G.I. Joe: America's Elite - Plot Synopsis

Plot Synopsis

One year after the previous series, satellites begin falling out of orbit and crashing into major cities, resulting in massive civilian casualties. The G.I. Joe Team, deactivated at the end of the previous series, is reactivated to deal with the new threat. Led by General Joseph Colton, the core roster initially consists of Duke, Flint, Roadblock, Scarlett, Shipwreck, Snake Eyes, Stalker and Storm Shadow. Their new headquarters is located in Yellowstone National Park and is code named "The Rock".

Thinking that Cobra is responsible for the attacks, General Colton, Duke and Storm Shadow interrogate the Baroness, who is being held in a classified sub-level of The Rock. Duke, Scarlett and Snake Eyes all leave to conduct solo investigations, while the rest of the team follows a lead to Puerto Rico. They discover the attacks were made possible by Destro's M.A.R.S. operation, and call in Firewall to help retrofit the VLA in New Mexico, in order to counter the tractor beam that is pulling the satellites out of orbit. Despite an attack by Iron Grenadier robots, the G.I. Joe team tracks the signal to Oregon, and discovers that a man named Vance Wingfield, who once attempted to start a nuclear war and was presumed dead, is behind the attacks.

Snake Eyes returns, to find that Scarlett has been captured while investigating Cesspool. Unable to authorize a rescue mission for Scarlett, General Colton puts the team on leave from active duty. They discover Scarlett on Destro's submarine in the Pacific Ocean, and succeed in rescuing her, but Destro escapes and Snake Eyes dies during the operation. General Colton meets the team at a U.S. Naval base in Kyushu, Japan, where Kamakura arrives to discover that Snake Eyes' body is missing. The Joes investigate information on all Cobra enclaves, in order to recover Snake Eyes. Storm Shadow confronts Major Bludd in Australia, and the team encounters a Cobra enclave in Canada. Meanwhile, the Red Ninja Clan, under the control of Sei-Tin, has stolen Snake Eyes' body in order to resurrect him. The Joes track the Red Ninjas to China, where Sei-Tin takes control of Snake Eyes, and uses him to exact his revenge against Storm Shadow and Kamakura. They eventually defeat Sei-Tin and return Snake Eyes to normal.

Snake Eyes renounces his ninja background and returns to his "commando" persona. Flint leaves the team. General Colton confronts Hawk to find out where Duke has been. He sends the Joes to Peru, where they take out a Cobra cell and rescue Spirit, who had also been working on a classified mission for Hawk. Meanwhile Cobra Commander, who has been rebuilding his forces since the end of the previous series, infiltrates the U.S. government by disguising himself as White House Chief of Staff Garrett Freelowe. He tries to convince the President to shut down the G.I. Joe team. When he fails, he creates a new team called the Phoenix Guard led by General Philip Rey, a former G.I. Joe commander, and consisting of Friday (Zarana), Halo (Wild Weasel), High Tide (Copperhead), Mech (Scrap-Iron), and Snake-Eater (Firefly). They initially upstage G.I. Joe, by beating them to a Cobra base in Utah, before the government sends them to take over The Rock and displace the G.I. Joe team. Before they arrive, Storm Shadow leaves for parts unknown, but the Phoenix Guard infiltrates The Rock, and manages to capture Roadblock, Shipwreck, Stalker and Hawk. The remaining Joes fight off the attack, as Duke finally returns, and General Rey discovers the true identities of the Phoenix Guard members. G.I. Joe finally captures most of the Phoenix Guard, but the Baroness escapes during the fight, and after the failed attack on G.I. Joe headquarters, Cobra Commander abandons the White House.

General Rey goes on a sabbatical following the invasion of The Rock, to fill in some of the holes in his memory. Duke accompanies General Rey, because he does not trust his intentions. During the sabbatical, General Rey and Duke discover that Zandar was involved, and travel to the Florida Everglades. They learn that one of Zandar's aliases was hired to broker a deal between The Coil and a group of Army generals known as "The Jugglers". This leads them to General Rey's psychiatrist Dr. Scott Stevens, who reveals that General Rey is a clone of Serpentor. Dr. Stevens is then revealed to be Cobra hypnotist Crystal Ball, who has brainwashed General Rey, and commands him to kill Duke. General Rey breaks free from Crystal Ball's control with Duke's help.

Meanwhile, the Baroness pursues her campaign of revenge against her betrayers, Cobra Commander and Wraith. During her quest, she locates and horribly disfigures the Cobra surgeon Scalpel, in order to find Wraith's location. She also enlists the aid of Major Bludd. While the Joes find Scalpel barely alive, the Baroness finds Wraith in a club in Prague, and lures him into a cemetery where she confronts and defeats him, shooting him in the head. She trades his armor to the Red Shadows in exchange for information on the whereabouts of Cobra Commander. Flint, who is tracking Red Shadows' leader Wilder Vaughn, spots the Baroness with Vaughn and alerts G.I. Joe. Hoping to throw the G.I. Joe team off the Baroness' trail, Major Bludd raids an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, but he is captured by the Joes. The Baroness locates the Commander in Honduras, but finds that Destro, her husband, is also present. Spirit and Snake Eyes also track Flint to the Baroness' location, where the three of them are attacked by Black Out. After a brief fight, Destro agrees to trade the M.A.R.S. corporation, his Iron Grenadier forces, and his eldest son Alexander to Cobra Commander, in exchange for his and the Baroness' baby. Cobra Commander also avoids capture, by revealing that he possesses the personal information of every G.I. Joe agent, because of his time working in the White House.