Machine Gunner
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File Name: Craig
S. McConnel
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Birthplace: Malibu, California
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Rank: Sergeant First Class
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Primary Military
Specialty:
Infantry
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Secondary
Military Specialty:
PT Instructor
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Status: Reserve
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First Appearance:
G.I.
JOE # 1 (July 1982)
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Living in Malibu, Rock
&
Roll was a surfer before enlisting. While still a
teenager, he
was surfing with his friend Manny, when the boy surfed under broken
dock and was badly injured. A man pulled Manny out of the water and
carried him to shore, where he saw to the boy's chest wound, making
sure he survived long enough for the paramedics to arrive. Rock &
Roll learned the man had been a famous local hero known as to surfers
as Shotgun Don before he became an Army Ranger. The incident left a
lasting impression on young Rock & Roll that would eventually lead
him to enlist. Rock & Roll was also a weight lifter and played bass
guitar in several local rock bands. After joining the army, his
attraction to loud noises made him a perfect machine gunner. After a
short time in the Army, he was assigned to the G.I.
Joe team. Rock & Roll tends to enjoy his job, and is extremely
loyal to his teammates.
Rock & Roll was one of
the original 13 members of the G.I. Joe team. Shortly after the Joe
team
was assembled, Rock & Roll was on the mission during which Snake-Eyes
was disfigured and lost his ability to speak. He was part of many of
the
Joes' major missions including the rescue of Dr. Adele Burkhart and the
defense of the U.S. space shuttle against a Cobra
attack. During those
early missions, Rock & Roll was often seen driving the RAM
motorcycle.
He was also one of the Joes assigned to guard Cobra
Commander after his
capture. Rock & Roll and the Joes were taken by surprise when the
Cobra
ninja, Storm Shadow, rescued the Cobra
leader. After the re-dedication
of
G.I. Joe headquarters, aka "The Pit", Rock
& Roll and many of the
other
original Joes were taken off active duty. Shortly afterward, while on
leave
for a trip to Malibu, Breaker, Clutch and Rock & Roll were nearly
killed
when the Dreadnoks ran Rock & Roll's
classic 1956 Bel Air Nomad off
the road. The ambulance that the three Joes were riding in came upon
the
Dreadnoks and Rock & Roll took control of the ambulance, chasing
after
the Dreadnoks. They captured Buzzer, and later recovered from their
injuries.
Rock & Roll
returned to
the field during the Joes' invasion of the Cobra-controlled town of
Springfield.
Later, the Joe team was on the losing side of the Cobra Island civil
war.
A group of corrupt generals in the Pentagon denied having any knowledge
of the debacle. When many members of the team were unrightfully taken
into
custody, several other Joes went underground, including Rock &
Roll.
Along with Roadblock, he was one of the
organizers of the mission to
rescue Hawk and General Hollingsworth when
they were
arrested for acting
without
orders and entering the civil war. During the rescue, Hawk and
Hollingsworth
were cleared of all charges and the corrupt generals responsible were
exposed. Some time later, while on leave, Rock & Roll
and Clutch once
again unsuspectingly ran afoul of Cobra. They drove to Broca
Beach
in New Jersey only to discover that the town was run by Cobra. The two
Joes tried to escape but were captured. They were held prisoner in the
town and brainwashed. They were eventually rescued, but they and the
other
Joes knew nothing of what Cobra had done to them. Once they were inside
the "Pit" in Utah, Cobra activated Clutch and Rock & Roll's
"programming,"
sending them into a "berserker rage". The
two Joes overcame the
brainwashing
because, according to team psychologist Psyche-Out, their morality
overrode the
programming.
Rock & Roll
was later
one of
the first Joes sent into Trucial Abysmia on a mission which led to the
Joes' involvement in the Battle of Benzheen. During the fighting, many
members of the team lost their lives. He
was part of a team sent in to
defend Destro's castle in Trans-Carpathia from a Cobra attack. Later,
Rock
& Roll was a part of the Joes last major mission, which exposed the
town of Milville as a Cobra front. From that mission, Rock & Roll
and
a few other Joes traveled to Washington, D.C. Rock & Roll and Stalker
took the opportunity to visit Arlington National Cemetary and pay their
respects to their fallen teammates and friends. From its inception,
Rock
& Roll was an integral part of the G.I. Joe team, and remained with
the team until it was disbanded in 1994.
In 2001, the G.I. Joe team
was reinstated by the government in reponse to Cobra's return to the
United
States. Duke brought many of the older Joes to
help train and lead a
batch
of new recruits and Rock & Roll became one of the team's field
commanders. He
took part in a number of missions including the battle against Cobra
troops in Washington, D.C. and the fight against a Cobra BAT rampaging
through downtown Chicago. Just
before rejoining the Joes, a group of Joes met up with Rock & Roll
to reminisce, but they stumbled upon a hidden
cell
of Cobras in a small town, true to Rock & Roll's luck when on
leave. After a brief fight, the Joes escaped and the Joes returned to
duty. Rock & Roll was later one of the
many Joes to take
part
in the battle against the forces of a revived Serpentor
on Cobra
Island. Some time later, members of the Joe team fought Cobra
forces that
were drawn into an attack on a train guarded by the Joes, believing
that Destro was being held prisoner
onboard. At
the battle's end, Hawk was
shot in the back by Cobra Commander and paralyzed. In Hawk's absence,
the Jugglers began to take control of the team to reign it in, if
not disband it altogether. Eventually, the team's roster was cut down
to only a dozen Joes, and Rock & Roll was one of many reassigned to
other units. After the remaining Joes stopped a plot by Cobra to
unleash
the weapon known as the Tempest, and defeated a new threat, the Red
Shadows, the military again disbanded the team.
One year later, the Joe
team was reformed with a smaller roster of active members. Rock &
Roll,
like most former Joes, was made a reserve member of the new team. Rock
& Roll was called back to the team to assist Jinx
in infiltrating
the
Tokyo headquarters of Hayatu Toba -- a Japanese businessman who was
secretly building an Army to topple his country's government. Though
the mission called for stealth
and subterfuge, the only Joes available to assist Jinx were Clutch,
Rock & Roll, Gung-Ho and Wild Bill
-- none of whom are noted for their stealth or
subtlety. Instead, they all posed
as obnoxious businessmen meeting with Toba and started to fight amongst
themselves in his office to distract security. They were soon captured
and learned that Toba's group was involved with Destro's forces,
represented by Armada. When Toba refused to
follow her orders, she killed him and started the coup without him. As
the rebel forces rolled through the streets of Tokyo, many of the
soldiers turned on each other. Budo had worked to subvert many of them
away from Toba's control, and they and the Joes put a stop to the
attempted coup. Rock & Roll and his teammates decided to spend some
extra
time in Tokyo after the mission, no doubt getting into trouble on their
own.
Artwork: G.I. Joe 1991 trading card (front
and back);
G.I. JOE vol. 2 #36 (interior) by Tim Seeley.
Appearances:
- G.I. JOE: #1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10,
11, 13, 14,
16-18, 20,
24, 25,
30, 33, 35, 49, 50, 52, 53, 61, 63, 78, 89, 90, 93, 97-100,
109,
110, 114, 120-123, 128, 129, 140, 141, 143-145,
155
- G.I.
JOE Yearbook: #2
- G.I.
JOE: Order of Battle: #2
- G.I. JOE vol. 2: #1, 2, 4,
11-15, 22-25, 36
- G.I. JOE: Battle Files: #1
- G.I. JOE: Special Missions: Tokyo
- G.I. JOE: Declassified: #1-3
(compiled with help from Bryon Hake)
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Action
figure/filecard links at YoJoe.com :
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