General Flagg

General Flagg
G.I. Joe character
First appearance	1982
Voiced by	John Stephenson (Sunbow/Marvel)
Affiliation	G.I. Joe
Specialty	G.I. Joe Commander
File name	Flagg, Lawrence J.
Birth place	Philadelphia, PA
SN	RA 818-50-1673
Rank	O-7
Primary MOS	Infantry Commander
Secondary MOS	Field Artillery

General Flagg
G.I. Joe character
First appearance	1992
Affiliation	G.I. Joe
Specialty	G.I. Joe General
File name	Flagg III, James Longstreet
Birth place	Alexandria, VA
SN	212-9820-GU95
Rank	O-7
Primary MOS	Chief Strategic Commander
Secondary MOS	General Commander

General Flagg is the code name as well as the rank and surname of two fictional characters from the toyline, cartoon and comic series, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.

The two characters are Brigadier General Lawrence J. Flagg (the USS Flagg aircraft carrier was named after him) and Brigadier General James L. Flagg III, his son. Five generations of Flaggs before them made careers in the military. Both became commanding officers in the G.I. Joe Team.

Lawrence J. Flagg was a Brigadier General in the US Army. Hailing from a long family line of soldiers, General Flagg served the better part of his life in the Armed Forces. In the 1970s, he was responsible for creating Special Counter-Terrorist Group Delta, in response to rising terrorist threats, especially the evil Cobra Organization. Flagg dubbed the team G.I. Joe, in honor of the team that had been headed by Lt. Joseph Colton some years before. General Flagg led the team in more of an advisory capacity, choosing Colonel Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy as field leader, and allowing Hawk to make most of the membership and operations decisions.

The general is featured early on in the Marvel Comics run. He was the first commander of the G.I. Joe Team and appeared in the first issue. He sends the team in to a Cobra fortress to rescue Dr. Adele Burkhardt, a nuclear physicist and pacifist. In the second issue, he sends a four-man Joe team to the Arctic Circle, to investigate the deaths of military men stationed there. In both situations, he works closely with General Austin, who would be an ally of the Joe team for years to come. He has a cameo directing the disposition of Cobra prisoners and related supplies.

In issue #5, Flagg becomes involved in the action, when Cobra's role in a military parade is uncovered by several men under his command. Flagg goes after Cobra Commander personally. The Cobra Commander fires one shot, creasing Flagg's temple, and then fades into the crowd. When questioned by one of his men why he did not fire back, as he is known for his pistol skills, General Flagg simply looks at several nearby children. He had not fired, because they had been too close to the action.

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Wikipedia