Cover Girl (G.I. Joe)
Cover Girl is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. She is a tank jockey for the G.I. Joe Team, specializing in the Wolverine missile tank, and debuted in 1983 on the same team.
Cover Girl | |
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G.I. Joe character | |
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First appearance | 1983 |
Voiced by | Libby Aubrey (Sunbow) Grey DeLisle (Resolute) |
In-universe information | |
Affiliation | G.I. Joe |
Specialty | Wolverine Driver |
File name | Krieger, Courtney A. |
Birth place | Peoria, Illinois |
SN | RA 973244860 |
Rank | E-4 (Specialist) E-5 (Sergeant) (Devil's Due comics) |
Primary MOS | Armor |
Secondary MOS | Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV) Mechanics, Counterintelligence |
Profile
Her real name is Courtney A. Krieger, and she was born in Peoria, Illinois. Her primary military specialty is armor and her secondary military specialty is AFV (Armored Fighting Vehicle) mechanic.
Prior to joining G.I. Joe, Cover Girl was a highly successful fashion model in Chicago and New York and graced the covers of countless magazines. She eventually found the world of modeling unfulfilling and joined the army to seek out new challenges in life. In order to prove that she was not just a pretty face, she attended Armor School at Fort Knox as well as related tech schools. Cover Girl is proficient in diesel mechanics & gas turbine technology. She is also a qualified expert with the LAW (Light Anti-Armor Weapon) rocket, Dragon AT (Anti-Tank) missile, M-16 and the M1911A1 Auto Pistol.[1]
Though her specialty was primarily armor based, Cover Girl was eventually called upon to use her expertise in makeup and stagecraft for undercover and intelligence-gathering operations. She resented assignments that took advantage of her natural beauty, but eventually expanded her knowledge of undercover work at Fort Huachuca Military Intelligence School. This increased the scope of her skill set as a capable field agent for the G.I. Joe Team.[2]
Toys
Cover Girl was first released as an action figure in 1983, packaged with the "Wolverine" tank.[3] She was not updated until 2005, when she was released in the Devil's Due Fans' Choice three-pack of figures (along with Spirit Iron-Knife and Hannibal: Reborn), but her codename was dropped, with the packaging referring to her as "Agent Courtney Kreiger".[4]
International variants
The 1983 figure has been released in Brazil as "Agente Secreta: Sparta". In Argentina, Cover Girl was repainted with blue highlights, and released an Argentinian version of "Sparta".[5]
Comics
Marvel Comics
Cover Girl first appears in the Marvel Comics series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #16 (October 1983). She works with other Joes to protect the U.S. Treasury building from Cobra agents.[6] Later, she works with the womanizer Clutch to chase Cobra operatives in Europe.[7]
Cover Girl joins a Joe raid of the fictional country of Frusenland in an attempt to stop Cobra from brainwashing the citizens into violence. She works with tank driver Back-Stop to destroy many Cobra vehicles. She and the other Joes are affected by Cobra's brainwashing weapons and then saved from certain death by Battleforce 2000, the very men they had entered the country to protect.[8]
She is one of the many Joes on the run from the law due to the Jugglers' wishing to blame the team for a badly-executed raid on Cobra Island. In the ensuing rescue of General Hawk and General Hollingsworth from their clinic/prison, Cover Girl is shot in the shoulder.[9] In Special Missions #24, Cover Girl, Lady Jaye, Scarlett and Jinx work to protect the President during an exhibition baseball game by grudgingly going undercover as cheerleaders, but he is nonetheless captured by a Cobra blimp. Working with Hardball, she assists with the rescue by batting a gas canister into the blimp. In the same issue it was revealed that she was able to bring people out of hypnosis, undoing the effects caused by the Cobra hypnotist Crystal Ball.[10]
Cover Girl's final Marvel series appearance was a cameo in #149, monitoring Destro's castle.[11]
Devil's Due
Starting from 'Devil's Due' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (vol. 2) #16 she teams with Joe members Spirit and Snake Eyes to figure out why identical looking children are being kidnapped. This soon blends in to an incident where she and Spirit are one of many Joes held prisoner on the newly revamped Cobra Island. The group escapes with the intervention of Cobra Commander, also a prisoner.
It was revealed in Issue #20 of G.I. Joe: America's Elite that she was dating Shipwreck, much to the jealousy of Clutch. [12] Cover Girl has appeared with Shipwreck in G.I. Joe Special Missions: Brazil. Her relationship with Shipwreck is revealed in depth via flashbacks while in the present the two work together to rescue a kidnapped Senator in Rio de Janeiro.[13] Their relationship again comes into focus when the two confront a retired Cobra agent named Skullbuster. The two Joes eventually subdue and capture their adversary.[14]
In 'The Real American Hero' series by Larry Hama, Cover Girl awakens from a coma caused by a shootout with a Crimson Guardsman. Her throat has been severely injured, causing a deep voice that scares children.[15]
In the alternate reality of the G.I. Joe Vs. Transformers continuity, Cover Girl assists Snake Eyes who had been wounded in his face by an explosion. This was caused by attacking alien robots.[16]
IDW Publishing
Cover-Girl is part of a G.I.Joe tank crew that works with the remnants of the Oktober Guard to protect civilians from Cobra factional fighting. She is assisted by Cross-Country, Steeler and Wildcard.[17] A later origin issue [18] reveals that she was recruited after showing an aptitude for cold-blooded killing when she slaughters a group of pirates single-handed, later admitting that she finally found something she was good at—killing people.
Cover Girl appeared in issue #193 of IDW Publishing's continuation of the ARAH storyline, talking to Junkyard.[19]
Animated series
Sunbow
In Sunbow's G.I. Joe animated series, Cover Girl was voiced by Liz Aubrey. She first appears in the "Real American Hero" mini-series, in which she wears a green jacket and has long blonde hair. She was redesigned to better resemble her action figure (with a brown jacket and short auburn hair) from her next appearance in "The Revenge of Cobra" mini-series onwards. Cover Girl's background as a model is hinted at in the second-season episode, "Glamor Girls". She and Lady Jaye infiltrate a modeling shoot arranged by a disguised Zartan and Baroness. Cover Girl tricks the two Cobra agents into showing they're fakes by telling them she and Lady Jaye came from an agency that has been out of business for years. Cover Girl and Lady Jaye later rescue several models and actresses that had been captured by Cobra because of the scheme.[20]
G.I. Joe: The Movie
Cover Girl appears as a background character in several scenes of the 1987 animated G.I. Joe: The Movie.
Resolute
Cover Girl also appears in the animated series, G.I. Joe: Resolute as an auburn brunette. She is seen assisting in the evacuation of the U.S.S. Flagg.
Renegades
In the G.I. Joe: Renegades episode "Shipwrecked", Cover Girl (Courtney Kreiger) was first mentioned by Shipwreck when he showed Courtney's model poster to the Joes after Duke asked Shipwreck why he called his ship Courtney. Her picture is shown on a wall in which she is shown with Blonde Hair.
Live action film
Cover Girl | |
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G.I. Joe character | |
First appearance | 2009 |
Portrayed by | Karolína Kurková |
In-universe information | |
Affiliation | G.I. Joe |
Specialty | Special Weapons Expert |
File name | Kreiger, Courtney[21] |
SN | 973-24-CK44 |
Rank | Corporal (E-4) |
Series | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra |
![](../I/Karolina_Kurkova_2011_Shankbone.JPG.webp)
In the film of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, she has a brief role played by Czech supermodel and real life cover girl Karolína Kurková. She serves as aide-de-camp to General Hawk. She is killed by Zartan when Cobra invades the Pit.
To coincide with the launch of the new movie, Hasbro released one Cover Girl figure. She is listed as Courtney "Cover Girl" Kreiger with the specialty of Special Weapons Officer.[22]
Other works
- The character of Cover Girl is discussed at length in the non-fiction novel The Paradise of Bombs.[23]
- She is mentioned as a strong female character in the non-fiction novel Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture.[24]
- Dorian Brown played an FBI agent named Courtney Krieger in the NCIS episode "Identity Crisis".
References
- Hama, Larry (1987). Howard Mackie (ed.). G.I. Joe Order Of Battle. Marvel Entertainment Group. p. 28. ISBN 0-87135-288-5.
- Hidalgo, Pablo (2009). G.I. Joe vs. Cobra: The Essential Guide 1982-2008. Random House. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-345-51642-8.
- Bellomo, Mark (2005). The Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe 1982-1994. Krause Publications. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-89689-922-3.
- "AGENT COURTNEY KRIEGER (v1), YOJOE.COM | YoJoe.com: Dedicated to the G.I.Joe of the 80's, 90's and beyond!". YoJoe.com. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
- "COVER GIRL (v1), YOJOE.COM | YoJoe.com: Dedicated to the G.I.Joe of the 80's, 90's and beyond!". YoJoe.com. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #16 (October 1983)
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #23
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #68 (1987)
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #78 (Oct 1988)
- G.I. Joe Special Missions #24
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #149 (June 1994)
- G.I. Joe: America's Elite #20 (Feb. 2007)
- G.I.Joe Special Missions: Brazil (May 2007)
- G.I. Joe: America's Elite #27 (August 2007)
- G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero #230 (August 2016)
- Blaylock, Josh (w), Miller, Mike S. (p), Durruthy, Armando (i). G.I. Joe vs. The Transformers 1 (July 2003), Image Comics
- "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" #173 (December 2011)
- G.I. Joe. #6 (July 2013)
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #193 (July 2013)
- "Glamor Girls". G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.
- "2009 File Card Packaged with action figure ©Hasbro". Yojoe.com. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
- "News: Movie Figure Previews!". YoJoe!. 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2009-04-25.
- Sanders, Scott (1993). The Paradise of Bombs. Beacon Press. pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-0-8070-6343-9.
- Inness, Sherrie (2004). Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-4039-6396-3.
External links
- Cover Girl at JMM's G.I. Joe Comics Home Page
- Cover Girl at YOJOE.com