G.I. Joe: Renegades: Season 1, Volume 1 is the latest in a long line of reboots of the G.I. Joe line and, in my opinion, probably one of the most dramatic changes to the series' status quo. While other series, most notably the 80's Real American Hero, focused on large-scale warfare against two large military entities, Renegades takes a slightly more grounded approach more inline with The A-Team than anything else.
One of the bigger shifts in dynamics is Cobra is seen as the good guys by most of the world. Going by the first five minutes of Episode One, the Cobra Corporation is sort of like the Cyberdyne Systems of the Renegade world. Known primarily as the largest, most advanced pharmaceutical research corporation in the world, the company also has its hands in everything from weapons manufacturing to baked goods. But, like Cyberdyne, Cobra also has a few dark secrets buried under its manufacturing complexes.
Enter the "Renegades" - Duke, Ripcord, Tunnel Rat, Roadblock, Scarlet and Snake Eyes - a group of soldiers forced on the run after an unauthorized botched mission into Cobra Corporation. Most of the episodes deal with the Renegades on the run from both Cobra and the U.S. Government, which sends its best spy hunter, Flint, after the group.
The on-the-run plotline creates a couple of interesting scenarios for the show. Though most aren't exactly new (the cowardly town that needs to fight back again a gang, for example), the writing is usually really good and does a neat job of weaving a new mythos for the series while incorporating a few neat tossbacks to the 80's series. Take, for example, Zartan, goes from being an expert chameleon spymaster to the leader of a biker gang (the Dreadnoks) who steals people's possessions (hats, glasses...) as a means of controlling him. As the series goes on, he eventually becomes the Zartan from the 80's show, but it's a cool twist - especially since he isn't aligned with Cobra and does some work for the U.S. Army.
I also like the group dynamic, especially Scarlett's relationship with the rest of the team. She's the single-minded soldier thinking only of survival, while the others don't have a problem getting mixed up with the local's problems. It also doesn't help that her lies about the original Cobra mission were what got the group into their current situation.
Not all of the series changes are good ones, however. As much as I like the overlying scenario, the show takes a while to really kick into gear. There are some highlights in the first few episodes, but those are mostly small character and plot elements stuck in a larger mire of "Meh." Once the Renegades become a little more established, however, the series starts to move forward at a better pace. The series also has a tendency to get "cute" with dialogue, such as the reasoning behind everyone's nicknames or Duke telling people, "We're just a couple of Joes..." It's cute the first time, but becomes mildly wince-inducing as the series rolls on.
Snake Eye's "deus ex machina" interventions in some episodes are also a bit of an annoyance.
I also wasn't a fan of the art style or character designs. Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes are the only decent looking ones in the show; the rest are either bland (most of the cast) or outright stupid looking (Cobra Commander). Vehicles are the only decent looking items in the show, but unlike the 80's series, you won't see lots of large-scale battles, so there's less hardware in play.
In all, G.I. Joe Renegades isn't an amazing series, but it is a neat turn of events for the series, especially since it is much more plot-driven than the 80's toy commercial. It probably won't win over many 80's stalwarts, but it is still worth a shot if you're a fan of the Joes.
