Since getting back into the GI Joe game in 2002, I've read a lot of things. Heard a lot of things. Learned a lot of things. I even came to terms w/ some of my beefs about GI Joe in general. Since coming here, it sometimes feels like I'm starting over. Because here, I have to figure out my Joeverse because it's reflected in my dios.

Several people don't like Duke. I never liked the guy until, ahem, Sigma6 where he was a wooden leader. That seemed more like Duke than anything Sunbow did, imo. At the same time, I didn't like Flint either!

I've come to a conclusion about why I didn't like Duke or Flint. They were authority figures. I guess I was seeing on-screen, characters I wouldn't want to be around or would want to follow. When I started skateboarding in 1986, part of the deal w/ skating is to be anti-authoritarian. Seeing Duke as the poster boy, it was like, automatic hate!

But it's more than that. Duke was the guy where the universe revolved around him. I remember in grade school, it felt the same way. The trendys were the guys who made the rules in school, y'know? In my case, they were blonde. And now, just watching Karate Kid, the main 'villian' is ultra blonde and the universe revolved around him! I know, totally weird. But there were kids that looked just like Johnny and acted like him. In grade school. In middle school. In high school. It's no wonder I had a beef against a cartoon character! lol

Just fyi.