Going to try to actually put my whole joeverse down in writing a summary in one place. I've tried many catchy names over the years but I'll just stick with The_bad_fan_fiction_I_swore_I_would_never_do-verse. Strongly persuaded by the Devil's Due era. So for those still reading after that, here goes.

Mid-nineties:--Cobra has beaten themselves into submission with inner fighting, a civil war, imposters, and now focusing on space as a a necessary target to conquer. Cobra Commander disappears and the foundation of Cobra collapses. The hierarchy of Cobra spreads out around the world, some find other new causes to stand with and others disappear as Cobra Commander did. The troops do likewise with some returning to their homes and trying to put the past behind them.
--GI Joe is suddenly without a primary target and becomes the victim of huge budget cuts in Washington, citing the ever growing expenses from the team's membership, weapons costs, and funding of such outlandish trials as Star Brigade. GI Joe is disbanded with many members taking early retirement while others remain with the military or in government jobs.

Early 2000s--Cobra Commander suddenly makes his presence known with attacks around the world. He announces Cobra has returned, with a vengeance and new found purpose. He demands subservience from all nations or more destruction will follow. The world's military leaders have no solid target and no way to respond to the attacks. When they decide to call his bluff, Cobra Commander stands true to his word and buildings fall, injuring and killing innocents with no rhyme or reason. The world governments take notice and surrender.
--General Hawk responds in the opening attacks by contacting the POTUS and requesting activation of GI Joe immediately. By the time of the second round of attacks, he has reassembled a skeleton crew to begin the fight against Cobra once more. As the old team once again defends freedom, they trace Cobra Commander to an uncharted island in the Caribbean Sea. Patriotism is at an all-time high and new recruits pour in. Cobra is neutralized but not defeated.

circa 2011--The patriotism has subsided and now GI Joe is under scrutiny again. Public outcry at governmental waste becomes a popular topic and GI Joe is pinned as the scapegoat. Hawk fights against Congress to keep the team together. Billy Kessler first approaches Hawk with the idea to infiltrate Cobra Island with a small team and take Cobra Commander in custody quietly, without a huge battle. Hawk will not approve.

circa 2012-2013--Hawk is tired of fighting Congress and Cobra. He approves Kessler's plan. Kessler leads his small handpicked team in an infiltration. They successfully reach Cobra Commander's chambers. Kessler's right hand, Zanya, fires her crossbow at Cobra Commander. Zanya is on target and the crossbow bolt strikes the Commander in the eye hole of his hood. He is dead before he hits the floor. Kessler is distraught at the sudden assassination of his father and turns on Zanya with anger. Before he can reach her, she and her bodyguard escape the Cobra temple. They commandeer a boat and return to Zartan with the news of Cobra Commander's death.

--Cobra Commander enters the chamber to see his son weeping. He reveals that it was just a decoy that is lying on the floor. He is in bad health himself though and needs his bodyguard/caretaker with him at all times. He convinces Kessler that his true nature is showing now in his tears and urges him to take command of Cobra and do what he wishes with it. Kessler cannot turn down the proverbial keys to the kingdom. He swears to lead a different Cobra and begins by renaming Cobra Island the nation of Springfield. He announces it to the world in much the same way his father used to threaten the world, with a worldwide television broadcast. He even showcases the dead body and proclaims "Cobra is dead, Long Live Springfield!" Thus creating the new contry's slogan. The United Nations recognizes the country as legitimate and now deems any attacks as acts of war.

--Hawk advises the POTUS that Springfield is his disaster and he should not recognize Kessler's claim to legitimacy. He urges to stand fast in the fight and allow GI Joe to continue its operations against the island. In exchange, he says he will step down as GI Joe commander in chief. The president makes those exact statements in a televised press conference. As he leaves the podium, Marine One erupts in an explosion. The crowd panics and Hawk dives onto the president as a single shot rings out. The bullet tears into Hawks spine and he loses feeling in his legs. In the aftermath, a group calling themselves The Red Shadows takes credit for the attack.


to be continued........

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circa 2014-2015--Duke is now GI Joe commander in chief, handpicked by Hawk during his retirement. Duke has walked into a hornet's nest.
-Kessler is busy reorganizing his forces. The vast faceless Cobra troops are replaced with small teams of specialists, modeled after GI Joe. He removes anyone who will not get behind his plan for Springfield. Old Snake and his caretaker is always close by to offer advise.
-The Red Shadows organization is still a dangerous threat with no face.
-Former Cobra agent Overkill has gone rogue since his cybernetic enhancements. He has staged a hostile takeover of Overland/Killington Robotics Industries in Europe. Initial reports show he is creating an army of robots and cybernetically enhanced soldiers. The number of "healthy" volunteers is staggering.
-The former Cobra scientist, Dr. Mindbender, escapes Kessler's attempt on his life thanks to the help of his "children" Maximus and Victor, after Kessler discovers the mad doctor attempting to resurrect the Cobra Emperor Serpentor. Last reports show he is now among the islands off the western coast of South America known as Las Islas de la Muerte, abandoned by research giant InGen. Local sailors and satellite imagery show strange and possibly dangerous anomalies.
-A mysterious cult arises in Trucial Abysmia around a man known simply as Shaman. He preaches about the return of a serpent king, to unite the world and rule over all nations. Many former Cobra agents flock to the region with one man in mind. The group grows rapidly with followers becoming more and more militant in their defense of Shaman and his teachings.
-The Dreadnoks splinter due to Zarana's jealousy at Zartan's affection over his daughter Zanya. Zarana and her followers join with a young punk gang in Chicago called The IronKlad. What follows is known as The Uncivil War as gang warfare breaks out in alleys and dive bars nationwide.
-A group of anarchists, calling themselves The Pyromaniax, in the pacific northwest seek to fill the void left by the biker fights. They generally cause mass disruptions and rob banks using brutal tactics.
-International drug trafficking increases when the Estrela family in Brazil partners with former Cobra agents in South America and The Headhunters.
-Archaeologists begin filing reports of stolen antiques and artifacts from ancient sites around the world. These treasures are disappearing at a rapid pace and they are not showing up on the black market.
-In Japan, a ninja clan once thought dead, known as The Reddokuran begin attacks against the Yakuza and other clans, including Storm Shadow's reborn Arashikage.
-James McCullen is quiet at MARS Industries. Too quiet.

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circa 2016-early 2017--Kessler is falling deeper under Old Snake's spell. Instead of eliminating Cobra he instead calls Springfield's military by that name. Someone calls him Cobra Commander and he corrects them, saying he is Cobra Commander the Third. The new title sticks and he now appears in televised press conferences as William Kessler, Cobra Commander III. His military advisor is revealed to be Destro's nephew, Darklon. He had been one of Kessler's associates during the infiltration when he had used the alias of Marauder. He now controls the MARS facility at Springfield, once operated by Alexander McCullen with The Baroness' oversight. Darklon now holds them hostage to insure Destro's cooperation. Destro instead sulks in his castle.
--Lady Jaye is shot and her body is left behind in the first major battle against The Red Shadows. Eyewitnesses report that she was struck in the head by a round fired from a white masked assailant later identified as Skeletron. Flint is devastated and demands to go after her. He must be forcibly restrained for his own safety.
--Estrela and Headhunter activity can be traced back to Kessler but its still not enough to get the greenlight for an attack. Duke assigns a new team called the Anti-Venom Taskforce to take out the Headhunters whenever possible in international waters or when allowed by foreign countries.
--Zarana relocates her IronKlad to Springfield after The Uncivil War gains national coverage and police retaliate against the gangs. Zartan takes his Dreadnoks to Australia to escape prison time.
--Duke is able to reorganize GI Joe into smaller task force teams and keep the hounds of Congress at bay while he tracks multiple targets around the globe.

circa late 2017-2018--Hawk learns of an idea for a new anti-terrorism force being supported by Congress and pushed by a senior senator, Senator Campbell. The Phoenix Guard will be a small team of operatives that will be held accountable to a congressional subcommittee and will only operate with direct orders from them. Hawk approaches the new president about it but he has heard nothing and cannot act.
--Duke assigns a team to investigate Las Islas de la Muerte. Reports cannot go unanswered. The team quickly finds themselves in a world like no other. Disaster strikes almost immediately and they are faced with prehistoric beasts and mutations that should not exist. They are overwhelmed and lose communication. They are on their own for now.
--The Desert Patrol reports growing concerns in Trucial Abysmia. A man calling himself Serpentor has taken the title of King. Shaman has approved and his followers react with joy and adoration for the man. A sudden influx of former Cobras is reason for concern alone, but now the group begins preparing an army. Serpentor introduces his Queen, an Egyptian woman who claims to be the reincarnation of Nefertiti.
--Joe Colton and his Adventure Team have been tracking the lost artifacts only to find many others on the same trail. All clues point to Sir Oliver Killington no proof can be made.
--Emergency calls from the HAARP facility in Alaska have Duke respond with a team of tech geniuses. They are faced with what is thought an impossibility as an alien spacecraft has made contact with them. The spacecraft emerges from a wormhole and none other than Spaceshot and Blackstar disembark. Thought to be killed in action during the last years of GI Joe in the 90s, it seems they survived thanks to one another. Attitudes have changed and they demand weapons and technology to take back with them to a place they call Dimension X. When they do not get what they want they take the team hostage with the help of their alien crew of Lunartix. Spaceshot demands to see GI Joe commander General Hawk. Hawk agrees with Duke to play along in an attempt to defuse the situation before the public learns of the attack. He is kidnapped by The Lunartix and GI Joe can do nothing as the ship disappears into space using some unknown technology to jump dimensions.
--The Phoenix Guard plan is approved and a team is thrown together surprisingly fast. The team consists of former GI Joe members as well as new recruits chosen from active military rosters. USMC Brigadier General Carmen Campbell is selected as the team's commander, daughter of Senator Campbell. She takes a personal interest in the development of the team and cultivates relationships to further the team's purpose. James McCullen offers his services to help her with weapons supply and additional personnel as needed without taxing the US population in this latest military venture.

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