At the risk of slowly approaching the “geekdom” line and then taking a running leap over it, this question came to my mind last night as I opened up my two latest acquisitions from ToysRUs.com.  I have so far been unable to find any of the new Marvel Universe or Wolverine Origins figures locally, so I took the plunge and ordered Iron Man and Daredevil from ToysRUs.com.  Yeah, they ended up costing me more than I would pay at retail, but I just had to see what the big deal was.  And, well, I quickly saw what the big deal was.  These figures kicked ass.  For almost my entire toy collecting life I’ve dreamed of having Marvel comics characters who could seamlessly integrate with my G.I. Joe universe.

After I caught the latest “Creature Double Feature” as a youngster with the live action Spider-Man series on any given lucky Saturday afternoon, I would invariably pick up my ’83 Snake Eyes and use him as Spider-Man, swinging him around the living room.  After all, even after I owned the Secret Wars figures, they couldn’t move like G.I. Joe’s, and Snake Eyes fit the bill.  Well, now, not only do I have Marvel figures that are the same size and scale, but they can actually move.  Nirvana.  But, what’s the point of these Marvel figures integrating and moving like Joes if they can’t actually co-exist with the Joes?  Well, as I thought about that last night, some various other thoughts sprang to mind.  Be forewarned, this is an extremely nerdy exercise in alternate realities, and something I’m almost a bit ashamed to say I put that much time into thinking about last night…

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This alternate reality is a reality, on the surface, that is much like our own, yet beneath it is a far, far different animal.  In this alternate reality, there are at least two races of intergalactic beings that have shaped the progress of our world to date, the Kree and the Skrull.  These two breeds have been at war for nearly all time, far before the birth of planet Earth.  However, not all of these two races detest each other, and long ago, a group of Kree and Skrull attempted to form a treaty.  Rather than embracing their attempts at peace, however, this group was cast from their galaxy, and wound up on Earth just before the birth of man.

Stranded on a desolate world, this small clan started anew, creating a “mixed race” of Kree and Skrull, born to resemble humans, but with insect and reptile capabilities, and born into legend as the immortal race “COBRA La”.  No one really knows where the name came from, but these people were revered as Gods by early man, however their existence slowly faded from history as the centuries wore on.

Even though the world at large no longer knew of the mythical race of immortal beings born from the breeding of alien races, certain determined individuals have uncovered proof of their existence, and the result was a secret group of people determined to bring back the rebirth of COBRA La.  So convinced they are of COBRA La’s higher sense of being and consciousness, these people will almost do anything to bring back the glory of their rule, no matter what the end result is for the planet at large.

Several decades ago, two men came together with similar goals, devoted to discovering all they could about these ancient beings…these two groups who formed in an almost religious desire to be closer to COBRA La…groups named “Hydra” and “COBRA”.  The most infamous leader of these groups was the power hungry dictator calling himself the Red Skull.  So driven was he by resurrecting the glory of the ancient ones, that he brought his group public and wreaked havoc on the world at large in the name of COBRA and COBRA La.  But the Skull had certain advantages that many who had come before did not have.  Unknown to the world at large, the Red Skull had uncovered a cache of Kree, Skrull, and COBRA La artifacts that provided an almost endless wealth of technological marvels and highly advanced weaponry.  So savage was his drive and so brutal were his techniques that the United States had no choice but to form a group specifically designed to battle these terrorists.  And so, the Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage Logistics Directorate was formed, conceived specifically to battle these supremely equipped and capable terrorists.  The U.S. and S.H.I.E.L.D. were so motivated to stop this new threat that they began human testing on genetic engineering in order to create the perfect soldier to battle COBRA’s highly advanced technology.

They had limited success, but their success was enough that their premier super solder “Captain America” (as well as his team of super-powered Invaders) successfully infiltrated the Red Skull’s European complex and brought the organization to its knees.  S.H.I.E.L.D. quickly moved in and appropriated the technology, and made swift moves to completely eradicate all records of COBRA’s existence.  They took the alien artifacts for themselves, and made every attempt to wipe the history books clean of COBRA, COBRA La, and the Alien races that came to Earth so many years ago.

Now, it’s the 21st Century…S.H.I.E.L.D. exists as an ultra top secret intelligence agency, led by Colonel Nick Fury and powered by highly advanced technology and weaponry.  They have a nearly unlimited self-sufficient budget totally off the books and their money comes in via backdoor financing from high end technology firms and weapons suppliers funneled in through offshore banks and back doors.  Walking the tightrope of ethics, S.H.I.E.L.D. oversees all suspected supernatural or potentially alien existence and has quietly saved the world several dozen times over the past 60 years.

But it’s a new century…and a new threat has emerged.  A new COBRA La devotee has uncovered secret Red Skull files, and uncovered secret genetic records proving the existence of the alien races and COBRA La, and has begun utilizing these records and the hidden tech to finance and reform the COBRA organization.  Where the Red Skull focused on purely using the mechanical, this new COBRA Commander is mixing the tech and the genetics and has formed a top secret “Weapon X” program for genetic engineering and enhancements.  Finding the Skull’s records uncovered S.H.I.E.L.D.’s history and how they used superior soldiers to combat superior tech, and has become devoted to perfecting both.

Working with MARS Industries and several genetic firms and many clean front companies, COBRA Commander has amassed a fortune of wealth and followers, and is preparing to launch a subversive attack on the fabric of American life, with the ultimate goal to take over the world and bring back the glory of COBRA La.

Fury has caught wind of this new COBRA organization and quickly understood the gravity of the situation.  In a pre-emptive move, he enlisted the help of longtime ally and former Howling Commando Clayton Abernathy to form a top secret military branch of the Intelligence Directorate.  Just as top secret as S.H.I.E.L.D. itself, this military branch, called G.I. Joe was formed purely to battle COBRA and it’s only a matter of time until the two organizations come head-to-head.

Meanwhile, the world itself has become an unseen melting pot.  Slowly the highly advanced alien technology as permeated “real life” and certain technology firms are using uncovered alien tech to build and design top-flight weapons and instruments.  COBRA’s “Weapon X” program is creating super powered soldiers, some who are not all that happy to be what they are…  and mingled within the human race are descendents of an ancient Kree/Skrull/Human clan, and many of them have passed the alien bloodlines down to their descendents, and these people are exhibiting strange powers and abilities.  Sooner than everyone thinks, these “mutants” will be revealed to the world, and an alternate reality that looks a lot like our own will soon come to a boiling point of highly advanced technology, super-powered alien descendents, with G.I. Joe and COBRA in the middle of it all.

Which side are you on?

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See, I told you it was nerdy.  :shifty:

Just couldn’t help myself…once I got some of these 1:18 Marvel figures in my hands, I had to find a way to make them work with the G.I. Joe universe…  I suppose in a perfect world, I’d explore this in dio-story format, but somehow I don’t see that happening.  😉  Just an interesting way of looking at the two toylines and getting them a bit more “integrated”.  We’ll see if I decide to break it down character-by-character eventually…