Tripwire (SG)

TRIPWIRE is an accident waiting to happen. He’s clumsy, jittery, all thumbs and a nervous wreck around people, unless he’s working with high explosives. Then he’s calm and collected, with the skill and precision of a surgeon. He spent two years in a Zen monastery, pondering the meaning of life, until he was expelled for breaking too many dishes and spilling every liquid in sight. Determined to make something of his shortcomings, he joined the Army and found his calling on the grenade range. Something about setting off explosives and watching bombs bursting in the air relaxes him. Hard to believe for a guy who seems to trip over air. His ease around explosives is why is so cool and calm while hovering above a sea of red-hot lava to retrieve the metallic element for the M.A.S.S. Device machine.

Canonical/Pre-MUX/Theme History:
After being born in Hibbing, Minnesota, Tripwire moved on to a naval base in Yokosuka, Japan where his father served. While there, Tripwire dropped out of high school and spent two years pondering the meaning of life in a Zen monastery. He was expelled from the monastery for breaking too many dishes and spilling every possible liquid, thanks to his being naturally clumsy and nervous. He enlisted in the Army at age 19 and found his true spiritual awakening on the grenade range. He discovered that the only time he wasn't jittery and awkward was while working with high explosives. They actually seemed to calm him down. He became an expert in explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and demolitions after training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He eventually was assigned to the G.I. Joe team.

On his first mission for the Joes, Tripwire helped battle Cobra in the streets of Washington, DC. Other missions included fighting off Cobra's invasion of Fort Wadsworth, and evading Cobra's high command in the Florida Everglades. While on board the Joes' freighter, the Jane, Tripwire risked his life to save his teammates by throwing himself on a soon-to-detonate bomb. Roadblock took the bomb from Tripwire and tossed it overboard, while commending his bravery and telling him never to do anything like that again. Some time later, Tripwire was back onboard the Jane during a Cobra Rattler attack. Tripwire and a few other Joes barely survived by taking out the Rattlers. Unfortunately, the freighter was too badly damaged and the Joes were forced to abandon ship as the Jane sunk beneath the ocean. Tripwire and the others were rescued soon after.

Tripwire participated in many more operations over the years, including the battle to push Cobra off of the newly-formed Cobra Island, the invasion of the town of Springfield, the capture of a Terror-Drome in Sierra Gordo, the Joes' involvement in the Cobra Island civil war and the defense of Cobra's attack on the Pit in Utah. Tripwire served with the Joes until the team was shut down in 1994. He later made his way to Philadelphia where he served on the police department's bomb squad, and became something of a local hero.

After the G.I. Joe team was reinstated in 1997, so was he.