Iron Grenadiers

Iron Grenadiers

Logo for Iron Grenadiers
Type	Action Figures
Company	Hasbro
Country	United States
Availability	1988–1990

The Iron Grenadiers are a faction from the military-themed line of action figures and toys known as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.

They are a private army owned and maintained by the arms dealer Destro. The Grenadiers are composed of Destro's castle guards, personal bodyguards, and mercenaries. Unlike Cobra’s troops, the Grenadiers tend to be well-motivated financially since each have a share in Destro’s weapons sales.

The group first appeared as part of the Battle Force 2000 sub-line in the 1988 series of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy line and also made appearances in the animated series and comics.

The Iron Grenadiers are led by Destro. Following the storyline in the comic book series at the time, the file cards indicate that Destro had, at some point, left Cobra and formed his own army. He begins having dreams of world domination, as did Cobra Commander.

To lead his army, Destro enlisted Voltar first and later General Mayhem to act as field commander. The Grenadiers are organized according to their specialties.

The Iron Grenadier was first released as an action figure in 1988, as the handpicked bodyguards of Destro's new elite troopers. Destro was also re-released this year, this time clad in a gold battle mask with cape and ceremonial sword. Other figures released in 1988 as part of the Iron Grenadiers, were Voltar, and the Ferret and Nullifier vehicle drivers.

An Iron Grenadier appeared in G.I. Joe #69 of the comics series published by Marvel Comics. During that time, Destro had broken his ties with Cobra. After months out of the spotlight, Destro resurfaced in Sierra Gordo, where he supplied weapons to the local government and the rebels. To mark a new beginning in his life, he adopted a new uniform and fashioned his own aide-de-camp sergeant major into the first of the Grenadiers.

The Grenadiers appeared as an army in issue #73–76 where they participated in the Cobra Civil War as a wild card. Destro's personal ride, a D.E.M.O.N. tank, battled a group of Dreadnoks riding the Thunder Machine. The result was a stalemate of sorts. Their objective in the civil war was to retrieve the Baroness and they managed to achieve their goal without any losses. Some of the storyline featured Grenadiers in their downtime.