Legendary professional wrestler and WWE Hall-of-Famer Robert Rudolph Remus, better known as Sgt. Slaughter, is returning to the world of G.I. Joe after inking a new multi-year deal with Hasbro.
As reported by The Toy Book, Remus made an appearance at the latest Hasbro Pulse stream as Sgt. Slaughter, announcing that he had been “called back into active duty by ‘Joe Command.” Hasbro also revealed a new, 6-inch scale G.I. Joe Classified Series action figure of Sgt. Slaughter, which is expected to hit retailers sometime soon. Six additional characters — Zarana, Tiger Force Recondo, Crimson Guard, Tiger Force David L. “Bazooka” Katzenbogen, a Python Patrol Officer and Dusty — are set to join the Classified Series as well.
Remus/Sgt. Slaughter began his professional wrestling career in 1972, performing for various territories falling under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). In the late ’70s, he began performing for the American Wrestling Association (AWA) as the masked wrestler Super Destroyer Mark II, having been trained by AWA bossman Verne Gagne himself.
As Sgt. Slaughter, Remus first made the jump to WWE (then known as the WWF) in 1980, though departed the company in 1981 and returned to the NWA. He returned to the WWF in 1983 before leaving in 1984, making his way back to the AWA in 1985. Slaughter once again returned to the WWF in 1990, beginning a highly-controversial heel (i.e. villain) run that saw him win the WWF Championship. He departed the company again in 1994 before returning in 1997, and has continued to make sporadic appearances for WWF/WWE over the years, being featured as recently as 2019. Sgt. Slaughter was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004.
Of course, Remus’ Sgt. Slaughter character is also known for being part of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero franchise, appearing as a toy, as well as in comic books and cartoons. G.I. Joe‘s fictionalized (well, more fictionalized) version of Sgt. Slaughter made his comic book debut in Marvel Comics’ G.I. Joe #48 and his first animated appearance in “Arise, Serpentor, Arise!,” a five-part episode of Sunbow Entertainment’s G.I. Joe animated series. Both G.I. Joe #48 and “Arise, Serpentor, Arise!” came out in 1986.
According to Remus himself, the WWF’s refusal to let Sgt. Slaughter be a part of G.I. Joe served as the catalyst for his 1984 departure.
Source: The Toy Book
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