The Renegades

There's classified, there's top secret, there's even "Black Bag Operations", and then...there are The Renegades.

First established in the mid 80's when covert operations really seemed to come into play during the Cold War era, the Renegades' budget is buried deep within beurocractic budget trickery spread throughout various intelligence agencies in the United States Government. Listed as an in-joke as the "Pentagon Pest Control", the Renegades have always been about doing things the dirty way. The stuff that the U.S. Government did not want the public to know about was the stuff that they had the Renegades do. Kidnapping, illegal insertions, and even assassinations...nothing is out of the realm of the Renegades' jurisdiction.

However, as Delta Squad got more and more publicity during the 90's and the Iraq operations, upper level suits got nervous and dismantled the Renegade program for fear of its discovery would uncover all sorts of dirty dealings of the US Government. Mercer, the team leader at the time, was reassigned to the Joe team, and two other members, Red Dog and Taurus, were given jobs in other parts of the world, forgotten. For a time.

General Hawk was growing increasingly frustrated with the roadblocks and landmines he experienced as he tried hard to do the good work...to combat terrorism and prevent COBRA from causing worldwide damage and catastrophy. He worked as hard as he could with the resources he had, which continued to shrink and shrink as defense budgets were re-allocated to more public offenses. Everything came to a head when COBRA had the audacity to launch an in-country attack on the Pentagon itself, striking deep within the Joe headquarters, which was six levels beneath at that time (see Retaliation). General Hawk was seriously injured in the attack, and ended up in a hospital bed, trapped...he could only think about what had gone wrong and what could be done to fix it. From his bed, he contacted several deep cover operatives that he knew, specifically those within the well hidden "Steel Brigade" worldwide anti-terror organization. After numerous conversations with agents around the world, Hawk realized it was time to reinstate the Renegades, and make them so top secret not even the upper suits in the Government would know about them. Using the Steel Brigade's international resources and classified budget, he contacted Red Dog and Taurus to get them to reform the Renegades. A plan had just gone in place to get Mercer free from COBRA's control (by faking his death) and Hawk approached him as well.

Once the three core members were in place, Hawk started making other more high profile contacts, like Flint and Duke, and shortly thereafter, the Renegades were a force to be reckoned with. Now, working hand in hand with the Steel Brigade, the Renegades operate under deep secret cover combatting worldwide terrorism. With the Steel Brigade resources, the links with the G.I. Joe team, and the determination of all members involved, they are already making ripples throughout the COBRA organization. How deep will they go? Only time will tell...

MERCER

Code Name: Mercer
Real Name: Stratton, Felix

Felix Stratton was a troubled youth, who was very smart, but used his smarts in bad ways. Hopping from one Juvie hall to another, Stratton lacked direction, but had tons of motivation.

It was this motivation that drew the attention of COBRA recruitors when they secretly visited his home town in West Virginia looking for cadets local to the US Government. Mercer was promised money and the philosophy sounded extremely appealing to the reckless teenager looking for direction.

At first it seemed like a perfect fit. Stratton took to firearm training and hand to hand combat immediately, and excelled in the COBRA cadet program. Within six months he was a full fledged COBRA Viper, and immediately began operations with his peers. That's when things started going south.

Stratton was always a reckless kid...he just seemed to be in the middle of trouble and usually had to punch his way out of it. But suddenly, dropping into villages and opening fire on innocent people, the impact of what he was doing suddenly kicked him in the stomach. He immediately began second guessing his decision and looking for a way out. It became quite obvious that there would be no easy way out, and the more he looked into COBRA behind the scenes, the more he hated what he saw and what he had become. He was a part of something evil, and he was suddenly quite disgusted with himself. Not only with himself, but he became disgusted with the COBRA cause as well. They had mislead him in the recruitment drive, and seeing their scales underneath the pretty surface made him nearly physically ill. He not only wanted to get out, but he wanted to do whatever he could to bring COBRA down. During a routine patrol mission on the outskirts of COBRA Island, he made his move...he took out his two squadmates, hotwired a Moray Hydrofoil and took off into the night.

Two months later, Stratton found himself face to face with the newly promoted General Clayton Abernathy. The leading expert on anti-COBRA operations, he was chosen to debrief Stratton on what he had seen while behind the scenes. Mercer was so adamant about doing what he could to take down COBRA, that Hawk immediately latched onto him and decided then and there that he had to do whatever he could to use Mercer to their advantage. He couldn't very well join the Joe team...he had no military experience whatsoever. But he had heard whispers about this top secret "Pentagon Pest Control" division...and he thought Mercer might be a perfect fit.

Mercer's time with the Renegades was effective, challenging, and enlightening. Stratton discovered a pleasure he hadn't had in his life. The fact that the Renegades kind of skirted the rules really gave him the flexibility and the ability to do what he needed to do and feel like he was making a big difference. When the Renegades were dissolved a few years later, it hit him hard. Hawk went through many hoops to invent a new identity for him (with a military background) and get him integrated into the G.I. Joe team, but Mercer just had a hard time blending with the real-life military that now surrounded him. He and Hawk worked hard together, and ultimately decided that perhaps Mercer was better suited to undercover operations. They invented an elaborate story where Mercer joined the Joe team in order to feed information back to COBRA, and Destro bought into it at first. Mercer spent a little while sending either unimportant information or false info and was working to get himself indoctrinated back into the COBRA organization. The plan was for Mercer to become a full fledged member of COBRA again. But things went very wrong. When another mole in the Joe organization (as yet unrevealed) fed COBRA the location of the Joe headquarters, Duke traced back communications from Mercer to COBRA central. Thinking he had revealed the information that prompted the attack, Duke followed Mercer to a meeting with Destro. Duke led a quick strike attack, which led to the apparent shooting death of Mercer at the hands of The Baroness.

However, it would seem that reports of Mercer's death were highly overrated. It is now hypothesized that Mercer was involved in a plan to get him out of this undercover Op, and replaced by another agent. Mercer's death was faked to get him out, and also to work in the new person. The details at this point are still unknown, but what is known is that Mercer was contacted by General Hawk as he recuperated from the COBRA attack and asked to come in and once again lead the Renegades. Mercer jumped at the chance to once again be involved in the top secret team, and once again dismissed his false indentity and returned to the Felix Stratton he knew. Now he, Taurus, and Red Dog are back in the thick of it, just where they want to be.

RED DOG

Code Name: Red Dog
Real Name: Taputapu, David

David Taputapu was a focused young man who was prone to very unfocused outbursts in his youth. He knew what he wanted and worked very hard to get it, but if anything stood in his way, he simply drove right through it, without thinking of the consequences. In his unending desire to get his young son on the right path, David's father encouraged him to join the Samoan police force. He did so, and for a while, he excelled. David was exceptionally physically gifted and passed the endurance tests with ease. An extremely strong and fit individual, David used his physical gifts to impose his will on any criminals he came across.

Because of his intense physique and incredible work ethic, David was immediately noticed by supervisors and was brought into the Special Forces police division, working hand in hand with the New Zealand military and defense department. He finally seemed to be going the right direction...until a secret COBRA cell was found within his own country.

David led the New Zealand military into this COBRA installment and they systematically dismantled the small cell, capturing several members for interrogation. So enraged that these terrorists had infested his small, peaceful country, his interrogation techniques got very out of hand, and one of the COBRA agents ended up near death on the floor of the interrogation room. Lawyers serving COBRA front companies came down hard, proclaiming the innocense of these young men, and absolutely crucified Taputapu for his over the top interrogation techniques. The cases were all thrown out of court, and David was summarily dismissed.

Upset and disgusted, Red Dog left the country and ended up on the California coast. He was able to get work with an arena football league on a walk-on role, and was starting to get noticed by NFL scouts. Things again started looking up somewhat, until he got injured by a D Lineman and lost his cool. Shortly thereafter he was again out of work. Being in the LA area, he started getting some work as a "B" Movie stuntman and it was in this role that he met McArthur Ito, who was a legend in the area. They became friends, and Ito's strong military background was something they often talked about. Both former military/law enforcement guys who had found a different calling, they were pretty close friends. When Ito got called away on a special assignment, David took it somewhat hard, but knew how he felt, with the military in his blood.

Not long afterwards, he was approached by special agent Phillip Provost, who wanted him to speak with some Government officials. At first David was very uneasy with the request, but complied anyway. Shortly thereafter he was talking with General Abernathy and had learned all about the top secret "Renegades" anti-terrorist team. Apparently David's experience with COBRA in Samoa, and Ito's strong recommendation got him noticed, and he was eager to be a part of that world again. Best of all, the covert measures of the Renegades team allowed him some flexibility in his interrogation and combat techniques. Red Dog had found a place he belonged.

When the Renegades was dissolved, Red Dog got reassigned to a Special Forces training academy where he worked to hone his skills and was pretty much left alone. He lived in relative peace and security for a number of years, until a need for The Renegades had returned. Shortly thereafter David suffered a sudden training accident and to the world, he was tragically killed during a shooting exercise. Fading from view, Red Dog now has a clean slate again, and is back to doing what he does best. Kicking down doors, then kicking down the ones that hide behind those doors. Using his weapon of choice, the shotgun, Red Dog is nearly a force of nature on all operations, and is happy to be among the Renegades once more.

TAURUS

Code Name: Taurus
Real Name: Ayvazyan, Varujan

If you'd asked any of his neighbors if there were any possibility for Taurus to be an incredibly successful military agent when he was a young boy, you would have received laughter, mocking and redicule. As a child, the young man of Instanbul was a practical joker of the highest level, and loved to be the center of attention. He began acrobatics training at an extremely young age because he quickly found out that was an endless source of amusement to people at parties and on the street, and he found that he was extremely gifted at it. However, as he got older, he found that his limbs lacked some of the strength to lift his now larger body around in the positions he wanted to. So along with his acrobatics, he began an intense level of strength training, and soon became not only limber, but incredibly strong. Strong enough to gain the attention of a local Turkish circus, who asked him to be an acrobat and strongman. The idea appealed to him, and the mere thought of being the center of the attention of hundreds of people was even more appealing.

However, he soon learned that this particular circus wasn't all it appeared to be. On the surface it was a family friendly big top with clowns and elephants, but just below the surface there were European mafia ties, protection rackets, and a sinister front company for a pair of twin Corsican brothers who were funneling the circus money into other even more sinister ventures. Taurus did not like the looks of this at all. He went to his local police department, but upon the mere mention of the Corsican twins, it got shot up the ladder, and he soon found himself working with Interpol. The international intelligence agency asked him to go back to the circus...undercover. At first he hated the idea, but for the good of the country, he agreed, and it didn't take long before he absolutely fell in love with undercover operations.

The feeling he got fighting the good fight while keeping up his "party animal appearence" was immeasurable. He brought down the circus, though the ringmaster took the hit and the Corsican twins got away totally scot free. Interpol was so impressed with his abilities, they asked him to become a freelance operative for them, using him on Eastern European missions where his background could really assist them. He worked for Interpol for several years, becoming fluent in many languages, and incorporating his acrobatic talents into a bizarre, but very effective fighting discipline. Taurus became one of the more unique and well regarded secret agents in Interpol history...plus he was a lot of fun at parties.

Eventually, he crossed paths with the CIA as they worked an international case focusing on these Corsican Twins that Taurus had already had some experience with. They loved what they saw with Taurus, and encouraged him to come stateside for some cross-training. While in the states, General Abernathy approached him after learning of his dealings with the Twins and relayed the information about The Renegades to him at that point. Taurus loved the idea, and immediately formed a bond with the short-tempered Red Dog. Shortly thereafter, Interpol reluctantly loaned him to the U.S. Government (under the auspices of a "Secret Agent Exchange Program" so to speak) and he served with the Renegades for several years. After the team was done away with, Taurus went back to Interpol and continued his undercover work there, again to much success.

Unfortunately, a number of years later, while on a secret undercover mission off the coast of Cuba, Taurus was ambushed by some guerilla operatives and killed...

At least that's what Hawk would have the outside world believe. Taurus eagerly rejoined his former teammates and the Renegades lived again. Taurus' unconventional fighting techniques fit the out of the ordinary world of the Renegades perfectly, and he was more than happy to rejoin his teammates on the battlefield.