The Silver Age of DC Comics introduced a metric ton of off-the-wall heroes. We’re talking about characters like Metamorpho, the Doom Patrol, and even Krypto the Superdog. But one of the most oddball heroes of the era was the artificial soldier, G.I. Robot, now a main character in the DCU Max animated series Creature Commandos. But as obscure a character as G.I. Robot is, there are actually six different iterations of him.
G.I. Robot #1, “Joe”
The first G.I. Robot appeared in 1962, at the height of DC’s Silver Age. Created by the Pentagon during World War II, this robot, given the name “Joe,” (Yes, as in G.I. Joe) debuted in Star Spangled War Stories #101, and lasted only until issue #103. A prototype, he mostly fought creatures on Dinosaur Island and giant Japanese robots, alongside a soldier named Mac in the South Pacific, a favorite DC location for their WWII stories. DC never revealed exactly what became of Joe, aside from later stories saying he went MIA. But in just a few years, a newer model replaced him.
G.I. Robot #2, “Mac”
A second G.I. Robot model appeared a few years later in the same series. This model was named Mac (after the original’s human soldier friend, one assumes). He lasted all of one issue, making his only appearance in Star Spangled War Stories #125. In this story, Mac is referred to as “Mac the Second,” and they mention how the previous G.I. Robot and his soldier buddy Mac went missing in action. This robot looks decidedly different from the previous one. He dies saving his comrade Reed on (you guessed it) Dinosaur Island. DC’s WWII heroes spent more time fighting dinosaurs than Nazis sometimes.
G.I. Robot #3, “J.A.K.E. 1”
The next time a G.I. Robot appeared, it would be fifteen years later. G.I. Robot 3.0 first appears in Weird War Tales #101 in 1981, during the last gasp of DC Comics’ old war titles. By the early ‘80s, WWII comics had waned significantly in popularity, and giving G.I. Robot a big role in Weird War Tales was an attempt at breathing new life into the title. Project M’s lead scientists created this third robot, and gave him the name Jungle Assault Killer Experiment,” or J.A.K.E. for short. Programmed for jungle combat in the Pacific Theater, they even gave J.A.K.E. a little robot dog named Cap. He only lasted a year in the comics, sacrificing himself to save his Marine buddies. His death occurred in Weird War Tales #111, in 1982. But another model was soon to come.
G.I. Robot #4, “J.A.K.E. II”
The fourth G.I. Robot was the most famous, and the one the character in Creature Commandos is largely based on. Another version of J.A.K.E., called J.A.K.E II, replaced his predecessor only two issues after the first one deactivated in Weird War Tales #113. He even got to headline the series, and fought a samurai robot. He became a member of the Creature Commandos, and actually survived the events of the war in 1945. Although supposedly going inactive after the Axis was defeated, he appeared in a fight scene in the 2008 event series Final Crisis. So someone turned the “On” switch back on old J.A.K.E. II at some point. It’s even been suggested that he survived until the 31st-century era of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
G.I. Robot #5, “J.A.K.E. 6.1”
The next G.I. Robot appeared in the 2008 series Checkmate, about a covert ops government agency existing within the DC Universe. This model went by J.A.K.E. 6.1, suggesting there were J.A.K.E. models 3-5 at some point. Checkmate members all have designations based on chess pieces, similar to Marvel’s Hellfire Club. Checkmate gave J.A.K.E. 6.1 the designation “Rook Delta.” Its programming was said to be that of the original WWII-era J.A.K.E., and his body was created using the part of the former android form of the head of Checkmate, Maxwell Lord. He only appeared twice, and no one knows what became of this version of G.I. Robot.
Another G.I. Robot appeared briefly in the 2008-2009 series The War that Time Forgot, which was an homage to the Weird War Tales comics of decades prior. The G.I. Robot in this series was also named Joe, just like the original one. But he only ever made this one appearance. Which may or may not be part of official continuity. So we’ll count him, but just barely. Will the character of G.I. Robot get a boost because of Creature Commandos? It could definitely happen. And if DC Comics decides to bring him back as well, they have plenty of G.I. Robot models to choose from.
