Shipwreck (G.I. Joe)

Infobox G.I. Joe character
name = Shipwreck


caption =
affiliation = G.I. Joe
function = Sailor
realname = Delgado, Hector X.
birthplace = Chula Vista, CA
serial = 924-92-5456
rank = E-7 (Chief Petty Officer)
primaryMOS = Gunner's Mate
secondaryMOS = Machinist
subgroup =
previous =
series =
voiceby = Neil Ross
debut = 1985

Shipwreck is a character from the G.I. Joe series of toys, cartoons and comics.

According to his file card, his real name is Hector X. Delgado and born in Chula Vista, California. He is a sailor in the US Navy. He grew up near the San Diego Navy Yards. He enlisted in the Navy at 16, lying about his age. He participated in patrolling and engaged in action in the Mekong Delta and served on carrier operations in the Middle East before joining the G.I. Joe Team.

Toy History

The character first appeared in the 1985 edition of the toy series as a sailor in the Joe Team. Despite being a fairly popular character, it was nine years 1994 later that he received a second version of his action figure, this time revamped as a Navy SEAL. All later action figures have used his status as a SEAL since. He also had a 12" edition action figure produced as part of the G.I.Joe vs. Cobra line. Though Shipwreck has not yet appeared in the TV series, an action figure in his likeness has been released. The Navy SEAL Shipwreck toy was modeled for use in the Nicktoon show "Action League: Now!"

Comics

Marvel Comics

Shipwreck’s first appearance was in issue #40 of the G.I. Joe comics published by Marvel Comics where he played a major role in the story. In issue #51, he and Alpine are part of a squad sent out to stop Zartan's escape attempt. The two team up to stop a Dreadnok "Swamp-Copter"; Alpine launches a hooked rope at it and Shipwreck ties it to a nearby tank. This works, gaining them temporary custordy of Zarana and her brother Zandar. A spray of machine-gun fire from the Thunder Machine sends Shipwreck diving for his life and the prisoners escape.

Shipwreck appears in similar supporting roles throughout the series. He helps another team of Joes on a sea-base survive a tidal wave. During the Cobra civil war he pilots a WHALE hovercraft. He assists in a battle against the Oktober Guard during the escape of a Russian defector. As with most of the other Joes, he personally helps build the new desert-based Pit.

Devil's Due

Shipwreck would come back again in a big way. When Devil’s Due Publishing started producing new G.I. Joe comics, he was immediately included as a major supporting character. The comic series followed the storyline provided in his action figures’ file cards wherein he trained to become a Navy SEAL. The first issue of the G.I. Joe: Battle Files makes mention on his activities between the disbandment and reinstatement of the Joe Team. He was running tour guide operations and busting pirates and drug smugglers in between.

During the first meeting of the rookie Joes, Shipwreck seeks out the Navy men.

The Joe Team would be disbanded once more and reformed with a smaller core group in the series, "G.I. Joe: America’s Elite". Shipwreck is included in the new team and is one of the more vocal critics for including Storm Shadow in the lineup. In America's Elite, Shipwreck's appearance suffers a major discontinuity: Originally, he has unkempt red-brown hair and a slender build. Some time after issue 12, he appears stockier and with black hair and a neatly trimmed beard.

Cartoon

In other media, Shipwreck also appeared in from Sunbow Productions, voiced by Neil Ross. He is one of the more fleshed out characters in the series. He first appeared in the 1984 mini-series, "The Revenge of Cobra", as a Han Solo-type figure offering Flint and Mutt a way back to Joe headquarters on his land sail. The Joe Team offered Shipwreck a spot on the membership roster which he gladly accepted. Shipwreck played a major role in a subplot in the Pyramid of Darkness mini-series. He and Snake-Eyes have to fight their way out of a Cobra stronghold, and are later rescued through the efforts of a popular lounge singer named Satin, who had a grudge against Cobra for framing her father for crimes he never committed. Satin had stated her father had never recovered and did so rather tearfully, implying he may have died or even committed suicide, although this is never stated directly. Satin parted ways with the duo, but returned in the concluding episode and played an instrumental role in defeating Cobra.

Shipwreck continued to be a recurring character through the regular series where his adventures are never limited to anything naval. He frequently served as the wild man and the comic relief. He has a pet parrot named "Polly" who tends to say smart remarks which makes him the laughing stock of the team. He was also often paired off with Cover Girl. There were episodes that showed a more serious side to the character. He was among the number of Joes whose relatives were captured and brainwashed by Cobra in “Captives of Cobra”. “Memories of Mara” found Shipwreck in love with an escaped Cobra agent named Mara, who was part of an experimental procedure to create amphibious soldiers who could breathe on land and in water. However, the experiment was only partially successful with Mara, who could no longer breathe out of water for more than a few minutes. In the two-part highly rated season finale “There’s No Place Like Springfield", his emotions and mental state would be toyed with when he is trapped in a town filled with synthoid copies of his friends and loved ones, including Mara and another synthoid called Althea, who was posing as his daughter from his false marriage to Mara. During the two parter, Shipwreck is tormented by visions of many of his long-term Joe friends melting in front of his eyes.

The second season finds Shipwreck appearing less but still managing to participate in major roles in episodes he does appear in. They were often the more humorous episodes. Shipwreck also appeared in "", albeit in a more diminished capacity as a captive of Cobra-La.

Other Media

Shipwreck appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Toy Meets Girl" voiced by Breckin Meyer. In the "Where Are They Now" segment, Shipwreck was seen drunkenly stumbling around a back alley until a chef drags him inside a Chinese restaurant. Seth Green later voiced Shipwreck in the episode "More Blood, More Chocolate." In the "Inside the Battlefield: The Weather Dominator" segment, Shipwreck participated in the North Pole hockey tournament against some Cobra soldier.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will be playing the role of Shipwreck in the upcoming G.I. Joe live-action movie. [ [http://www.latinoreview.com/news/fraser-gung-ho-for-g-i-joe-and-the-rock-to-get-shipwrecked-4331 Fraser Gun Ho for G.I. Joe and The Rock to get Shipwrecked] ]

In the Venture Brothers episode The Invisible Hand of Fate a parody of Shipwreck exists named Shore Leave. A member of a G.I. Joe-like organization, Shore Leave is noticeably effeminate. His costume resembles the nautical outfit worn in the Village People music video, In the Navy

References

External links

* [http://actionheroreviews.com/reviewshundredfour.html Photo review of the 12" GI Joe Shipwreck action figure]
* [http://www.myuselessknowledge.com/joe/shipwreck.html Myuselelessknowledge.com Shipwreck entry]