Scarlett was born in Atlanta,
Georgia where her father and three older brothers were martial arts
instructors.
Scarlett got along well with her father and brothers, beginning her
training
at nine years of age.
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Scarlett, age 9
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They discovered that Scarlett had a
natural affinity
for the ancient fighting arts and was only fifteen when she was awarded
a black belt. Scarlett and her sister Siobhan never got along well, and
they drifted apart as they got older. After joining the Army, Scarlett
received a varied education, attending Covert Ops School, Marine Sniper
School, Special Air Service School and the Marine Tae Kwon Do
symposium.
Scarlett has participated in many martial arts tournaments and is also
qualified as an Army hand-to-hand combat trainer. She is proficient in
various weaponry, including the XK-1 power crossbow and many martial
arts
weapons such as throwing stars, garrote and ka-bar.
Scarlett was one of the original
members of the Joe team and one of her first assignments was training
the
new team in hand-to-hand combat. During one such exercise, Scarlett
first
met Snake-Eyes. She bested most of the team's members, but she
recognized
that Snake-Eyes was a superior fighter, yet had allowed Scarlett to
beat
him. This had Scarlett intrigued and they became close rather quickly.
On a mission into the middle
east, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, Rock 'n Roll and Grunt were sent to save
George
Strawhacker from Cobra. On the way, a helicopter accident forced the
Joes
to bail out, but Scarlett was stuck in the burning chopper. Snake-Eyes
stayed behind to save her. He saved Scarlett, but a window exploded in
his face, scarring him and damaging his vocal cords. Scarlett was
knocked
unconscious and when she came to, she found herself on the medivac
helicopter
and discovered Snake-Eyes and the others had continued on without her.
Afterward, they became even closer.
Scarlett became a
vital member
of the G.I. Joe team, even commanding some missions from the very
beginning. During many missions together,
Scarlett and Clutch had an antagonistic
relationship. She saw him as little more than a chauvanist pig, and
Clutch
gave her little reason to think otherwise. Despite this, they worked
well
together during a mission to protect an American ambassador who they
thought
was to be assassinated by Cobra. The diplomat turned out to be the
assassin,
intent on killing the other nation's ambassador to spark a war.
Fortunately,
the assassin was stopped thanks to Scarlett's good timing and a
bullet-proof
vest. Along with Zap and Snake-Eyes, Scarlett was one of the first Joes
to set foot and Springfield, a Cobra-controlled town hidden in the
United
States. There, they met a mysterious boy named Billy, who would later
be
revealed to be Cobra Commander's son, helped them escape.Unfortunately,
they never learned the actual location of Springfield. Scarlett
continued
on with the team and was captured by Storm Shadow, the Cobra ninja.
Soon
afterward she was rescued by Snake-Eyes. It was later discovered that
Storm
Shadow was Snake-Eyes' close friend from Vietnam -- Tommy Arashikage --
and that they had trained in the same ninja clan.
At the opening
ceremony for
the renovated Pit, Scarlett and several other original Joes received
promotions. For a time Scarlett was taken
off active duty and served behind a desk
in the Pit. During this
time, Scarlett and Snake-Eyes were on leave, riding
the Staten Island ferry when they were attacked by a group of Cobra's
Crimson
Guardsmen led by Fred Broca II. Snake-Eyes
and Scarlett fought off the
Cobras, sending Fred II into the river. Later,
Snake-Eyes and Stalker discovered
Fred II was really Wade Collins, a friend of theirs from Vietnam. They
helped Wade leave Cobra and start a new life for himself. Scarlett
returned
to active duty and Springfield when the Joes invaded the town.
During
the battle, Scarlett was wounded. When Doc told her she was "out of
this
fight," she answered: "Not by a long shot! Just give me a rifle and
point
me in the right direction!" After that battle, Storm Shadow burst into
a training session in the Pit. He was
looking for Snake-Eyes and Scarlett
tried to protect him. Storm Shadow wasn't out to get Snake-Eyes. He was
asking his clan brother's forgiveness and vowed to end the search for
vengeance
that had nearly destroyed him. Snake-Eyes gave him the key to his cabin
in the High Sierras to let him sort out his life. Scarlett and
Snake-Eyes
let Storm Shadow escape the Pit, knowing he never intended to harm
anyone.
Scarlett led a
mission into
the nation of Sierra Gordo when Snake-Eyes was captured there by Cobra
forces. The Joes were unable to rescue Snake-Eyes and he was taken to
the
Cobra Consulate in New York. With Storm Shadow's help, Scarlett
infiltrated
the Consulate and rescued Snake-Eyes. Months later, when Stalker, Snow
Job and Quick Kick were thrown into a gulag in the Soviet country of
Borovia,
Snake-Eyes and Scarlett defied orders to rescue Stalker and the others.
They faked their own deaths, fooling even Lady Jaye and Flint, who had
accompanied them on vacation in Grenada. They and the Blind Master went
undercover in a circus that was traveling around eastern Europe, posing
as acrobats and knife-throwers. When they returned home, Hawk decided
not
to reprimand them. Flint was angry that they had left he and Lady Jaye
out of the mission and fooled them into thinking they were dead. He
came
to realize that Scarlett and Snake-Eyes only kept them out if it to
protect
them. Over the next few years, the four of them would become close
friends. Shortly after their return
Snake-Eyes and Scarlett went on a special mission into Asia along with
Chuckles and Iceberg. The group's mission went on for months when many
possible extraction sites were compromised. As a result,
they were not
a part of the Cobra Island civil war and the subsequent rescue of Hawk
from corrupt government officials. After that mission's conclusion,
Scarlett,
Snake-Eyes, Flint and Lady Jaye went on an undercover mission into
eastern
Europe to monitor Cobra activity in the region.
Eventually, Snake-Eyes decided it was time to try and undergo
reconstructive
surgery to repair his damaged face. He only wanted to be able to be in
public with Scarlett like some many other "normal" people could do. During
his surgery in Bern, Switzerland, Scarlett was attacked by the Baroness
who thought Snake-Eyes had killed her brother in Vietnam back in 1968. To spite him, the Baroness shot Scarlett in the head,
putting her into
a coma for months. While unconscious, Scarlett's sister Siobhan tried
to
have her sister taken off life support. Meanwhile, Storm Shadow sent
the
despondent Snake-Eyes into Borovia on a mission, hoping he could forget
what had happened to Scarlett. When Scarlett awoke from her coma, she
almost
killed Storm Shadow, believing he had caused Snake-Eyes' death.
Snake-Eyes
survived his mission, and he and Scarlett were reunited. Soon afterward,
they both participated in the Battle of Benzheen, during which many
Joes
lost their lives.
Scarlett's next assignment
was to pretend she betrayed the Joes and joined Cobra. Even Snake-Eyes
learned of the plan after Scarlett had left. Scarlett was rescued from
Cobra during a major battle in Millville, a town taken over by Cobra.
The
Joes liberated the town and Scarlett returned to the team. Scarlett and
Snake-Eyes soon took some much deserved time off and stayed at
Snake-Eyes'
cabin in the High Sierras. Unfortunately, Snake-Eyes was soon forced
back
into duty. Despite being upset, Scarlett gave Snake-Eyes her blessing
since
the mission was to rescue Storm Shadow. In what was one of Snake-Eyes'
last missions for the Joe team, he attacked Destro's castle in Eastern
Europe. Cobra Commander had taken over the castle and brainwashed Storm
Shadow and many other former Cobra members. They now swore allegiance
to
Cobra and fought against the Joes against their will. Snake-Eyes
attempted
to free Storm Shadow, but failed. Soon afterward, the word came from
the
Pentagon that the Joe team was being shut down. At an emotional
ceremony
at Joe headquarters in Utah, the Joes "retired the colors" leaving the
Pit an abandoned army base.