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| Wild Bill | |
|---|---|
| G.I. Joe character | |
 Wild Bill as seen in the Sunbow/MarvelG.I. Joe cartoon. | |
| First appearance | G.I. Joe #11 (May 1983) |
| Voiced by | Frank Welker (Sunbow/Marvel) Don S. Davis (Spy Troops/Valor vs. Venom) Steven Blum (Resolute) Charlie Schlatter (Renegades) Ian James Corlett (G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout) |
| In-universe information | |
| Affiliation | G.I. Joe |
| Specialty | HelicopterPilot |
| File name | Hardy, William S. |
| Birth place | Brady, TX |
| SN | RA056403211 |
| Rank | CW-4 (Chief Warrant Officer 4) |
| Primary MOS | Helicopter Pilot |
| Secondary MOS | Fixed Wing Pilot, Aircraft Armorer |
Wild Bill is a fictional character from theG.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is theG.I. Joe Team'shelicopterpilot and debuted in 1983.
His real name is William S. Hardy, and his rank is that of army chief warrant officer CW-4. Wild Bill was born inBrady, Texas. His primary military specialty is helicopter pilot and his secondary military specialties are fixed wing pilot and aircraft armorer.
Wild Bill served during theVietnam War in the role of a combat infantryman and also participated inLRRP operations. He reenlisted to attend the Flight Warrant Officer School and then remained in service, but his specialized training records are classified. Wild Bill joined the G.I. Joe Team as the pilot of the "Dragonfly" helicopter. He is a qualified expert in theM1911A auto pistol and the XM-16 attack rifle, but has a preference for single action.45 long colt revolvers.[1]
Wild Bill is the original helicopter pilot for the G.I. Joe team, and is also an expert tracker and can function on the ground as well as any trained infantry scout. He is able to adapt the hunting skills he learned as a boy whenever he's tracking the enemy, saying that sneaking up on aCobra is easier than sneaking up on most 'critters'.[2]
Wild Bill has a hobby as acountry-western singer. While personally honest, he enjoys telling tall tales for the amusement of his friends.
The character first appeared as part of the 1983 line of theG.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy line. His action figure was bundled with theDragonfly helicopter toy. A second edition action figure was released in 1992,[3] and his function is re-designated as an Air Cavalry Scout. The figure was repainted and released as part of the Battle Corps line in 1993.
In 2002, a new figure was made utilizing the newer technology in articulation and detail. It was released as part of theG.I. Joe vs. Cobra series.
In theMarvel ComicsG.I. Joe series, Wild Bill first appeared in issue #11 (May 1983). He had a prominent role in the storylines despite serving mainly as a supporting character, and made the most appearances (eleven) in theSpecial Missions spinoff series. He often flies the Joes to their missions, either in the Dragonfly, theTomahawk helicopter or theC-130 plane.
Wild Bill accompaniesSnake Eyes to give Kwinn a burial at sea.[4]
Wild Bill flies support for a multi-Joe mission investigating Cobra activity in theFlorida Everglades. His helicopter is shot down byDestro's wrist rockets. He is injured in the crash and has to be medically evacuated. However, in the middle of this, in issue 27, he travels to New York City to helpScarlett hunt downStorm Shadow.[5]
In the fourth issue ofSpecial Missions, he and his team crash-land in aSoutheast Asian jungle and had to battle theOktober Guard and river pirates. His team consists ofLeatherneck,Roadblock andLifeline. Wild Bill is shot by the Guard but survives. Tensions arise because Leatherneck blames Lifeline, who is a pacifist. The Joes and the Guard are captured by river pirates. There, Wild Bill recovers enough to see Lifeline's forced battle with a Guard member and comment upon it. The Guard and the Joes are allowed to leave, sans the item they came for, because Lifeline's unwillingness to hurt the Guard member more than he had to impresses the pirates.[6]
In one of Wild Bill's many helicopter missions, he almost kills the Cobra agentsTomax and Xamot. They escape with a turn down a sewer pipe.[7]
Another instance was inG.I. Joe issues #68-71.Crazylegs, Wild Bill andMaverick were forced into evacuating severalDreadnoks out of Rio Vista, the capital of war-torn Sierra Gordo. The DreadnoksZarana,Thrasher and Monkeywrench had taken several nearby refugees hostage. Eventually, the Joes, Dreadnoks and refugees all work together to get to safety.[8]
Wild Bill is the pilot for the mission where several Joes help Destro neutralize the bounty thatCobra Commander has put on his head.[9] He is the pilot for a mission to theBering Strait.[10]
Wild Bill is featured inG.I. Joe Special Missions #16. He teams up with Maverick and other Joe pilots, such asAce andGhostrider in a recon mission overCobra Island. He also shows a talent forping pong.[11]
Wild Bill appears in many issues of the Marvel UK version of G.I. Joe, which is called 'Action Force'. In issue 26 he has a detailed memory of a previous military incident which he had repressed. His rescue mission had been forced to leave a man behind; this caused Wild Bill many sleepless nights.[12]
Wild Bill is featured in the first story arc ofG.I. Joe: Frontlines, which presents the last adventure of the G.I. Joe Team. He flies air support in an attack on Destro's castle, which is filled with many Cobra officers. He has to end up dealing with a Cobra Mamba all by himself, with a battered and leaking helicopter. Much of this incident is off-panel.[13]
When the team reforms, Wild Bill is one of the few Joes to be introduced to the "new generation", a large group of soldiers referred to asGreenshirts.[14]
Wild Bill is one of the few Joes available, at the time, to assistJinx. The mission is to infiltrate the organization of Japanese businessman Hayatu Toba, who is thought to be assembling a personal army of his own.[volume & issue needed] He rejoins the main team alongsideCover Girl andGung-Ho, during theWorld War III storyline. He helps in capturingCobra Mortal.[volume & issue needed] He assists in battlingThe Plague, a group of elite Cobra soldiers, in the Middle East.[volume & issue needed]
In New York City, he again confronts The Plague, leading a group of volunteer citizens in laying down covering fire soDuke and a valued ally can escape. Several of The Plague are wounded.[15] Wild Bill takes part in the final battle against Cobra in theAppalachian Mountains.[volume & issue needed] Wild Bill is badly injured by Plague member Vector in a South American jungle, savingStalker from Vector's unique weaponry by voluntarily taking the shots himself.[16]
Wild Bill first appeared in the animated series in the "A Real American Hero" mini-series. The character's uniform had a different color scheme than in the comics and toy line. He was voiced byFrank Welker.[17]
In the episode "Where the Reptiles Roam", Wild Bill goes undercover withLady Jaye,Alpine andBazooka to investigate a dude ranch in Texas that Cobra bought. There, he befriends a girl named Mary Belle, the daughter of the ranch's owners. He also lures a cattle stampede away from a nearby solar power control room (which was actually a distraction forZartan to steal a computer chip inside) and performs a square dance song. Mary Belle soon reveals herself as theBaroness in disguise, but Wild Bill swiftly defeats her and Zartan as well. Wild Bill later saves the day for G.I. Joe in battle by leading a cattle stampede against Cobra.[18]
Wild Bill also appeared briefly in the 1987 animated filmG.I. Joe: The Movie.[19] Because he was a CWO-4, he served on the tribunal forLt. Falcon's court-martial and piloted the helicopter (along withLift-Ticket) to take Falcon toSgt. Slaughter's training grounds, "The Slaughterhouse".
Wild Bill appeared in the direct-to-video CGI animated moviesG.I. Joe: Spy Troops andG.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom, voiced byDon S. Davis.
Wild Bill appeared inG.I. Joe: Resolute.
Wild Bill made an appearance in theG.I. Joe: Renegades episode "Knockoffs."Flint calls for a helicopter to look for the Joes, Zartan, and a stolen Cobra truck with a camo suit along with Baroness and Lady Jaye.
Wild Bill will be appearing inG.I. Joe: Ever Vigilant.[20]
Wild Bill is one of the featured characters in the 1985G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero computer game.[21] He appears as a non-playable supporting character in the 2009 video gameG.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
