Biography for Ripcord (Character) from "G.I. Joe" (1985)

***WALLACE "RIPCORD" WEEMS***
Specialty: Pilot
Preferred 820 Selective-Fire
Weapon: Long-Range Fully Automatic Assault Rifle
Moves Fast, Cracks Jokes and Lives for Danger.

Nearly all of the characters in the live-action G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Movie are based on familiar characters from the long-running Hasbro toy line. Some of them are more than 25 years old, hailing from the original series of action figures released way back in 1982.

Ripcord, played by Marlon Wayons, is probably the furthest from his original inspiration. The action-figure Ripcord, as the name suggests, was a paratrooper, specializing in “HALO” (High Altitude, Low Opening) parachute jumps. The movie version of Ripcord, however, is one of the front-line troops newly recruited into the GI Joe team.

Before joining the squad, he and Conrad Hauser – who would later pick up the code name Duke – were members of an Army Special Forces team. The two of them were among the few survivors of a deadly ambush, along with the man who would eventually become Cobra Commander.

Although Rise of Cobra takes a distinctly grittier tack in comparison to earlier incarnations of the GI Joe franchise, Ripcord is apparently set to be one source of a little comic relief amid all the grimacing and all-black outfits. Wayans was reportedly chosen for the role on the strength of his dramatic performance in Requiem for a Dream, though, so he’s probably only going to get so many chances to be funny.