Barrel Roll
| Melee RV 10 |
Coordination RV 20 |
Brawn RV 6 |
Fortitude RV 20 |
Intellect RV 10 |
Awareness RV 20 |
Willpower RV 30 |
Lifestyle RV 20 |
Repute RV 0 |
| Health: Fortune: |
56 60 |
Origin:
As is the case with most of the GI Joe team's operatives, Barrel Roll lacks special powers of any variety. Sure, the man seems supernaturally skilled in a variety of fields, but in truth he only has his military training and high tech government-issue hardware to fight evil with!
Known Powers:
(none)
Limitations / Enhancements:
(none)
Equipment:
the Air Assault Glider: a modified Cobra device, this powered glider is armed to the teeth. It has a Gatling cannon as well as several missiles, along with a jet boost if Barrel Roll needs an extra bit of speed. The Air Assault glider is described in its own vehicular entry.
Bullet-resistant Vest: whether working undercover within Cobra or not, Barrel Roll often wears a vest that improves his survivability in the face of enemy fire. This implement transduces Piercing damage striking his torso into Bashing damage, reducing it by 1 RS in the process.
Helmet: whenever he finds himself in the air (which is a lot of the time), Barrel Roll makes use of a flight helmet. This headgear provides him rank value 10 protection against physical attacks that strike him in the cranium, along with like Screened Senses, via built-in goggles.
Knife: in the event that he's otherwise disarmed, Barrel Roll can turn this blade on any foes. He can either use it to inflict Slashing damage in melee, or to cut through items of up to m.v. 40, given enough time to saw through such tough materials.
Sidearm: a backup should he not have the time or room to wield his sniper rifle, Barrel Roll also carries a hand cannon. He can either discharge one round from this weapon to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage, or a three-round burst to inflict rank value 10 Piercing damage.
Sniper Rifle: Barrel Roll's primary military specialty is that of a marksman instructor - he's that good! The man can use this weapon to inflict rank value 10 Piercing damage, and it has a scope that allows him a +1 RS to hit after spending a round preparing for a shot.
Spy Troops Disguise: Barrel Roll carries the equipment he needs to disguise himself as one of Cobra's viper glider operators, even though the uniform does change from time to time. His disguise's armored components function the same as described above.
Quirks:
(none)
Skills:
Aerial Combat: supplementing his ability to fly with competence, Barrel Roll can fight behind the stick of most fixed-wing aircraft as well. Whenever engaging in aerial combat, whether performing an offensive or defensive maneuver, Barrel Roll should receive a +1 RS bonus.
Detective / Espionage: though he wasn't trained in the fine art of intelligence operations until becoming a GI Joe, Barrel Roll has taken to them like he does everything else he puts his mind to. He should receive a +1 RS on all intelligence-gathering actions.
Guns 2: Barrel Roll is not only a trained marksman, but a trainer of marksmen! The man excels at gunplay above and beyond most others, and should receive a +2 RS to hit with Piercing weapons, whether they're of a standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic nature.
Martial Arts style B: a skill everyone picks up in their Basic, Barrel Roll has the ability to defend himself while unarmed. He can punch, kick, elbow drop, knee smash, or even head butt anyone in his vicinity as if his Melee was +1 RS higher than is listed above.
Military / United States: the source of all his marketable skills, Barrel Roll is a member of the United States Air Force. This organization has trained him how to fight competently in any modern military group, and has given him an instinctual understanding of the SOP.
Piloting: naturally, Barrel Roll knows how to fly. He's been trained in the operation of most fixed-wing aircraft, and can attempt to operate such vehicles as if his Coordination (or the attendant Handling rating) was +1 RS higher than is otherwise indicated.
Contacts:
Barrel Roll is a member of the GI Joe team who has proven his excellence in a very short period of time. He can rely upon the Joes for help in most anything he could think to ask, and may also count his military family as reliable contacts as well (save for Blackout, of course).
Costume:
Barrel Roll's GI Joe field uniform is designed to help him pose as a Cobra operative. It includes a blue flight jacket over a blue T-shirt and under light blue web gear, light blue chaps over blue jeans, blue knee pads, black leather boots, black and blue gloves, and a black leather belt.
Personality:
Dwight was always one of the quiet, smart kids in school. He hates to lose, and gives his all in everything he does. It's not that he feels the need to win, so much as losing bothers him so much. He's an honorable sort, and is dedicated to cleaning up his family's messes.
Real Name: Dwight E. Stall, Grade E-4
Occupation: marksmanship instructor, fixed-wing aircraft pilot
Legal Status: citizen of the United States with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: various temporary identities
Group Affiliation: GI Joe
Height: 5' 10"
Hair: light brown
Eyes: brown (sometimes blue, sometimes green)
Weight: 165 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: none
Story:
The Stall family has had a tradition of military service. In fact, Dwight and his two siblings both enlisted in the military at a young age, and all three excelled in their tasks. Each was so good, in fact, that they all managed to earn their way into the GI Joe entrance exams.
(Historical Divergence)
For a time, each served as one of the GI Joe team's 'greenshirts', their transitory support group and combat forces. Of course, Dwight was the first to make his way on to the team fully, and earned his code name of Barrel Roll thanks to his plethora of fighting skills.
You see, Barrel Roll is not only a marksman, but an instructor of such, and he's also a fully qualified fixed-wing aircraft pilot. This makes for an exceptional skill set that the Joes are happy to make use of, and have done so since Barrel Roll's very first mission, on Cobra Island.
There, he adopted the use of a modified Cobra glider, and slipped onto the Island while posing as one of its many aerial troops. There, he hacked into their systems and, after stealing vital information, implanted a computer virus into the main Cobra servers.
Of course, he was discovered at that point by several Tele-vipers, who sicced security on him. Fleeing the compound, Barrel Roll was pursued by the Crimson Twins, but managed to evade them, along with a similarly fleeing Dr. Mindbender, and made his way off of the island.
Soon after, his brother Thomas was court-martialed in the wake of the destruction of New Moon, Colorado. As the courts deliberated his fate for gross misconduct and other offenses, the base he was being held at, Fort Huachuca, was beset by a large force of attacking Cobras!
In the ensuing devastation, many lives were lost but Thomas himself was unaccounted for. This led Barrel Roll to believe that he was either captured or went with them willingly... neither of which sat well with him. And as it turned out, the worst of the two came to pass.
Having joined Cobra under the code name of Blackout, Thomas immediately put his knowledge of GI Joe activities and procedures to good use, and led a team to capture his sister, Alyssa, who had also become a GI Joe operative (possibly in a bout of jealousy at this point).
Before Barrel Roll could do anything about this, he was ordered by General Rey to drop a nuclear device on Cobra Island, to eliminate it as a threat once and for all. Though he had reservations about this, Barrel Roll nonetheless did his duty, hoping his siblings weren't there at the time.
They weren't, and after the Joes handled a new threat posed by Cobra, and a second by the Red Shadows group, Barrel Roll and company finally managed to free Alyssa from Thomas' eerie clutches. This is about when the GI Joe team was 'deactivated' a second time.
At this point, Barrel Roll left the conventional military as well, going on to become a commercial pilot - it was more boring, but it's a job. He continued on in this capacity until he was reactivated by the Joes to help defeat Cobra when that group instigated World War III.
During this conflict, Barrel Roll managed to corner his brother Blackout, and defeated him in personal combat. This allowed him to capture the thug even as most of his fellow Cobras, the so-called Plague Squad, were killed or captured as well.
After this, Barrel Roll stayed on with a renewed, and completely reassembled GI Joe team. While Cobra may've been defeated once and for all, there were a large number of its operatives who were still at large, and the Joes needed to capture them to prevent Cobra from rising again!
2004 Variations
Equipment:
the Rising Tide (v2): sometimes, Barrel Roll is assigned to engage in aquatic duties on top of all his other jobs. When this happens he picks up his Rising Tide, a BTR jet glider that can be converted in the field into an attack boat. It's described in its own vehicular entry.
Costume:
Barrel Roll's second GI Joe field uniform is more individual than his first. It includes a mahogany flight jacket over a mahogany T-shirt and under brown web gear, brown chaps over black jeans, black knee pads, black leather boots, black and brown gloves, and a black leather belt.
His third was similar, if in a different set of colors. It consists of a dark green flight jacket over a tank top and under gray web gear, gray leather trousers, dark gray knee pads, dark gray leather boots, gray leather gloves, and a black leather belt.
2005 Variations
Costume:
Barrel Roll's fourth GI Joe field uniform is different than his others. It includes a brown camouflage, long-sleeved shirt beneath a dark brown vest, brown trousers, gray knee pads, brown leather boots, a black helmet, and gray belts, holsters, and sheathes.
2013 Variations
Equipment:
Jet Pack: replacing his old Air Attack Glider, this back-mounted device allows Barrel Roll to soar through the skies! Featuring collapsible wings and a small jet thruster, this (very) personal vehicle allows Barrel Roll to fly with rank value 20 ability, or at 136.36 MPH!
Costume:
Barrel Roll's fifth costume is another new affair. It is comprised of a tan and brown jacket over a black T-shirt, tan trousers, gray leather boots and fingerless gloves, gray elbow pads and web gear, brown knee pads and vest, a black leather belt, and a black helmet.
Extra Goodies:
GI Joe directories featuring a version of Barrel Roll:
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2013 |
Note: Barrel Roll received two action figures in 2004 (Versions 2 and 3).
Interested in using Technoholic content in your own project? Please read this beforehand!