Snake-Eyes
| Strength 8a |
Agility 8b |
Intellect 8d |
Willpower 10a |
| Hand Size: Edge: |
5 (30) 3 |
Powers:
Ninja Powers (w): the prodigal son of the Arashikage ninja clan, Snake-Eyes can be considered a master ninja. In addition to his almost super human fighting prowess, he has demonstrated these supernatural, ninja trained powers to date:
* Arashikage Mind-Set (w): a rare and potent meditation technique, this mind-set allows one so trained in it, once he makes eye contact, to instantly free a body from any sort of brainwashing or other mind control power. This ability works at intensity 15.
* Psychic Link (w): Snake-Eyes has been shown to share a mental bond with his sword-brother, Tommy Arashikage, otherwise known as Storm Shadow. This bond works on a global level, and likely works at intensity 20, allowing one to sense when the other is in trouble, etc...
Equipment:
Blades (s): Snake-Eyes has, at all times, at least one of his twin ninja blades on his person. These swords, made by folding hard and soft metal in upon themselves hundreds and hundreds of times, have achieved an 18 material strength, and are +4 weapons in Snake-Eyes' hands.
Body Armor (s): most versions of Snake-Eyes' costume seem to incorporate some level of protection from injury, mostly in the form of Kevlar of some sort or another. This protection should be considered +2 in nature - enough to stop most regular bullets (in conjunction with his standard defense).
B.T.R. Fortress (v2) (i): one of Snake-Eyes' many assignments this year was, when necessary, the manning of a small B.T.R. reconfigurable field fortress. This handy, readily reassembled pre-fab facility had many features, and is detailed further in its own entry.
Eyewear (s): all of Snake-Eyes costumes incorporate some manner of eye cover, whether they be darkened goggles, a gridded visor, or even a nifty face plate or full helmet. Either way, these items offer him +5 protected senses (on his eyes).
Grenades (i): regardless of his costume (and he's had many), Snake-Eyes is typically armed with several grenades, of either incendiary or fragmentation type. Either will do damage at intensity 10, the first inflicting fiery damage and the latter inflicting edged weapon damage (like a burst of sharp things).
Either way, these grenades affect everybody within striking distance of their target.
the Joe-Com (i): this is a new device given to all Joes since the group's reactivation. This high-tech wristband functions as an audio/video transceiver with various other goodies built in to help a soldier on the go, and is described in greater detail in its own equipment entry.
Knives (s): in addition to his twin swords, Snake-Eyes usually carries at least one knife on his person. He can use this in melee or as a thrown weapon as a +2 weapon; if thrown, the knife uses Snake-Eyes' Agility for a trump instead of Strength, and can be used at up to firing distance.
Laser Rifle (v3) (a): this standard-issue laser rifle is a refinement of the original wielded by Flash, and was tested by Snow-Job extensively. It can be fired as a +5 weapon with every deadly blast, and can fire ten shots before its energy pack needs to be swapped out.
Ninja Lightning Cycle (v4) (i): this high speed, high performance motorcycle is built with everything a ninja like Snake-Eyes needs: durability, velocity, and of course a concealed missile launcher towards the front. It's described better in its own vehicular entry.
Nunchaku (v1) (s): Snake-Eyes has, on occasion, made use of a special, three piece nunchaku. Linked by chain, these three hard wooden sticks can be used to reach a target about five feet away from Snakes, and act as particularly painful +3 weapons.
Shuriken (a): Snakes often has several throwing weapons on him, and if they aren't knives, they'll invariably be throwing stars. He can use these as +2 weapons against his foes, striking anybody within firing distance with the deadly things.
Survival Gear (s): Snake-Eyes usually has a backpack full of useful survival gear, and what he doesn't have there, he carries on accessory belts. Such gear includes a compass, flashlight, nightvision goggles, emergency rations, and various maps to help him complete a mission.
Uzi 9mm (a): Snake-Eyes usually has one of these on him as well, a small and efficient hand-cannon that acts as a +4 weapon with a single shot, a +5 weapon with a small burst, or a +6 weapon upon expending a full clip on a hapless target.
Alternately, he's wielded a similar gun equipped with a silencer, which allows him to fire a gun without alerting everybody within the immediate area that gunplay is taking place. This silencer dampens his gunfire with intensity 3 ability.
Hindrances:
Monstrous: Snake-Eyes' face is horribly burnt, mangled, and otherwise scarred, thanks to a series of accidents and attacks upon his person. Anybody looking upon his bare face is likely to be repulsed on sight, and edge zero humans are at zero Willpower for the purpose of resisting the urge to flee on sight.
Physically Disabled - Mute: Snake-Eyes, thanks to the injuries that have scarred him so, lacks the ability to speak. When he attempts to do so, he usually inflicts extreme pain on himself, and the sound usually comes out as an unintelligible gurgle or scream. That's why he usually just uses sign language...
Skills:
Boxing (s): in addition to his ninja-trained martial arts prowess, Snake-Eyes can brawl with the best of 'em. This skill allows him to divide his pre-cardplay action score between two melee attacks, the last of which will occur as a contingent action.
Espionage (i): ever the stealthy, commando type, Snake-Eyes is good at this kind of work. Surveillance missions, information gathering operations, and even old-fashioned, hard-boiled detective work is his cup of tea. He can even tell when others are using this skill against him!
Flinging (a): though he's about the deadliest man on the planet up close, Snake-Eyes can still kill a man all too easily from a distance, even if he doesn't have a gun. Though he prefers knives and shuriken, the man can use virtually anything as a deadly projectile - anything.
Knives (s): while his sword-brother may be the best bowman on earth, Snake-Eyes is nonetheless one of the best knife fighters on the planet. In fact, while using a short blade, Snake-Eyes is allowed the use of an autotrump in combat, making him a virtual killing machine with one of these in hand!
Marksmanship (a): though instructed in the ninja arts, Snake-Eyes was combat trained in the wilds of Vietnam, and as such, his military training has given him the ability to use any gun - regular, semi-automatic, or fully automatic - at one difficulty level lower than is normally required.
Martial Arts (a): Snake-Eyes is a master ninja, one who would've inherited control of the Arashikage ninja clan if not for Zartan's evil actions. In addition to the standard benefits of this skill, Snake-Eyes receives the benefit of an autotrump while engaged in unarmed melee combat.
Martial Arts Weapons (s): while he naturally prefers a sword or knife in combat, Snake-Eyes is well-versed in the use of virtually all oriental weapons, be they nunchaku, sais, or whatever. He wields these items at one difficulty level lower than is normally required.
Military (w): Snake-Eyes began his life of mystery as an enlisted man, spending at least one tour in Vietnam. As such, he knows military protocol like the back of his hands, and can easily interpret military plans and give soldiers effective commands.
Resist Domination (w): a portion of Snake-Eyes' ninja training involved his learning how to control his mind as well as his body. As such, attempts to control Snake-Eyes' mind are made at one difficulty level higher than would otherwise be required.
Swords (s): while Snake-Eyes is one of the best knife-fighters in the world, bar none, his skill with the sword is only slightly less pronounced. He has taken out entire platoons of people with his swords, usually all at once, and makes attacks with such weapons at one difficulty level lower than is normally necessary.
Survival (w): more than anything else, Snake-Eyes is truly skilled at keeping himself alive. Regardless of the environment, situation, or even what appears to be his obvious destruction, Snake-Eyes always comes out on top. He's creepy that way.
Trance (w): Snake-Eyes has the ability to slow down his metabolic processes to the point that he appears dead. If he passes an average intensity Willpower action, opposed by a person's Intellect, said person will believe him to be deceased. While in such a trance, Snake-Eyes needs little or no air or food to survive.
Calling:
Peace of Mind: Snake-Eyes is a mysterious man, but it is well known that his life has been shattered dozens of times by tragedy. While he is always honing his body and mind into an incredibly lethal weapon, he constantly strives to make peace with those loved ones that are now gone.
Costume:
In '04, Snake-Eyes adopted his seventeenth field uniform. This one consists of a gray pair of loose-fitting trousers, black leather boots, a gray jacket with a blue collar with side fasteners instead of a zipper, gray leather gloves, black wrist guards, black leather belts and webbing to hold his equipment, and a gray face mask.
His eighteenth costume is very like the previous one, including a gray pair of loose-fitting trousers, gray leather boots, a gray jacket with a gray collar with side fasteners instead of a zipper, gray leather gloves, gray wrist guards, gray and gold leather belts and webbing to hold his equipment, and a gray face mask.
Snake-Eyes' nineteenth costume is a strange affair, including Army green trousers, brown leather boots, a black winter-weather jacket covered by brown webbing for his gear, a black leather belt, tan leather gloves, a black face mask, and of course a visor to protect his vision.
His twentieth uniform is another variation on his seventeenth. It includes a black pair of loose-fitting trousers, black leather boots, a black jacket with a blue collar with side fasteners instead of a zipper, black leather gloves, black wrist guards, black leather belts and webbing to hold his equipment, and a black face mask.
Snake-Eyes twenty first uniform is identical to his first. That suit consisted of a black spandex bodysuit, covering him from head to toe, adorned with gray leather straps holding grenades and other accessories. It also had black goggles and a black metal mouth plate.
His twenty second costume, on the other hand, is vaguely like his fourth. It includes a gray Kevlar jacket over his black bodysuit, as well as black leather boots and desert-camo patterned trousers. He also had a gray accessory-laden vest on, night vision goggles, and a black steel face plate.
Personality:
Snake-Eyes is an extremely complex, complicated individual. Essentially mysterious to the core, he was an enigma even before he hooked up with the Arashikage ninja clan. However, he is known to be extremely loyal to his friends, and is willing to go to any lengths - any at all - to protect them and his country from the forces of tyranny.
Real Name: unrevealed / classified
Occupation: GiJoe commando
Legal Status: U.S. citizen with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: GiJoe, Ninja Force (special Joe team)
Height: 6' 1"
Hair: blond
Eyes: blue
Weight: 175 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: other than his hideously scarred and burnt face, well, none.
Story:
Very little is known about the history of the man known to the world as Snake-Eyes. Details about his background and personal life are highly classified, though it is known that he grew up somewhere in the United States with his twin sister, Terri, and supposedly had a relatively normal childhood. When he turned eighteen, however, Snake-Eyes enlisted in the U.S. Army.
During this time, the Vietnam War was raging in Asia, and as such, Snake-Eyes found himself there. On one such mission, he (along with Tommy Arashikage and Lonzo Wilkinson) were in Saigon when their jeep driver was killed by two Vietnamese men on a motorcycle. Following the murderers, the three men found they'd struck again, killing the visiting Baron Eugen DeCobray in a nearby warehouse.
It turned out that these two guys were North Vietnamese agents, and Snake-Eyes did away with them. However, the Baron's daughter discovered her father dead, and Snake-Eyes standing over the body, and assumed that he was responsible, even after arms dealer James McCullen Destro the 23rd proved his innocence at the scene of the crime. This would come back to haunt him later.
Later, while on long range recon patrol with Tommy, Lonzo, Wade Collins, and two other men, Snake-Eyes uncovered an encampment of N.V.A. soldiers, and a terrible firefight ensued. After Collins and the other two men were apparently killed, Snake-Eyes, Tommy, and Lonzo fled to their extraction point, though during this trek Snake-Eyes was downed by enemy gunfire.
Though Lonzo assumed him a goner, Tommy went back and, defying all probability, managed to dodge each and every burst of gunfire intended to kill him and, once he'd picked his friend up, Snake-Eyes. Thanks to deft gunplay by Lonzo and the men in the helicopter that arrived to collect them, the men made their way to safety and, thanks to his wounds, Snake-Eyes was returned to America.
However, things were not to be as happy as were planned. When Snake-Eyes' family came to pick him up, they were struck by a disturbed, drunken Vietnam vet on the road, and killed. Having nothing to keep him in America, Snake-Eyes took seriously an offer Tommy had made him back in Vietnam, an offer concerning his family business and, after packing up his things, made his way to Japan.
Once he arrived, however, Snake-Eyes found that his friend's 'family business' was, in fact, the Arashikage ninja clan! Deeming him worthy of their training, the ninja clan made him as one of their own, and spent over three years training Snake-Eyes in their martial ways. Snake-Eyes was so proficient in his training, in fact, that the leader of the clan, the Hard Master, had plans for him.
Plans to make him the heir of the family business, despite the fact that Tommy was currently in that position. This never came to be, though, as enemies were moving against Snake-Eyes even then. You see, the brother of that veteran who killed Snake-Eyes' family was sort of funny in the head, and decided that somebody had to be to blame for his brother's death - and that somebody was Snake-Eyes.
In order to get his personal, irrational justice, this man hired two assassins - Firefly and Zartan - to deal with Snake-Eyes personally. Firefly failed to properly infiltrate the ninja clan - or so he said - and passed the buck on to Zartan, who (after a year of preparation) disguised himself as Tommy and, while the Hard Master demonstrated a technique called the 'cloak of the chameleon', Zartan fired on him.
Having been deceived by the cloak, Zartan thought that the Hard Master was Snake-Eyes - because he was imitating the sounds and mannerisms of the war hero while teaching said technique. While it appeared that Tommy was the killer of the Hard Master, the ninja lord himself cleared Tommy of the crime before his death, though nobody believed this - after all, it was Tommy's arrow that killed him.
You see, Zartan had stolen an arrow Tommy had used earlier in the day, while he practiced his use of the 'ear that sees', and used it in his attempt to kill Snake-Eyes. Being disguised as Tommy, he was seen leaving the scene of the crime, which was the exact time that Tommy himself disappeared from the Arashikage compound. That was, of course, because he was pursuing the Hard Master's killer.
Having lost another family, Snake-Eyes returned to the States, holing up in solitude in a cabin in the High Sierras with no one to keep him company but a wolf, Timber, who sort of adopted him. His sullen retreat was eventually interrupted when his old Army buddy, Lonzo, showed up with one Colonel Abernathy, and tried to recruit him into a special force being assembled by the military.
This force, the nascent GiJoe team, currently consisted of thirteen experts in various aspects of the United States military, and was designed to combat various terrorist threats, up to and including those who made use of nuclear weapons. As the team trained for its many duties, Snake-Eyes grew close to another team member, Scarlett, who was fascinated by his cool mystique and force of personality.
On the team's first actual mission, an attempt to rescue one George Strawhacker from middle eastern terrorists, Snake-Eyes was terribly burned thanks to a helicopter crash en route, his face and vocal chords mangled virtually beyond repair. However, Snake-Eyes insisted that the mission continue as planned, even though Scarlett herself was down for the count (having received a concussion in the crash).
Upon arriving, Snake-Eyes, Lonzo (under his new code-name, Stalker), Grunt, and Rock 'n Roll found out that the 'middle-eastern terrorists' were, in fact, agents of the terrorist group calling itself Cobra! Though this was a rather unpleasant surprise, the team didn't let this stop them (despite several gunshot wounds to the contrary), and managed to save Strawhacker from an untimely end.
It turns out that Snake-Eyes insisted on continuing the mission because Strawhacker was his sister's former fiancee. At any rate, having at least made some peace with his past thanks to this, Snake-Eyes stayed on with the Joe team despite his injuries. Of course, since he didn't want to show his mangled self to the general public, he took to wearing a black mask while on duty, and a rubber face mask otherwise.
The next significant mission that Snake-Eyes took part in was the rescue of Dr. Burkhart from Cobra, an operation that began a conflict between GiJoe and Cobra that has lasted since 1982 until the present day. During this time, Snake-Eyes has seen action in countless missions against Cobra and various other, minor terrorist outfits, several of which have had a deep impact on his life.
You see, after a few years, Snake-Eyes encountered the Cobra ninja calling himself Storm Shadow. It turns out that his name directly translates into Arashikage in Japanese, and investigating this, Snake-Eyes found out that Storm Shadow was, in fact, his sword-brother, Tommy! Tommy had apparently joined Cobra to discover the identity of the Hard Master's killer.
Some time later, Snake-Eyes and Scarlett found themselves attacked by several of Cobra's Crimson Guardsmen, led by a man who turned out to be Wade Collins - one of his fellow L.R.R.P. men thought to be long dead! The man tried to kill Snake-Eyes and Scarlett, but failed miserably. Undaunted, of course, he came back to plague Snake-Eyes and Stalker several months later.
You see, while visiting the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C., the two Joes discovered that Wade's name wasn't on the list of the dead, at which point he showed up out of nowhere and pulled a gun on them. Explaining what'd happened to him, he gained the sympathy of the two Joes, who convinced him to leave Cobra and to finally live for himself - a generally happy ending.
Several years later, with Snake-Eyes' help, Tommy discovered that the Hard Master's killer was Zartan, thanks to direct threats on Cobra Commander's life - though the Commander didn't bother to mention that it was him who hired the assassin to kill Snake-Eyes to begin with. The two ninjas then tried to kill the mercenary shape-shifter, though he escaped at the last minute to fight another day.
Having failed to gain vengeance, Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow then tried to escape from Cobra Island (where Zartan was hiding out), but Storm Shadow was gunned down in cold blood by the Baroness. Before he could die, Storm Shadow entered a special trance that allowed him to slow down his metabolic processes, in the hope that he could somehow be revived by Snake-Eyes at a later date.
He was revived, of course, but not by Snake-Eyes. You see, the insane Doctor Mindbender used Storm Shadow's body as one of the ingredients in his genetic cocktail to create the perfect Cobra soldier - Serpentor! Being so used managed to revive Storm Shadow, though he'd lost touch with his general humanity, and had the memories of earth's greatest conquerors swimming around in his head.
Needing help in sorting this out, Storm Shadow came to Snake-Eyes for help, and his friend gave him the keys to his (now wrecked) cabin in order to let him take the time he needed. Glad that the two were true friends again, Storm Shadow left for the time being, hoping to get his head back together eventually. While he did so, Snake-Eyes continued on with the Joe team.
Eventually, Snake-Eyes tried to get his face rebuilt via plastic surgery. However, the Baroness found out that he was the man she'd blamed for her father's death long ago, and attacked the hospital he was in while he was being operated on. During the attack she shot Scarlett in the head and tried to make off with Snake-Eyes, but he escaped capture while Destro proved again that the man was innocent.
Placated, the Baroness ended her assault, though the damage was done - Scarlett had been rendered comatose by her attack. Scared to lose yet another friend, Snake-Eyes couldn't leave her side, though Storm Shadow returned to get his mind off things, mostly by dragging him off to perform another mission in the eastern European nation of Borovia. His face was mangled yet again around this time.
Returning from Borovia, Snake-Eyes found Scarlett to be okay, and was (needless to say) very happy about this turn of events. He and his love stayed on with the Joe team for several more years, until things simply started to wear the two down, and after a mission that got them mixed up with both Cobra forces and the evil Cybertronian known as Megatron, the two martial artists took a break.
Returning to Snake-Eyes' cabin, he and Scarlett stayed there until Storm Shadow was captured and brainwashed by Cobra Commander and Doctor Mindbender. Sensing that his sword-brother was in trouble thanks to his psychic link with the man, Snake-Eyes then returned to action, without Scarlett, in order to rescue him. This turned out to be trickier than he thought.
You see, in order to replenish his ranks, Cobra Commander had in fact brainwashed Billy (his own son), the Baroness, Destro, Storm Shadow, and Zartan to be on his side once again, thanks to Doctor Mindbender's Brainwave Scanner, and these folks (minus Zartan and Destro) managed to fight Snake-Eyes off - though he still beat the snot out of Cobra Commander for his troubles.
Though the GiJoe team was decommissioned for a time shortly after this, the threat that Cobra represents worldwide eventually required that it be reformed yet again. When Hawk began to reassemble the Joes, Snake-Eyes was among the first to return to the fold, with Scarlett right behind him - even if the duo had come to an impasse in their relationship over the years.
Snake-Eyes continued on with he team until its second, supposed deactivation, during which time it had actually been reformed into a leaner, meaner and much more covert action group. This of course fell apart when Cobra Commander initiated World War III, and the entire Gi Joe roster from years past was activated yet again to - quite literally - save the world from his latest mad plot.
Once Snake-Eyes and his fellow Joes managed to not only stop Cobra from conquering the world but subsequently destroying it with nuclear weapons when it became apparent they were losing the battle, the team managed to capture the Cobra Commander at long last, seemingly disbanding Cobra in the process. Of course, the team wasn't about to settle down and retire yet again.
Since the entire world had been left in a chaotic mess, the Gi Joe team was left with the task of holding things together while various governments rebuilt their power structures, the United States included. Naturally, Snake-Eyes has stayed on during this process, helping the team to root out remaining Cobra holdouts and other terrorist whack-jobs active to this very day!
Timber
| Strength 6x |
Agility 4x |
Intellect 2x |
Willpower 2d |
| Hand Size: Edge: |
2 (10) 0 |
Snake-Eyes' sort of adopted 'pet', this wolf is pretty much savage to anybody but Snake-Eyes, Hawk, Scarlet, Stalker, Spirit, and Storm Shadow. Timber possesses +3 Teeth, which he uses to lethal effect if necessary, and can naturally make use of the Tracking talent, thanks to his enhanced sense of smell and hearing (compared to normal folks).
Extra Goodies:
Gi Joe directories featuring a version of Snake-Eyes:
| 1982 | 1985 | 1989 | 1991 | 1993 | 1994 | 1997 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 |
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2008 |
* Note: 1997 saw two versions of Snake-Eyes (Versions 7 and 8), 2002 saw five versions (Versions 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14), 2003 saw two versions (Versions 15 and 16), 2004 saw six versions (Versions 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22), while 2005 had 'only' five (Versions 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27).