Snake Eyes

The man known as Snake-Eyes remains a mystery to most people. One of the most secretive operatives in the military, much of his past is unknown. Snake-Eyes grew up somewhere in the United States, along with his twin sister, Terri. Brother and sister were very close throughout their youth. He would carry her picture with him for good luck during his military career.At age 18, Snake-Eyes enlisted in the army and eventually arrived in South East Asia during the Vietnam War. Little of his time in Vietnam is known about, but a few incidents are known. In 1968, Snake-Eyes first met Lonzo "Stalker" Wilkinson and Tommy "Storm Shadow" Arashikage. The three soldiers reported to Saigon for a top secret mission. At the time, the Tet offensive was underway and the group's jeep driver was killed by two young Vietnamese men on a motorcycle. Snake-Eyes took off after the men, following them to a warehouse. He arrived just seconds after the men killed Baron Eugen DeCobray, a humanitarian assisting the South Vietnamese. Snake-Eyes shot and killed the two men who were later revealed to be North Vietnamese agents. DeCobray's sister, Anastasia, entered the room, believing the young soldier murdered DeCobray. Anastasia kept on believing the military had killed a good man like her brother, and eventually entered into a career of international terrorism under the name, "Baroness." Snake-Eyes was cleared of all charges when weapons dealer James McCullen Destro XXIII proved he was innocent. Destro was accompanied by his son, James McCullen Destro XXIV.Three years later, Snake-Eyes was serving on Long Range Recon Patrol (LRRP) with Stalker and Storm Shadow in the jungles of Vietnam. They were accompanied by three other soldiers: Wade Collins, Ramon Escobedo and Dick Saperstein. The group stumbled upon an encampment of North Vietnamese soldiers and a firefight ensued. Collins, Saperstein and Escobedo were all believed killed in the attack. Snake-Eyes, Stalker and Storm Shadow all retreated to a landing zone for rescue. As the three soldiers ran across a field toward the extraction chopper, they were fired upon. Snake-Eyes was hit badly and Stalker ordered Storm Shadow to leave him. Storm Shadow refused, running back to save his friend and to Stalker's amazement, he evaded all enemy fire and retrieved Snake-Eyes.Snake-Eyes' injuries got him sent back to the United States. When he arrived at the local airport, his parents and sister were nowhere to be found. After hours of waiting, was met by a young army officer named Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy. Hawk told him the tragic news: his parents and sister had been killed in a car wreck just hours before. Devastated, Snake-Eyes travelled the world for a short time before reaching Japan. Storm Shadow had offered him a position in the "family business." That "business" was in fact a ninja clan. Snake-Eyes trained there for years with Storm Shadow's uncles, the Soft Master and the Hard Master. For a time, Snake-Eyes felt that he belonged here with this new family and Storm Shadow was like a brother to him. But once again, tragedy would strike. His family's car had collided with another car whose driver was also killed. The man was an unstable Vietnam veteran and he had caused the accident. But the man's brother turned the story around in his head. He blamed Snake-Eyes, the family's remaining son for his brother's death. He hired two mercenaries -- Zartan and Firefly -- to kill Snake-Eyes. Zartan infiltrated the clan and stole one of Storm Shadow's arrows. He mistakenly killed the Hard Master, believing him to be Snake-Eyes. Storm Shadow fled Japan to find his uncle's killer because he was believed to be the assassin. He would eventually find the warped man who had ordered Snake-Eyes' death. That man would later be known as Cobra Commander.The death of the Hard Master left the Arashikage clan in disarray and made Snake-Eyes an orphan once more. He moved to a cabin in the High Sierras, and lived alone there, with his wolf, Timber. When Hawk and Stalker were organizing the G.I. Joe team, Stalker suggested Snake-Eyes as a team member. The two went to Snake-Eyes' cabin and offered him a spot on the team which he accepted. Once on the team, Snake-Eyes became close to Scarlett. On an early mission in the Middle East, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, Rock 'n Roll and Grunt were sent to save George Strawhacker from Cobra. On the way, a helicopter accident forced the Joes to bail out, but Scarlett was stuck in the burning chopper. Snake-Eyes stayed behind to save her. He saved Scarlett, but a window exploded in his face, scarring him and damaging his vocal cords. Despite his injuries, Snake-Eyes convinced Hawk to let him continue on with the mission. It turned out that George Strawhacker had been Snake-Eyes' sister's fiancee. When the Cobras tried to pretend they were the prisoner, only Snake-Eyes, who knew George, recognized who the imposters were.Over the next few years, Snake-Eyes became an important part of the team. He could no longer speak, and now wore a black mask to cover his disfigured face. He participated in the rescue of Dr. Adele Burkhart from Cobra and was part of many other important missions. Snake-Eyes was captured by the Cobra scientist, Dr. Venom, who used the Brain-wave Scanner on him, trying to extract information from his mind. Using his ninja training he tricked the machine into believing he was dead by slowing his heart rate. He eventually escaped. Snake-Eyes next ran into Dr. Venom in the nation of Sierra Gordo. He was left for dead by Venom in a burning warehouse while Stalker, Breaker and Gung-Ho were captured. He later freed the Joes and tracked down Dr. Venom, the Baroness and the eskimo mercenary, Kwinn to a small river's island. There, the Baroness dropped a bomb on the island and the Cobra bunker there, intending to kill Venom and Kwinn because they knew too much. At the last second, Snake-Eyes pushed the others into the bunker. The other Joes so the island explode, but they had no idea that the bunker was intact at the bottom of the river. The three men eventually escaped, but Kwinn and Snake-Eyes were betrayed by Venom and the two were arrested. They escaped and tracked down Venom. Kwinn intended to get his revenge on Venom, though Snake-Eyes did not want to kill him. During an assault on G.I. Joe headquarters, Kwinn was shot in the back by Venom. Snake-Eyes saw Kwinn die, but as he fell a grenade dropped out of his hand, killing Venom. Kwinn had gotten his revenge at the cost of his life.Vengeance returned to Snake-Eyes' life when he once again met Storm Shadow, now a member of Cobra and Cobra Commander's bodyguard. He confronted Storm Shadow but discovered that he had not killed the Hard Master and had infiltrated Cobra, hoping to discover who killed his uncle. After that, Snake-Eyes continued his missions for the Joe team. He was later attacked by Cobra at his mountain retreat. In the ensuing battle his cabin was destroyed. On leave, Snake-Eyes and Scarlett were attacked by Cobra Crimson Guardsmen led by Fred II. He was defeated, but not before he pulled off Snake-Eyes' mask and saw his scarred face.Snake-Eyes was one of the many Joes involved in the first battle of Cobra Island, trying to push Cobra off of the island before they became a sovereign nation. That mission failed. Soon afterward, Fred II once again tracked down Snake-Eyes along with Stalker at the Vietnam memorial. There, Fred II confronted them. He revealed that he was actually Wade Collins. Collins hadn't died years ago in Vietnam, but he survived as a P.O.W. He returned to the United States and his life fell apart he eventually found Cobra and joined the Crimson Guard where he had plastic surgery to have the same face as all the other identical Guardsmen in the "Fred series." Stalker and Snake-Eyes convinced Collins that Cobra had used him, and that he still had a family that Cobra had "assigned him to." They allowed Collins to escape and start a new life, never telling anyone what really happened. Months later, Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow got a message from the Soft Master. It revealed that the Hard Master's true killer was Zartan. Snake-Eyes disappeared with his old friend, and they both tracked Zartan to Cobra Island. While there, the Joe called Ripcord landed on the island and was being rescued by the Joes. They did not find Zartan because he disguised himself as Ripcord. They fought their way to the Cobra marina and attempted to escape when the Baroness shot Storm Shadow for being a traitor to Cobra. He was thought to be dead, but weeks later, he snuck into G.I. Joe headquarters revealing that he had been revived by the same science that created the Cobra Emperor, Serpentor. He told Snake-Eyes that he was tired of living his life for revenge. Snake-Eyes gave him the key to what was left of his cabin, letting his friend stay there and sort out his life.When Stalker, Quick Kick and Snow Job were being held in a Borovian gulag after a failed mission, Snake-Eyes and Scarlett faked their own death and traveled to Borovia to rescue their comrades, who had been written off by the government. Shortly after their return Snake-Eyes and Scarlett went on a special mission into Asia along with two other Joes. The group's mission went on for months when many possible extraction sites were compromised. During the mission, Snake-Eyes saved the life of a poor farmer who was being forced off his land by a local communist government. Eventually, the team returned home.Some time after the Joes returned from Southeast Asia, Snake-Eyes finally decided to try and repair his damaged face. While under sedation during his reconstructive surgery, the Baroness attacked the hospital in Europe after learning Snake-Eyes was the same soldier who she thought had shot her brother in Vietnam. She captured Snake-Eyes and shot Scarlett in the head. He escaped Cobra capture and Destro revealed to the Baroness that Snake-Eyes hadn't killed her brother. After all this, Scarlett remained in a coma. Storm Shadow performed the "Arashikage Mind Set" on Snake-Eyes, allowing him to forget his sorrow over Scarlett's apparent death by going on a mission into Borovia. He eventually came out of the mind set and returned home to find Scarlett had survived. Snake-Eyes went on many more missions for the Joe team, including the Battle of Benzheen, a middle eastern country under Cobra's control. During that mission, many Joes lost their lives. He later fought at Destro's castle in Trans-Carpathia, assisting the former Cobra member in breaking his ties with the organization. When Scarlett apparently joined Cobra, Snake-Eyes was devastated until he discovered that it was all part of a ploy to allow Scarlett to infiltrate Cobra. He helped rescue her during a battle in Millville.For a time, Snake-Eyes and Scarlett lived together in his rebuilt mountain cabin. Unfortunately he was soon forced back into duty. In 1994, on one of Snake-Eyes last missions for the Joe team, he attacked Destro's castle in Eastern Europe. Cobra Commander had taken over the castle and brainwashed Storm Shadow and many other former Cobra members. They now swore allegiance to Cobra and fought against the Joes against their will. Snake-Eyes attempted to free Storm Shadow, but failed. Soon afterward, the word came from the Pentagon that the Joe team was being shut down. At an emotional ceremony at Joe headquarters in Utah, the Joes "retired the colors" leaving the Pit an abandoned army base. After the Joe team was shut down, Snake-Eyes went on one last mission with members of the team, fighting Cobra. He again encountered Storm Shadow who remained under the Commander's control. After that final mission, Scarlett and Snake-Eyes were engaged to be married, but three years after the team disbanded, Snake-Eyes left Scarlett behind and moved back into seclusion in his cabin in the High Sierras. They did not speak for for four years. During those years, Snake-Eyes began teaching a young ninja student named Kamakura, who refers to Snake-Eyes as "Silent Master".In 2001, the G.I. Joe Team was reinstated by the government in reponse to Cobra's return to the United States. Duke brought many of the older Joes to help train and lead a batch of new recruits (including Kamakura) and Snake-Eyes is now one of the team's highest ranking field commanders. Scarlett is also a member of the new team. At first, Scarlett maintained a necessary working relationship with Snake-Eyes, but she had not yet forgiven him and barely acknowledged him when off duty. After the couple was captured by Cobra during the nano-mite incident, they reconciled with each other while facing their possible deaths. They are again engaged to be married, but continue to work with the Joe team. Snake-Eyes once again came face to face with Storm Shadow, who was again working for Cobra, and was sent on a mission to assassinate Hawk. The two former friends fought, and Storm Shadow claimed that he still held a grudge against Snake-Eyes for his supposed favored status given by the Hard Master years ago. As he made his final escape, the ninja slashed his sword at Snake-Eyes face, tearing another scar across it. For a moment, Snake-Eyes let his anger get the best of him as he fired wildly into the ceiling into which Storm Shadow escaped. After that encounter, Snake-Eyes' many missions for the new team included battling mutated soldiers in the arctic and rescuing Flint and the Baroness from Russian mobsters. He and Scarlett then returned to their cabin for some time off, but were interrupted by Billy (now going by "William"), who had received word from Storm Shadow that he needed Snake-Eyes help to make the final break from Cobra Commander's mind control. By the time Snake-Eyes, Kamakura and Billy reached their fellow ninja, he was again subjected to the Brain-wave Scanner by Cobra Commander himself. A fight followed, but in the end, Storm Shadow chose to return to the Commander's side. Snake-Eyes had also helped track down a group of mysterious children who turned out to be clones of the original Serpentor. As a convoy of Joes escorted the children to a safe location, forces led by a revived Serpentor attacked, taking the children with him and capturing Snake-Eyes and several other Joes. As the Joes escaped their jail cell on Cobra Island, Snake-Eyes was seriously injured and had to be carried the rest of the way. Soon, on one of their biggest operations ever, the Joes led an assault on Cobra Island that led to victory. Snake-Eyes has since recovered from his injuries and returned to duty.