At the end of the fan favorite Sunbow episode, "Worlds Without End", Steeler, Grunt, and Clutch decide to stay behind in the alternate dimension (in which Cobra has conquered the world) to help rebuild G.I. Joe. Steeler wanted to stay behind, since his girlfriend in the "original" dimension dumped him shortly before the episode and now had a new beloved girlfriend in the double-agent Baroness, along with truly understanding that it mattered which side of the Joe vs. Cobra conflict won. Grunt decided to stay behind to apparently keep his friend, Steeler, company and not let him get all the "glory". Clutch seemed to want to stay behind mainly for the challenge.

Besides the thought by certain fans that these characters stayed behind to simply reduce the roster of characters that Sunbow/Hasbro had to deal with (or share screen time), I was somewhat skeptical even as a kid that these three Joes in particular could pull off a G.I. Joe rebirth by themselves, even with the Baroness and the resistance movement's help (whose numbers were never disclosed). Although Steeler is listed as an officer on his filecard, in the Sunbow series, I never really saw him show any leadership potential. Despite his catharsis at the end of the episode, he still seemed to be a self-absorbed character. Grunt seemed to be just that, a grunt/foot soldier with no particularly useful specialties. Despite being portrayed as somewhat layed back, Clutch seemed to be the most qualified of the three to help rebuild G.I. Joe with his mechanical skills (to help put the base and vehicles back in fighting condition) and sheer determination.

Although perhaps having one more Joe stay behind wouldn't make a huge decisive difference, the Joes in that dimension could use all the help they could get. So among the Joes that were blasted into the alternate dimension, who do you feel should have stayed behind as well to help rebuild G.I. Joe?

Among the possible candidates, I felt that Airtight would have been the best choice for the fourth Joe to stay behind. With his scientific knowledge (and the proper equipment), he may have been able to come up with a biological (warfare) strategy for taking down Cobra, since based on the condition of the Joe Headquarters and their vehicles (and the lack of known living Joes in that dimension), I don't know if the Joes and the resistance movement could have freed the world with sheer firepower or numbers. The Baroness's strategy to pit Cobra Commander and Destro against each other showed that the best way to defeat Cobra (in that universe) is through non-brute force tactics. Thinking about the other candidates, I also considered Flint, because of his leadership skills, the Joes and the resistance movement seemed to really need a strong leader to rally around. However, I couldn't see him being as effective of a leader if Lady Jaye didn't stay behind with him. And since this poll is asking for only one Joe, I didn't choose Flint.

I am curious to see your votes and hear your thoughts, especially with the "Fan Favorites DVD Episodes" 25th Anniversary Figure Set on the horizon later this year.

Blitzkrieg

I voted for Barbecue because the other 4 are Joes I actually like.

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I voted Airtight cuz I agree with you, Blitz. He just makes more sense to me than any of the others.

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Ditto,
There seemed to be a lot of chemical weapon damage on that earth, so to me he seemed to be the most logical choice.

Interesting question

I'd say Airtight for the reasons already stated.

Flint and Lady Jaye should stay together and Footloose was the Joes' "new" Grunt

I voted Flint.

Biological solutions tend to kill EVERYTHING as opposed to just the enemy. I don't think that's the way to go here. I think a solid plan with a growing resistance is the correct course of action. And Flint is the man to lead it.

Also be aware that if Flint stayed, Lady Jaye most likely would too.

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They all should have stayed, except Footloose - to go tell their world what happened. "It's like Karma, I guess."

My favorite episode, by far.

I think Footloose's character was seeking enlightenment and a higher purpose in life by joining the army. He could adequately lead a resistance force and invigorate the population with his knowledge of eastern philosophy. His purpose in life could be being the savior of a dying planet as opposed to being a "C" list Joe infantryman.

Airtight is one of the few CBR members of the joe team loosing him would weaken the task force. Flint is an A lister and Lady Jaye is low a list high b list. Barbecue going home stands with the same reasoning as Airtight.

Just one mans opinion

Plus I really like barbecue!

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I would hope most of them would rather stay and try to make a difference in a world that needs change. I would like to see only barbecue go back just to relay a message back to our world joes that everyone else is currently good, and are fighting a battle with cobra. But if you had to choose 1 joe to stay behind, then I think I'd have to vote Flint. Sorry Lady Jaye... My opinion, you need someone with high intellegance. Some leadership qualities go far too. But he needs to be able to think outside the box. He needs to be able to do some underhanded things in order to get some victories. But, I'm not sure Flint could do that.

I was going through all the episodes recently. Those guys really didn't stay behind. They must have somehow returned because more than once I saw them in the background in the later episodes. None of them had any speaking roles but they were definately back.

I've noticed this, too. My explanation: the episode itself takes place in two alternate universes, both outside the Sunbow continuity.

I don't consider Sunbow animation "errors" as continuity errors. They were probably just used as "fillers" by the animators to represent a (large) group of Joes. Although I never really noticed in the Joe cartoon, the Transformers cartoon was riddled with these type of errors, Autobots/Decepticons not being where they were supposed to be (like being in two different battles in two different places at the same time), an Autobot being in one shot and then never being seen again (see Snarl in Transformers: The Movie), and the first one of ridiculous scale I noticed as a little kid was Skydive (an Autobot Aerialbot) being among a group of Decepticons that are ready to attack the Autobots on the planet of Goo in "Five Faces of Darkness".
So for me, those 3 Joes never left as I believe was intended.

Blitzkrieg

Ya the animation in the 3rd season of Transformers has a lot more errors than previous seasons.
Usually they used green shirts as fillers for large groups of Joes. As the roster grew more regular characters were added to the background.

Another reason that I chose Airtight is based on how underused he was in the 86-87 season with the introduction of Lifeline. The last time I remember Airtight appearing in an episode (in the foreground) is during the Arise, Serpentor, Arise mini-series where Airtight tried to defend Napoleon's tomb and got knocked out cold by the Crimson Twins' acrobatics. The animators didn't even bother drawing in Airtight's closed eyes inside his helmet when he hit the ground. I would have rather remembered Airtight (one of my favorite Joes) as fighting alongside the resistance movement in the alternate dimension.

Blitzkrieg