Dial Tone is code name of two fictional characters from the
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series.
The first is male and debuted in 1986. He is the
G.I. Joe Team's communications expert. He is voiced by
Hank Garrett
Hank Garrett (born Henry Greenberg Cohen Sandler Weinblatt; October 26, 1931) is an American actor, comedian, author, speaker, teacher, mixed martial artist and retired professional wrestler best known for the television role of Officer Nicholso ...
in the Sunbow/Marvel ''
G.I. Joe
''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), A ...
'' animated series.
The second is female, and makes her first appearance in the new IDW comic series. A version also appears in the ''
G.I. Joe: Resolute'' animated series.
Jack S. Morelli
Profile
Dial Tone is the G.I. Joe Team's electronics and communications expert. His real name is Jack S. Morelli, and his rank is that of corporal E-4. Dial Tone was born in
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...
.
Dial Tone built his own crystal radio set when he was ten. By fourteen he was part of a CB net, and had his own ham station by the time he was sixteen. Dial Tone made all his own equipment, buying parts with quarters which he earned by bagging groceries. He joined the army to further his education in his chosen field, and became the Joe team's communications expert. Despite this, he has been seen many times fighting on the battlefield.
Toys
Dial-Tone was first released as an action figure in 1986.
The figure was repainted and released as part of the "Special Missions: Brazil" box set in 1986,
and the Sonic Fighters line in 1990.
A new version of Dial-Tone was released in 1994 as part of the Battle Corps line.
Dial-Tone was also included in a 2-pack with
General Hawk in 2000, an 8-pack in 2002, and sold with the
A.W.E. Striker, and the Tiger Force 5-pack in 2003.
Comics
In the Marvel Comics ''
G.I. Joe
''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), A ...
'' series, he first appeared in issue #56. He is part of a G.I. Joe assault team in the fictional country of Sierra Gordo. The Joes take over a
Cobra
COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...
'Terror Drome'. Despite
Serpentor
Serpentor is a fictional character and a recurring antagonist from the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' toyline, comic books, and animated series. Introduced in 1986, the character rules as Emperor over Cobra where most versions are depicted ...
and
Tomax and Xamot
Tomax and Xamot Paoli (also called the Crimson Twins or Crimson Guard Commanders) are fictional characters from the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' toyline, comic books and animated series. They are the co-leaders of Cobra's elite troops, th ...
trying to kill them, they take it apart and steal all the pieces.
He takes part in a mission to a South American jungle to hunt a Nazi war criminal. Dial-Tone is part of a different team that successfully plants spy equipment at the Cobra Consulate building in New York City.
Later, he is part of a team attempting to stop hostage takers in
Frankfurt, Germany
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the foreland of the Taunus on its namesake Main, it forms a contin ...
. At the end of the comic series it is revealed that Dial-Tone invented numerous
state of the art
The state of the art (SOTA or SotA, sometimes cutting edge, leading edge, or bleeding edge) refers to the highest level of general development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field achieved at a particular time. However, in some contex ...
innovative devices that he patented and made him wealthy.
Dial-Tone shows up in the IDW series as part of a team trying to track down
Destro
Laird James McCullen Destro XXIV, usually referred to simply as Destro, is a fictional Character (arts), character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books, and cartoon series. He is the Scottish people, Scottish leader of ...
.
Animated series
Sunbow
In the Sunbow ''
G.I. Joe
''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), A ...
'' TV series, Dial-Tone was portrayed as being somewhat nerdy compared to the other tech-savvy Joes as well as having bad taste in clothing when it came to his out-of-date civilian wardrobe. He was often seen in the company of both
Wet-Suit and
Leatherneck
Leatherneck is a military slang term in the U.S. for a member of the United States Marine Corps. It is generally believed to originate in the wearing of a "leather stock" that went around the neck. Its original purpose was to protect the neck fr ...
and even fixed them both up with dates although Leatherneck found his friend's taste in women somewhat lacking as well. He was outgoing and eager to please to the point of being obsequious. When he was on the military base, he spent most of his spare time with
Mainframe
A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterpris ...
creating and playing
video games
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
. When assigned to combat or missions, he was under the command of
Flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
's platoon. His status as a Joe was likewise questionable and in an issue of
Marvel Age
''Marvel Age'' was a promotional comic book-sized magazine from Marvel Comics published from 1983 to 1994. Basically a comic-length edition of the Bullpen Bulletins page, ''Marvel Age'' contained previews of upcoming Marvel comics, as well as i ...
he was said to be a "probationary member" and that he was hanging on "by the skin of his teeth".
In "Glamour Girls",
Low-Light and Dial-Tone help the former's sister move and investigate her disappearance along with several other female celebrities. Dial-Tone is part of the group of Joes that go to rescue
Cover Girl
A cover girl is a woman whose photograph is used for the front cover of magazines. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a person making a single, casual appearance on the cover of a magaz ...
,
Lady Jaye and the kidnapped models and actresses.
In "The Spy Who Rooked Me", Dial-Tone is with Flint, Lady Jaye and
Cross Country on a mission to deliver nerve gas to a chemical weapons arsenal, working with a British secret agent as well.
In "The Most Dangerous Thing in the World", he unsuccessfully attempts to build his satellite dish.
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...
, Dial-Tone and
Lifeline are promoted to Colonel through false orders from the Department of Defense sent by Cobra. In an armor drill, Dial-Tone reprograms the missile guidance systems of the H.A.V.O.C.s, leading to an accident that almost kills Leatherneck and Wet-Suit. The poor leadership and disagreement on battle tactics among the three "Colonels" throws the G.I. Joe Team into complete disarray, but Hawk returns from a NATO conference and saves the day for the Joes. Afterwards, Hawk tells Dial-Tone that he has the desire to be a leader, but not the ability.
In "Joe's Night Out", Dial-Tone arranges a date for himself, Wet-Suit and Leatherneck with three of his women friends at a new nightclub in town. Soon, Serpentor sends the club into outer space and threatens to activate explosives planted on the club. Dial-Tone contacts Joe headquarters via the club's video system, requesting for a rescue ship. After that fails, Wet-Suit decides to deactivate the explosives. Dial-Tone provides him with a six-pack of sodas as propellants, a radio communicator in a fishbowl used in place of a helmet, and attaches him with a makeshift lifeline. After disarming the explosives, the Joes convert the club's engines to run on the air within the club and Dial-Tone activates one of them, returning the club to Earth.
In "Sins of the Fathers", Dial-Tone is turned down for re-enlistment and hired by a disguised
Zarana
Zarana is a fictional Character (arts), character from the ''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' toyline, comic books and animated series. She is affiliated with Cobra Command, Cobra as a member of the Dreadnoks.
Profile
Zarana is the younger siste ...
for a project utilizing his expertise in communications involving "very specific parameters". In his new job, Dial-Tone creates a communications system near the ruins of Destro's castle, secretly intended to awaken a creature, which
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 Jos ...
orders to kill Serpentor. Dial-Tone is rescued and restored to Joe status. It is later revealed that the Joe team only turned him down to give him a foolproof cover, knowing that Cobra would try and recruit him.
G.I. Joe: The Movie
Dial-Tone also appeared briefly in the 1987 animated film ''
G.I. Joe: The Movie''.
Female Dial Tone
Fictional character biography
A blond female character named Dial Tone first appeared in the new IDW comic series. To date, no background information has been revealed about this character. No mention has been made of the Jack S. Morelli character in this series.
Comics - IDW Publishing
The new Dial Tone works with
Scarlett in the think tank at the Pit.
Resolute
In ''
G.I. Joe: Resolute'', there is a female agent working on the USS Flagg is approached by
Gung Ho
''Gung ho'' () is an English term, with the current meaning of 'enthusiastic or energetic', especially overly so. It originated during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) from a Chinese term, ( zh, hp=gōnghé, l=to work together), sho ...
and asked for information about the recent Cobra attack. She is later identified by the code name, Dial Tone.
Writer
Warren Ellis
Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is an English comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ...
has said the character was originally just a background character, but she was made a Joe due to the amount of dialogue he gave her; "they gave me several
odenamesto choose from, and I chose Dial Tone, because it amused me".
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
In the 2009 video game ''
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'', a female Dial Tone appears as a non-playable supporting character. Her data file states that her real name is "Jill J. Morelli," and that she took over her brother's post on the team after he disappeared on a mission. This version of Dial Tone is voiced by Aimee Miles.
Toys
A toy of the female version of Dial Tone was released in a Desert Troop Builder 5-Pack exclusive to Toys R Us stores in 2009.
Other works
Dial Tone is briefly mentioned in the fiction novel ''6 Sick Hipsters''. In the story, the character Paul Achting spent four years collecting G.I. Joe figures to set up a battle scene between the Joes and Cobra. Although Dial Tone's figure is not depicted, as Paul imagined the characters in his head he described
Sgt. Slaughter "speaking on a transistor radio to Dial Tone, the communications specialist, back at G.I. Joe headquarters".
References
External links
Dial-Toneat JMM's G.I. Joe Comics Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dial Tone (G.I. Joe)
Fictional characters from Oregon
Fictional corporals
Fictional staff sergeants
Fictional United States Army personnel
Male characters in animated television series
Male characters in comics
G.I. Joe soldiers
Television characters introduced in 1986