October 05, 2008

Tracker Kwinn in GI JOE

Review:  G.I.Joe Comic-Figure Three-Packs #1 & #2Tracker Kwinn Mercenary

File Name: Kwinn, Jesse

Primary Military Specialty: Freelance Special-Ops Enforcer Secondary Military

Specialty: Tracker

Birthplace: Kotzebue, Alaska

KWINN is a mysterious mystic mercenary who had at one time worked for COBRA, but eventually ended up siding with G.I.Joe. He's an expert tracker, hunter, and woodsman who can speak eight languages including three Inuit dialects. Although unerringly accurate with pistol, long-range rifle, and harpoon, his weapon of choice is the belt-fed, air-cooled .30 caliber machine gun. A man of deep convictions, Kwinn holds strictly to a code of honor that makes his word his sacred bond; he never lies, and never goes back on a deal. In the end, it was his adherence to his personal code that led to his downfall at the hands of a venomous Cobra scientist. Although Kwinn had the doctor in his power, he overcame the dark urges that he called "the voice of the weasel spirit" and let the evil doctor go rather than become that which he despised. "Break your word and you are a traitor not only to others but also to yourself."
Kwinn:  MercenaryKwinn's name was most likely taken from the 1960s song "The Mighty Quinn," which includes the phrase "Quinn the Eskimo."Funeral for a friendThere’s a great story in the first 22 issues of the 80s Marvel G.I. Joe comic that follows the Joes dealing with eskimo (inuit?) tracker/mercenary Kwinn. He becomes a “friend” of sorts of Snake Eyes and they cause all sorts of mischief. It ends badly for Kwinn, but he gets some good revenge with “a grenade fallen from a dead man’s hand.”Comment:  For more on the subject, see Eskimos:  The Ultimate Aborigines and Comic Books Featuring Indians.

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