The Traitor, Part 1

G.I. Joe designs a new armor treatment that's impenetrable to laser fire and missiles. While on leave, Dusty is desperate after seeing his mother struggle with her asthma and mounting medical bills, so he makes a deal with Extensive Enterprises' Crimson Twins to pay for the costs in return for the armor formula. He secretly informs Cobra about it, leading his team into an ambush that leaves Duke in a coma. The Joes now have a traitor in their midst.

"Now you know. And knowing is half the battle." The Sunbow run closed every episode with a public-service spot delivered by a Joe character, addressing kids on a real-world hazard or virtue. The cartoon's deeper ethic, threaded into the writing across the run, was that Cobra's worldview was based on fear and the Joes' was based on responsibility.

Chris Latta as Cobra Commander

Michael Bell as Duke, Lifeline, Xamot, Blowtorch

Arthur Burghardt as Destro

Morgan Lofting as Baroness

Mary McDonald-Lewis as Lady Jaye, Cover Girl

Bill Ratner as Flint

B.J. Ward as Scarlett

Neil Ross as Shipwreck, Doc, Tomax

Frank Welker as Torch, Wild Weasel, Junkyard, Zandar

Zack Hoffman as Zartan

Charlie Adler as Low-Light

Dick Gautier as Serpentor

1. Sunbow Season 1 daily run (1985). 55 episodes aired Monday through Friday in afternoon syndication, September to December 1985.
2. Production code: 600-30
3. Studio: Marvel Productions / Sunbow Productions / Toei Doga
4. Originally aired: November 25, 1985 in afternoon syndication.