Flint (G.I. Joe)
| The name or term "Flint" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Flint (disambiguation). |
- Flint is a member of G.I. Joe from the G.I. Joe portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Flint is a warrant officer and occasional field leader for the counter-terrorist team G.I. Joe. Although a helicopter pilot by training, he's more than willing to mix things up on the ground. His real name is (usually) Dashiell R. Faireborn. He was born in Wichita, Kansas.
He is (sometimes) the son of Nathaniel Faireborn and the father of Marissa Faireborn.
Fiction
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Transformers cartoon
- Voice actor: Bill Ratner (English), Takurō Kitagawa (Japanese)
In the year 2006, Dashiell Faireborn was still quite active. Although usually busy with his duties (whatever those may be), he occasionally took enough time off to visit with his daughter, Marissa. At least, he did it often enough that young Marissa was not immediately suspicious when a Quintesson used an elaborate hologram of her father to trick her on board its ship for examination and eventual dissection.
Judging from Marissa's reaction when told that her father was visiting, it can be assumed that she and Flint have a very loving, if not particularly close, relationship. The Killing Jar
Japanese cartoon continuity
Kiss Players
Flint and his family were living in New York City in the mid-1990s, but his work was keeping him busy, and his daughter Marissa was starting to resent him. As such, when Optimus Prime saved Flint and Marissa after one of Flint's missions went sour, Marissa began looking upon the Autobot leader as a kind of surrogate father figure... and maybe a little bit more.
Yeah, Flint gave his kid some issues.
Story of Binaltech
By the year 2004, Flint had become a member of the Earth Defense Command, working with the Autobots to safeguard Earth. After the Autobots upgraded themselves into Binaltech bodies with the E.D.C.'s help, the Decepticons infiltrated the project and began co-opting Binaltech shells for their own warriors. Arise! Evil Binaltechs Fearful that the unjust suspicions amongst the Binaltech Project collaborators that this breach of security had caused could completely derail the joint venture, Flint teamed with Jazz to head up "Operation: Carwash". This special operations units that would suppress information of the Decepticons' infiltration, and help to weed out the truth behind the infiltration, along with any traitors responsible. Operation: Carwash
Flint's investigation led him to the Concurrence, a group of villainous humans who sought to eventually rid the solar system of all Transformers. He learned that the Concurrence had teamed up with the Decepticons to achieve their goal, and that they had used an advanced combination of Doctor Arkeville's hypno-chips and Bombshell's cerebro-shells to brainwash innocent Binaltech Project scientists into reviving injured Decepticons for them. Flint transmitted this information to the Autobots, noting that it should go straight to commander Ultra Magnus at Autobot City as soon as possible, so that the mind control devices could be found and nullified. Knowing that Concurrence agents would soon be upon him, he signed off by reminding the message's recipients to keep his cover story up by telling his family that he'd be enjoying himself at the Lunar Colony for a little while longer. Expose All of Evil's Designs!
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel G.I. Joe and the Transformers comics
Marvel UK
On Earth-120185, Flint is David R. Faireborn, born in Lincoln, England. He wears a US Army belt, an honorary award for his part in a hush-hush mission. As the field commander of Action Force's European operations, working out of London, Flint once found himself caught in the middle of the Autobot/Decepticon war on Earth.
When exploring a mysterious report of giant creatures in the Roman sewers under London with archaeologist Susan Hoffman, Flint and the Action Force encountered first the Protectobot Blades, and then, more ominously, Megatron (sort of). The situation swiftly escaped his control and, when he falsely believed Wild Bill to be dead, he sent in Action Force's Mauler tanks and Dragonfly copters... which Megatron stomped. Horrified by what he'd caused and noticing the Autobot forces couldn't stop Megatron, he ended up ordering a Skystriker air-strike on a gas refinery to stop the mad robot. Autobot leader Grimlock would be killed, but it was his life for countless thousands...
Flint bore witness to the sacrifice of the noble Centurion, who engaged Megatron at the refinery so Grimlock could be safely pulled out of there. After hearing that Centurion had been suffering from concerns that he was an outdated relic, Flint stated that Centurion was more an old soldier, and that he was proud to honour him. Ancient Relics!
Marvel Generation 2 comic
Flint was present at a temporary G.I. Joe base-camp that was set up outside of Milleville, New York. The Joes had been staking out the town after being tipped off about a Cobra air armada being on the move—an armada, they would soon learn, that included Megatron and the Ark. Goin' South
The Decepticon army, under Megatron's full command once more, relentlessly attacked the Earth in an attempt to draw out Optimus Prime. London, Moscow, Tokyo, Washington, D.C.... the Decepticons' carnage was global, the entire planet becoming a smoldering ruin before them.
The U.S. Army was in shambles. The G.I. Joe team, under the command of General Hawk, was given the task of salvaging the dwindling counter-offensive.
Flint was present as Hawk voiced his fears about humanity's chance of survival; unless Skydive could get them significant reinforcements, they were done for. Interrupting Hawk in mid-sentence came both Skydive and Optimus Prime... which caused Flint to wonder if Skydive knew that "significant" meant "more than one".
Skydive tried to explain that Optimus was no ordinary Autobot, but Prime cut him off. The Autobot leader went on to explain his reasoning to Hawk and Flint, saying that a full-scale conflict would only make things worse. Optimus hoped to speak to Megatron, to make him aware of an even greater evil that threatened them all... which Flint promptly spat at, figuring the giant killer robot wasn't in a listening mood. The Gathering Darkness
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers continuity
Following the emergence of Cobra, Dashielle Faireborn became one of the three founding members of G.I. Joe, serving as their chief tactician. He was more than a little boastful about his strategic knowledge. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #1 After taking on the codename Flint, he helped figure out where Cobra would most likely strike next, namely the SPS Research Center. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #2 Confident that he had planned for every possibility, he spent the rest of his time watching TV and ended up being late for a meeting. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #3 When G.I. Joe prepared to attack Cobra Island, two generals arrived from the Pentagon and ordered them to cancel the attack and betray their new alien friends, as they were going to nuke the island. Flint protested on the basis that the Transformers were living beings, but his argument fell on deaf ears. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4 G.I. Joe ultimately ignored their orders and left for Cobra Island. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5 During the attack, he helped pepper Megatron with bullets. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #6
Roughly two years later, Flint led a G.I. Joe strike force to Cybertron, where they helped the Autobots defeat Serpent O.R.'s Decepticon army. The Art of War #5
Flint and his troops arrived too late to stop Destro from illegally selling S.N.A.K.E.s in Cuba, if only because the Autobots beat them to it. While flirting with an unimpressed Lady Jaye, Flint got a phone call from Hawk, who needed some help with a secret mission in Tibet. After being air dropped in the area by the helpful Chinese military, Flint, Hawk and Optimus Prime started searching for the emitter of a mysterious signal. In the Himalayan mountains, the three were beset by Bludgeon and Cobra-La soldiers, with the latter group easily shrugging off the effects of Flint's shotgun. He eventually managed to wring the helmet off one of the soldiers, and was horrified with what he saw underneath. The team retreated into some caverns, where they found wall paintings describing Unicron, and were in turn found by Joe Colton. Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2
Flint was tangled up by a Cobra-La tentacle weapon and missed out on some action until Hawk freed him. He then called Colton a crazy old coot and pestered him with questions about his imprisonment, neither of which helped gain him respect with the older man. The two were suddenly attacked by Yeti, but saved by the timely arrival of Cosmos. After devicing a plan to use Cobra-La's metal-eating fungus to destroy Unicron, Flint decided to "make like Flash Gordon" and come with Cosmos to make sure the fungus didn't eat the Autobot instead. They flew into space and inside Unicron's head, where Cosmos was shot down and paralyzed. Flint disembarked and fought his way through the planet-eater's "anti-bodies", and ultimately managed to throw the fungus straight into Unicron's brain. As Unicron was devoured from the inside, Flint escaped aboard Cosmos, cracking jokes all the way back to Earth. Upon landing, he was greeted with a kiss from Lady Jaye and words of gratitude from Hawk and Colton. Black Horizon, Part 2 of 2
Transformers/G.I. Joe
Flint was one of the founding members of G.I. Joe in 1939, when it was created to put a stop to Cobra's invasion of Europe. The Line During the attack on the Fera Islands, Flint was the leader of Strike Team Two, whose mission it was to call in the fleet after Strike Team One took out the shore defenses. Trial by Fire However, just as Breaker was about the make the call, Flint noticed that he was carrying a different radio, and suspected a spy. After ordering the rest of the team to move onto their second objective, he attacked Breaker, who revealed himself to be the Cobra agent Zartan. While Flint had the upper hand in their fight, Zartan had backup in the form of Soundwave, who captured the Joe. Wolves
At the Terrordrome, the Baroness and Doctor Mindbender tortured Flint into giving up G.I. Joe's invasion plans. It would seem that they succeeded, as Cobra Commander was seen preparing a defense line some time later. Trenches It's unknown if Flint survived his captivity, as he was never seen again. Zartan would briefly take on his form in an attempt to trick the other Joes. The Iron Fist
In 1985, a G.I. Joe team led by Flint attacked a Cobra shipping facility in New York City. While the facility was largely destroyed, Destro and Scrap-Iron managed to escape via Trouble Bubble, an act that led to Flint being reprimanded by his superior, Duke. He apologized, but Duke only told him that "Nathaniel never gave apologies... he gave results." Soon afterwards, the Joes detected the crash of an Autobot shuttlecraft near Portland. Flint and several other Joes were sent to retrieve it, and after meeting with a rookie team led by Spirit, they repelled a Cobra strike team and recovered the unconscious Blaster and Perceptor. Hours later, Flint and Spirit were briefed by Duke, Stalker, and Scarlett on the threat posed by the Transformers. Targets of Opportunity
Transformers vs. G.I. Joe
Notes
- Because of the romantic relationship shown between Flint and fellow G.I. Joe operative Lady Jaye, it is possible that Jaye might be Marissa Faireborn's mother, but this was never stated in fiction. In an interview on the Sony BMG re-release of The Transformers: The Movie, former Transformers writer and story editor Flint Dille confirmed Lady Jaye as Marissa's mother. Oh, do I feel sorry for her.
- Marissa's father is not named in "The Killing Jar", the episode in which his holographic double appears, nor in the script for the episode, where he is referred to only as "Civilian". His identity was assumed from his voice actor, Bill Ratner, who played Flint on the G.I. Joe cartoon, and the shared surname between Flint and Marissa; this would later be confirmed by the Sunbow master Cast List, which notes that he is a "60 year old Flint".
- A group shot drawn by Hidetsugu Yoshioka as cover art for Pioneer's Transformers 2010 LaserDisc set mistakenly features fellow G.I. Joe character Duke as a flag-waving incidental character in the crowd rather than Flint. When the piece was reproduced for the art book Transformers Visualworks, Duke was edited out.
- Although voiced by Transformers regular Takurō Kitagawa for his brief cameo in "The Killing Jar", for the Japanese dub of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon, Flint was voiced by a different Transformers regular, Hōchū Ōtsuka. Meanwhile, for the Japanese dub of G.I. Joe: The Movie, Flint was voiced by a different veteran Transformers actor, Masashi Hirose.
