Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles is a line of military-themed toys produced by

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

that was sold between 1994 and 1995. It was intended to be a companion line to '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero''. Comic book artist

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also kno ...

provided the packaging artwork for the toys and also drew the mini-comics included with certain figures. The line was short-lived due to the cancellation of the entire ''A Real American Hero'' line in favor of the

Kenner Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...

-produced '' G.I. Joe Extreme'' series. The main character is an imposing "hard charger from the greatest generation" as depicted in his various filecards. Survivor of Omaha Beach and an infantry commander renowned for his skill, who after being frozen for over 50 years is resurrected and found out that he was subject of experiments made by the enemy. Now in the present, he possesses incredible levels of physical strength and enhanced reflexes. Devoted to destroying a "recently created" enemy team for the series called I.R.O.N. Army and its leader, General Blitz, Savage now joins forces with the G.I. Joe Team.

Toyline

The ''Screaming Eagles'' figures differ significantly from their standard ''A Real American Hero'' counterparts due to the way Hasbro eliminated the

O-ring An O-ring, also known as a packing or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; it is a loop of elastomer with a round cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembly between two or more par ...

hip system that allowed a figure to sustain the legs and provided the figure's hip articulation point, replacing it with a simpler vessel for a twist peg inside the legs' frame. The height for the figures was also changed from the standard 3.75" to 4.5". The first wave of carded figures were numbered from 1 through 6. The numbering was abandoned for the second wave, which consisted entirely of repaints. The second wave of figures each included a secret coded message inside the figure card, which required a decoder ring that came packaged with one of the figures. Three vehicles were also produced, along with two small playsets.

Carded figures

*Wave 1 **Commando Sgt. Savage (includes "Old Soldiers Never Die" VHS tape) **Combat Sgt. Savage **D-Day **Dynamite **General Blitz **I.R.O.N. Stormtrooper *Wave 2 **Cryo-Freeze Sgt. Savage **Urban Attack Dynamite (includes decoder ring) **Arctic Stormtrooper **Jungle Camo D-Day **Jet Pack General Blitz *Mail-in **Desert-Camo Savage (also released as a G.I. Joe Collector's Club exclusive)

Vehicles and playsets

P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

with Fighter Pilot Sgt. Savage figure * Grizzly SS-1 * I.R.O.N. Panther with I.R.O.N. Anvil figure *Battle Bunker with Battle Command Sgt. Savage (includes "Sgt. Savage vs. Gen. Blitz Part 1" mini-comic) *Enemy Battle Bunker with Cyborg General Blitz (includes "Sgt. Savage vs. Gen. Blitz Part 2" mini-comic)

''Hall of Fame''

A 12-inch Sgt. Savage action figure, marketed as Total Combat Sgt. Savage, was also sold as part of the '' G.I. Joe: Hall of Fame'' sub-line. The figure came with a combat rifle with motorized recoil and other accessories.

Cartoon

A pilot episode for a ''Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles'' animated series was produced by Sunbow Productions and

Graz Entertainment Graz Entertainment is an American licensing and distribution company, run by Jim and Stephanie Graziano, which obtains and provides programming and licensing rights for children's television animation. They currently control ''Z Blade'', ''The Attic ...

and written by Lloyd Goldfine. The episode never aired on TV, but was released on a VHS tape included with the Commando Sgt. Savage action figure. A few characters from the ''A Real American Hero'' TV series appeared in the pilot to tie the two series together. While the onscreen title was "Old Heroes Never Die", the packaging gave the title as "Old Soldiers Never Die".

Plot

The episode starts with a

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...

from the 1940s detailing how Sgt. Savage, a

war hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero' ...

awarded with the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

in the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

European theater, dies along with his entire company in a failed raid against a German scientific facility. Later, such place is discovered by a news team in the middle 1990s, it turns out that Savage survived. His frozen body is discovered, and is given to the Joes for further research. A robotic trooper invades the Joes' scientific facility, but Savage awakens in the nick of time to destroy it. According to Savage, the raid where all his company died was spoiled by a traitor amongst his ranks. Later, a scientist called Dr. Garret Stromm announces to the Joes that a new super advanced space platform is about to be deployed. Savage identifies the scientist as Lt. Garrison Kreiger, the traitor himself. Savage also learns that during World War II he was Kreiger's guinea pig in genetic experiments and now he possesses super strength and increased reflexes, these "powers", as his whole physical condition wanes from time to time. Savage is then introduced to his new team, a squad of 6 experts in different scientific fields, all well seasoned sergeants, but unable to follow direct orders, after a brief skirmish, Savage takes control of them, now calling themselves the "Screaming Eagles". Kreiger is later seen communicating to

Cobra Commander Cobra Commander is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' franchise. He is the supreme leader of the terrorist organization Cobra and the archenemy of the G.I. Joe Team. He was portrayed by Joseph ...

that the ties between their two organizations no longer bind, how he helped the

Cobra Command Cobra (sometimes referred to as Cobra Command) is a fictional terrorist organization and the nemesis of the G.I. Joe Team in the Hasbro action figure toyline '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' and '' G.I. Joe: Sigma 6'', as well as in related m ...

formation and how he will destroy them if he interferes with his plans. At the same time, the Eagles are checking the invading robot's remains, and they realize that the space platform Kreiger, who now calls himself "General Blitz" helped to build is really a

Doomsday device A doomsday device is a hypothetical construction — usually a weapon or weapons system — which could destroy all life on a planet, particularly Earth, or destroy the planet itself, bringing " doomsday", a term used for the end of planet Earth ...

meant to control every computer system on the planet (aiming mainly at the Strategic Defense Initiative), so Savage and his team go forth to stop Blitz, his plans, and his new, completely robotic I.R.O.N. Troopers.

Characters

;Screaming Eagles :A team of six well seasoned sergeants and specialists on every technology and military field led by Sgt. Savage. Due to the short retail life of the toyline, D-Day and Dynamite were the only characters besides Savage himself who were actually released as figures; the rest of the team ended up being featured solely in the animated pilot. The real names and backstories of all the Screaming Eagles members would be established years later in the 2009 book ''G.I. Joe vs. Cobra: The Essential Guide'' published by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

. *Sgt. Savage (voiced by

Scott McNeil Scott McNeil is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the best-known Canadian voice actors of all time, McNeil has provided voices to many characters in animated shows, most notabl ...

): Master Sergeant Robert Steven Savage, a decorated World War II veteran who was captured by the Iron Army and used as a test subject for genetic experimentation to create the ultimate soldier. He was kept frozen in a cryogenic sleep chamber. Sgt. Savage would be the only character to be carried over to the succeeding '' G.I. Joe Extreme'' toyline. *D-Day (voiced by Brent Chapman): David X. Brewi, a former

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...

champion and the heavy weapons specialist. *Dynamite (voiced by Scott McNeil): Hector J. Garrido, an Argentinian chemist with "love for explosives", demolitions expert. *Grill (voiced by Julian Christopher): Darren K. Filbert, a genius in mechanics, creator of all the Eagles' arsenal and vehicles. *Head Banger (voiced by

Garry Chalk Garry Chalk is a British-born Canadian actor. He has provided the voices for Optimus Primal of '' Beast Wars: Transformers'' and ''Beast Machines'', as well as Optimus Prime in the anime English dubs of '' Transformers: Armada'', ''Transformer ...

): Kevin M. Kaye, a "Heavy rocker" with a knack for communications systems. *Mouse (voiced by

Michael Donovan Michael Donovan is a Canadian voice actor and director known for his roles as Suikotsu in ''Inuyasha'' and Zoken Mato in ''Fate/stay night''. He has also directed many animated series and feature films. Roles Animation * ''3-2-1 Penguins!''K ...

): Morris L. Sanderson, a clumsy mountain of a man, and the team's head

hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

. The character is played by

Joseph Mazzello Joseph Francis Mazzello III (born September 21, 1983) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Tim Murphy in '' Jurassic Park'', Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries '' The Pacific'', Dustin Moskovitz in ''The Social Network'', ...

in '' G.I. Joe: Retaliation'' as the team's sniper. He is killed when

Zartan Zartan is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books, and animated series. He is one of the main villains in the franchise as the leader of the Dreadnoks, and a mercenary who often worked directly for Cobra ...

, disguised as the president, sends an air strike at the Joe's base. *Tank (voiced by Robert O. Smith): Dwight M. Prudence, the vehicles' master operator. ;The I.R.O.N. Army :A shadowy cabal of elite enemy cyber-soldiers from World War II. The organization's name is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for "International Robotic Operations Network". *General Blitz (voiced by Garry Chalk): Garrison Kreiger, a World War II American 2nd lieutenant who was part of Sgt. Savage's platoon while secretly working for the I.R.O.N. Army. During the present day he poses as Dr. Garret Stromm, a scientist who leads Iron Arms Industries, a seemingly legitimate company in charge of developing the International Orbital Space Program, but this is actually a front for his organization. It is implied that he had a hand in the creation of

. *I.R.O.N. Stormtroopers: An army of cyber soldiers created by Kreiger during World War II as a "new

master race The master race (german: Herrenrasse) is a pseudoscientific concept in Nazi ideology in which the putative " Aryan race" is deemed the pinnacle of human racial hierarchy. Members were referred to as "''Herrenmenschen''" ("master humans"). T ...

" for

world domination World domination (also called global domination or world conquest or cosmocracy) is a hypothetical power structure, either achieved or aspired to, in which a single political authority holds the power over all or virtually all the inhabitants ...

. ;Guest characters * Hawk (v.b. David Kaye) *

Lady Jaye Lady Jaye is a fictional character in the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' toyline, comic books and animated series. She was originally created as a character for the ''G.I. Joe'' animated series produced by Marvel Productions and Sunbow Produ ...

(v.b.

Kathleen Barr Kathleen Barr is a Canadian voice actress. She is best known for voicing Marie Kanker and Kevin in ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' and Trixie Lulamoon and Queen Chrysalis in '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic''. She also voiced Henri Richard Maurice D ...

) *

Doc DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...

(v.b. Julian Christopher) *

(v.b. Scott McNeil)

References

External links

Sgt. Savage Archive
at YOJOE.com
Sgt. Savage
at JMM's G.I. Joe Comics Home Page {{G.I. Joe 1990s toys Action figures Fictional characters from New York (state) Fictional characters with superhuman strength Fictional commanders Fictional cryonically preserved characters Fictional soldiers Fictional World War II veterans G.I. Joe Hasbro products Television series by Sunbow Entertainment G.I. Joe organizations