Claymore is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a military-themed line of action figures and toys in Hasbro's G.I. Joe franchise. The toyline lasted from 1982 to 1994, producing well over 500 figures and 250 vehicles and playsets. The line reappeared in 1997 and has continued in one form or another to the...

 toyline and comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 series. He first appeared in 1986 as an exclusive in a Toys R Us 5-pack, alongside re-colored versions of Mainframe, Wet Suit

Wet Suit (G.I. Joe)

Wet Suit is a character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series of the 1980s. He is one of the G.I. Joe team's two Navy SEALs, the other being Torpedo. Wet Suit debuted in 1986.-Profile:...

, Leatherneck

Leatherneck (G.I. Joe)

Leatherneck is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series. He is a Marine with the G.I. Joe Team and debuted in 1986.-Profile:...

, and Dial Tone

Dial Tone (G.I. Joe)

Dial Tone is code name of two fictional characters from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon 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 in the Sunbow G.I. Joe cartoon series.The second is...

.

Profile

His real name is John Zullo, and his rank is that of captain O-3. Claymore was born in Manchester, Vermont.

He attended and graduated at the top of his class from Dartmouth

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

, majoring in Eastern Philosophy. He enlisted in the US Army and served three back-to-back tours

Tour of duty

In the Navy, a tour of duty is a period of time spent performing operational duties at sea, including combat, performing patrol or fleet duties, or assigned to service in a foreign country....

 in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

. His actions there are classified

Classified information

Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...

. He is an expert in NATO long distance sniper rifles, and all NATO and Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...

 small arms. He can speak Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

, Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, Vietnamese

Vietnamese language

Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...

, and Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

.

When asked to join the G.I. Joes, his only stipulation was that he be called in for special assignments only.

Toys

Claymore was first released as an action figure in 1986, as part of a special set from Toys R Us named "Special Mission: Brazil". The pack included a cassette tape that detailed the secret mission.

Devil's Due

Claymore first appeared in G.I. Joe #26 (January 2004), in the series published by Devil's Due. He was assigned to the nation of Badhikstan under orders to get the nation's Prime Minister out of the country after it was taken over by the Coil. The Prime Minister held the activation chips to the country's nuclear arsenal in his cell phone. The Coil took the Prime Minister hostage, and Stalker

Stalker (G.I. Joe)

Stalker is the code name of Army Sergeant Lonzo R. Wilkinson, a character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series. He is one of very few characters from the first line of the toys to have a distinct appearance from the other action figures, as he is African-American. Stalker was a major...

 brought in a team of Joes to aid Claymore in a rescue. Unfortunately, the mission was a bust, with the Coil getting their hands on the codes and forcing the Joes to retreat under threat of using the nuclear arsenal.

Claymore moved operations to the neighboring country. He was soon joined by Lt. Falcon

Lt. Falcon

Lt. Falcon is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series. He is a green beret with the G.I. Joe Team and debuted in 1987.-Profile:...

, Dusty

Dusty (G.I. Joe)

Dusty is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series. He is the G.I. Joe Team's desert trooper and debuted in 1985.-Profile:...

, Snake-Eyes, and Scarlett

Scarlett (G.I. Joe)

Scarlett is a fictional character from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, a line of military-themed toys created by Hasbro. The character is one of the original members of the fictional team and toy line. She is a major character of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic book series and the...

. The five Joes ran a recon

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

 mission over the border to spy on some construction. They were attacked by Overkill

Overkill (G.I. Joe)

Overkill is a character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline from Hasbro, which has spawned comics and cartoon series. He first appeared in the 1989 G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero incarnation of the series. He also appears in G.I...

 and some Desert Vipers

Viper (G.I. Joe)

A Viper is the code-name given to a large majority of the soldiers/troops in the Cobra Organization, which are found in the G.I. Joe A Real American Hero universe. For the most part the code name Viper is followed or preceded by their area of expertise....

 and captured. However, they were let go by the Crimson Twins in order not to cause an incident since Cobra just took control of Badhikstan from the Coil and did not want any retaliation from the Joes.

Claymore makes a cameo in a later issue, seen working out of the Joes' "Americana Museum" sub-base. At one point, Claymore is made director of G.I. Joe's overseas operations.

Claymore later returned to the US, where he tried to help oversee operations after Hawk

Hawk (G.I. Joe)

Hawk is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys. He appears in the animated series, comic books, toyline, and movie.-Profile:...

 was crippled in battle. After the Jugglers reconstructed the team, Claymore and Vorona were supposed to head back to Badhikstan, but stayed behind just long enough to help Duke

Duke (G.I. Joe)

Duke is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 lines of military-themed toys. The character is featured in both the animated series and comic books. Duke is portrayed by actor Channing Tatum in the 2009 live-action film, G.I. Joe: The Rise of...

, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, and Storm-Shadow

Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)

Storm Shadow is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic book series and television shows. The character is best known for his history with fellow ninja Snake Eyes...

 escape federal pursuit.

America's Elite

Claymore appeared in the G.I. Joe Special Missions: Brazil one-shot (April 2007). Based in part on the Toys R Us exclusive set, the story involved Claymore teaming up with the same Joes from the set. The five Joes had been part of a disastrous mission to capture the Headman. Years later, the deceased Mainframe's protégé, Firewall, helped the Joes complete the mission.

During the "World War III

World War III (G.I. Joe)

World War III is the title of a 12-issue comic book story that took place in issues #25-36 of the comic G.I. Joe: America's Elite, published by Devil's Due Publishing. The plot concerns Cobra Command's final attempt to take over the world. It was generally well-received by critics...

" storyline, Claymore is deployed to Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

. Later, he is seen there fighting Cobra forces.

External links

• Claymore at JMM's G.I. Joe Comics Home Page