Scarlett (G.I. Joe) - Comics - Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Scarlett first appeared in the Marvel Comics series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #1 (June 1982).

In a flashback in G.I. Joe #27, it was revealed that Scarlett's first assignment on the G.I. Joe team was to train the new team in hand-to-hand combat. During the exercises, she met Snake Eyes for the first time. While she bested most of the team's members, she recognized that Snake Eyes was a superior fighter despite the fact that he had allowed her to beat him, allowing her to keep her dignity and respect with the other Joes. Scarlett was intrigued by his actions, and as a result, they became very close. On a mission in the Middle East, Snake Eyes, Scarlett, Rock 'n Roll, and Grunt were sent to save George Strawhacker from Cobra. On the way, the helicopter in which they were traveling began to malfunction, forcing Rock 'n' Roll and Grunt to bail out before it crashed. Scarlett remained stuck in the burning helicopter, however, and Snake Eyes stayed behind to save her. He rescued her, but a window exploded right in his face, scarring him and damaging his vocal cords. Despite his injuries, Snake Eyes convinced Hawk to let him continue with the mission.

Scarlett recovered from her injuries but Snake Eyes harbored no ill will and the two became even closer. This seemingly backfires in issue #135 when she angrily berates him for exclusion during the middle of training with other Joes ninjas. She abandons the team, all part of her plan to go undercover with Cobra. In G.I. Joe #138, Scarlett goes undercover with Cobra, though few officers in the organization believed her. As part of the cover, she is forced to believe that she has caused the death of Stalker and Hawk, the only Joe officers who know the truth behind her motivations.. While undercover, she takes part in the hunt for Destro and Baroness and confronts them when Snake-Eyes and Storm-Shadow rescue the two. To keep up the cover, Snake-Eyes impales her on his sword. The Cobra ninja Slice realizes that since the wound was not instantly fatal (Scarlett was verbally realizing she had not killed her friends) that Snake-Eyes had 'pulled' his attack. Therefore, Scarlett was still working for the G.I. Joe team.

Scarlett is badly injured again, when a vengeful Baroness, who thought Snake Eyes had killed her brother, shot her at point-blank range in the midst of kidnapping Snake Eyes. In comic continuity, Scarlett also has a sister Siobhan, who visited her after she lapsed into a coma. After her doctors proclaimed her brain-dead, Siobahn obtains a court-order to terminate Scarlett's life-support, but Scarlett eventually recovers from her coma and is reunited with Snake Eyes. The two would continue to serve G.I. Joe, even becoming members of the Ninja Force special team, until the Joe Team disbanded.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero writer Larry Hama says he always got a lot of positive fan mail from female readers for portraying Scarlett as "a fully competent female soldier" who was "never treated differently from any of the guys," instead of making her a damsel in distress.