Barbecue (G.I. Joe)

Barbecue
G.I. Joe character
Detail from the cover to Marvel UK's Action Force issue #32 featuring Barbecue. Art by Geoff Senior.
First appearance	1985
Voiced by	Loren Lester (Sunbow) Lee Jeffrey (DiC) Jerry O'Connell (Renegades)
Affiliation	G.I. Joe
Specialty	Firefighter
File name	Kelly, Gabriel A.
Birth place	Boston, Massachusetts
SN	321-61-4231
Rank	E-4
Primary MOS	Fireman
Secondary MOS	Infantry
Subgroups	Eco-Warriors Slaughter's Marauders

Barbecue is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series. He is the G.I. Joe Team's fire fighter and debuted in 1985.

His real name is Gabriel A. Kelly, and his rank is that of corporal E-4. Barbecue was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

Barbecue's primary military specialty is fireman, and his secondary military specialty is infantry. Barbecue would have been the seventh Kelly in his family line in the Boston Fire department, if he hadn't joined the G.I. Joe Team. He does his job out of a sense of civic duty, not out of family loyalty. He also happens to like loud sirens, clanging bells, and breaking down doors with axes.

Barbecue is known off-duty as a party animal. His wild tendencies sometimes bring him into conflict with teammate Stalker, who doesn't believe that G.I. Joe is a place for partiers, regardless of whether it interferes with their performance on the G.I. Joe team. After the team was temporarily disbanded and reinstated, Barbecue offered his services once again, and was accepted back on reserve status for special missions.

He is shown to have dark blonde hair and a peach skin complexion when not wearing his helmet.

Barbecue was first released as an action figure in 1985. The figure was repainted and released as part of the Slaughter's Marauders line in 1989. A new version of Barbecue was released as part of the "Eco-Warriors" line in 1992.

New versions of Barbecue were released in 2008 for the G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary line, and in 2009 for the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra line.

In the Marvel Comics G.I. Joe series, he first appeared in issue #40 (October 1985), crawling out of a storage locker on the Joe's new battle platform. His appearance is unexpected and earns him a pistol pointed in his face from Shipwreck. He is part of a team of Joes assigned to erect the new transportable Air-Sea Base in the Gulf of Mexico. When Cobra attacks, seeking to trigger the geological fault-line there, Barbecue helps protect the platform, by chopping off burning pieces, and leaping onto attacking hydrofoils. In the next issue, all available Joes are assigned to take down the newly formed Cobra Island. The island was created as a result of Cobra's efforts, and the Joes seek to drive Cobra off the island before they can claim sovereignty. Shipwreck and Barbecue take out a Cobra HISS tank by themselves. Legal maneuvering has Cobra Island recognized as a nation, and the Joes are forced to leave.