Kamakura

KAMAKURA (v1)  GI JOE NINJA

Series: Nineteen (2003)

Kamakura was released in 2003 carded in a two-pack with Night Creeper (v5).

Accessories

Kamakura came with a black dagger, nunchucks, sword, sheath, and submachine gun.

Kamakura is a fictional character from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, a line of military-themed toys created by Hasbro. He is the first character created by Devil’s Due Publishing to be made into a G.I. Joe figure and later brought into the new animated series.

Fictional Character Biography

Kamakura is an apprentice to Snake Eyes and a character of the G.I. Joe comic book series. His file cards list his true name and birthplace as classified. In comics by Devil's Due Publishing, he is revealed to be Sean Collins (Broca), the son of the original Fred Broca, a Crimson Guardsman who looked exactly like the rest of the "Fred series". His father is killed, and later replaced by Fred II, who is later revealed to be Wade Collins, a war buddy of Snake Eyes and Stalker.

Kamakura appeared in the Marvel Comics stories as Sean Broca, but did not become a Ninja until the Master and Apprentice Mini-Series. He is the first character created by Devil's Due Publishing to be made into an action figure, and later adopted into their animated series.

He is a member of the Arashikage clan (as noted by the tattoo on his arm).

Toy history

Kamakura was the first character created by Devil's Due Publishing to be made into a Figure by Hasbro in 2003. Since then, he has had 4 figures made in the 3 3/4" line. He is a ninja, and is packed with an assortment of ninja weapons. It wasn't until his inclusion in the "Rise of Cobra" movie tie-in toy line that a Kamakura figure included any firearms. His real name is listed as classified on his file cards, and to date, his face has not been revealed on any of his figures. This is very similar to his master, Snake Eyes.

Kamakura is an apprentice of Snake Eyes. An amazing series of events have brought the two men together and Kamakura is now honored with the task of continuing the clan's traditions.

In many ways, Kamakura is the same as his master and in many ways, his opposite too. Like a true ninja, Kamakura likes to blend in the background, unseen and undetected until the moment to strike arrives. He prefers to perform every action in quick, quiet and efficient manner. This same trait, though, is what also sets him apart from his mentor. He tends to be impatient and very excited by events. And while Kamakura has many levels to go before he can reach Snake-Eyes's status, the master knows that every steel can be turned into a finely tuned sword.

 It was revealed in the 4 issue mini-series "Master & Apprentice" that Snake-Eyes left Scarlett on the day of their wedding, grieving the loss of his first student, Ophelia, who was killed by Firefly. During this time, he was finally convinced to train a new student, Kamakura.

Kamakura would later join G.I. Joe, and his first appearance in the comics is when he participates in an attack on the Dreadnoks compound deep in the swamp. He is allied with many other Joes and rookie Greenshirts. The Joes suffer the loss of several rookies.

Later, Kamakura is the main ninja for the Joe team for some time, as Snake-Eyes is mysteriously AWOL and Storm Shadow is working for Cobra again. When Storm Shadow attempts to penetrate Joe HQ and slay General Hawk, Kamakura, along with other Joes such as Flint, Shipwreck, Clutch, Beachhead and many Greenshirts work together to stop him. Kamakura's multiple confrontations in the face of Storm Shadow's superior skills help drive him off and save Hawk.

After G.I. Joe is brought back to active duty as a much leaner team, Kamakura is set to reserve member status.

After Snake-Eyes is seemingly killed in a mission to save Scarlett, Kamakura is brought back to active status to serve with Storm-Shadow, giving the G.I. Joe team  two Ninjas. He has since remained an active reservist through out the recent missions, but has not gone on any side missions.

After the mandatory time off as a result of the Rock being infiltrated by Cobra agents, Kamakura spent time with Snake-Eyes trying in vain to convince Snake-Eyes not to give up on his Ninja training. When the Active members return to duty after this break, Kamakura is again on reserves.

 Sean's story is a long one. He is acutally the adopted son of Wade Collins. Collins served in Vietnam with Storm Shadow, Stalker, Snake-Eyes, Dick Saperstien, and Ramon Escobedo. He was captured by the enemy, became a POW, and later returned to the United States to face a tremendous wave of hatred directed at him due to his past military service. He became disillusioned and joined the Cobra organization as Fred II in the elite Crimson Guard--the second Crimson Guardsman.

Fred I was actually Sean's (Kamakura's) biological father. Fred II (Wade) replaced Fred I after his death in the High Sierras on a mission with Destro and Firefly to attack Snake-Eyes' cabin. Fred I was buried behind a waterfall with an inscription left by the Soft Master. Wade later repented of his terrorist activities, quit the Crimson Guard and became a foster father and husband to Fred's former wife, son, and daughter. 

Sean himself was simply doing what the rest of the family was, though his 'love' for Cobra slipped soon after his father was killed in action against the Joes, and replaced with Fred II. This fellow, formerly Wade Collins, took the original's place despite his family's misgivings.

They didn't like the man at first, though Fred II eventually grew on the family (who cared for them better than Fred I ever did). After Fred II came to a peace with his fellow Vietnam veterans, Stalker and Snake-Eyes, he decided to leave Cobra - and his new family chose to go with him.

Trying to do right by them, Wade moved the family to a new town, where he raised Sean and his sister as best as he could. Eventually growing proud of his 'new' father, Sean decided to enlist in the military himself - doing so after he received a particularly telling letter from Snake-Eyes.

Working hard, Sean managed to get himself assigned to a special missions team called the Hammer Squad, who was full of shadow ops-types. Their first mission went well, but the second was an outright disaster, with most of the team dying - though luckily, Sean managed to escape death.

Tracking down Snake-Eyes, Sean told him he sought peace over the death of all his allies, and feeling the need for some himself, Snake-Eyes offered to train him in his ninja-y ways. Having always admired the man over the years, Sean was more than ready to accept this offer.

Settling down for intense training, Sean is worked mercilessly by Jinx, Nunchuk and T'jbang, other surviving members of the Arashikage clan, while he himself was tested ceaselessly by Snake-Eyes. It took several years, but in the end Sean was ready for his final test as a ninja.

Sent to Japan, he was to help Snake-Eyes defeat Firefly - who had killed Snake-Eyes' previous apprentice, Ophelia, shortly before Sean himself joined the Arashikage. Things went horribly wrong there, and when Storm Shadow wass added to the mix, the plan got blown out of the water.

Saved by Duke and Chuckles, the ninjas were informed that the former leader of the Hammer Team, Mikhail Derenko, is alive and well. Furthermore, they note he's been working under the name 'Nowhere Man' and trying to unearth some kind of Cobra weapon of mass destruction.

When Sean and Snake-Eyes went after Firefly, thanks to intel from Duke and Chuckles, they found that he and the Nowhere Man were using Sean's father Wade to access some sort of secret vault. In the ensuing fight, the Nowhere Man caused Sean to kill his father with his own sword.

Vowing vengeance, Sean was forced to simmer when the Nowhere Man got away... only to become the diabolical Overlord II. On the plus side, that villain was eventually killed by Scanner, a sort-of Joe operative who was himself mortally wounded by that villain only moments before.

Now a full Arashikage, Sean joined the Gi Joe team when it was re-formed due to increased Cobra operations world-wide. He served on the team with distinction, even saving Hawk's life - more than once, in fact. As Kamakura, Sean was a Joe throughout the team's second stage of existence.

He rejoined its third incarnation after Snake-Eyes was 'killed' in action on Destro's submarine... though this death proved to be temporary, at best. When his master swore off his ninja ways after this, it was left to Sean to bring the man, the very heart of the Arashikage, back to his senses.

He managed this shortly before World War III, Cobra's greatest effort to take over the world. Sean helped his allies in the Gi Joe team to fight off those villains once and for all, narrowly stopping the Cobra Commander from destroying the entire planet in the process.

With the Commander and many of his subordinates jailed, Sean has nonetheless stayed on with the Joes; there are many Cobras evading justice to this very day. And a lot of them have special martial arts skills, like Slice and Dice... and of course Firefly...

While fans of the G.I. Joe comics are very much aware of Kamakura's true identity of Sean Collins, the file cards and Sigma 6 series deliberately deem his background as classified information.

Marvel Comics

Kamakura never appeared during this series as a Ninja. Instead, his youth was explored through his ties to Snake Eyes and the Vietnam (or Unnamed Conflict) War buddy Wade Collins being involved in the Fred Series.

Sean Collins was originally Sean Broca, the son of a Fred Series Crimson Guard. All of the Fred Series look alike and when he was killed in combat with G.I. Joe, Fred e was later replaced by Fred II. This person was later revealed to be Wade Collins, who has ties to Snake Eyes.

In the last issue of the Marvel series, Sean writes Snake-eyes a letter to get his opinion on being a soldier, as Sean wants to enlist in the Army when he turns 17. Snake-eyes writes him back, one of only two times the internal thoughts of Snake-eyes are revealed (the other being a recon report from issue 4).

Devil's Due Publishing

The Years In Between: Master & Apprentice

It was revealed in this 4 issue mini-series "Master & Apprentice" that Sean joined the elite Hammer Team, a replacement for the deactivated G. I. Joe. During one of the first missions of the group, all but Sean are seemingly killed during an attack by the terrorist Firefly. In the same operation, the first new Arashikage student trained by Snake-eyes, Ophelia, was also killed. In response Snake-eyes leaves Scarlett on the day of their wedding and seeks solitude in his mountain cabin. Sean Collins finds Snake-eyes and requests that he train him so that he can avenge Hammer Team. After a mission with Duke and Chuckles that results in Wade Collins's death (when Wade infiltrated a Cobra sleeper cell and helped shut it down), Sean takes the name Kamakura. Kamakura would later join G.I. Joe, and would be the first character created by Devil's Due Publishing that would be made into a figure.[3]

Reinstatement - Devils Due

His first appearance in the comic series is when he participates in an attack on the Dreadnoks compound deep in the swamp. He is joined by many other Joe's and rookie Greenshirts. The Joe's suffer the loss of several rookies in this battle.

Later, Kamakura is the main ninja for the Joe team for some time, as Snake Eyes is mysteriously AWOL and Storm Shadow is working for Cobra again. When Storm Shadow attempts to penetrate Joe Headquarters and slay General Hawk, Kamakura, along with other Joe's such as Flint, Shipwreck, Clutch, Beachhead and many Greenshirts work together to stop him. Kamakura's multiple confrontations in the face of Storm Shadow's superior skills help drive him off and save Hawk.

[edit] America’s Elite - Devils Due

After G.I. Joe is brought back to active duty as a much leaner team, Kamakura is set to reserve member status.

After Snake Eyes is seemingly killed in a mission to save Scarlett, Kamakura is brought back to active status to serve with Storm-Shadow, giving G.I. Joe 2 Ninjas. He has since remained an active reservist through out the recent missions, but has not gone on any side missions.

After the mandatory time off as a result of the Rock being infiltrated by Cobra agents, Kamakura spent time with Snake Eyes trying in vain to convince Snake Eyes not to give up on his Ninja training. When the Active members return to duty after this break, Kamakura is again on reserves.

Cartoon versions

Valor vs. Venom

G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom marks Kamakura’s first appearance in animated form. Here is seen as an apprentice to Snake Eyes with Jinx. He struggles to use his new sword throughout much of the movie, but by the end finally masters it.

KAMAKURA (v5)  NINJA APPRENTICE

Series: Twenty Five (2009)

Kamakura (version 5) was released in Collection 1 Wave 4 of the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra toy line in 2009.