History Headscratchers / GIJoeRenegades

** The original reason for Snake Eyes's ethnicity was [[spoiler:Larry Hama, who both wrote the original comics and apparently the file cards that came with the action figures, wanted to make a point. As a Japanese-American, he had encountered some cultural hostility from native Japanese, and so Snake Eyes, along with being based lightly on a real military sergeant he knew, was also used as a bit of an author insert, his way of saying that he had just as much claim over his culture.]]

*** I might have missed something, but ''what'' demands? All the above troper stated was that[[spoiler: Larry Hama dealt with cultural hostility for being Japanese-American]]. Furthermore, the entry was more about Snake-Eyes specifically [[spoiler:being MightyWhitey]]. There are plenty of ways to lay claim to your own culture without raising different UnfortunateImplications, especially when they consist of one of the most contemptible tropes among minorities since UncleTomfoolery.
*** Larry Hama hates being called Japanese-American because he is something like a third generation American. He said that so many people feel the need to include the hyphen and somehow that implies he isn't a full American. And then he is treated like he should be wearing a [[WearingAFlagOnYourHead Japanese flag bandana]] at all times, which is the cultural hostility that was mentioned. My understanding is that the relationship between Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes is his AuthorAvatar, one representing his ethnic heritage and the other representing his nationality. Both are awesome badasses and in several continuities the two become BloodBrothers / BashBrothers after they straighten out their rivalry. MightyWhitey isn't always UnfortunateImplications, but might actually be the point. Their story usually goes that [[spoiler: a third party is the one who killed their Master, so ''both'' were in the wrong for blaming the other.]]

* "A Ragtag bunch of fugitives" the Joe's ave always been the best of the best degrading them to "fugitives trying to clear their names" degrades the entire franchise. Heck i can live with their cover being fugitives until they can expose cobra but the idea that they don't even have the support of the government just makes my stomach turn. a more Mission Impossible vibe would have suited me better, "As you know until we expose cobra the United States government can neither condone nor acknowledge your existence."

*** Ninja IdiotBall. Much stealthier than regular Western IdiotBall. Or perhaps they've been so busy training and eluding Storm Shadow that they couldn't find the time. Besides, seeing as how Snake Eyes was hanging on for his life, sign language probably would not have been the best idea at the time. What's more...it seems Snake Eyes has his own form of sign language; more direct, to the point, and leaves out little details like [[spoiler: "I was trying to save your Papa-san by performing an emergency tracheotomy."]]

* How did Jinx expect for Snake-Eyes to explian what happened with the death of the Hard Master, when he apparently dosen't know sign langauge or have a piece of paper?
** Why haven't Snake-Eyes or Jinx ever thought to learn sign langauge?

* The episode with the Dreadnoks only annoyed me with the ending. While teaching the town to defend itself was good, the Sheriff getting courage wasn't. It would have made much more sense to have the town stop the Dreadnoks and get a ''new'' sheriff who wouldn't be such a coward. His getting guts at the end seemed just a tacked on moment to me.

* While the point is [[spoiler:Snake-Eyes is supposedly MightyWhitey]] there's also a bit of FridgeBrilliance here. [[spoiler:The members of of the ninja clan are ''so'' loyally clinging to traditions, that ''need'' to be changed it takes an outsider to make them see it. Granted this Snake-Eyes ''didn't have to be white]] but still the point stands.
* The episode with the Dreadnoks only annoyed me with the ending. While teaching the town to defend itself was good, the Sheriff getting courage wasn't. It would have made much more sense to have the town stop the Dreadnoks and get a ''new'' sheriff who would be such a coward. His getting guts at the end seemed just a tacked on moment to me.

* While the point is [[spoiler:Snake-Eyes is supposedly MightyWhitey]] there's also a bit of FridgeBrilliance here. [[spoiler:The members of of the ninja clan are ''so'' loyally clinging to traditions, that ''need'' to be changed it takes an outsider to make them see it. Granted this Snake-Eyes ''didn't have to be white]] but still the point stands.

*** What personally bugs ''this'' [[@/{{Ranchoth}} troper]] the most (well, relatively speaking. In addition to the rest. [[MetaPhorgotten At the moment]]...)? The show's title sequence actually includes bits of the characters bios, like in the toy filecards. They even use the original information for the characters, including Lady Jaye...aka "Alison Hart-Burnett; Birthplace: Martha's Vineyard, Maryland."
This troper will concede that it doesn't seem ''[[DamnedByFaintPraise completely]]'' unbelievable.

*** Larry Hama hates being called Japanese-American because he is something like a third generation American. He said that so many people feel the need to include the hyphen and somehow that implies he isn't a full American. And then he is treated like he should be wearing a [[WearingAFlagOnYourHead Japanese flag bandana]] at all times, which is the cultural hostility that was mentioned. My understanding is that the relationship between Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes is his AuthorAvatar, one representing his ethnic heritage and the other representing his nationality. Both are awesome badasses and in several continuities the two become BloodBrothers / BashBrothers after they straighten out their rivalry. MighteyWhitey isn't always UnfortunateImplications, but might actually be the point. Their story usually goes that [[spoiler: a third party is the one who killed their Master, so ''both'' were in the wrong for blaming the other.]]

*** Larry Hama hates being called Japanese-American because he is something like a third generation American. He said that so many people feel the need to include the hyphen and somehow that implies he isn't a full American. And then he is treated like he should be wearing a [[WearingAFlagOnYourHead Japanese flag bandana]] at all times, which is the cultural hostility that was mentioned. My understanding is that the relationship between Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes is his AuthorAvatar, one representing his ethnic heritage and the other representing his nationality. Both are awesome badasses and in several continuities the two become BloodBrothers / BashBrothers after they straighten out their rivalry. MighteyWhitey isn't always UnfortunateImplications, but might actually be the point. Their story usually goes that [[spoiler: a third party is the one who killed their Master, so ''both'' were in the wrong for blaming the other.]]

*** I might have missed something, but ''what'' demands? All the above troper stated was that[[spoiler: Larry Hama dealt with cultural hostility for being Japanese-American]]. Furthermore, the entry was more about Snake-Eyes specifically [[spoiler:being MightyWhitey]]. There are plenty of ways to lay claim to your own culture without raising different UnfortunateImplications, especially when they consist of one of the most contemptible tropes among minorities since UncleTomfoolery.

*** [[FridgeLogic So he couldn't have made]] Snake-Eyes [[spoiler:a Japanese-American dealing with the same thing?]]
*** That's basically giving in to their demands while the whole message is that a writer (or anyone in the creative arts) shouldn't be restricted to telling stories solely about their ethnicity. It's kind of like lambasting QuentinTarantino for making JackieBrown or KillBill because he's telling stories about cultures he is not a part of.

**** [[FridgeLogic So he couldn't have made]] Snake-Eyes [[spoiler:a Japanese-American dealing with the same thing?]]

*** Still reeks of it, regardless of origins. Also, see Lady Jaye's inclusion (made by another troper) above. If they could change her, they easily could have switched Snake-Eyes around and had it make a lot more sense.

*** Still reeks of it, regardless of origins. Also, see Lady Jaye's inclusion (made by another troper) above. If they could change her, they easily could have switched Snake-Eyes around and had it make [[FrideLogic a lot more sense]].

*** Still reeks of it, regardless of origins.

**** So he couldn't have made Snake-Eyes [[spoiler:a Japanese-American dealing with the same thing?]]

*** Still reeks of it, regardless of origins.

** So he couldn't have made Snake-Eyes [[spoiler:a Japanese-American dealing with the same thing?]]

** The original reason for Snake Eyes's ethnicity was [[spoiler:Larry Hama, who both wrote the original comics and apparently the file cards that came with the action figures, wanted to make a point. As a Japanese-American, he had encountered some cultural hostility from native Japanese, and so Snake Eyes, along with being based lightly on a real military sergeant he knew, was also used as a bit of an author insert, his way of saying that he had just as much claim over his culture.]]

* Snake-Eyes being [[spoiler:a blond white man JustBugsMe. It reeks a bit of MightyWhitey, especially given that the native character is the bad guy, and Snake-Eyes had to ran off with the cute little heiress]].
** True but Snake-Eyes has been [[spoiler:a white man]] since the begining and in ''every'' incarnation since. They're not likely going to change it for a more PC character.

* Snake-Eyes being [[spoiler:a blond white man JustBugsMe. It reeks a bit of MightyWhitey, especially given that the native character is the bad guy, and Snake-Eyes had to ran off with the cute little heiress]].

*** Playing Devil's Advocate here: why ''that'' established character, then? Codenames are supposed to make sense. (Actually, true ''code'' names aren't, but this is a kids' cartoon in a MerchandiseDriven franchise, so eh.) The reason for Lady Jaye's name in the old '80s series was that she actually is related to European nobility (and in fact is a cousin, however distant, of the Baroness). I suppose she might be related to Spanish or Portugese royalty or something...

** The problem with making an original character is that, really, fans aren't going to care one whit about an original character. If you had an original character instead, the complaints would be "Why didn't you use [established character]?" So they take an established character and change one trait which, honestly, shouldn't make any lick of difference anyway.

* So they made Lady Jaye a Latina. Now, I could care less about a character's race (especially if the change is of a [[TheSpectacularSpiderMan minor]] [[{{Smallville}} character]]), and I know that "too many whities" can make a show stale and not seem inclusive. Yet when they take a [[YourMileageMayVary main]] character from the original cartoon and change her race entirely, it just seems like a [[ExecutiveMeddling cheap attempt]] to make it look like they're globally sensitive (see ''Rise Of Cobra''). I understand how it can be a positive influence on a young viewer who sees a bit of him/herself in the character, when so many heroes are portrayed as white...I get that. Yet if they really wanted a fiery Latina on the show, wouldn't it have been more poignant to make an ORIGINAL character that was entertaining and interesting in her own right that happened to have that heritage, rather than just altering a pre-existing one? (I'll grant, there could be a rights issue I don't know about.) It isn't a single aspect that ruins the entire show for me. Heck, she may even grow on me over time with her accent and improper grammer. Right now, though, it just seems...unnecessary.