TV/Movie Character Profile: G.I Joe

The premise of the cartoon 1985 series was "good vs. evil". The show's opening theme song included the narration: "G.I. Joe is the code name for America's daring, highly trained special mission force. Its purpose: to defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world".

The show featured physical fighting and high-tech weapons as a way to compensate for toned-down violence and lack of bullets in what was intended to be children's program. The show also featured public service announcements placed at the end of each show. These PSAs ended with the phrase: "Now you know, and knowing is half the battle."The series ran for a total of 95 episodes, from 1985 to 1986.

The animated series was canceled after the release of G.I. Joe: The Movie, but made a significant return in 1989, with the animation company DiC taking over where Claster/Marvel left off. That year, DiC released a 5 part mini-series entitled "Operation: Dragonfire", in which the Joes faced off once again against Cobra as they tried to take control of an energy source known only as 'dragonfire.' In this mini-series, Cobra Commander was also returned to a semi-human state by the energy itself while Serpentor, the Cobra emperor, was turned into an iguana by the dragonfire. The animated series proved to be a bit of a success as DIC made 2 more seasons (1990–91); however, the series ended after 1991.

Following the "Operation:Dragonfire" series was the "The Real American Hero" series in 1995 created by Claster Productions. This new animated series was based upon the G.I. Joe Extreme toy line. This series was canceled after 2 seasons (1995–96), along with the toy line.

G.I. Joe had no series on the air until its resurgence in 2002 which accompanied a new interest in the Real American Hero toy line, and new lines including Spy Troops (2003), Valor vs. Venom (2004), and Sigma 6 (2006). These short-lived series were followed by the G.I. Joe: Resolute (2008), which was originally released as mini webisodes, with the full series later broadcast on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. This new series was more realistic and contained graphic violence and dark themes, with Cobra portrayed as a serious threat, which was different from the original and preceding series. In 2010, The Hub launched G.I. Joe: Renegades, in which the Joes became fugitives seeking to clear their names and Cobra worked towards world domination under the guise of a pharmaceutical company.