It not be a popular opinion but I like Duke.
There I said it!
Now saying I like Duke doesn't mean I love him. I just like him. And there's nothing wrong if I did love him.

Is Duke really worth all that hate?

There was need for Duke
25 years ago. The original 13 were cool but all looked very similar. Unless you read the file cards or the comic you didn't know who the main characters were. Hawk just looked like everyone else. The cartoon needed a poster boy heroic leader. They could have just gave Hawk a new shirt but instead we got Duke. Is there hate because Duke stole Hawk's cartoon thunder? Not be confused with Thunder. Hawk appeared later in the cartoon but with black hair. Is there hate because Hawk had to use Just For Men? Many men go gray some feel the need to color it. Back then hair color for men was limited. Don't blame Duke cause Hawk was vain.

Cartoon vs Comic Duke
In the cartoon Duke seem like a hero and cool guy. Didn't think of him as a jerk. Only time I remember him telling someone off was Falcon but he deserved it. Falcon almost shot Duke in the head with a laser. If I remember his first comic appearance he came across pretty bad. Funeral for General Flagg and Duke shows up telling the elite team of Joes that they've been doing things wrong and things are gonna change (or something like that). In the comic (Marvel) Duke wasn't as nice as the cartoon but look at the position he was in. Can we blame him for doing his job. I didn't like is how Duke took over things from Falcon once they and Cross Country escaped. Falcon was in charge but Duke was gonna get revenge on the Saw Viper. Snake Eyes stole that for him (or so we thought)

Scarlett
Is there anger that in the cartoon Duke got Scarlett and not Snake Eyes. Hey Duke can't help it if he like girls over disfigured Ninjas.

You're banned.

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I had to read this one twice. It was funny both times

I'm not too into the cartoons, but in the comics, Duke seems redundant. We had Hawk being a team leader, we had strong main characters like Stalker, Scarlett and Snake-Eyes.
No anger from me, because Duke never stole anyones limelight in the comics. But I can easely understand why people doesn't like the character.

But I'll admit to one thing, the Duke action figure from 83 is cool.

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I agree with Fox. Cartoon Duke is the man.

As I saw in a sig once..."Duke...Kicking your ass since 1984"

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I have no problem with Duke, or Sanke Eyes for that matter I do have a problem with 27 Duke(S) and 35 Snake Eyes (36 if you count Classified) and to be faie 33 Cobra Comanders - I mean c'mon!

I for one would of liked Hawk to of gotten a new shirt!

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I didn't hate the character of Duke as a character he wasn't bad and managed to bring something to the stories.

What causes me to hate the guy is the constant got to have a Duke figure this wave. Really ruined Sigma Six that we couldn't get new characters for the line because they had to release so many Duke and Snake Eyes figures. Instead of being really cool and releasing Snow Job we'd end up with Artic Duke instead.

Then the poor bugger had a shot at being cool again when the 25th figures came out but they gave him the worst arms ever and just to really make fan mad they keep messing up figures by giving them those horrible Duke arms rather than giving them the much better Snake Eyes arms instead. Sadly the name Duke Arms stuck so the guy gets blamed every time Hasbro doesn't listen and releases yet another figure with those ugly arms.

Maybe the poor guy can get lucky with the live action film and not have a reason for us to hate him because of bad choices by Hasbro.

I don't like Duke because he took Stalker's job. I always thought Stalker was in charge (Stalker was in charge of my Joe team until Flint came along).

Actually, I take it back. Stalker's a lot cooler with a chip on his shoulder about all these hot-shots knocking him down a few pegs in leadership.

I grew up on the cartoon and never saw any comics until a few years ago. Maybe that's why I always liked Duke.

I've seen people say he was Mr. Perfect and such, but had no problem with Snake Eyes (no can beat him and he gets the girl). I've seen people say they hate the alpha male always getting the girl, but had no problem with Flint and Lady Jaye.

I'm not trying to dis Snake Eyes or Flint because I like them too. I think a lot of people just got offended when the cartoon put Duke and Scarlett together. Think about the upcoming movie with Duke romantically involved with Baroness. That irritates even me.

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I like Duke, just because he was the first Joe, I had as a kid. I'm planning to mix parts from the Tiger Force figure, and the DVD pack figure to give myself a nice proper classic style Duke.

I never read the comics, but in the cartoon, he was pretty much "The Hero." As a kid, I thought he was awesome. (not as cool as Optimus Prime, but still) If I was introduced to that character today, I'd probably think he was too much a jock pretty boy.

As for the Scarlett thing, I try not to put too much thought into the love lives of childrens' cartoon characters.

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Duke wouldn't have been so bad if Hasbro hadn't shoved him down our throats so much.

They made him out to be the quintessential, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, faultless, blameless, pretty boy, and then clogged the pegs with a million varitiations of his lame ass.

If they wanted to make Duke respectable, they would have given him facial hair, a scar, a skull tattoo, and a big ass bowie knife. What did we get instead? Justin Timberlake in an army costume.

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Yeah don't get me wrong Duke's been getting too much exposure in figure form as of late.

I like Duke too.

And remember-back in the day-there WASN'T a Duke every wave! Nope. I got mine mail-order in '83.He appeared carded in '84.Carried over in '85.Gone 'til Tiger Force-1988.Carried over in '89. Back in '92.Back in '94 as Battle Corps Leader.It wasn't until "modern" Joe that we've gotten a Duke in every Wave every year.And that's because the market has changed.Wal*Mart and Target and who-all-else WANT a Duke in every Wave.

Blame the stores,nor Hasbro.

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I'm down with Duke the thing that bugs me is the I don't want to be an officer thing. At that time you had Steeler, Ace and Doc as Officers. Steeler is was a butter bar plus he was a tank driver. Ace is a jet pilot and Doc well he is a Doc. I know some of you are gonna scream the respect the Nco thing, easy solve make Duke a Major now you put him on the same level as an e-8, but this has opinion has been influced by dad's freind a retiered general who said Gi joe made no sense to him he being a captin at the time.

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bucky loves Duke too but we still like him.

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To me, cartoon Duke will always be inferior.

Comic Duke was brought into be a field commander, that's it. When Flagg was killed and Hawk promoted, field commander was left open. Duke was a perfect fit. He was hard-nosed and a NCO; experienced and not wanting the desk job.

He wasn't a Hawk replacement, per se, but he did fill the void left when Hawk became a general. This is the character I like.

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