Ripper

A founding member of Zartan's Dreadnoks, Ripper is a vicious Cobra-affiliated biker whose true identity remains classified. He brings brutal, hands-on muscle to the gang, wielding a gas-powered hydraulic ripping tool as his signature weapon alongside raw brawling skill.

Ripper roared onto the Bronze Age comics scene in 1984, debuting in the pages of G.I. Joe, a Real American Hero #25 — a Larry Hama and Frank Springer creation who's been a fixture of that beloved Marvel universe ever since. With over four decades of appearances stretching all the way to 2026, this is a character with remarkable staying power, sharing the page across the years with memorable figures like Zartan, Torch, and Buzzer. Four of Ripper's appearances carry key-issue status, making them genuine targets for collectors hunting complete runs of G.I. Joe and its crossover adventures, including the wild ride of G.I. Joe and the Transformers. If you love the gritty, action-packed world Larry Hama built issue by issue, Ripper is exactly the kind of deep-catalog character that rewards a closer look.