Low-Light

Origin

Low-Light was born Cooper G. MacBride in Crosby, North Dakota. There is some debate about the true nature of Low-Light’s upbringing. As a youth Low-light was afraid of the dark, animals, and was very timid. His filecard for his Hasbro action figure stated he overcame this by getting lost in the woods while on a hunting trip with his father. He returned ten days later with only a flashlight and his rifle and a “grin from ear-to-ear”. However, in the G.I. Joe Order of Battle, Cooper’s father made him overcome his fear of the dark by forcing him to stay in the county dump over night and could not return until he killed 20 rats. Regardless of his upbringing, Low-Light overcame his fear of the dark and became an instructor at Fort Benning at the Army Marksmanship Program before being recruited by the G.I. Joe team to be a sniper. His primary MOS is Infantryman and his secondary MOS is a Marksmanship Instructor. He holds the rank of E-6 Staff Sergeant.

Creation

Low-light was created for the Hasbro G.I. Joe toyline in 1986 and his character and story was adapted for us in the Marvel series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero by Larry Hama.

Character Evolution

Low-Light maintains his quiet and calm personality across all incarnations (Marvel, Image/DDP, IDW) of the G.I. Joe comic series. He is mainly used in the sharpshooter/sniper role for the team. He always appears with curly blonde hair and wearing black, grey, and red fatigues with a toque and red visor. His appearance in the toy line however, as undergone significant changes over the years (see Other Media).

Major Story Arcs

Recently

Low-Light is seen in the current IDW ongoing series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. 

Other Versions 

Danger Girl/G.I. Joe  

After the acquisition of the Danger Girl  characters by IDW  it was decided to first launch the characters under the IDW banner with a crossover with one of the major properties at IDW, G.I. Joe  (as they are owned by the same company it seems possible that these characters exist in the same continuity, though this is never confirmed.)  The series starts off with a dog chase involving Scarlett  and Flint  and they are soon shot down.  It is revealed that they were providing escort for a shipment of rediscovered missiles with great destructive power.  They are soon shot down though and the missiles are taken by Cobra , who also take the two prisoners.  Once in Cobra custody they come across Abbey Chase  who is acting undercover, though the two members of G.I. Joe do not know this.  Elsewhere the American president arrives to the USS Flagg  and informs the Joe team to stand down and to not seek to free their teammates.  General Flag orders them to stand down.  The remaining female members (Cover Girl , Lady Jaye  and Jinx ) come up with a plan where they will contact the Danger Girl team (Cover Girl had previously met Johnny Barracuda .)  The team shows up and exposes the U.S. president as Zarana  in disguise.  Soon enough it is revealed that the Danger Girl team already has an operative in place and she informs them of the plan.  Firefly  is to head to Moscow  and detonate one of the missiles while Major Bludd  is to go to Beijing  to detonate another.  Three teams head out, one to each of the two cities and the third to the Cobra base.  By now Abbey is under suspicion of Baroness , Destro  and Cobra Commander  and is captured by Zartan  when she attempts to free Scarlett and Flint.  While they are trying to escape a team of Low Light , Snake Eyes  and Stalker  arrive to free them.  Meanwhile in Beijing a team of Jinx, Johnny Barracuda and Sonya Savage  stop Major Bludd while a team of Sydney Savage , Cover Girl and Roadblock  stop Firefly.  It is soon revealed that there is another missile which is headed for the homing beacon which Zarana has placed on the USS Flagg.  Silicon Valerie , Duke and Lady Jaye quickly deal with it.  Meanwhile at the Cobra base Storm Shadow  has arrived to stop the Joes and he engages Snake-Eyes in combat.  Eventually this group is also able to escape, while blowing up the base and they are all reunited on the USS Flagg. 

Other Media

Television

Low-Light appeared in both the Sunbow (voiced by Charlie Adler) and DiC (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) G.I. Joe animated television series. He was depicted as a private person who avoids all communication with his teammates. He is also seen suffering from recurring nightmares and disliking the dark. It is suggested that the reason for his fear is due to abuse he received from his father as a child. He always wears night vision goggles to avoid being afraid of the dark. In the DiC series, Low-Light wears the colours of the Sgt. Slaughter‘s Marauders group.

Movies

Low-Light appears in the animated movie G.I. Joe: The Movie, but like many Joes in the film only has a small background role.

Books

Low-Light appears in the G.I. Joe novel The Sultan’s Secret by Peter Lerangis.

Toys

Low-Light was released in 1986 as a part of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe toy line. He initially appeared with curly blonde hair and wearing his trademark black, grey, and red fatigues but since his initial release has undergone many appearance changes. In 1989, he was released as a part of the Sgt. Slaughter Marauders unit and maintained his look but was recoloured. In 1991, he was changed completely, now having black hair and a full beard. His fatigues were now black and blue/green and he wore a helmet with attached night vision goggles. This version was recoloured for the 1993 Dino Hunters release returning him to blonde hair, but still having a beard. During Hasbro’s 25th anniversary toy line in 2008, Low-Light was returned to his original appearance.