Shipwreck/Bio & Battles

"Once upon a time, there was this little old shoemaker who lived in a combat boot. His name was Duke... uh, the Duke. And he had three sons: his fat, stupid, ugly Marine son Leatherhead; his fatter, stupider, uglier SEAL son Frog-Face; and his dashing, handsome, real intelligent sailor son Shipshape!"

- Shipwreck. Shipwreck’s first appearance was in issue #40 (October 1985) of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comics published by Marvel Comics where he played a major role in the story, along with Barbecue. This concerns the testing of a mobile weapons platform. He then helps the Joes deal with the aquatic effects of the creation of Cobra Island. The Joes make a pre-emptive attack on the island but are ordered off before anything definite happens. In issue #51, he and Alpine are part of a squad sent out to stop Zartan's escape attempt. The two team up to stop a Dreadnok "Swamp-Copter"; Alpine launches a hooked rope at it and Shipwreck ties it to a nearby tank. This works, gaining them temporary custody of Zarana and her brother Zandar. A spray of machine-gun fire from the Thunder Machine sends Shipwreck diving for his life and the prisoners escape. Shipwreck has a cameo as part of a Joe team spying on Cobra Island.

During the Cobra civil war he is teamed with Cutter and pilots a WHALE hovercraft. He assists in a battle against the Oktober Guard during the escape of a Russian defector. As with most of the other Joes, he personally helps build the new desert-based Pit.

Shipwreck would come back again in a big way. When Devil’s Due Publishing started producing new G.I. Joe comics, he was immediately included as a major supporting character. The comic series followed the storyline provided in his action figures’ file cards wherein he trained to become a Navy SEAL. The first issue of the G.I. Joe: Battle Files makes mention on his activities between the disbandment and reinstatement of the Joe Team. He was running tour guide operations and busting pirates and drug smugglers in between.

Shipwreck is one of the first Joes called back to active duty. All meet several Greenshirts, the name for the newcomers to the G.I.Joe team. Shipwreck is one of the few Joes unaffected by Cobra's nanite based weapons. As such, he is one of the many on-foot military defenders on the White House lawn; they are there to stop a Cobra takeover. Despite losses, including Greenshirts, Cobra is defeated.

The Joe Team would be disbanded once more and reformed with a smaller core group in the series, G.I. Joe: America’s Elite. Shipwreck is included in the new team and is one of the more vocal critics for including Storm Shadow in the lineup. In America's Elite, Shipwreck's appearance changes. Originally, he has unkempt red-brown hair and a slender build. Some time after issue 12, he appears stockier and with black hair and a neatly trimmed beard. (from wikipedia)