi and would likely be more appealing to older fans than other attempts to bring the series back to the pop-culture forefront.