Some thoughts, comparing Batman to Snake Eyes...

[Felix]

I was watching Batman Begins a couple weeks ago. When Bruce joins the League of Shadows, I imagined Snake Eyes joining the Arashikage and thought it would have been similar to this. In fact, it makes more sense that ninja assassins would actually be COBRA, or at least closely connected to the organization, like training their troops, or performing missions, ect. I had to ask myself, "Why Snake Eyes would be joining ninja assassins in the first place?" I started to think maybe what if Snake Eyes' family wasn't killed in a car crash, or at the very least, what if the drunk driver that killed his family got a slap on the wrist...maybe because he was closely connected to a criminal organization (later to become COBRA). Maybe Snake Eyes was seeking a means to fight injustice where the system failed.

Then why would he abandon the Arashikage? Snake Eyes does not seem to have a problem killing bad guys, or using guns, unlike Batman.
I think Snake-Eyes would discover the Arashikage were working for, or going to start working for COBRA. COBRAs mission would be to destroy America (Gotham), that is is "beyond saving". When Snake Eyes learns this, he refuses to go along with them any further, and fights his way out of the clan like Bruce Wayne did, killing the Hard Master, but saving Storm Shadow in the process. An act Storm Shadow would never forgive....well maybe at some point down the road. *Storm Shadow is Liam Neesons role as Raz Al Gul.

Now the catch is, the Hard Master is not murdered by Snake Eyes, but Zartan (sticking to the original story). Zartan takes on the role of the Hard Master and manipulates the clan to work for COBRA. This was all Cobra Commanders doing to get the ninjas to be completely loyal to COBRA. They never expected Snake Eyes to abandon the clan, it just happened that way. Zartan was so good at his craft, he was able to fool the ninja masters. Except the Blind Master, who could not prove he was an imposter, but just sensed it. The Blind Master would escape with Jinx while she was still a child. So, Zartan just fakes his death as the Hard Master, but he would still be the REAL Hard Masters murderer.

So the Red Ninjas hate Snake Eyes because they think he killed the Hard Master. Finally, here's a motive that makes sense for the ninjas to hate Snake Eyes. It would be Snake Eyes who would be framed and that's why he went to hide up in the mountains by himself until the Joe's recruited him. Storm Shadow would eventually learn the truth and become one of the Joe's later on. Only one Red Ninja defects and believes Storm Shadow. The Red Ninjas believe Storm Shadow has been fooled by Snake Eyes, they hate Snake Eyes with a vengeance.

[Bravo]

Sounds better than a blonde orphan boy in Japan taken in by ninjas. Rise of Cobra really failed on that level.

[Felix]

Thanks. There's just things that never really made a lot of sense in the comic story. If Snake Eyes was not responsible for the Hard Masters death, then why does Storm Shadow have a blood feud with him? Why do the Red Ninjas hate him? It just doesn't make sense. The Red Ninjas should hate Storm Shadow is he is the supposed killer, and when they're first introduced, they are working with Storm Shadow. This does get explained, but I like thinking it kind of went down more like the story I posted above.

[Swindle]

Ok, someone refresh my memory. Why did Cobra Commander hire Zartan to target Snake Eyes in the first place? Is it all over that stupid car wreck?

Anyway, as far as the clan goes, the Arashikage Clan goes? What happened to it after the Hard Master was killed? Did it close up shop? What was their purpose? Ninjas for hire? hmmmm

I have only read Hama joe once, along time ago. I suppose I could find a torrent and give it a fresh looking.

I think of ninjas this way... Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Jinx, Kamakura ... those are all I can stomach.

[Felix]

It's all about that car wreck Swindle
Cobra Commanders drunk brother killed himself and Snake Eyes's family when they went to pick him up at the airport when he returned home from the war.

I like the Red Ninjas, but I like any ninjas. I like thinking those are Cobras primary soldiers (kind of felt that way in Rise of Cobra too, love that movie, don't get the hate behind it). I feel you have to be pretty cunning to be a terrorist, they fit the bill.

It was implied after the Hard Master was killed, that the clan was disbanded/disgraced. So the ninjas basically went into hiding and no longer lived at the temple. Storm Shadow joined Cobra to find his uncles real killer. How he gets red ninjas to work for him is a mystery to me I never understood. I suppose he just had some red ninjas that believed he didn't kill his Uncle.

Zartan in the later issues (1988), has the ninjas working for him to avenge the Hard Masters killer, and they are trying to kill Storm Shadow. That makes sense. Later it seems to be revealed that they don't care if he's innocent or not, they blame him for the clan being disgraced/dishonered. And I'm just going off of memory here, it's been a while since I looked any of those issues.

I picked up the hardcover editions of the classic G.I. JOE comics. There's a lot of interesting information about Larry Hama and his contribution to G.I. JOE. It started out as a rough draft for Nick Furys son and a team of seven guys. It's pretty incredible when the detail that Larry Hama put into the G.I. JOE characters. The serial numbers are even close! With his knowledge of previous military service he was able to use real locations, weapons, ect.

[Swindle]

I just feel like there's ninja overdose, the toyline was overrun with it via movie 2. Roadblock was a freaking ninja.

I just find it very lame. Now, I do remember an episode of the toon, Storm Shadow had a bunch of guys dressed up as him, apparently his trainees. That was kind of neat, I thought.

[Felix]

I feel like the toys are the only thing that made Roadblock a ninja. In the movie all Roadblock said was that he trained with Snake Eyes for six years. It could just mean that they have a history together, which is the way I choose to interpret that.