Wild Bill (RAH)

## Wild Bill

**Wild Bill's** teammates often wonder if he wasn't born in the wrong era. With his slow talk, slow walk, easygoing attitude and amiable personality, he's the stereotypical cowboy. He can sing country western and tell tall tales. He's even mastered the art of gunslinging!

Wild Bill is best known for his skills in flying helicopters and transport planes. However, he can function on the ground just as well as he could in the air. Before he was a helicopter pilot, he trained as a combat infantryman and specialized in long range recon. He's actually an adept tracker on his own, skills he learned when he was a boy.

## Fiction

### Comics

#### A Real American Hero continuity

##### Marvel Comics continuity

Upon being an official member of the Joe Team, one of Wild Bill's earliest missions was to provide aerial transport for his team-mates in the Alaskan tundra. Following a lead to one of the oil pipeline's pumping stations, disguised Cobra agents almost had the drop on him but he quickly countered with a demonstration of his quick draw.

##### Devil's Due Comics continuity

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#### G.I. Joe Reloaded

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#### G.I. Joe vs. Transformers

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#### Action Force (British) Comics continuity

Will Bill was born in Hull, England. He joined the British Army and served as an infantryman in Aden, then in Brunei. Whilst in the latter country he developed a love of helicopters. He re-enlisted, joining the Army Air Corps and remained with them until joining Action Force. During this time he served in an exchange programme with a US Army Aviation squadron. It was during this exchange that he flew helicopters in the Vietnam War. During the conflict he served with the future Action Force members Gung-Ho, Roadblock and Leatherneck. In the course of one mission he was sent to pull out a seven-man patrol. Six men were rescued and Wild Bill wanted to go in for the seventh, but his commanding officer ordered them to withdraw and Wild Bill complied. He would remain haunted by the order for many years to come.

Wild Bill was part of a team that was tricked into attacking an oil rig belonging to Destro, but was subsequently freed by Quick Kick. When Quick Kick struck out on his own to go to China to rescue his old friend, Michael Anke, only to learn he was the head of a Cobra splinter organisation called "the Two-Headed Serpent", Wild Bill was part of a rescue team. When the Decepticon Megatron rampaged through London, Wild Bill led a squad of Dragonflies to attack but was shot down. He was saved by the Autobot Blades. Flint then ordered a full strike against Megatron even though the Autobot Grimlock would be killed in the blast as well, and Wild Bill was reminded of the man left behind in Vietnam. Wild Bill berated the mechanoid Centurion for doing little to help, prompting the latter to take Megatron's place to ensure the Decepticon did not escape the blast. He was then part of a team who flew to the Amazonian Jungle to destroy a Cobra supply base. He also undertook many missions in the Americas.

Later Wild Bill was part of an Action Force team send on a mission to recover a Northrod B2 bomber crew who crashed on an island with top secret information. He subsequently dropped a team into the Australian Outback. Then he was part of a team who stopped Cobra obtaining a powerful laser driven by diamonds, and subsequently rushed Sci-Fi to London to deal with a Cobra bomb planted on Tower Bridge. Wild Bill was then part of a team who travelled to Vietnam after Gung-Ho went in search of his former comrades. Wild Bill subsequently became part of Tiger Force and was present for an early mission to Jordan to destroy a shot down Phantom X-19 and rescue Ghostrider and Scarlett.

#### Blackthorne Comics continuity

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#### Dreamwave Comics continuity

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#### Hasbro Comics continuity

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### Animated continuity

#### Sunbow animated series

 File:RAH WildBill01.jpg
After Cobra stole a satellite, Wild Bill and the Joes headed to New England for Dr. Vandermeer, a scientist who specializes in matter transference and who could possibly answer how Cobra is able to teleport their forces. It turns out the evil organization is holding the doctor prisoner and the Joes end up rescuing him. His one mission to obtain one of the critical elements to power their own MASS Device, Wild Bill heads to South America's Ring of Fire where he threw in magnets and cables to lift a meteor out of a volcano crater. He goes after it by boarding and attacking Cobra's heli-carrier when it was taken from them. He also shows his capability to fly a Skystriker XP-14F for the assault on the Cobra Temple.

#### DiC animated series

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#### Direct-to-video series

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## Toys

Wild Bill was packaged with the Dragonfly XH-1 helicopter and was released in 1983.

**Appearance**: red hair and mustache; dark blue cowboy hat; silver sunglasses; olive green open-collared shirt with red-brown open vest and brown holster; olive green pants over brown boots; brown holsters on legs
**Accessories**: none.

 Wild Bill v.2 | **A Real American Hero (1992)**
Wild Bill was given a new figure design and released in carded form in the 1992 series of A Real American Hero toys. His function has been re-designated as an Air Cavalry Scout.

**Appearance**: red hair and mustache; gold goggles; blue short-sleeved shirt with yellow bandana and sleeves; white gloves; brown straps, belt, and holster; black pants with brown boots; yellow stripes on legs
**Accessories**: medium blue cowboy hat; reddish brown backpack (with sculpted roll, canteen, and grenades) with clips on side for knife; simple reddish brown shotgun; short knife notched tip; blue missile launcher with boxlike back and brown trigger; brown missile with flared tip; black figure stand.

 Battle Corps Wild Bill | **Battle Corps (1993)**
Wild Bill was carded as Battle Corps figure #25 in the Real American Hero toys.

**Appearance**: red hair and mustache; gold goggles; blue short-sleeved shirt with yellow bandana and sleeves; white gloves; brown straps, belt, and holster; white pants with brown boots
**Accessories**: medium blue "Wild Bill" cowboy hat; reddish brown "Wild Bill" backpack; reddish brown "Wild Bill" shotgun; reddish brown "Wild Bill" knife; blue "Wild Bill" spring-loaded missile launcher and reddish brown missile; black figure stand.

Another recolor of version two, Wild Bill is packaged with a re-release of the Locust helicopter.
Wild Bill is completely redesigned for the G.I. Joe vs. Cobra series. He is packaged together with a Cobra counterpart, Neo-Viper.
The Spy Troops Wild Bill action figure is a recolor of the 2002 figure. He can be found and packaged in two different vehicles: Missile Storm Copter and Night Force Grizzly.
A new Tiger Force subset was released in 2004. Wild Bill is carded together with Roadblock.
The same 2002 design keeps popping up in the Joe relaunch series. In the Valor vs. Venom line, Wild Bill is part of a large package that includes Recondo, Sand Viper, the Tiger Storm Copter and a Valor vs. Venom: Dawn of the V-Troops comic book.
An all-new design for Wild Bill in the Valor vs. Venom line came out later in the year, sporting an all-new figure design and carded together with Coil Crusher.

## Trivia

* One of Larry Hama's old army buddies, Bart Wulf, who hails from Brady, Texas, was the model for Wild Bill. He served as a helicopter pilot in the 1st Air Cavalry, flying with door gunner Sgt. Bob Light.

## See also

* Appearances of Wild Bill (RAH)
* Image Gallery: Wild Bill (RAH)

## Footnotes

1. ↑ The Pipeline Ploy!
2. ↑ Intelligence Profile in *Action Force* 12.
3. ↑ Rogue Delta!
4. ↑ Ancient Relics! Part Four
5. ↑ Rigged! Part One & Part Two
6. ↑ Cold Comfort Part Three
7. ↑ Ancient Relics! Part Two, Part Three, Part Four & Part Five.
8. ↑ Sky Strike! Part One, Part Two & Part Three
9. ↑ Comprising the UK printings of That Sinking Feeling, No Holds Barred, Zartan!, Snake-Eyes: The Origin Part II, Swampfire!, Beached Whale, Darkness, All Fall Down!, Twin Brothers, Hydrofoil, In Search of Candy, Sea Duel, Serpentor, Thunder Machine, Snap Decisions & Launch Base. From this point onwards the Action Force continuity follows the same track as that of the US comics with some additions.
10. ↑ Gunships!
11. ↑ Havoc in the Outback!
12. ↑ Diamond Lies!
13. ↑ BATs Out of Hell
14. ↑ Rogue Delta!
15. ↑ Action of the Tiger!
16. ↑ The Cobra Strikes
17. ↑ Duel in the Devil's Cauldron
18. ↑ A Stake in the Serpent's Heart
19. ↑ JoeGuide - Larry Hama, the Gentleman

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