G.I. Joe Head Canon & Fanfic Filecards

Hell yeah. Love that you're leaning into the more specialized troops being legit badasses in their own right.
I like that you made sure to get your arctic BAT in there as well. Very nice.

I dig the idea that Viper training is like a step up (or to the side?) of regular trooper training and goes from there. When I sat down to fantasy-book the Cobra hierarchy, I was leaning toward 'Trooper' and 'Viper' actually being separate distinctions from the start, with anyone not named 'Viper' being a specialist branch of trooper and anyone with 'Viper' in their title being a specialist branch of Viper. But I hadn't finished squaring the circle of what differentiates Troopers from Vipers, so I haven't quite gone anywhere with that idea yet.
 
Ru1977 said:
Troopers and Vipers could be like Army/Marines.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that was kind of where my head was at. So any troopers without 'Viper' in their name started out as Troopers, and anyone with Viper in their name started out as a basic Viper. And then that would relate back to the drivers of various vehicles because the name of the driver would tell you if that was a Viper support vehicle or a Trooper support vehicle. Motor-Viper or 'HISS Driver,' in other words.
 
Shit, now I want to make an org chart! What's the most idiot-proof program I could use to build that out?

Now that we're talking about it, I do think Army/Marines is pretty solid as a divider for Trooper/Viper, but that throws off my system since I think Trooper > Eel > Snow Serpent vs. Viper > Range Viper > Grim Viper or something like that. I need a full list of Cobra troops to build this out. Which I'll probably do tonight instead of writing up an actual character, though I do think I'll do Desert Scorpions tonight too.
 
docsilence said:
Shit, now I want to make an org chart! What's the most idiot-proof program I could use to build that out?

Now that we're talking about it, I do think Army/Marines is pretty solid as a divider for Trooper/Viper, but that throws off my system since I think Trooper > Eel > Snow Serpent vs. Viper > Range Viper > Grim Viper or something like that. I need a full list of Cobra troops to build this out. Which I'll probably do tonight instead of writing up an actual character, though I do think I'll do Desert Scorpions tonight too.
Click to expand...
First of all.. I respect how you waffled from 'instead of writing up a character' to 'I'll also write up a character' in the same sentence.

I feel like Excel is probably the most obvious option. If you've used it at all in the past, it's probably fairly intuitive. It won't necessarily be -pretty-, but you'll be able to get your ideas down fairly easily.

You know what's interesting about this? You can now differentiate between EELS and Hydro-Vipers. Why are they different? Different branches of the military, of course. An Army Diver isn't a SEAL, after all. I dig the idea that the 'troopers' are actually the marine-equivalent. That whole 'every marine is a rifleman' thing. So troopers are all troopers, so a communications trooper is just a trooper until he specializes. Whereas Vipers are auto-specialized, so the communications guy becomes a tele-viper. I.E. Vipers are ONLY and specifically riflemen, if maybe more specialized riflemen than your average trooper.
But that's just me spitballing.
 
Holy shit, there are so many Troopers and Vipers, dudes. And like, Sand Vipers vs. Desert Scorpions, Hydro-Vipers vs. Eels (Hydro-Vipers are actually noted to be advanced Eels!)
  • Aero-Viper - Condor Z25 pilot
  • Air-Viper - Cobra Air Force trainee
  • Alley Viper - Cobra urban assault trooper
  • Astro-Viper - Cobranaut
  • A.V.A.C. - Air-Viper, Advanced Class; Firebat pilot
  • Bio-Viper - Amphibious Mega-Monster soldiers that were originally a team of Eels until Doctor Mindbender spliced their DNA with the DNA samples of giant squids, moray eels, piranhas, rockfish, and sharks.
  • Cobra Viper - Cobra infantry
  • Cyber-Viper - Cybernetic officers
  • Desert-Viper - Cobra desert trooper
  • Elite-Viper - Elite regiment officer
  • Fast Blast Viper - Field combat
  • Flak-Viper - Cobra anti-aircraft trooper
  • Frag-Viper - Cobra grenade thrower
  • Gyro-Viper - Mamba pilot
  • Hazard-Viper - Toxin specialist
  • H.E.A.T. Viper - High-Explosive, Anti-Tank; Cobra bazooka trooper
  • Heli-Viper - Cobra Battle Copter trooper
  • Hydro-Viper - Cobra underwater elite trooper. Also known as the "demons of the deep"
  • Ice-Viper - Cobra WOLF driver
  • Jungle-Viper - Jungle assault trooper
  • Kitchen Viper - Mentioned in the comics only; never actually seen
  • Laser-Viper - Cobra laser trooper
  • Medi-Viper - Medical trooper
  • Mega-Viper - Mega-Monster trainer
  • Monstro-Viper - Savage Mega-Monster soldiers that were originally a team of Range-Vipers until Doctor Mindbender spliced their DNA with the DNA samples of bats, large Bigfoot-like creatures, gruesome grizzly bears, and rabid werewolves.
  • Motor-Viper - Cobra Stun pilot
  • Nano-Viper - Cobra commando
  • Neo-Viper - Officer/infantryman
  • Night-Viper - Cobra night fighter
  • Ninja-Viper - Martial arts
  • Nitro-Viper - Detonator driver
  • Para-Viper - Cobra paratrooper
  • Pit-Viper - Infiltration trooper
  • Range-Viper - Cobra wilderness trooper
  • Raptor-Viper[8] -
  • Red Ninja-Viper - Ninja warrior
  • Rock-Viper - Cobra mountain trooper
  • Sand-Viper - Desert infiltrator
  • S.A.W. Viper - Semi-Automatic Weapons; Cobra heavy machine gunner
  • Secto-Viper - Cobra Bugg driver
  • Shadow-Viper - Counter intelligence
  • Shock-Viper - Fire assault trooper
  • Sludge-Viper - Cobra hazardous waste Viper
  • Star-Viper - Cobra Stellar Stiletto pilot
  • Strato-Viper - Cobra Night Raven S³P pilot [9]
  • Street-Viper - Urban combat trooper
  • Sub-Viper - Underwater demolitions
  • Swamp-Viper - Amphibious assault trooper
  • Techno-Viper - Cobra battlefield technician
  • Tele-Viper - Cobra communications
  • Terra-Viper - Cobra Mole Pod pilot
  • Toxo-Viper - Cobra hostile environment trooper
  • Track-Viper - H.I.S.S. II driver
  • Viper Guard - Cobra infantry
  • Viper Pilot - Attack glider pilot
Troopers:
  • Air Devil - Acrobatic Aerial Assault Trooper
  • B.A.T.s - Cobra's androids. Their name is short for Battle Android Troopers.
  • Cobra Blackstar - Cobra Elite Space Pilot
  • Cobra C.L.A.W.S. - Combat Light Armored Weapons Specialist; Heavy Weapons Trooper
  • Cobra Coils - High Speed Pursuit Vehicle Drivers; Cobra Tread Fire Driver
  • Cobra Eels - Cobra Frogman
  • Cobra H.I.S.S. Driver - Cobra H.I.S.S. Driver
  • Cobra Moray - Underwater Elite Trooper
  • Cobra Officer - Cobra Squad Leader
  • Cobra Stinger Driver - Cobra Stinger Driver
  • Cobra Soldier - Cobra Basic Infantry
  • Desert Scorpion - Cobra Desert Trooper
  • Incinerators - Cobra Flamethrowers
  • Lampreys - Cobra Moray Hydrofoil Pilot
  • Night Creepers - Cobra Mercenary Ninjas
  • Night Vulture - Cobra Air Recon Trooper
  • Sea Slugs - Cobra Sea Ray Pilot
  • Snow Serpent - Cobra Polar Assault
  • W.O.R.M.S. - Weapons Ordnance Rugged Machine Specialists; Cobra Maggot Driver
 
Damien said:
First of all.. I respect how you waffled from 'instead of writing up a character' to 'I'll also write up a character' in the same sentence.
Click to expand...
Right? I love when he does that shit. Sometimes he'll ask me a question then answer it before he even gets to a question mark.
Damien said:
I feel like Excel is probably the most obvious option. If you've used it at all in the past, it's probably fairly intuitive. It won't necessarily be -pretty-, but you'll be able to get your ideas down fairly easily.
Click to expand...
That's what I was thinking, then maybe something else to make a neat tree or something? But yeah, I would definitely start in excel to get organized.
Damien said:
You know what's interesting about this? You can now differentiate between EELS and Hydro-Vipers. Why are they different? Different branches of the military, of course. An Army Diver isn't a SEAL, after all. I dig the idea that the 'troopers' are actually the marine-equivalent. That whole 'every marine is a rifleman' thing. So troopers are all troopers, so a communications trooper is just a trooper until he specializes. Whereas Vipers are auto-specialized, so the communications guy becomes a tele-viper. I.E. Vipers are ONLY and specifically riflemen, if maybe more specialized riflemen than your average trooper.
But that's just me spitballing.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that seems apt. Vipers are infantry, so basic army equivalent.
docsilence said:
Holy shit, there are so many Troopers and Vipers, dudes. And like, Sand Vipers vs. Desert Scorpions, Hydro-Vipers vs. Eels (Hydro-Vipers are actually noted to be advanced Eels!)
Click to expand...
Awesome! So if you're an Eel, if you wanna go up your either freeze off your favorite bits or get mutated.
 
Okay I just banged out a rough draft and honestly, Cobra can go fuck itself, their structure is worse than a startup

Viper
  • Neo-Viper (officer track)
Air
  • Air-Viper
    • Astro-Viper
Land

Specialist (Environmental)
  • Alley-Viper (urban)
    • Street-Viper (undercover specialist)
  • Desert-Viper (desert)
  • Sand Viper (covert)
  • Hydro-Viper (underwater elite – “demons of the deep)
    • Sub-Viper (underwater demo)
  • Jungle-Viper (jungle)
  • Kitchen-Viper
  • Medi-Viper
  • Para-Viper
    • Range-Viper
  • Night-Viper
  • Rock-Viper
  • Swamp Viper (amphibious)
Specialist (Heavy/Special Weapons)
  • Flak-Viper (anti-aircraft)
  • Frag-Viper (grenade specialist)
  • HEAT (high-explosive/anti-tank) bazooka specialist
  • SAW-Viper
  • Shock-Viper (fire assault)
Specialist (Technology)
  • Laser-Viper
  • Techno-Viper - Cobra battlefield technician
  • Tele-Viper - Cobra communications
    • Cyber-Viper (cybernetics track - from any of the previous)
Specialist (Infiltration)
  • Nano-Viper (commando)
    • Shadow-Viper (counterintelligence)
    • Pit-Viper (infiltration specialist)
  • Ninja-Viper
    • Red Ninja Vipe
Specialist (Chemical Weapons)
  • Hazard-Viper (toxin specialist)
  • Sludge-Viper (hazardous waste specialist)
  • Toxo-Viper - Cobra hostile environment trooper
Specialist (driver)
  • Land:
  • Terra-Viper - Cobra Mole Pod pilot
  • Nitro-Viper (Detonator driver)
  • Ice-Viper - Cobra WOLF driver
  • Motor-Viper - Cobra Stun pilot
  • Secto-Viper - Cobra Bugg driver
  • Track-Viper - H.I.S.S. II driver
Air
  • Aero-Viper - Condor Z25 pilot
    • A.V.A.C. - Air-Viper, Advanced Class; Firebat pilot
  • Gyro-Viper - Mamba pilot
  • Heli-Viper - Cobra Battle Copter trooper
  • Star-Viper - Cobra Stellar Stiletto pilot
  • Strato-Viper - Cobra Night Raven S³P pilot
  • Viper Pilot - Attack glider pilot
Experimental
  • Mega-Viper - Mega-Monster trainer
  • Monstro-Viper – mutated Range-Vipers
  • Bio-Viper – mutated Eels

Troopers:

Air
  • Air Devil - Acrobatic Aerial Assault Trooper
    • Cobra Blackstar - Cobra Elite Space Pilot
  • Night Vulture - Cobra Air Recon Trooper
Land

Infantry

  • Cobra Soldier - Cobra Basic Infantry
    • Cobra Officer - Cobra Squad Leader
Specialists:

  • Cobra C.L.A.W.S. - Combat Light Armored Weapons Specialist; Heavy Weapons Trooper
  • Desert Scorpion - Cobra Desert Trooper
  • Incinerators - Cobra Flamethrowers
  • Night Creepers - Cobra Mercenary Ninjas
Vehicle
  • Cobra Coils - High Speed Pursuit Vehicle Drivers; Cobra Tread Fire Driver
  • Cobra H.I.S.S. Driver - Cobra H.I.S.S. Driver
  • W.O.R.M.S. - Weapons Ordnance Rugged Machine Specialists; Cobra Maggot Driver
  • Cobra Stinger Driver - Cobra Stinger Driver
Sea

  • Cobra Eels - Cobra Frogman
    • Lampreys - Cobra Moray Hydrofoil Pilot
      • Cobra Moray - Underwater Elite Trooper
      • Snow Serpent - Cobra Polar Assault
  • Sea Slugs - Cobra Sea Ray Pilot
Experimental
  • BATs
 
docsilence said:
Holy shit, there are so many Troopers and Vipers, dudes. And like, Sand Vipers vs. Desert Scorpions, Hydro-Vipers vs. Eels (Hydro-Vipers are actually noted to be advanced Eels!)
Click to expand...
To be fair, strictly speaking from my own head canon, I basically ignore any troop types added after 1994, with a few exceptions. A lot of the Spy Troops or VvV renames, for instance, was copyright stuff and/or writers trying to be cute/different. There is no reason 'Desert Vipers' even exist. It was a strictly movie subline thing so they could make a desert guy that wasn't a Desert Scorpion and could unify the 'Viper' name for marketing. Neo Viper was kind of the same in the 2000s era, attempting to rebrand everything and be like 'it's Vipers, but COOLER.' And I hate it.

But yeah, it's so much. And complicated by the fact that -Hasbro- never had a legitimate foundation of what any of this stuff means so there's some overlap of ideas for sure. If you decide to actually create that foundation yourself, I wish you luck and good mental health.


And while I was typing, you came back:


docsilence said:
Okay I just banged out a rough draft and honestly, Cobra can go fuck itself, their structure is worse than a startup
Click to expand...
That tracks, actually.


Also, you're a madman for attempting to do it without just dumping a bunch of the redundant ones.

Shouldn't Snow Serpents be under 'EELS' and not further subclassified as being under Lampreys? Or do they have to be Lamprey-certified before becoming Snow Serpents? And in your mind are all the different field classifications of troopers (air, land, sea...) separate -starting points- or do all troopers start as 'Cobra Trooper' and then sub-divide from there into either officer training or into a field specialization?
 
Yeah, I'm not gonna try to do this as a formal thing cos then I also have to try to add in cool new shit like Ghost Vipers too while also hacking out lame old stuff. I think I'm going to stick with
Trooper>Specialist>Super-Specialist>Officer
and
Viper>Specialist>Super-Specalist>Officer
and call it a day.

Damien said:
Shouldn't Snow Serpents be under 'EELS' and not further subclassified as being under Lampreys? Or do they have to be Lamprey-certified before becoming Snow Serpents? And in your mind are all the different field classifications of troopers (air, land, sea...) separate -starting points- or do all troopers start as 'Cobra Trooper' and then sub-divide from there into either officer training or into a field specialization?
Click to expand...
I was just sloppily using bullets to say Eel>(Lamprey as slightly more trained)>Moray/Snow Serpents as MORE more trained as a placeholder.

I reckon Cobra's broken up into "give someone a gun to go shoot people" graduating into "give him a cooler gun to go kill people OR drive a machine" followed by "didn't die doing either of those things" to "okay now he's an officer too
And somewhere in there there's "stupid enough to volunteer for genetic experimentation"
 
Love it. Works for me. Realistically, CC is an insane megalomaniac anyway. It is more than enough explanation that he once screamed "CALL THEM SSSSNOW SSSSSSERPENTSSSSS!" and everyone went "okie doke, he will absolutely shoot anyone that says that's not the best idea, so that is definitely the best idea."

"Ah Yes, you have graduated to become my finessssst Desssert Viperssss!"
"Does he know we call them Desert Scorpions?"
"I... I dunno, man. Just make some new uniforms and don't give these guys any of the mutated scorpions or something."
"And you, graduating classssss of '91, you will be the greatesssst of my Ice Vipersss!"
"Goddamn it...."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top