Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)
Storm Shadow is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is best known as the Cobra Commander's ninja bodyguard, and for his history with fellow ninja Snake Eyes.
Throughout his history, he has changed sides several times; conflicted in loyalties between Cobra, G.I. Joe, and his blood brother, Snake Eyes. Storm Shadow is one of the most prominent characters in the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero franchise, and has appeared in every series since its inception. He is portrayed by South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun in the 2009 live-action film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and its 2013 sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation, while British actor Andrew Koji portrayed him in the 2021 film Snake Eyes.
Profile
In his original A Real American Hero incarnation, Storm Shadow's real name is Thomas "Tommy" S. Arashikage , a Japanese American. Storm Shadow served in a U.S. Army special operations long-range reconnaissance unit in Vietnam along with Snake Eyes and Stalker. He later invited Snake-Eyes to train as a ninja with his family in Japan. The duo have been everything to one another from the bitterest of enemies to the most loyal of friends who would fight and die for one another.Storm Shadow can trace his family history through thirty generations of assassins. He is an 8th degree black belt in several martial arts including Karate, Judo, Jujutsu, Taekwondo, Ninjutsu, Kobudo, Taekkyon, and many others. He and can endure unimaginable amounts of hardship and pain. Storm Shadow moves with blinding speed, can scale sheer walls with bare hands and feet, and is an expert with a long bow, katana, shuriken, sai and nunchaku. He usually wears a white uniform and mask. When out of his uniform, he is shown to be Japanese with black hair and dark eyes.
In 2007, the character's creator, Larry Hama, revealed an alternate name for the character, Tomisaburo Arashikage, in the solo series Storm Shadow. His tattoo is a hexagram of the I Ching named 既濟, or "Already Fording".
Storm Shadow was only listed with a rank while a member of the Joe team. There are four instances where his file card provides a pay-grade: 1991, 1994, and 1997 releases all have him listed as a Master Sergeant or E-8, and in the 2007, 25th anniversary release, the file card lists him as E-5.
Toys
Storm Shadow is one of the few characters from the "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" line that has been released as both a member of Cobra and a member of G.I. Joe. He first appeared in 1984 as a member of Cobra, but with his second figure released in 1988, he had defected to being a member of G.I. Joe. A new version of Storm Shadow was released as part of the Ninja Force line in 1992. The figure was repainted and released as part of the "Shadow Ninjas" line in 1994.His loyalties remained with G.I. Joe until in 2000 his figure was released again as a Cobra agent. Since then, he has remained a member of Cobra. He is most often paired with his sword brother, Snake Eyes, in multi or comic packs. He has been released two times unmasked as Tommy Arashikage.
25th Anniversary
The year 2007 was the 25th anniversary of the launch of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, the third major reinvention of the G.I. Joe brand since 1964. To celebrate, Hasbro created two boxed sets of brand new figures, featuring modern sculpts with updated articulation. Storm Shadow contained some new, more intricate details that the original character didn't have. He was included in the Cobra set, along with Cobra Commander, Destro, Baroness, and a Cobra Trooper. He was also included in a two-pack consisting of Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes in their original costumes, and a reissued G.I. Joe #21 comic book, Storm Shadow's first appearance in the series. He was also included in the first wave of single pack figures in his 1988 G.I. Joe urban-camouflage ninja uniform, but still contained slight differences from the 1988 character outfit, since Hasbro decided to reuse most of the tooling of the first figure; hence, he didn't have long sleeves, the placement of his arm tattoo had been moved, and he was missing the recurve bow and the calves garments. A modified version of his 2007 figure appeared in the 2009 Hall of Heroes sub-line, as well as a new Cobra box set, featuring the sleeveless version of his original outfit as it appeared in the original comics and cartoons.Movie tie-ins and 50th Anniversary
As a featured character in the live-action movie franchise, Storm Shadow received several figures in the respective movie-based toy lines based on his appearances in the films. In addition, as part of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation toyline in 2013, he received an "Ultimate" edition figure based on his original Cobra costume, featuring an additional unmasked head and numerous accessories, including a jet pack with colors and markings based on the Cobra C.L.A.W. jet glider. A budget-line figure exclusive to discount retailers was released in 2012, based on his Ninja Force costume. As part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the G.I. Joe franchise, Storm Shadow received one more release based upon his G.I. Joe urban camo outfit in a two-pack with Spirit Iron-Knife in 2015. This figure more accurately replicated the 1988 figure than the 2007 release, and used the backpack and swords from the Firefly comic-pack release, with the backpack colored red like the 1988 toy.Comics
Marvel Comics
Storm Shadow first appeared in Marvel's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21, and was created by Larry Hama. Storm Shadow served in Southeast Asia on the same Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol team as future Joes Stalker and Snake Eyes. The intense nature of this service together forged a strong friendship between him and Snake Eyes. After Vietnam, Storm Shadow visited his family in Japan. His family, the Arashikage Clan, had actually been a fierce ninja clan, but for many centuries had remained clandestine. Hoping to learn the ways of the ninja, Storm Shadow studied under the tutelage of his estranged uncle, the Hard Master. When Snake Eyes arrived in Japan following the death of his entire family in a horrific automobile crash, he was invited to study with the clan. He quickly began to surpass Storm Shadow's abilities and was the Hard Master's choice to succeed him as the head of the clan. This caused a rift between the two friends, and Snake Eyes decided that he would leave the clan. However, before he could, an assassin killed the Hard Master while he was demonstrating a ninja technique to Snake Eyes. Due to no one else seeing the assassin, his immediate departure, that the killer appeared to use a ninja technique that Storm Shadow was a master of, and that the arrow that killed the Hard Master was one of Storm Shadow's personal arrows, Snake Eyes, the Soft Master, and the remaining clan members thought that Storm Shadow was to blame for the murder.Years passed and Storm Shadow eventually was led to the international terrorist organization Cobra. He was quickly made Cobra Commander's bodyguard and soon thereafter encountered his old friends, Stalker and Snake Eyes, as members of the American strike team, G.I. Joe, designed to destroy Cobra. Storm Shadow befriends the son of Cobra Commander, a teenager named Billy. Eventually the two escape together. After several battles with the Joes, Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes would work together to bring down the men responsible for the death of the Hard Master. During their first attempt, while trying to flee Cobra Island, Storm Shadow was shot by the Baroness and believed to be dead. He was revived during Doctor Mindbender's creation of Serpentor. Finally, Storm Shadow was made an official member of the G.I. Joe team and regained his honor through countless acts of courage. He would later return to Cobra after being captured and brainwashed along with several other former Cobra agents. He was frequently given continuous sessions of brainwashing to ensure his loyalty, and it took him a few years to finally shake off the programming and rejoin his sword brother, Snake Eyes. Storm Shadow participates in training the Joe's official Ninja Force. He relates to the students how he was unable to master a specific skill until he attempted to teach it; this allowed him to view the skill from different angles and ultimately master it. In the next issue, Storm Shadow and the Ninja Force encounter an attack from the Cobra allied mercenary force called the 'Night Creepers'.
Devil's Due Publishing
America's Elite
When the G.I. Joe team is reactivated in Devil's Due Publishing's G.I. Joe: America's Elite, Storm Shadow is added to the team due to his expertise as a covert ops specialist and ninja. However, what proves more important to the team, is the knowledge he gained as Cobra Commander's bodyguard. While Snake Eyes and Stalker accept him as a member, fellow team member Shipwreck is the most vocal about his suspicions, considering the ninja's constantly changing loyalties. Storm Shadow is the first to learn of the Baroness being alive and being held in the basement of the new G.I. Joe command center, "The Rock". After Snake Eyes' death aboard Destro's sub, Storm Shadow assists the team in search of the body, and encounters Major Bludd in Australia. He finds the clan had raised Snake Eyes from the dead, and had used some of their ancient techniques to place Sei-Ten in the body of T'jbang. After stopping Snake Eyes by placing Scarlett's life in danger, Storm Shadow temporarily leaves the team to assist the Red Ninjas in rebuilding and reviving their leader to set things right. Storm Shadow returns to stop Cobra from liberating prisoners from the G.I. Joe prison facility "The Coffin", assisted by a mole within Cobra. He is partially successful, but Tomax manages to free Major Bludd and several others, while killing those Cobra Commander considered "loose ends". Storm Shadow then tracks down Destro and the Baroness, so that they can help disable Cobra's M.A.R.S. tech devices. They join the rest of the main team, in defeating several Cobra cells, and disarming nuclear weapons that Cobra Commander has placed in the Amazon and Antarctica.The seven-issue solo series Storm Shadow, written by the original writer Larry Hama, follows Storm Shadow after leaving the G.I. Joe team.