I liked Duke and Hawk about the same when I was a kid. Being a Flint fan, seeing either Duke or Hawk meant Flint probably wasn't in the episode (Cobrathon being the only episode I can think of that featured all three prominently). When I was older and got into the comics, I have fond memories of when my opinion shifted. Reading the early issues the first time, I was less interested because they were pre-85 characters Things picked up when Duke was introduced.

But then around issue 85, Duke pops out of the barracks for a one panel appearance and I realized that Duke had not done anything significant in thirty issues. What's more, I realized I didn't miss him. However, when the story would go too long without Hawk, I'd notice.

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It's not really fair to judge, as neither character has really been properly shown in comic book form since the Marvel run. This excludes Hama's DD run, of course.

As a kid, what sold me on Hawk was that he was more "flawed" than Duke. Hama wrote the character to be a bit uptight and ever-so-slightly arrogant- but ultimately a mission-driven guy. The filecard even stated that Hawk came from a "well established" family, which, if you come from a blue collar family like I do, is a flaw. I don't know if there's a way to say that without sounding bitter, but it's more of a point of pride. Hawk might have been my first exposure to an upper socioeconomic leveled character that wasn't a snob. Hama certainly played the character against type in some ways.

Duke, on the other hand, was a bit too well rounded. More of a shoulder puncher than a "get the job done" type, especially as the cartoon Duke's personality seemed projected onto the comic Duke as the years went by.

Having gone back as an adult and read some of the comics, Duke was a better character than I remembered, especially towards the earlier portion of the run.

Duke vs. Hawk always seemed more like a toon vs. comic debate by proxy.

As the toon went on, Lady Jaye and Flint dominated the airtime anyway because the toon writers loved them so much, so Duke got the short end of the stick. Hawk got a few spotlight episodes in season2, but he never struck me as compelling.

I'm more of a toon guy, but Hawk's existence doesn't offend me. He just never struck a cord with me, but I'm fine with him as the ultimate Joe commander, while Duke is the field commander. I envision Hawk dealing with paper work, crooked Washington types, and so forth. The character seemed bland in all forms of media. He was most interesting as a plot contrivance for Scott in Sigma 6 in my view.

Snake Eyes I have more of a problem with, it has more about the essence of what Snake Eyes has become, more of a marketing ploy than a character. People may accuse Duke of that as well, but If Duke is Captain America, I much prefer that to the Snake Eyes/Wolverine comparison.

I always liked Duke and what he stood for in his flashback MASS Device. The bit about protecting the kid from bullies, how those kind of moments tested his sense of honor and justice, how that fit in with his idea of America, an ideal Cobra despises.

I actually think ’iconic characters’ trump all forms of Joe media, hama-verse, sunbow-verse, and such. I like the new Jetpack Duke card art. I think it is in keeping with who he is.

the question that should be asked, esp. after watching the arise serpentor, arise! mini-series is this:

Why was Beachhead such a douchebag?

And can I find an updated copy, for some reason the last episode in mine it was dubbed over to be Sgt. Slammer, not Sgt. Slaughter

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I can see why this becomes a Comic vs Cartoon debate.
As a comic guy, I always thought the cartoons were too simplistic. The whole point of the Joe team was to have the best specialists from America's military do their stuff. So not everybody can fly a Skystriker, people have different weapons etc. Lasers don't sound like machineguns, and people can actually hit what they're aiming at.

As for the Duke vs Hawk thing, there is no thing. Hawk is the CO, and Duke is the top sgt. At best he's my primary assaulter squad leader, but he's down the chain of commander under Falcon and the other officers. Duke may be Hawk's formal right hand man, but Snake Eyes is Hawk's actual right hand man. Duke is the solid reliable sergeant who understands the job and knows how to get it done. Snake Eyes does the jobs that are too dirty for even GI Joe to do officially (it helps that Snake Eyes is actually CIA and not regular army).

I actually prefer Hawk's original uniform to his General's duds. Made him seem like he was part of the team, instead of just another paper-pusher.

If it's the DVD, listen to the last episode with a different audio soundtrack for the non-Action Force version.

I say they are 50/50 with me caus duke is the man in the fild while hawk deals with the uper brass