Snake Eyes
This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.
| The name or term "Snake Eyes" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Snake Eyes (disambiguation). |
Even before he lost his voice in the explosion that ruined his face, Snake Eyes was never the talkative type. Raised by the Arashikage ninja clan, and trained by its masters, the stubborn but talented Snake Eyes proved to be a prodigy in the ninja arts; something that eventually led him to the U.S. Army Rangers, and then on to become one of the founding members of G.I. Joe.
One of the greatest martial artists alive, Snake Eyes is a fearsome opponent and distrusted even by his allies; something that stems from his silent, solitary nature and his rogue streak that leads him on independent, unauthorized missions. In truth, the only two individuals he can be said to be close to are his former lover Scarlett, and his partner in battle Agent Helix... and that's how Snake Eyes prefers it.
| “ | So this is what it is with you? You just sit there and force people to have both sides of the conversation? | ” |
Fiction[edit | edit source]
Hasbro Universe[edit | edit source]
The ninja prodigy[edit | edit source]
The boy who would become Snake Eyes was found as an infant by the Hard Master of the Arashikage clan, abandoned and wrapped in the jacket of a U.S. Army sergeant; he was adopted into the clan and named "Heitai", meaning "soldier", because of his origins. Serpent's Shadow, Part 2 As a child going through the harsh tests of Arashikage ninja training, Heitai formed a brotherly friendship and fierce rivalry with another youth, Storm Shadow, and the two boys came to stand out amongst their peers as extraordinarly talented ninja.
As part of their training, Heitai and Storm Shadow were made to hang by their arms from a rope above a ravine. When Storm Shadow slipped, Heitai saved him from falling to his death; however, he was chastised for doing so by the Hard Master, as in doing so he risked falling as well, robbing the clan of both of their talents. Later, the Hard Master acknowledged his sense of honor, but claimed it was not proper for a ninja; however, the boy only responded with a silent, sullen glare. Amused, the Hard Master decided that a more appropriate name for him would be "Snake Eyes". Serpent's Shadow, Part 1
In another test, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow were tasked with placing their hands in a bowl of molten lead; when Storm Shadow hesitated, Snake Eyes displayed the courage his rival did not. Serpent's Shadow, Part 2 On a separate occasion, Snake Eyes was very publicly charged with protecting his master's bowl of delicious dragon fruit. Though Storm Shadow managed to steal some, in his fight with Snake Eyes his mask was torn, revealing his identity; the next day, however, Snake Eyes refused to name the thief, even after the Hard Master beat him in front of his classmates.
Disappointed that Snake Eyes' sense of honor and morality held back his unmatched talents as a ninja, the Hard Master arranged for his student to be sent to train with the Soft Master, hoping to harden his heart and teach him of guile and cold manipulation. Serpent's Shadow, Part 3 This new relationship quickly turned sour, however — Snake Eyes responded to the Soft Master's taunts and insults on their first meeting by attempting to strike him with thrown knives, and in one lesson, was charged with drinking from two jars; one of acid, one of neutralizing agent. To survive doing so, he would have to divine which was which from the Soft Master's words and drink them in the correct order — but rather than doing so, Snake Eyes threw both jars in the Soft Master's face, burning him horribly. Serpent's Shadow Conclusion
After the Hard Master turned against the Soft Master's cruelty and sadism, Snake Eyes helped him to escape from the Arashikage. Target: Snake Eyes Prelude The two made their way to the United States; the Hard Master became a humble New York deli owner, The Betrayers Part 6 while Snake Eyes, under undisclosed circumstances, joined the U.S. Army Rangers. Origins #1
Joining G.I. Joe[edit | edit source]
Retaining his Arashikage moniker as a codename, Snake Eyes served as an airborne ranger for several years, earning the nickname of "the snake-man" for his skills with a knife. Origins #2 His missions as a ranger included an "ultra-hush" operation in Central America.
More than seven years after that operation, Snake Eyes sustained severe facial injuries during a "black-bag" op, and was taken to a Las Vegas plastic surgery clinic for facial reconstruction; there, he recognised a Green Beret psychologist who had served alongside him in Central America before killing his family and going AWOL, who intended to change his face to start a new life after murdering his second family. Snake Eyes sent a fax to army CID to inform them of the criminal's location, only for the psychologist — who dubbed himself the "Chimera" — blew up the clinic to remove all connection to his past life. Though he was further disfigured and rendered mute by the explosion, Snake Eyes survived, and was taken to the intensive care burn unit at North Las Vegas Community Hospital.
As Snake Eyes' talents as a commando and knowledge of Chimera had caught the eye of General "Hawk" and his fledgling team G.I. Joe, operatives Duke and Scarlett were deployed to recruit him. The two helped the injured ranger to leave the hospital just in time to stop Chimera from tying up the loose end by shooting him in his bed; Chimera pursued the group to their van, but Snake Eyes' improvised use of an IV stand as a weapon kept the killer off-balance long enough for them to escape. Impressed with the commando's skills, Duke formally extended the invitation to join G.I. Joe, which Snake Eyes accepted immediately. Origins #1 To fake his death, Snake Eyes received a hero's grave at Arlington, which actually contained the body of former military policewoman Connie, who had died helping the Joes to escape.
Snake Eyes was taken to a motel north of Las Vegas to hole up, where an army doctor determined that he had to stay immobile to prevent the damage to his face becoming irreparable. While Duke and Scarlett left to get food, a pair of thieves broke into the motel room, but — after one of the men, an ex-Ranger, saw Snake Eyes' (posthumously awarded) Silver Star on the bedside table — the two decided to leave Snake Eyes be, unaware that he had a knife in his hand that he was preparing to throw. Origins #2 The next morning, the remaining members of the founding G.I. Joe team were introduced to each other and briefed in Snake Eyes' room, but the ever-silent Ranger was more interested in what was on TV — a news report about the theft of a TOW missile launcher from a National Guard convoy, doubtless the work of Chimera. While the other Joes were deployed to the abandoned compound Chimera was heading for to intercept the terrorist, Hawk had Snake Eyes wheel down to the motel office to get him a soda. While using the vending machine, Snake Eyes noticed a katana mounted on the wall, which manager Bob Light explained that his father had brought back from Iwo Jima — but though Light believed it was a cheap army-issue sword, Snake Eyes realized that it was a genuine Arashikage weapon. Snake Eyes listened to Light's war stories right up until an annoyed Hawk came looking for his soda.
When Chimera used a worm to disable all the Joes' communications and phone lines, a panicked Hawk, needing back-up, had Light take him to find a working phone; but while they were gone, Snake Eyes took matters into his own hands, taking the sword from the wall. Origins #3 Using his Silver Star as collateral, Snake Eyes chartered a flight to the compound from a nearby air freight company, donning a flight hat and bandanna after removing his bandages to prove he wasn't trying to hide his identity. When Chimera detonated cratering charges to destroy the runway, Snake Eyes instead had the plane fly in as slow and low as possible before jumping without a parachute, hitting the ground hard but getting up and continuing regardless. Origins #4 Breaking into the facility through an access hatch, Snake Eyes stealthily climbed through the base, making his way towards where Chimera had taken Scarlett prisoner and silently killing the guards.
As the villain monologued about his scheme, Snake Eyes moved in to stab him, but the terrorist dodged at the last minute — something that caused Scarlett's improvised attack with a flask of solvent to splash over Snake Eyes' mask instead. A gunshot from Chimera missed the commando's head but caused his chemical-soaked mask to ignite, and when Scarlett prevented him from shooting Snake Eyes again, he took aim at her instead — but despite his head being wreathed in flames, Snake Eyes tackled Chimera into an elevator shaft, the terrorist accusing him of being "some sort of demon" sent to drag him to hell as the two fell. Minutes later, as the Joes mourned their teammate's loss, Snake Eyes — badly burned, but still alive — crawled out of the shaft before collapsing into Scarlett's arms. Origins #5
In the aftermath of the mission, the Joes adopted the compound — dubbed the "Pit" — as their new base of operations, G.I. Joe #1 and following Snake Eyes' return to field-readiness, the team met with their namesake, "G.I. Joe" Colton, who gave them his approval. Secret Raiders 
Beware Rangoon[edit | edit source]
After emptying his savings accounts to pay off the cost of the flight, Snake Eyes returned to the Las Vegas Motel to return the katana to Bob Light, only to find that the motel had actually been closed for years and was under new ownership; the only thing that Bob had left behind was a copy of the writings of Sun Tzu, with a passage on the folly of weapons underlined. Origins #8
Equipped with a new, all-black combat uniform, Snake Eyes headed over to Europe to help his fellow Joes counter the "Saeva Indignatio" plot; though he had trouble getting through Dublin customs with his masked face and diplomatic bag full of weapons, he, Duke and Stalker were diverted to Heathrow after the terrorists' target was determined to be the U.S. embassy in London. The Joes reunited with their teammates at the Animals in War Memorial, where Snake Eyes' sword was mocked by British soldiers until Heavy Duty noted that "it's only a firefight if the other guy gets a chance to squeeze his trigger". Origins #9 An extra complication was added to the team's operation when a representative of the State Department insisted the embassy itself must be undamaged, forcing the team to go in without projectile weapons; however, Snake Eyes entered through the roof, eliminating the terrorists' beta team. Though the terrorists' leader "Esau" threatened to detonate their nuclear bomb with a dead man's switch, Snake Eyes got the drop on him, clamping down the man's hand before neatly slicing it off, preventing the detonation. As the Joes took their leave, Snake Eyes tossed "Pincus" — who had masterminded the whole event to have the terrorists taken out by deniable assets — the dead man's switch as a "souvenir". Origins #10
While part of the Joes, Snake Eyes struck up a romantic relationship with Scarlett, vying for her affections with fellow Joe Duke. The Betrayers Part 1
While training in the Pit's gym, Snake Eyes listened silently as Mainframe rambled about the data patterns that implied the existence of a secretive power called "Cobra", and his unwillingness to leave it hanging. Three weeks later, Snake Eyes tracked Mainframe as he disabled the Pit's security systems to strike out on his own, but was persuaded to let the computer expert leave when he gave an impassioned speech about his need to find the truth. Origins #7
Snake Eyes accompanied Beach Head on his first mission for G.I. Joe, taking down Guatemalan drug lord Manuel Montenegro. Origins issue 11 During an operation in a snow-covered region, Snake Eyes infiltrated a terrorist base to destroy their powerful sonic weapon with the help of a wolf he had freed from being trapped in barbed wire, to whose mercies he would leave the terrorists' leaders when he was extracted. Origins issue 19 When Heavy Duty's cousin Marvin Hinton infiltrated the Pit, Snake Eyes attempted to take him down with a martial arts strike, only to be thrown off guard by the big man's sheer toughness — moments before he was knocked cold when Hinton headbutted him. The Origin of Roadblock
Snake Eyes was part of Operation Boarhound, a G.I. Joe mission to Rangoon, where he once again encountered his old rival Storm Shadow. Though details were spotty even to the other Joes, it is known that the Arashikage ninja slaughtered Snake Eyes' teammates, Cobra Command, Part 1 leaving Snake Eyes the only one alive for Storm Shadow to challenge; Cobra Command, Part 5 though he survived, Snake Eyes subsequently went AWOL to investigate Cobra and the Arashikage, letting the Joes think he was dead; G.I. Joe #6 after six months, however, he began communicating with Scarlett once more, providing her with intel and being given leads in return. The Betrayers Part 1 Duke, aware of Scarlett's back-channel communications with Snake Eyes, was unhappy with her for her continued contact with a rogue agent. G.I. Joe #2
Around a year after Rangoon, Snake Eyes' investigation led him to the Crimean home of Nico Mandirobilis, moments after the arms dealer fled from an assassination attempt from a man who appeared out of thin air before crumbling into dust. Snake Eyes collected the would-be assassin's weapon and a sample of his remains, and sent it to Scarlett at the Pit for analysis. G.I. Joe #1 G.I. Joe operatives tracked Mandirobilis to Manila, but Snake Eyes, wanting to deal with the target himself, cut down a washing line to crash their vehicle and let the arms dealer escape. G.I. Joe #2 The Joes moved on Nico after learning that he planned to escape from Manila's south port, but Snake Eyes attacked the Joes directly to let Mandirobilis escape before pursuing the boat on his jet ski, leaving a trio of very confused Joes behind him. G.I. Joe #5
Boarding the cargo ship his target had fled to, Snake Eyes confronted Mandirobilis, setting up a webcam connection that Scarlett used to interrogate the arms dealer over what he knew about Cobra. At swordpoint, Mandirobilis began sending his encrypted files on Cobra through to Scarlett, but moments later, the interrogation was interrupted when another man teleported into the boat to kill Nico. In the midst of the firefight between the assassin and Snake Eyes, Mandirobilis was killed by the other man's dart gun; and when Snake Eyes began cutting shipping containers loose to unbalance the ship, the killer teleported away, leaving Snake Eyes at the mercies of Mandirobilis's goons. G.I. Joe #6 Taking the arms dealer's damaged laptop, Snake Eyes sunk the cargo ship and escaped to Hong Kong in a dinghy.
With Scarlett under arrest for colluding with Snake Eyes, and the transmitted data insufficient to prove her claims, Snake Eyes was forced to take matters into his own hands to prove Cobra's existence. Traveling to Seattle, Snake Eyes tracked down Mainframe, the only other man investigating Cobra. The Betrayers Part 1 With the laptop's hard drive inaccessible due to an aggressive rootkit, Mainframe — elated to have found someone else believing in Cobra — revealed that he had discovered a Cobranet server in Springfield, Illinois. The Betrayers Part 2 The two traveled to Springfield, which had no obvious irregularities, but Mainframe was able to bluff his way into the local electricity company's records; there, they found that Lester's Drug Store drew an anomalously high amount of power. Taking advantage of a tornado warning siren that caused the locals to run for shelter, Snake Eyes and Mainframe broke into the boarded-up shop; while Mainframe descended through a hidden trap-door, Snake Eyes stood guard outside, only to be attacked by a one-man aircraft and its pilot; The Betrayers Part 3 after an intense fight that tested the ninja-commando's limits, Snake Eyes managed to dispatch his foe, only to then fall unconscious from his wounds.
Finding his ally out cold, Mainframe contacted the Pit for an emergency medical evacuation, ending both former Joes' time in hiding. The Betrayers Part 4 Mainframe pulled Snake Eyes to safety below ground just before another aircraft dropped a bomb that leveled the whole street. Within two hours, a team led by Stalker arrived to take the two Joes back to the Pit. The Betrayers Part 5 While the technical team dealt with Mainframe's flask of bio-storage goo, which contained a virus that shut down the Pit's systems, Lifeline and his team worked on Snake Eyes' injuries — only to get choked out by a reflexive response from the still-unconscious ninja.
Back in the fold[edit | edit source]
| “ | Ever notice how Snake Eyes' personal life can always be defined as a vital mission? | ” |
After the bare minimum of recovery from his wounds, Snake Eyes (to Scarlett's disappointment) immediately got up and left the Pit, traveling to New York City to reunite with the Hard Master. The Betrayers Part 6 Over the following weeks, Snake Eyes trained with the Hard Master while working as an assistant at his deli in the hope of centering himself and healing his unbalanced spirit. G.I. Joe #14 The Hard Master noted that his disrupted soul would not be healed through combat alone; instead, Snake Eyes took to offering martial arts lessons to Alondra, a teenage girl who he had noticed being bullied. The Hard Master was unimpressed with Snake Eyes' use of his time, but after seeing the girl use her training to turn the tables on her bullies, the amused master realised that he had found his balance by training another. Content, the Hard Master advised his student to return to his family in G.I. Joe. G.I. Joe #17
The day after Snake Eyes returned to the Pit, he was confronted in his room by Scarlett, who was upset that he hadn't notified her of his return. Though Scarlett tentatively asked whether there was anything more between them, Snake Eyes remained silent and unmoving. Fire & Ice As part of the uniquely-talented Agent Helix's introduction to the rest of the G.I. Joe team, Snake Eyes sparred with her, demonstrating how her total organic battlefield awareness allowed her to preempt his moves despite his incredible skill. M.A.S.S. Destruction Part 1 Helix began spending increasing amounts of time with Snake Eyes outside of training, something that made Scarlett — long Snake Eyes' sole confidante — jealous. M.A.S.S. Destruction Part 2
Snake Eyes and Helix volunteered as test subjects for Brainstorm's attempt at reproducing Cobra's M.A.S.S. device teleportation technology, replacing the considerably less-eager Frostbite and Low Light. That night, Snake Eyes infiltrated the Pit's storage vault to retrieve the card his data had been stored on, only to be caught by Helix, who had had the same idea herself. Minutes later, the two were called up as part of an all-Joe alert deploying them to Verde to intercept Pablito Ortega, in the hope of putting the hurt on Cobra when they showed up to cut their losses with the drug lord; Helix whispered to Snake Eyes on the flight over, distracting Scarlett and prompting Duke to remind her to "get [her] head in the game". The two Joes were deployed in the vanguard to secure Ortega's helicopter and prevent his escape, but when Cobra teleported in a team of Vipers to kill Ortega and secure their money, Snake Eyes and Helix deviated from the plan by killing the Cobra troops before getting the survivors to teleport back — which, as Snake and Helix had their data cards with them, brought them back to Cobra's Section Zero base as well. M.A.S.S. Destruction Part 3
Snake Eyes and Helix swiftly eliminated the guards, before destroying the M.A.S.S. device to prevent further use of it and locking down the chamber so that Cobra reinforcements could not get in; however, Helix was badly wounded in the process. Taking Cobra scientists Copperback and Dr. Orizama captive, the Joes made contact with the Pit, only to discover that the Cobra forces were evacuating in order to destroy the base. The duo and their captives were forced to flee, with Snake Eyes hijacking a Cobra transport; they weren't far from the base, however, when the base's explosive failsafe detonated, fracturing the ice sheet beneath them and threatening to drop them into the freezing waters below. M.A.S.S. Destruction Part 4 Acting on the advice of Pit techies Dial-Tone and Shareware, Snake Eyes was able to winch the vehicle to safety before turning over remote control to the Fobbits; though the scientists attempted mutiny, Helix managed to subdue Copperback after she accidentally shot Orizama dead. With Helix incapacitated by her injuries, Snake Eyes was forced to leave Copperback behind as he stole a snowmobile to escape on. The two Joes were picked up by a team codenamed "Arctic Thunder", who took them back to safety. M.A.S.S. Destruction Part 5
After the death of Cobra Commander, Vikrim Khallikhan — a high-ranking member of Cobra High Command and candidate for the Commander's successor — had his enforcers Slice and Dice ambush and murder Snake Eyes' students in order to lure the ninja-commando into a trap. Cobra Civil War issue 0 Realising the perpetrator's identity from the Hindi symbol for "Kha" carved onto T'gin-Zu's cheek, Snake Eyes infiltrated the Noorai syndicate for information on the self-styled "Raja", and discovered that Khallikhan had established a stronghold within the Xixabangma mountain. With Scarlett's skills required at the Pit, Snake Eyes took a team consisting of Agent Helix, cold weather specialist Iceberg and mountaineer Alpine. Snake Eyes #1 Before Snake Eyes left, Scarlett gave him a captured Wehrmacht compass passed down in her family as a good luck charm, asking him to remember that someone would be thinking of him. Snake Eyes #2
Making the treacherous climb around Xixabangma to Khallikhan's base "Rajahistan", Snake Eyes and his team discovered that they had no way of breaking through the elaborate, reinforced hangar doors; but rather than spend days or weeks waiting for someone to open the doors, Snake Eyes indicated they should bring the residents to them. Using Alpine's music player, the Joes lured a pair of Snow Serpents out of the base with the refrains of the Carpenters in order to ambush them, before Snake Eyes donned the Cobra grunt's uniform as a disguise and entered the hangar, taking Alpine with him as a "prisoner". Snake Eyes #1 With the ruse allowing the Joes to get the drop on the Cobra forces, Snake Eyes hijacked a HISS tank to wedge the hangar door open, and Alpine destroyed the Cobra helicopter by blowing up several barrels of aviation fuel; however, Alpine was shot several times in the process and required both Helix and Iceberg to carry him to safety, while Snake Eyes was knocked unconscious and captured by Khallikhan.
Snake Eyes was treated by Cobra doctors in preparation for him to fight to the death with Slice and Dice, Snake Eyes #2 and kept chained in a cell, where Khallikhan mocked him for the letter from Scarlett hidden in the compass and the human vulnerability it revealed in the ninja. After the Raja left, Snake Eyes used a set of hidden lockpicks to escape from his cell and fight his way through the base, only to end up in a frozen arena with Slice and Dice; there, he was presented with his original weapons and challenged to beat Slice and Dice in battle, with the life of Scarlett on the line. Snake Eyes #3 Though Khallikhan gloated about his imminent victory, he had underestimated the G.I. Joe ninja, who used Dice's own chain-sickle to pull him into the arena's water to his apparent death before cutting Slice down. Khallikhan was driven into a rage by Snake Eyes' victory, but had no chance to act on his blustered threats as Helix — having returned to rescue Snake Eyes — killed him with an assault rife. The two Joes returned to the hangar bay and hijacked the arriving Black Sky One helicopter, using it to rescue Alpine and Iceberg as they left the mountain.
Landing on the USS John C. Stennis, Snake Eyes was contacted from Fort Baxter by Scarlett, who tasked him with a new mission: helping to find leads on a cure to the Cobra bio-weapon that Duke had been infected with. Snake Eyes #4 Traveling to Ramstein Air Force Base, Snake Eyes and Helix investigated the Berlin offices of Ray-Pharm, Ltd., and abducted executive Dieter Stossel over the company's ties to Cobra and distribution of the bio-weapon. At swordpoint, Stossel gave up the name of the virus's creator, Commander candidate Dr. Rodrigo Vargas. Armed with this information, Snake Eyes teamed up with a haz-suited Duke (running on a cocktail of antivirals and steroids) to track down Vargas and find a cure.
Requisitioning G.I. Joe pilot Lighthorse for transportation, Snake Eyes #5 Duke and Snake Eyes broke into Vargas's Bocca di Magra mansion and cornered Vargas. Though initially resistant to the Joes' threats, Vargas was persuaded to help them when Duke used his own spit to infect Vargas with the virus, and explained they would need to go to a Ray-Pharm facility in Albania. Taking Vargas in an environmentally-sealed bag, the Joes left the mansion, though Snake Eyes knocked Duke unconscious on the way out to prevent him from overexerting himself. The soldiers traveled to Djacovica, Kosovo, where Snake Eyes treated Duke with intraveneous nutrition in the back of a Red Cross humvee. Knowing they needed a way to get Vargas across the border, Snake recruited his old ally Kwinn, calling in a favor he was owed by the Inuit man. Snake Eyes #6
While Kwinn and Lighthorse smuggled Vargas through a checkpoint, Snake Eyes and Duke crept through the forest, with Duke asking Snake Eyes to kill him if his mind succumbed to the virus. Reuniting on the other side, the group used Vargas to get into the Ray-Pharm facility; while Kwinn parted ways with them once they were in, his debt paid, the Joes reached the lab successfully, Snake Eyes eliminating the security team that saw them with a pair of grenades. Inside the laboratory, Vargas revealed that he had been lying about the existence of a cure; but Snake Eyes prevented the angered Duke from killing the doctor, as Lighthorse pointed out that the lab's scientists may be able to create a cure. While the Ray-Pharm scientists pulled Vargas into a testing chamber to take samples, Duke and Snake Eyes headed out to hold off the Cobra forces encroaching on them. Snake Eyes #7 Though they were initially successful, when Lighthorse called the two back to the lab, Duke succumbed to his illness and fell unconscious, forcing Snake Eyes to carry him; and, when Snake Eyes was cornered on the way back by a trio of Toxo-Vipers, he was only saved by the intervention of Kwinn, who had come back for the Joes.
In the lab, Duke was successfully given a first round of treatment, while Lighthorse managed to stop the attack by announcing over the tannoy that everyone within 5 kilometers was infected, and would have to surrender for medical treatment. As the Joes departed, Kwinn noted to Snake Eyes that the ninja now owed him a debt, and that he knew he would come through. Three weeks later, Snake Eyes reunited with Scarlett at Fort Baxter, embracing her as a saddened, still-weak Duke looked on. Snake Eyes #8
When Cobra revealed itself to the world by invading the nation of Nanzhao, Snake Eyes and Team Foxtrot joined the operation despite officially being in recovery from the Rajahistan mission, with Scarlett authorising their presence thanks to Snake Eyes' previous experience in the Golden Triangle region. Cobra Command, Part 1 Once on the ground in the country, Foxtrot were deployed to locate the source of Cobra's armored vehicles; after Snake Eyes used a hijacked H.I.S.S. tank to destroy the rest of its column, the Joes followed the tracks back to their source, only to find an apparently empty valley. Use of infrared imaging revealed a sprawling base hidden by high-tech fabric, but a field jamming satellite signals prevented the use of an airstrike to destroy it; as such, while Alpine used his prosthetic running blades to escape the field and radio their coordinates to the Joes, Snake Eyes and Helix descended into the base to take down the tower broadcasting the jamming signal. Cobra Command, Part 2 When the two were ambushed by a Cobra mech, Snake Eyes clambered over the machine to target its weak points while Helix took over a H.I.S.S. to destroy the tower, allowing Iceberg to call in a cruise missile strike that destroyed the base. With Helix's H.I.S.S. intact, she and Iceberg debated the relative merits of keeping it... only for Snake Eyes to destroy it with a well-placed grenade. Cobra Command, Part 3
Investigating an attack on Norwegian United Nations troops, Snake Eyes and his teammates discovered that the peacekeepers were killed with Arashikage arrows, which Helix realised would make for a grudge match between the ninja-commando and his old clan. Snake Eyes contacted Scarlett for coordinates of the Arashikage headquarters within the Da Zum Dam region, which she found in the form of a clearing in the shape of the Arashikage trigram symbol. Though Iceberg warned of the obvious trap, Snake Eyes parachuted into the nearby jungle, followed by Helix — who, though she didn't realize it at first, Snake Eyes used as bait to draw out the Arashikage. The two soon found the Arashikage base, the Temple of Bells, Cobra Command, Part 5 where Snake Eyes used a knock-out spray to render Helix unconscious and keep her out of harm's way. Entering the temple, Snake Eyes seemed to be alone, Cobra Command, Part 7 but a drop of oil falling from the point of an arrow gave Snake Eyes the moment's notice he needed to avoid a hail of arrows from the Arashikage's archers. Snake Eyes scaled the temple while fighting off other ninja, but was given pause when confronted by Storm Shadow, who asked Snake Eyes to rejoin the clan and fight against their common enemy of Cobra, who had murdered Storm Shadow's oyabun. After a moment's pause, Snake Eyes accepted. Though Helix cornered Snake Eyes outside the temple, demanding he surrender and be taken back to the Joes, she could not bring herself to shoot him as he left. Cobra Command, Part 8
The prodigy returns[edit | edit source]
With Snake Eyes believed dead by G.I. Joe thanks to some vaguely-worded statements from Agent Helix, G.I. Joe vol. 2 #12 Snake Eyes returned to the Hard Master's deli to refocus, where he revealed to his master that he intended to bring the clan down from the inside. After discovering that Alondra and her neighborhood were being menaced by a gang called the Bang Six at the behest of billionaire Mr. Nicholas Renzi, Snake Eyes took it upon himself to deal with them, killing the gang and their patron before returning to the Arashikage. Snake Eyes #12
At the Arashikage Castle skyscraper in Tokyo, Storm Shadow had Snake Eyes rest before leading the mission to kill Satori's assassin Zartan. During the night, Snake Eyes jolted awake when a woman apparently entered his room to steal his sword, only to discover that the woman, Rika, was a member of the Arashikage clan whose husband had been killed by Snake Eyes in Nanzhao, and who had volunteered to serve him, holding no grudge. The next day, Snake Eyes was sent with a retinue of five ninja to kill Zartan; but after killing the other ninja himself, Snake Eyes boarded Zartan's train to Beijing alone to ambush the shapeshifter. Zartan managed to fool Snake Eyes into thinking he had the wrong man by changing his face, and after Snake Eyes was forced to re-enter the train further down its length, Zartan decoupled the rear carriages and escaped. Snake Eyes returned to Tokyo alone, and a saddened Storm Shadow pledged to rethink his strategy, even as Rika became suspicious of Snake Eyes. Serpent's Shadow, Part 1
While preparing for the next attempt to kill Zartan, Rika and Snake Eyes trained together, with Rika unexpectedly attacking Snake Eyes in an attempt to understand his fighting style through combat. Their "spirited practice" was interrupted by Storm Shadow, who revealed that Zartan had been sighted less than a mile from where they were; but Snake Eyes, suspicious, secretly sent the footage to Helix, who determined that Zartan had disguised a decoy as himself to draw out assassins. After preparation, during which Rika told Snake Eyes of her son, the two ninja broke into the Tokyo Imperial Hotel in which Zartan had been staying, only to find their "target" dead on the ground, having been shot dead by Cobra aide Savane. Examining the body, Rika realised that the decoy was wearing a latex mask moments before Snake Eyes knocked her out and pursued the shapeshifter, chasing him to Tokyo's Haneda Airport in a stolen car. Though Zartan's private jet departed before Snake Eyes could catch up, the ninja managed to jump from the moving car into the plane's undercarriage, and planted a bomb before being forced by Zartan's guards to jump out into the Tokyo bay. Serpent's Shadow, Part 2
Refusing to believe Rika when she told him of Snake Eyes' betrayal, Storm Shadow welcomed his brother back with open arms, but was angered when Cobra's new Commander informed him that Zartan was dead by his orders. Storm Shadow arranged to meet with Cobra Commander, and on coming face to face with Cobra's leader, stabbed him through the chest — only for the "Commander" to be revealed as a mere dummy, the real Commander having anticipated Storm Shadow's betrayal. Serpent's Shadow, Part 3 With Storm Shadow and Rika cornered by Cobra forces, Snake Eyes intervened with smoke grenades, causing a distraction that let the three ninja deal with the Vipers. Though ordered to find a way out with Snake Eyes by Storm Shadow, Rika attempted to kill him in order to prevent further treachery, but he instead knocked her out and escaped through the docks in a hydrofoil before turning to retrieve Storm Shadow, who had fought his way out the front door. As they escaped, Rika was shot by a Viper from a Flight Pod, leading her — believing she was wrong about Snake Eyes — to ask Storm Shadow to give him her apology. Serpent's Shadow Conclusion Shortly after, G.I. Joe obtained footage of Snake Eyes working with the Arashikage, revealing to them that he had survived. Deep Terror Epilogue
Needing an order of assassins to replace the treacherous Arashikage, Cobra Commander recruited the followers of Serpentor's Coil to serve in that role, and tasked them with destroying the ninja clan. Learning of the attacks on the clan and the abduction of the Soft Master, Snake Eyes took a ninja team to meet with Alondra and the Hard Master, in the process of fleeing from an attack on the deli. After the Hard Master explained what had happened, Snake Eyes intervened to ensure that he and Alondra were allowed to go free, despite the Hard Master's past split from the clan. Target: Snake Eyes Prelude
Aiming to plunder Cobra's treasures for themselves, Snake Eyes and the the Arashikage launched an attack on the Kuala Lumpur headquarters of Vendri, killing the corrupt executives responsible for laundering money for Cobra and stealing a flash drive containing encryption keys leading to countless Cobra vaults. Target: Snake Eyes Part 1 Their first target was a vault beneath Kereskedelmi és Hitelbank in Budapest, but when the ninja broke in, they discovered the riches had already been removed, to be used in the purchase of the country of Tryolvia. The vault's contents were tracked to Ferenc Liszt International Airport, where Snake Eyes ran off in advance to plant a tracking device on Cobra's plane and track them back to their own base, forcing the other Arashikage to engage the Cobra forces as a distraction. Though Juro, the only ninja to survive the attack, warned Storm Shadow that Snake Eyes was spending their lives too freely, the clan's leader threatened to kill Juro if he questioned Snake Eyes' loyalty again. Target: Snake Eyes Part 2
Identifying the carrier ship used to transport Cobra's money, the Neptune Bonanza, Snake Eyes and the Arashikage hid inside shipping containers that were loaded onto the boat in Albania before leaping out to attack the guards once the ship was out at sea. Snake Eyes and Juro eliminated the bridge crew of the ship, before together taking down the towering Eisenherz even as G.I. Joe forces boarded the ship to capture the Cobra and Arashikage forces at once. Moving below deck to scuttle the ship, Snake Eyes was found by Scarlett, who ordered him to surrender — but, when Snake Eyes killed Juro as the other ninja moved to attack Scarlett, she could not bring herself to shoot him as he walked away. Hiding in a shipping container with a breathing mask, Snake Eyes emerged as the ship sank, and used a man-portable propulsion device to get away.
With Storm Shadow having finally accepted the truth after seeing footage of Snake Eyes shooting Juro, Target: Snake Eyes Part 3 Snake Eyes traveled to an ancient Arashikage temple in Cambodia, where his enemies had gathered. As he neared the temple, Snake Eyes was attacked by Riya's son Tomo, who believed Snake Eyes had killed his mother; but Snake Eyes easily disarmed the boy and knocked him unconscious before carrying Tomo to the temple with him. Target: Snake Eyes Part 4 Entering the temple, Snake Eyes found a drugged and woozy Helix, who collapsed into his arms after having killed countless Arashikage ninja; though Tomo, awake once more, wished to continue their duel, Storm Shadow intervened, telling the boy the truth of his parents' deaths and insisting that Snake Eyes would die at his hands in time, before allowing Snake Eyes to leave and join the arriving G.I. Joe team.
At G.I. Joe's new base in the USS Flagg, Snake Eyes was heavily sedated while Doc worked on his injuries, with Scarlett sitting with him while he recovered; Target: Snake Eyes Part 5 but as soon as he was able, he was up and preparing for combat once again, ignoring Scarlett's pleas for him to rest. That decision proved prescient, as mere moments later, an explosion rocked the aircraft carrier, Storm Shadow having detonated high explosive to destroy the Philadelphia Naval Yard's sea gate. Storm Shadow killed his way through the ship's defenders, but when he moved in to execute Helix, Snake Eyes intervened, fully suited up and ready to duel. The two ninja dueled across the gantries above the Flagg's lower deck, but after seeing that Deep Six was trapped below a piece of machinery amongst the rising waters, Snake Eyes adjourned the battle to help; cutting off Deep Six's arm to free him, Snake Eyes saved the other Joe's life, only for Storm Shadow to stab Cutter through the chest as he provided cover for the ninja-commando. While the other Joes escaped, the two ninja continued to fight even as the lower deck was consumed in fire from detonating ordnance. Target: Snake Eyes Part 6 Though both men survived, Storm Shadow lost track of Snake Eyes in the chaos, who used the opportunity to fake his own death; leaving his mask with the Hard Master as a message to his one-time brother, Snake Eyes disappeared, content to let the Joes and the world at large think him dead. Silence
Agent of Cobra[edit | edit source]
Over the following years, though the Joes would use a fake "Snake Eyes" on training exercises, Threat Matrix, Part 1 the real Snake Eyes remained in hiding. After several years, however, Snake Eyes ceased faking his own death, and instead joined up with Tomax Paoli's Cobra The Tin Man — which, unknown to the "repentant" terrorist organisation, was actually part of a deep cover mission on behalf of G.I. Joe. The Iron Klaw
After months of working for Cobra on minor missions to prove his loyalty, Snake Eyes was tasked with breaking Destro out of captivity during a prisoner transfer; breaking the Cobra arms dealer out of his prison transport, Snake Eyes flung Destro off of a bridge and into the river below, before diving in after him and leading Destro downriver to a waiting group of Crimson Guardsmen — whose leader Destro shot as a message to Tomax. Regrouping at Destro's Steelhead Bait Shop in Alaska, Destro — who theorized that the Baroness was responsible for sending Snake Eyes into his service — tasked the ninja with tracking down William Kessler-Latta, son of the late Cobra Commander, The Tin Man and the data-encoded pin implanted within his leg. The Silent Warrior
After traveling across the globe while hunting down leads, Snake Eyes eventually made his way to the Jakarta home of Erika Le Tene, formerly the G.I. Joe agent codenamed Chameleon. The Tin Man Though Erika didn't believe herself able to help outside of providing what files she had and suggesting that Billy had been taken under the protection of AWOL G.I. Joe operative Ronin, she was forced back into the war between Cobra and G.I. Joe when Arashikage assassins attempted to kill her, hitting her in the throat with an arrow. Snake Eyes hastily left the injured Erika in the care of a couple of auto-rickshaw passengers, who rushed her to a hospital while the ninja pursued the assassins, dispatching the other ninja with his sword and a detonated fuel canister before retrieving Erika's singed files.
Following Erika's recovery in hospital, The Dark Sister she and Snake Eyes worked together to find Billy and Ronin; eventually, her facial recognition algorithms found an 89% match to Billy in a viral video uploaded from Thailand. The Lost Boy Stealing a plane from an Indonesian airfield, Erika and Snake Eyes stole a plane to fly to Thailand; though Erika begged for an indication that he wasn't just going to kill Billy or hand him over to Cobra, Snake Eyes simply jumped from the plane into the Thai jungle. Snake Eyes found Billy just in time to prevent Storm Shadow — who had already killed Ronin — from executing him; Knight Errant Storm Shadow was content to allow Billy and Erika to escape in the name of a final duel with Snake Eyes, and the two clashed in the pouring rain, though Storm Shadow took a momentary advantage, Snake Eyes managed to turn the tables, impaling Storm Shadow on his sword. Refusing to let Snake Eyes kill him, Storm Shadow pulled the pin on one of Snake Eyes' grenades, seemingly committing suicide. Snake Eyes, though exhausted and wounded, survived to rejoin Billy and Erika.
Rather than bring the real data pin back to Destro, Snake Eyes had Erika create a fake encoded with her own files and a large amount of junk data, and misled Destro into believing that Erika had been killed; content, Destro allowed Snake Eyes to return to Tomax, but asked him to be ready for Destro to reach out again. The Silent Warrior Eventually, Snake Eyes' deep cover mission came to an end when Duke (who'd been disgraced and was now working as a mercenary), Big Ben, and Isaac Craft made their move to destroy Cobra. Though Snake Eyes was forced to kill Isaac, eventually the two former Joes accomplished their task. The Iron Klaw
G.I. Joe International[edit | edit source]
Unfortunately though, G.I. Joe was also shut down around the same time. A couple years later, Snake Eyes was remembered by Scarlett as one the team's core members when she, Joe Colton, and Miles Mayhem reminisced about the team as they discussed the Cybertronian influence on Earth. Secret Raiders
Having fallen out of touch with his old team after G.I. Joe was shut down, Scarlett got back in contact with Snake Eyes and tasked him with infiltrating Autobot City, wanting him to investigate a possible link between the Cybertronians and the Dire Wraiths. O Ship of State Using his small size, he managed to avoid both Jazz and Victorion before he was confronted by the Heliopolis. Believing it to be a security drone, he engaged it, attracting the attention of Arcee, whose optic he managed to damage before she pushed him off, leaving him open to be stabbed by Acroyear. The fight was broken up Soundwave and Snake-Eyes activated his distress signal. As it went unanswered, he played dead for a while before the Cybertronians made it clear they knew he was alive. Optimus Prime appealed to him, making him see that the Cybertronians were acting in Earth's best interest. Agreeing to aid Optimus, Snake Eyes offered his communicator to contact his superiors for aid in defending Earth.
Given a new Cybertronian sword, he stood by his new allies as they fought off the combined force of the Dire Wraiths and M.A.S.K.. He assisted Rom in fighting off the Wraiths, slicing through their flesh with his sword before Baron Karza emerged from the nearby spacebridge and merged with all the Wraiths becoming a towering colossus of power. The New Colossus In the confusion of battle, Snake Eyes shot at Rom as he attempted to shoot down Matt Trakker's Thunderhawk. This led to a brawl between him, the Space Knight, and Acroyear that only ended when Optimus Prime intervened, transforming and enveloping the three of them into his alt mode's interior as he pleaded with them and Matt Trakker to remember that Karza and the Wraiths were the real enemy here. As the battle raged on and grew to include the rest of G.I. Joe, Snake Eyes evacuated into Autobot City with the majority of his allies when it began levitating above the mine of Ore-13 it sat atop. Once the plan to stop Karza finally came together and succeeded, Snake Eyes interrupted Scarlett's celebration over Mainframe's survival to point out that Optimus Prime seemed to have something to say. Valley Forge
Following this so-called "Revolution incident", Snake Eyes officially rejoined the newly international G.I. Joe team. On a mission to Tokyo, Snake Eyes dove into action and received advice from Agent Helix on how best to take out several members of the Red Shadows ninja clan they'd been sent in to deal with. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #1 Snake Eyes and Helix later backed up Lady Jaye and Gung-Ho after their mission to infiltrate a Dire Wraith-led anarchist group in Greece went awry, arriving just in time to save them. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #4
Snake Eyes accompanied Scarlett, Rock 'n Roll, and Skywarp to Scotland on a mission to hunt down a cell of Dire Wraiths. Though these aliens were no problem for the team, another group of unrelated aliens injured Rock and temporarily shut down Skywarp. In the wake of this attack, Snake Eyes helped Rock make his way to a nearby barn that they'd hide Skywarp inside. Wrath of Karza #1
Snake Eyes assisted his fellow Joe Mayday and her side team in their investigation into the Kalistanian dictator Count van Rani. Allowing a robotic duplicate of himself to be built, Snake Eyes himself infiltrated the Iron Castle by posing as Tomax Paoli with a voice provided by Kup. Calling in for extraction, "Tomax" presented his allies Baron Ironblood and Garrison Kreiger with human sized Cybertronian Garrison Blackrock. As the villains experimented on Blackrock by connecting him to the mysterious Talisman, the robotic Snake Eyes made it's presence known to serve as a distraction while Mayday and the others broke into the castle. Though the Fake Eyes was quickly gunned down by Iron Grenadiers, the true Snake Eyes shed his disguise and began attacking the villains before freeing Blackrock. With the situation only growing more out of hand, Snake Eyes got tired of Blackrock's fretting over the ways him tampering with Kreiger's Taliman emulator could go wrong and smashed the computer with a Grenadier's arm, successfully disassembling the Predacons elsewhere in the castle. Making a dash for the villain's M.A.S.S. Device, Snake Eyes set up a short range teleport just outside of the castle, allowing them to rendezvous with Kup and Ian Noble as they made a dramatic escape of their own. The Iron Klaw
As the Joes discussed the threat posed by the giant, subterranean monsters who'd recently begun making incursions onto the surface, Helix spoke up and volunteered herself and Snake Eyes to confront a monster who'd emerged in Ecuador. While Helix was looking to develop a way to predict where the monsters would pop up next, Scarlett was solely interested in finding their point of origin and forbade the two from running off and warned them that their AWOL outings were no longer going to fly under her leadership. Undeterred, Helix would later "hack" into Shipwreck's computer and authorize her and Snake Eyes taking a S.H.A.R.C. to go investigate her theory. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #5 While they were gone, their absence was noticed as Cobranarchist riots began breaking out all over the world and G.I. Joe's manpower was stretched thin sending out a huge team to handle a mission Snake Eyes could've handled alone. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #6
After confirming Helix's theory by traveling to three different predicted incursion sites, finishing somewhere in Africa where Snake Eyes fought and killed the monster who'd emerged there, the ninja and his partner returned to base and found themselves being faced with a Scarlett who was none too happy with them running off. Telling them about how the riots and the fact that their prisoners, the Baroness and Crystal Ball, had been taken from them by Duke, Scarlett reprimanded the two for disobeying a direct order. Snake Eyes, troubled by the two ex-Cobras being taken, turned around and prepared to leave again in the S.H.A.R.C. but was stopped by Quick Kick, who warned him that he'd be leaving at his own peril. While Helix found the idea of Quick Kick threatening Snake Eyes laughable, Kick claimed Snake Eyes had gone soft and was now relying on Helix and his guns too much to beat him. Now being directly called out by his fellow martial artist, Snake Eyes accepted Quick Kick's challenge and followed him to his dojo. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #7 Handing his guns off to Helix, the fight got off to an inauspicious start for Snake Eyes, with all of his opening blows dodged and deflected by Quick Kick before he got several good hits in on the ninja. As the fight continued, Snake Eyes drew a knife that Kick just barely managed to avoid getting cut by, the only damage done being to his weighted training jacket. After this, the odds seemed to shift in Snake Eyes favor, with him managing to slice through Kick's guandao and knock the martial artist off his feet and onto the floor. Though he managed to overcome Quick Kick's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu moves, he was left disoriented after Kick choked him out between his thighs. The fight continued for a brief while but ultimately Snake Eyes forfeited as his opponent sent in a fight ending punch, conceding to Quick Kick the title of G.I. Joe's one true martial arts expert. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #9
Quite some time after the incident, Snake Eyes and Helix were still being punished for their insubordination. Though Roadblock wanted them for the team he was building to investigate the revived Cobra's activities in the North Pole, Scarlett refused to authorize their release. Scarlett's Strike Force #1 In Lemuria's brig, Snake Eyes and Helix passed the time with an impromptu game of Dungeons & Dragons (with the silent Snake Eyes wanting to play as a musical bard), only for a power blackout to allow the two to escape — a blackout caused by Skywarp, who wanted the two humans to accompany him to meet Duke in Washington, D.C., instructing them to find their own transportation off the base. Scarlett's Strike Force #3 The three renegade Joes eventually returned to Lemuria when the base came under attack from mutant Cybertronians, fighting off the robots to rescue the other Joes. Last Stand
Aw Yeah Revolution![edit | edit source]
Snake Eyes was the favorite character of Baron Karza and for that reason he was (very politely) kidnapped by the Baron in the middle of a battle against Cobra. Waking up contained in a force field bubble alongside Rom and Optimus Prime, Snake Eyes could do nothing as the villain revealed he planned to siphon off Snake Eyes' coolness with the power of the Orbsah Gem! Aw Yeah Revolution! #1 After having his coolness absorbed, Snake Eyes watched as a fight broke out between Karza and the Micronauts before finally being freed by Microtron. Once freed, Space Glider pleaded with him and the other two that they must return to their home dimension lest their relative hugeness cause all of Microspace to come undone! As Karza used the Orbsah Gem to make his exit and Optimus Prime chased after him, Acroyear held the portal open to allow Snake Eyes and Rom to leave as well. Unfortunately, the portal deposited them just outside of Cobra's base, where Snake Eyes' old rival Storm Shadow revealed to them that Karza and Cobra had teamed up and defeated Optimus Prime!
As he and Storm Shadow resumed their never-ending battle, Snake Eyes was knocked from the mountain's peak by his rival, who then met the same fate at the hands of Acroyear. With both of them now at the foot of the mountain, the two ninjas prepared to resume their duel but were interrupted when suddenly from beneath their feet arose Optimus Prime... now a brainwashed weapon of Cobra! Aw Yeah Revolution! #2 Continuing their battle even as Rom and the Micronauts tussled with Cobra and Optimus, Storm Shadow was scared off when Snake Eyes' fellow Joes arrived on the scene! He then stood alongside his teammates and the restored Optimus Prime's Autobots as they prepared to take on Cobra Commander and the Orbsah Gem empowered Destro. Aw Yeah Revolution! #3
Clueniverse[edit | edit source]
Carlos Guzman had a Snake Eyes action figure in his office. Clue #1
Notes[edit | edit source]
- The original Snake Eyes's codename was spelled Snake-Eyes. Surprisingly enough, the original spelling has never popped up as a typo in IDW continuity, as far as this wiki can discern.
- In case you're wondering, at no point in the entire G.I. Joe franchise has Snake Eyes's real name ever been revealed (except in IDW's Transformers vs. G.I. Joe crossover series, wherein his name is "Francis Witwicky"). The jacket that the Snake Eyes was found wrapped in in the IDW continuity, implied to belong to one of his parents, has a nametag; however, only the first letter is visible: "S".
- In Maximum Dinobots #4, a boy named Jimmy played with Snake Eyes action figure. This issue was published in 2009, years before IDW launched their Hasbro Universe.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Snake Eyes at YoJoe.com
- Snake-Eyes at the TFWiki
