I'm going to go ahead and actually state I like duke.. no honestly I do. He was one of the key characters I waited to get when completing series 2. He also remains to be the only figure I have MISB with flag sticker.
Ever since I saw the figure online I thought.. "I want a duke figure complete with US Flag sticker" it was a real great sence of achievement when I actually won him.

As for Duke and the actual subject here.. what would happen if Duke died.. well I guess Falcon or Stalker would be upped. My first guess would be Stalker since we're talking 80s here Stalker actually gets upped to Sergeant at some point anyway right?

So I guess that sorts itself out quite nicely.. now onto the other part of the thread:

you see i dont like duke. and i know some of you also dont like him. so do any of you think this may effect the toy line in any way, if thay did kill off that ##@$%%$# of duke.?

You mentioned you don't like duke.. the character, the figure or both.. this is incredibly vague .. lets say it is both then.. what don't you like about him? The fact the bigshots decided to not kill him off? It's a bit harsh on the character .. because after all its not like he has a say in the matter.. and if he did.. why would he himself admit to wanting to be killed? You mention you don't like him without even giving any reasons to back up why?

I think the first series duke figure and the second release (on card) are great representations of who we see in the comic at the early stages. The gold badges on the chest pocket are a great touch to the figure and the accessories are decent. The character himself is also well thought out.. and is a good addition to the GIJOE team... thats my honest opinion of why I like duke.