Captain Yuri gets shot by a sniper in the opening splash of the story. He then spends the rest of it laying in a puddle or being operated on by an Afghani doctor while exhorting his team to let him die and save themselves.


Captain Yuri

Pravda Patrol Commander

Filename: Yuri, Marat

Birthplace: Chernogolovka, Russia

In 1974 the Soviets decided to create a specialized military unit of elite soldiers. This unit would be small, skilled, and nimble, able to apply surgical force at a moments notice. Captain Marat Yuri was selected to lead this unit which was dubbed the Pravda Patrol. Having served with distinction for the better part of a decade, Yuri's time as commander has been extremely succesful. As of 1979 the Pravda Patrol has been returned to Afghanistan to support ongoing operations there.

"For all intents and purposes it's a Soviet version of Colton's old unit. It doesn't exist officially, but between the moles in the Politiburo and eyewitness reports out of Afghanistan we have a pretty clear picture of who they are and what they can do. Yuri's no Colton, but he cares just as much about the men under him. Not sure that he could be turned, but if we can find any cases of the higher-ups doing any of his current or former team dirty, we could maybe get our hooks in. Probably better off using the Patrol as a boogeyman to justify action in country though . . ." Excerpt from confidential CIA memo.

In the late 70s/early 80s there was a magazine sized black and white anthology comic published by Marvel called Bizarre Adventures. In issue #31, sandwiched between a Larry Hama story about a rabbit with Vietnam induced PTSD and tale of pre-teen murder (no, really) was a 5 page story called "Let There Be Life". In it we're introduced to the Pravda Patrol, a Soviet Special Forces unit. Created by Tom DeFalco and Herb Trimpe, and due to the nature of the mag, actually owned by them, the Pravda Patrol only appeared this one time. But they almost became more. The Soviet counterpart to the Joe team wasn't going to be the Oktober Guard, it was to be the Pravda Patrol. Art exists for issue 6 (originally intended to be issue 3) of the Patrol in place of the Guard, but their use was rejected by Hasbro. This is likely because the characters wouldn't have been owned by Hasbro, and it is probably for the best, as the Guard has more visual distinctiveness, but it's one of those weird quirks of comic/toy history that I love. The Pravda Patrol had been on my mental to-do list since I learned about them and while they don't jibe with the "no existing characters" guideline, they fit the Year One theme too well to pass up. Also, with Mr. Trimpe having recently passed away, I like to consider these my small tribute to all the amazing work he did and all the enjoyment he brought me.


Captain Yuri is a pretty basic figure. I departed a bit from the comic design with his webgear, but the Red Star gear fit well, and the belt buckle fit the Soviet thing.