Duke

## Biography

### Military service

"*You state in your action report that your 'command vehicle went vert.' Odd bit of lingo, that.*"
—Hawk[src]

While posted in Trucial, Hauser's supply convoy was attacked by hostile forces using improvised explosive devices, RPGs, and intersecting fields of machine gun fire. Hauser's command vehicle was hit, sending it several feet in the air. With seventy percent of the convoy vehicles out of action and no communications, the injured Hauser rallied his men and took the fight to the enemy.

### Recruitment into G.I. Joe

"*Are you in or out?*"
"*Don't I even get a hint of what I'm opting into?*"
—Hawk and Duke[src]

Around 2006, following the incident in Trucial, Hauser met with General Hawk, commanding officer of the G.I. Joe team. Hauser was offered a choice: in or out? Although Hawk would not elaborate on the details on the offer unless he said yes, it was made clear to Hauser that the offer would only be made once, and that if he accepted he would be declared dead. Hauser accepted, and was told his old name no longer existed. From this moment on, he was Duke. Duke became the fledging unit's top sergeant.

### Early Service With G.I. Joe

Officially part of the G.I. Joe team, part of Duke's induction paired him with fellow recruit Scarlett to conduct a training exercise that doubled as a real mission. Duke and Scarlett were briefed by General Hawk in a C-130 over the desert and were given codewords: "N.L.V.C.H." and "Buick" respectively as clues to their mission. As part of the exercise, Stalker threw two parachutes out of the plane, forcing Duke and Scarlett to jump out of the plane to catch the parachutes. The pair streamlined and caught up to the packs, landing in the desert. Policing their chutes, Duke narrowed their location to Arizona, Utah, or Nevada, while Scarlett pinpointed them to Nevada, north of Las Vegas.

Duke and Scarlett hitch a ride from Connie, an injured veteran who helps them solve their codewords. "N.L.V.C.H." stands for North Las Vegas Community Hospital and "Buick" stands for Burn Unit Intensive Care, bed K." Arriving at the hospital, they find the bed occupied by an Airborne Ranger with extensive facial injuries and surmise they are there to recruit him to G.I. Joe. After seeing a report of a billionaire massacring federal agents in Dallas, the Ranger communicates to Duke and Scarlett to get him out of the hospital.

Connie volunteers to stay behind, hooked up to the Ranger's monitors so Duke and Scarlett can sneak him out of the hospital. As they approach Connie's van, the ward explodes and they are chased by the perpetrator of the attack who is after the Ranger. The trio manage to escape in the van; as Scarlett drives, Duke officially recruits the Ranger—whom was called "Snake Eyes" by their attacker—into G.I. Joe.

After their run in with Chimera, Duke is briefed on him by Hawk in a C-130 at Nellis Air Force Base. Later, Duke and Scarlett leave Snake Eyes in a room at the Las Vegas Motel to contact Hawk of a secure link. When they return, they find the door has been jimmied but no sign of an incidents inside the room.

Duke met with new G.I. Joe members Heavy Duty, Breaker, and Rock N' Roll in the Las Vegas Motel. The team was being moved from "provisional" to "operational" due to Chimera's actions, and the Joe team was being deployed to a secret military installation in north-western Nevada where the terrorist was seemingly heading. Duke led the team and they deployed from a C-130 out of Nellis Air Force Base, parachuting into the desert six kilometers from the target location. Crossing the desert to the installation, they found tracks leading into an underground facility and a single shoe from a female hostage. Communications with Hawk was cut off, forcing Duke to decide on their next course of action. Despite advice to withdraw, the presence of the female hostage made up Duke's mind that they had to infiltrate the facility using an aboveground entrance.

### Operation Painted Horse

Duke commanded operation Painted Horse, leading a four man Joe team consisting of Flint, Torpedo, and Beach Head. The team boarded the freighter *Benin Pearl* to break up a weapon smuggling operation by the Zogc Militia. During the operation, a member of the militia used a Stinger and caused the destruction of the vessel. The last surviving member of the militia was recovered in the Joe's Zodiac, and Duke pressed him for information on the weapons smuggling. Before dying, the insurgent whispered one word to Duke: "Cobra."

### Pit Invasion

Sometime after the mission to Istanbul, Duke and Beach Head were back at The Pit. After a run in the Nevada Desert above the secret base, Duke was called to the Think Tank by General Hawk. Since Istanbul, mentions of "Cobra" had increased in terrorist chatter. Hawk ordered Duke and Scarlett to work together to find out who or what Cobra was. Three days later, Duke was consulting with Dusty, Frostbite, and Airtight about the cargo recovering from the sunken freighter, *Badeaux Strait*. With no other option but to open it, Scarlett asked Duke's opinion on the matter. He recommended dragging it into the desert and destroying it with semtex. Instead, Scarlett authorized opening the cargo under strict level five protocols.

Duke later confronted Scarlett over her decision to send Stalker's team to Manila to capture Nico Mandirobilis, believing that his team should have been given the assignment since the initial Cobra lead had been from his operation in Istanbul. He also warned Scarlett about dealing with Snake Eyes through back-channels since he was considered to be AWOL.

When The Pit was invaded by spider-bots, Duke responded to the alarm alongside Beach Head and Rock N' Roll. Engaging one of the units, their combined firepower did little to affect the unit. Brainstorm managed to cover its sensors with the contents of a fire extinguisher, giving Duke enough time to destroy the bot with a sticky-charge.

Accompanying Brainstorm to the lab where the mysterious cargo was being held, Duke and Beach Head learned that there were six bots in the cargo, with five still being active. Brainstorm informed them that one was heading for The Silo, the secure server room for The Pit. Joining up with Scarlett, the Joes managed to take out two more spider-bots on the way to The Silo. Despite managing to interrupt the connection between the servers and the unit, the spider-bot escaped into the ventilation with the intention of escaping The Pit's GPS blindspot.

## Appearances

* *G.I. Joe #0*: "In Or Out?"
* *G.I. Joe: Origins #1*
* *G.I. Joe: Origins #2*
* *G.I. Joe: Origins #3*
* *G.I. Joe #0*: "One Word" (First appearance)
* *G.I. Joe #1*
* *G.I. Joe #2*
* *G.I. Joe #3*
* *G.I. Joe #4*
* *G.I. Joe #5*
* *Revolution #1*: "Chapter One: Concorde Hymn" (Mentioned only)

## Notes and references

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 *Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook 1*
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 *G.I. Joe #0*: "One Word"
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 *G.I. Joe #0*: "In Or Out?"
4. ↑ *Revolutionaries #1* dates the formation of G.I. Joe to 2006.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 *G.I. Joe: Origins #3*
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 *G.I. Joe: Origins #1*
7. ↑ *G.I. Joe: Origins #2*
8. ↑ *G.I. Joe #1*
9. ↑ *G.I. Joe #2*
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 *G.I. Joe #3*