I think I've posted my Joe-verse before, but I'll recap it here, as it has been modified some, and it should help with explaining how realistic mine is. I go for 'possible realism', in that I allow stuff that could be possible, if not now, at some point in the future. This means BATs are okay, as is some genetic hybridization. I also make allowances for vehicles that either defy physics or are just too impractical, if I like them. (as an aside, to answer the question about why the androids have to be human-like: 1) it's because that's the whole point of an android. It must be human-like in behavior and/or appearance. The andr- of android means 'man'. 2) Psychologically, a thing that resembles us yet is not us is a lot creepier than something with a less familiar shape. While the pac-rats may be more effective, they don't have the fear-factor of a BAT, or a Terminator, or other humanoid/android).

Anyway, my Joe-verse, as I said, is semi-realistic, allowing only 'realistic' flights of fancy. Also, not every character has an intricate back story with every other character. In fact, few of them have any such back story, other than some of the Joes serving together in the mainstream forces. Snake-Eyes is a proficient martial artist, but not a ninja. Storm Shadow is the only ninja in my Joe-verse, and he's not that prominent.

Cobra Commander was a guy drifting through life, trying to get that quick buck. He tried several get-rich-quick schemes, MLM scams, and everything else out there. He finally settled on a plan that was simple yet effective. He started telling those who would listen about the ancient "Cobra-La", a nigh-immortal race.

The Cobra-La mythos: This was the dominant sentient life on the planet before humans. They were led by Golobulus, with his right-hand 'man' being Nemesis Enforcer. Cobra-La was ruthless but efficient. When man first appeared on the scene, Golobulus wished to destroy humanity, out of fear. A Cobra-La scientist risked himself to save the humans, being banished in the process. However, Golobulus had the last laugh, as he found a way to entrap the spirits of Cobra-La criminals in the minds of humans, clouding humanity so that it could not reach its full potential.
The banished Scientist wandered the world, sharing his knowledge and wisdom with humans. He also created a neutron bomb and detonated it in Cobra-La valley, cutting off Cobra-La from the outside world. After nearly one thousand years, due to being separated from the energies of Cobra-La, the Scientist died. However, since C-La-ans can never truly die, each generation, he is reborn to lead the world to greater things.

Cobra Commander told his followers that he was this generation's rebirth of the Scientist. Most scoffed at the egomaniac, but some were enthralled. Eventually, he and his followers bought an old cruise liner and an old oil tanker and modified them to be lived on permanently, the liner being used for housing and training/indoctrination, the tanker being used for more covert planning, as well as growth of food and creation of knick-knacks sold on shore to raise money.
This budding organization was called Cobra-La Reborn. in the inner sanctum, a special committee was formed, called the C-Org (Cobra-La Organization). The primary function of of the C-Org was PR, going around the world doing highly publicized works to show the good of CLR. Due to the preaching of wealth and power, in inordinate number of Hollywood celebrities have fallen for the tenets of CLR. This is the face that most of the world sees when they think of CLR.
However, the US military is aware of the horror underneath this facade. CLR is backed by an organization known simply as Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization. It started simply as a wetworks group to silence the doubters of CLR, but quickly grew beyond that. Now, CLR simply serves as a money source for Cobra. Both groups are led by the one known as Cobra Commander.

Some explanations of characters in GI Joe who don't fit in realistically:

Serpentor: An early Cobra experiment to create the perfect field commander. They took an ordinary soldier and dosed him with a myriad cocktail of drugs, as well as subjecting him to intense psychological training (more like torture). Instead of making him a great leader, it instead turned him into a delusional man who actually thought he was the rebirth of Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, and several other powerful leaders.

Dr. Mindbender: He's not the jack-of-all trades scientist that the cartoon and even comic book made him out to be. He specializes strictly in psychological actions. He's like the Scarecrow of the Joe-verse

Post a link bro, I'd like to check it out.

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My EXCAL verse is posted throughout the critiques, so I won't go into here, but I mainly formed it in my mind as a means to somewhat realistically allow for customs from many different sources, in a way that could makes sense.

Mine is unrealistic in a geo-political sense. It takes place in the near future, and political alliances have changed, and the enemies are much stronger. So it is not a true contemporary setting, though I still say it's realistic since it is not impossible.

The "physics" of my verse are realistic. No super human flight, for example, though I allow for any number of means of enhanced strength, or enhanced human abilities. The whole purpose of combining genres was so I'd have a reason to make a Doc Savage, or a Peter Parker/alter ego, and have them fit.

So I definitely use fictional characters, including many original ones. But I try to make them plausible versions, even if not likely ones. All the non-super human heroes are definite fits, like Batman. And I create rational explanations for extraordinary feats that can be accomplished.

Tech is pretty close to realistic. none of the lasers or such. But I might use SW weapons for my figures, but just claim them to be the next gen of realistic weapon types. It is a near future setting, so I use license to do so in that sense.

I allow for some level of "mysticism" just as the real world we live in has some level of it. I don't think including a paranormal research division, or placing an emphasis on the significance of IJ style artifacts is too far out there.

I'm about 50-50 on characters I try to create (who knows how truly original they are) compared to fictional ones I incorporate. Dark Jedi listed about 5 charactes who are in my queue as we speak, to make customs of, and incorporate into EXCAL. I'm working on a Colonel Tigh figure from BSG, since I think he's badass. But he won't be a or any version thereof, won't be from a spaceship, etc... He'll just be a earthly high ranking officer. I want that character's personality, not his BSG history, if that makes sense. Ditto Jayne Cobb from firefly, and others as well.

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I'm trying to find it, and no luck. It might have been on the old board.

If you find it, it's the description of the:

General Integration Joint Operations Exercise.

The purpose of my JOE team is the proving of integration and combined arms and joint force doctrine for the purposes of enhancing force integration.

At least that's what the operational statement says. They actually use the funding from the JFK special training budgetary allocation to conduct domestic and foreign covert military anti-terror operations, which is usually a legislative no no. They have no house oversight, and have never been considered to be part of SOC/JSOC/USSOCOM. They are not an operational team and do not have a stand up state of readiness.

They operate under the special training provisions in the Goldwater-Nichols Act and the Nunn-Cohen Act, and a special presidential order that goes back to the Kennedy Administration.

In the Hierarchy of command, they operate out of the JFK special warfare center, which is the only place on the military hierarchy that they could operate and still "answer to the president" without being part of the typical chain of command.

They get their equipment from private contractors as "evaluation material" or through reciprocal agreements with USSOCOM. They are paid through the JFK special training budgetary allocation, and each member of the team is considered a military instructor on special assignment. The Greenshirts and Steel Brigade are members of the normal military rank and file who, for the purposes of their Career Sheets are participating in "training exercises".

Rank structure is completely different because of the nature of the "operational exercise" designation. Anyone of any rank can be put at the head of an operational training group, based on specific knowledge of the subject matter. Because each member of the team is a training instructor on special assignment they all hold a similar rank of instructor or specialist (similar to professors at a university) for the purposes of chain of command (though they aren't paid the same). Duke might report to Dusty on an operation because the nature of the "training operation" design discards rank.

Intel comes from the maintenance of reciperical agreements with NSA, NRO and Homeland Security. They have a contract with each agency to transfer the data between agencies, and skim all the best intel off the top.

The team was created as an Army based 13 man Special Detachment A, with a special exemption for Scarlett, as women were not able to participate on Special Ops teams by legislative restriction. Once the operational plan was approved, they brought in a Marine, Air Force Captain, Navy Seal, and a few other specializations in order for the official purposes of "developing joint force doctrine". They kept on adding area specialists from different branches.

Note that the team was RIF'd in '94 because it's secret nature made it a dumping ground for every black budget legislatively questionable pork barrel project in the Pentagon. They ended up having to take on the maintenance of an inefficiently designed mini aircraft carrier, a mobile Nuclear Weapons truck, a weaponized space shuttle, and bunch of other stuff too controversial for the regular military. The cost for maintaining the equipment eventually became too large to hide in the black budget. They were shut down as part of the Clinton era Reductions in Force, as an "egregious waste of the taxpayers funding and a ridiculous waste of training dollars".

They were reinstated post 911, as a coordinating body, and are officially GIJOE II.

- R

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Sputnik <3's Raptor.

Mind if I keep a copy of that?

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Do you really want to be in on the madness that is a government employee's brain?

...And that's just the stuff that I remembered off the top of my head.

I once did a business plan for Cobra too.

Edit: I remembered the part that makes sense of why the ranks are all over the place, and included it.

- R

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I don't have a business plan, but I did realize that Cobra did need a way to make money somewhat honestly.

That means that Cobra has multiple interests in companies that are outside of the military side of things.

These divisions can't be readily traced back to Cobra, because Cobra doesn't want them to be shut down. Whether it be music piracy, telemarketers, home shopping shows, cable news programs-no one knows just deeply Cobra has infiltrated the US.

I thought up the Cobra Entertainment Division which is run by a Crimson Guardsman. I realized that it would be really cool to expand on the whole concept of Siegies worming there way into the infrastructure of towns and cities all across the country. That's why I have Siegies holding public office (Mayors, Comptrollers, DPW Supervisors), being real estate agents, Doctors, Lawyers, Country Club Patrons, College Professors, School Officials, even members of the clergy. They also are movie producers, music executives, etc. These Siegies are one step removed from mobilization, and are used very sparingly because of how deeply they are imbedded in their communities.

Wanting to tap into the millions of dollars generated by the music industry, the CED has created niche artists. From boy bands and girl bands to one-hit wonders, the CED is slowly working behind the scenes to manipulate the consumer. Music downloads allow Techo-Vipers access to home computers. Right now, the CED is the driving force behind 'Cold Slithor', a former houseband from the Dreadnok Roadhouse. The JOEs might suspect something is up when they see some Dreadnoks providing security at concerts, but nothing is suspected because there is no visible Cobra prescence.

Also Cobra, through these separate divisions, sponsors a few professional racing teams. NASCAR and the other racing formats generate incredible revenues and Cobra wants it.

There is also a division that sells popular home products through informericals and tv spots. That familiar jovial salesperson just might have a red uniform hidden in his closet...


Basically it boils down to anytime any of you watch tv or listen to the radio or look up something online, I want you to think how Cobra might secretly be lurking behind the scenes.

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Joe-verse? What's that?
Like SOCCOM, GI Joe recieved the ability to convert into, for lack a of a better term, a MAJCOM (MAJor COMmand), designed like an Air Wing, and many people got promotions
Joe Colton: 4-star CINC
Lt. Gen Abernathy: 3-star Vice Commander, CINC Army Command
Admiral Keel-Haul: CINC Navy Command and Marine Command
Brigadier General Talon: CINC Air Force Command and Special Operations Command (obviously, a custom )
Commander Cutter: CINC Coast Guard Command

Command Staff (Warrant Officers)

Wild Bill: CW-5 Army Command
Torpedo: CW-5 Navy Command
Wet Down: CW-5 Marine Command
Barrel Roll: O-3 (assigned since USAF doesn't have Warrants)
Flint: CW-5 Special Operations Command

Duke: Command Chief Master Sergeant (senior enlisted of the Command)

Stalker: Command Sergeant Major, Army Command
Shipwreck: Command Master Chief, Navy Command
Gung-ho: Command Sergeant Major, Marine Command
-vacant-: Command Chief Master Sergeant, Air Force Command
Beach-Head: Command Sergeant Major, Special Operations Command

Unit Commands

Combined Fighter Command: Ace: O-5
Space Command: Payload O-6
Army Airborne Calvary Command: Updraft: O-5
Combined Security Forces: Sure Fire O-5
Intelligence: Col Courage (O-6)
-Intelligence: Lady Jaye (O-5)
-Counter Intelligence: Scarlett (O-5)
Medical: Doc (O-4)
-Veterinarian: Dr Talbot (O-3)
Research and Development: GI Jane (GS-10)
Gears (O-5)
Chaplin: Father John Hunter (O-3) custom

The rest of the departments have no OIC's at this time, so all the departments below answer to Talon's Chief of Staff, Psyche-Out (O-5)

Maintenance: Cover Girl: E-8
Communications: Dial-Tone E-8
Logistics: Long Range E-8
Transportation: Clutch E-8
Legal: Airborne: E-8
Finance: Alpine: E-8
Services: Roadblock: E-8
Fire Department: Barbecue: E-8
Training: Sgt Slaughter: E-8


As you can see, I've been quite liberal with the promotions (and commissioning) of many troops. This group is responsible for taking on SKAR, Cobra, Red Shadows, etc

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