Scarlett (RAH)

Scarlett is an extremely talented woman. She is already a gifted martial artist thanks to her family of black belters. Her father and three brothers are all martial arts instructors. She began training at age 9 and earned her first black belt by age 15. She eventually enlisted in the Army, served in Vietnam, and underwent all sorts of special training (Ranger School, CoveOps at Langley, Marine Sniping at Quantico, SASR exchange, ROK Marine Tae Kwan Do symposium), finally settling on intelligence work. She stands as the only member of the Joe Team who has duties that are kept confidential from the rest of the team. Despite all her deadly skills and serious work, she still manages to have a sense of humor.

Marvel Comics continuity
Scarlett's first assignment on the G.I. Joe team was to train the new team in hand-to-hand combat. During the exercises, she met Snake-Eyes for the first time. While she bested most of the team's members, she recognized that Snake-Eyes was a superior fighter despite the fact that he had allowed her to beat him, allowing her to keep her dignity and respect with the other Joes. Scarlett was intrigued by his actions, and as a result, they became very close. On a mission in the Middle East, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, Rock 'n Roll, and Grunt were sent to save George Strawhacker from Cobra. On the way, the helicopter in which they were traveling began to malfunction, forcing Rock 'n Roll and Grunt to bail out before it crashed. Scarlett remained stuck in the burning helicopter, however, and Snake-Eyes stayed behind to save his lover. He rescued her, but a window exploded right in his face, scarring him and damaging his vocal cords. Despite his injuries, Snake-Eyes convinced Hawk to let him continue with the mission. Scarlett recovered from her injuries but Snake-Eyes harbored no ill will and the two became even closer.

The two were later tasked with infiltrating Cobra's island hideout to rescue Dr. Adele Burkhart. They managed to infiltrate the base deep enough to actually confront Cobra Commander holding the scientist at gunpoint. Burkhart refuses to let the Commander get away with his plan to kill the Joes and is shot. Scarlett takes a risk and injures the Commander's hand with a shuriken. Burkhart, though wounded, is safe but the Commander managed to escape, however. Some time later, Scarlett participated in a mission in the Middle East to keep Colonel Sharif's men from getting an object the Joes dubbed as a "Hot Potato". She took a leave of absence at which during that time, she participated in a martial arts tournament. It was broken off, though, as she was called on another mission to investigate an incident in the Arctic. There, she met the mercenary Kwinn whom she couldn't even best in a fight. The Eskimo knew how to use his size to good effect. The Joes are ferocious fighters and he would come to respect them. After a raid on a Cobra stronghold, the Joes retrieved a Cobra battle robot. The next day, she and Hawk have to make a showing for a social tea held at the motor pool above the Pit. Despite the commotions that went on with the activated battle robot below. They had to maintain the cover that the motor pool is nothing more but just that. A robotic insect that was a remnant of the robot managed to get to the top but she quickly crushed it with her foot.

It was a mission in Afghanistan that was where Scarlett meets the Oktober Guard. After both groups escaped a gauntlet from Cobra, Stalker makes the field decision to team with the Guard and go after the RTV, a decision that she was very highly critical of. Her participation came in handy as she managed to keep themselves away from certain doom during a trap which flooded a tunnel in the Cobra stronghold.

Later Scarlett was captured by Cobra and held at the Silent Castle. She escaped her cell, overpowering Storm Shadow, and fled the castle with Snake-Eyes. Discovering that Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow sported the same tattoo, she compared notes with Hawk and Stalker about their silent comrade's past. She subsequently met the Soft Master and learnt more. At the same time a promotion was announced for Scarlett and all the other original Joes bar Snake-Eyes, being entitled to wear the Presidential Unit citation if and when G.I. Joe's activities are declassified, as well as being put in charge of operations at the Pit. However the Joes involved made their feelings clear that they wished to remain as field troops.

Cobra tried to capture Scarlett again when she took a romantic trip with Snake-Eyes aboard the Staten Island ferry. She was observed by the Cobra agent Fred II and three others who did not recognise Snake-Eyes. The four were quickly overpowered. Around this time Scarlett was part of a Joe team sent to Afghanistan to capture a new Soviet a new helicopter-mounted laser canon. At the Pit Scarlett and other Joes discovered that the "Ripcord" they had saved on Cobra Island was actually Zartan. Soon after she took part in the assault on Springfield. Back at the Pit Barbecue's mouth got him in trouble when he criticised Snake-Eyes for letting the Cobra ninja Storm Shadow just walk out of the base, resulting in Scarlett hitting him. Subsequently Snake-Eyes disguised himself as Flint so that he could be captured and infiltrate Cobra operations in Sierra Gordo. Scarlett was deeply concerned for him and was part of the team that went in to steal a Terror Drome, though Snake-Eyes had been taken on to New York. Scarlett joined with Storm Shadow and Timber and helped Snake-Eyes escape.

Scarlett was one of the Joes stationed at Fort Lewis in Seattle to guard Power Station Alpha, the world's first mobile solar/nuclear power station. The base was attacked by the Dreadnoks and also investigated by the Autobots and the Decepticons. Scarlett was part of the team who tried to deal with the angry Autobot Superion. She and Snake-Eyes remained stationed at Fort Lewis and subsequently had to work in a alliance with Cobra against the Decepticons. Dr. Mindbender and the Baroness were stationed there for the duration of the operation. Scarlett, the Baroness and the Autobot Goldbug planted the explosives to destroy Alpha after it was captured and converted by the Decepticons.

Much later Scarlett was given the mission of feigning defection to Cobra. She was deeply disturbed when she thought she had caused the deaths of Hawk and Stalker to maintain her cover. She was still not trusted by Zarana so sought to prove herself, working with Dr. Biggles-Jones in pursuing the fleeing Destro and Baroness. When confronted by Snake-Eyes the latter was forced to drive his sword through Scarlett, but the wound missed her vital organs. She received medical treatment. Transported to Millville, she found that Biggles-Jones claimed to know she was a double-agent. Scarlett tried to deny it but Biggles-Jones told her "the whole truth". They were overheard by Dr. Mindbender who ordered Scarlett be placed under arrest but she broke free when Biggles-Jones was captured by the Decepticon Megatron. Scarlett escaped with the aid of Snake-Eyes, other Joes and a group of Autobots, but Biggles-Jones surrendered to Megatron to allow the others to escape the Decepticon. She was subsequently rescued by the Autobot Skydive.

Scarlett and Snake-Eyes took time out in the High Sierras, but they received news that Storm Shadow had been captured by Cobra and she told Snake-Eyes he had to "do what you have to" and go to save his old friend. Scarlett was part of the team of Joes present when the team was decommissioned and the Pit deactivated.

Devil's Due continuity
Scarlett and Snake-Eyes were slated to be married until circumstances (his first apprentice was killed) stopped the wedding ceremony from happening.

When the team reformed, the two were forced to work together. Scarlett was initially angry at Snake-Eyes but came to forgive him in the end. In 2002, Snake-Eyes proposed to Scarlett a second time and they are again engaged to be married. They continued to serve on the team together through the final wake of the Red Shadows, the death of Lady Jaye, and the eventual second disbandment of the team.

Scarlett again joined the team with Snake-Eyes as part of the much smaller, specialized G.I. Joe team. During one of her early missions to find a terrorist, she was kidnapped and eventually brought onto one of Destro's subs. He wished for her to be killed, so that G.I. Joe would know the loss he felt as Destro believed them to have killed his beloved Baroness.

Snake-Eyes revealed that he and Scarlett had implanted tracking devices into one another for special circumstances. He was able to use this to find her location. However, during the mission to rescue Scarlett, Snake-Eyes apparently died from drowning. His body was brought back to G.I. Joe headquarters where the Red Ninjas stole it.

Scarlett later used the same tracking device implanted in Snake-Eyes to find him. She went with the team to recover his body, but was shocked to learn he was somehow alive & dressed in red. During a final battle that Storm Shadow (now a member of G.I. Joe) knew he could not win, he took Scarlett as a hostage and threatened to kill her. This caused Snake-Eyes to regain his senses.

After this, Snake-Eyes is training when Scarlett walks in on him. She discovers that he is only using his commando training, and not his Ninja Skills. She later takes his mask off and asks what they have done to his face. This has not yet been revealed.

Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, and Stalker next confront General Joseph Colton about information Storm Shadow told Snake-Eyes while recovering. They have learned that the Baroness is being held prisoner in the new base.

G.I. Joe Reloaded
This series has a drastically different approach to G.I. Joe's creation. Scarlett is still working with her father and brothers when he receives a mysterious package and is killed by the poisonous contents. She later joins the new team, and eventually leads the team in its final mission to liberate Hawaii before the US Army bombs the state after Cobra takes it over. Because the series was ended early, the relationship with Snake-Eyes in the continuity was not completely fleshed out. She does trust him but not completely as he was a traitor from Cobra.

G.I. Joe vs. Transformers
This is made up of four mini-series as of 2007. This series takes a drastically different approach to the formation of the G.I. Joe team as being a special missions team to defend Earth against Cobra who has Cybertronian technology. As part of this, Scarlett is one of the few Joes who operates a giant mecha robot of her own. Scarlett appears during the third miniseries and it is shown that Snake-Eyes has a love interest with Scarlett. Scarlett returned those feelings to Snake-Eyes with a passionate kiss. In the final issue of the third miniseries, Scarlett is looking for Snake-Eyes as Arcee is synthesizing a meal. He is hiding up in the ceiling behind her and sticks a note on her back. Scarlett responds to his message by saying: "Do you want to continue playing our little game?". She is briefly shown in the fourth mini-series still being a member of the G.I. Joe team.

Action Force (British) Comics continuity
''Scarlett shared the same history and relationship with with Snake-Eyes as in the Marvel US continuity. She retained her American origins. ''

Scarlett was part of the American branch of Action Force but sometimes visited the European team on missions. On one such visit with Snake-Eyes a captured Cobra Eel escaped, shooting Scarlett in the arm as he fled. Scarlett subsequently took part in a direct assault on Cobra's London base. She was later part of a team who investigated reports of a monster in the sewers under London, even though she was unconvinced of the reality of hunting a "fictional 'monster'" but Flint reminded her who gave the orders. In the process she encountered the Autobot Blades and the Decepticon Megatron.

Scarlett evaded one attempted capture by Cobra, but when she took Flint's place at a meeting in London she was kidnapped by Cobra agents. Snake-Eyes went in pursuit. She was taken to the Silent Castle where she freed herself and, with Snake-Eyes, fled the castle. As they left the Balkans aboard a C130 Scarlett challenged Snake-Eyes about his failure to kill Storm Shadow, but he remained as silent as ever. She subsequently undertook further missions for Action Force in the Americas.

Scarlett was part of an Action Force team charged with defending the Broadcast Energy Transmitter on a tropical island when it was attacked by Destro, and then of a team who dealt with a Cobra bomb planted on Tower Bridge in London.

Later she and Ghostrider were flying the Phantom X-19 over Jordan when it was shot down and they were captured. She was going to be sold for a harem but they were rescued by the newly formed Tiger Force. She was then part of a training mission in Norway that was attacked by Rattlers and a Night Raven. All the Cobra planes were shot down but it was unclear which Joe got the kill on the Night Raven.

Blackthorne Comics continuity
Write up

Dreamwave Comics continuity
Write up

Hasbro Comics continuity
Write up

IDW Publishing Comics continuity
IDW Publishing started a new series, that continues where the Marvel Comics series ended. The new series started with a free comic book day issue #155 ½, and replaces all of the Devil's Due continuity that was established. This series is again written by Larry Hama.

Sunbow animated series
Scarlett aided Duke in commandeering a Skystriker to foil an assault by Cobra on the Joes' base. To test a base's security, she flew in with a J.U.M.P. jet pack and made it all the way to the silo. Using a M.A.S.S., Cobra manages to steal the satellite housed there. She is with the other Joes in following the lead to a scientists specializing in matter transference and ends up rescuing that doctor in the process. The only way to beat Cobra is for the Joe Team to create their own MASS machine. The scientist, Dr. Vandermeer points to them to a location in the Arctic where Scarlett leads a team to harvest a quantity of radioactive red crystals, a catalyst that powers the MASS. The traps in the mine and Cobra's arrival complicated matters where she is forced to leave an irradiated Snake-Eyes. Despite the failure of the mission and the loss of a friend, the mission to defeat Cobra always comes first for Scarlett as she joins the dive team in obtaining the second catalytic element. After that completing that objective, Snake-Eyes returns to the Joes where she is happy that he has not perished after all.

Scarlett was portrayed as the typical tough female member of the team, intelligent and strong- willed. Like Duke and Flint, she was almost characteristically interchangeable with Lady Jaye when the latter woman was introduced in the series. Generally, though, if Flint is not present, she takes command after Duke. She was primarily responsible for calling the Joes into action against orders from their superiors who were actually synthoid duplicates. She was the only one to suspect that the Duke that led the mission was a synthoid himself. She tested that idea in battle by pretending that her Skystriker XP-14F jet fighter was losing control. The fake Duke was her co-pilot and she pleaded for him to save himself. When he ejected instead of staying to help her, it proved to Scarlett that he was an impostor and moved to later stop him. As mentioned earlier, Scarlett makes use of a variety of specialized arrows with her crossbow, such as flare arrows, grappling lines, and high explosive tipped arrows.

Like many of the characters from the previous seasons, Scarlett is shown in a small part of the movie.

DiC animated series
Scarlett appeared in five of the second season DIC series episodes: "Chunnel," "The Sword," "Long Live Rock and Roll" (two parter), "Messenger from the Deep," and "Shadow of a Doubt." She was primarily featured in a variation of her 1982 outfit, in a different color scheme. (Pink replaced gray, for example.)

Direct-to-video series
In G.I. Joe: Spy Troops, Scarlett serves as a second in command to the team. She is taken hostage by Zartan when he steals a helicopter. She is later rescued by Snake-Eyes and the team.

Trivia

 * Scarlett's codename was seemingly assigned last-minute: her preliminary filecard lists her MOS as "girl."
 * The Season 5 episode of the CBS television program NCIS that aired October 16, 2007 - "Identity Crisis" - assigned many of the guest stars and incidental characters the names of G.I. Joe characters. One such role was a waitress by the name of Shannon O'Hara, played by Nikita Ager. Befitting her slightly tweaked name, "Shannon" did not resemble her G.I. Joe counterpart very closely - for instance, she was a blonde, rather than a redhead.