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NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Storm Shadow from the live-action film series. The mainstream version can be found here: Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe).
Villain Overview

Welcome to Hell.
~ Storm Shadow in Retaliation.

Thomas Arashikage, also known as Storm Shadow, is a major character in the G.I. Joe film series, serving as the secondary antagonist of The Rise of Cobra and an anti-hero in Retaliation. He is a ninja who came from the Arasiakge Clan and an expert of martial arts. He shares a rivalry with a man from his past, call-sign Snake Eyes. He was a mentor of Anna Lewis (who is now called Baroness).

He was portrayed by Lee Byung-Hun, who portrayed Park Chang-yi in The Good, The Bad and The Weird, the T-1000 in Terminator: Genisys, and Hwang In-ho in Squid Game. As a child, he was portrayed Brandon Soo Hoo in Rise of Cobra, who also played Tran in Tropic Thunder, and by Nathan Takashige in Retaliation.

Biography[]

Childhood[]

Storm Shadow was the Hard Master's student and nephew who first met Snake Eyes as a child, whom he mistaken as a thief and fought with him. However, the Hard Master was impressed by Snake Eyes' skills and took him in. As Hard Master started favouring Snake Eyes for his skills, Storm grew jealous of him and escaped from the dojo when Snake Eyes discovered that Hard Master has been murdered and believes Storm Shadow is the main suspect behind the crime. However, it turns out Storm Shadow was framed for Hard Master's death by Zartan, which caused him to leave the Arashikage Clan and join Cobra, not knowing that Zartan is responsible for his uncle's death.

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra[]

Storm Shadow works secretly for M.A.R.S. Industries founder James McCullen as an operative. He trained Anna Lewis as a student and harbors a grudge against Snake Eyes, leading back to their childhood. In Paris, he warns Anna about her husband touching her, so McCullen asks him to kill her husband. He assists Anna in raiding the Pit and stealing the nano missiles from the Joes and fighting against Snake Eyes before escaping back to Paris with Baroness. When Anna and Storm Shadow attacked NATO and kill Anna's husband after Anna kissed him, he launches the warhead that partially demolishes the Eiffel Tower before Duke (Anna's ex) stopped it. During the G.I. Joes' assault on McCullen's arctic hideout, Storm Shadow faced Snake Eyes again and engages him in combat. He is believed to be killed when Snake Eyes stabs him in the abdomen with his arm mounted tonfas. He plunges into the frozen depths.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation[]

In the 2013 sequel Retaliation, Storm Shadow is revealed to have survived his fight with Snake Eyes. He posed as Snake Eyes to murder the President of Pakistan as part of Cobra's plan to frame the Joes. He was then sent to Germany along with Firefly to free Cobra Commander from jail, but ends up getting his back burned. He was sent to a secret place in the Himalayas, where he recovered from an old lady, as Cobra Commander plans to use Storm Shadow for his ultimate plan of bringing the world to its knees through Project Zeus, which involves satellites sending down powerful tungsten rods that can destroy cities if the world leaders refuse to meet Cobra's demands.

However, Storm Shadow ends up being captured by Snake Eyes and Storm's cousin Jinx, who return him to return Tokyo to face justice with the Arashikage Clan. However, in a turn of events, Storm manages to prove his innocence by breaking the sword's blade that was used to kill the Hard Master, stating that Arashikage steel can't break that easily. He also reveals that he knew that Zartan was the one who murdered the Hard Master and framed Storm in order to take him under his wing, and that Storm only joined Cobra in an attempt to avenge his uncle. With that in mind, he joined the Joes, telling them about Cobra Commander's plan. During the final fight, Snake Eyes allows Storm Shadow to confront and kill Zartan, thus avenging the Hard Master's death. Storm Shadow then leaves in peace following Cobra Commander's retreat and Firefly's death.

Personality and Abilities[]

Fear is great movement.
~ Storm Shadow's philosophy.

Storm Shadow was an aggressive and ruthless man who was capable of committing murder without a second thought. In his youth, he was completely envious of Snake-Eyes, because the other boy was his clan's appraised student and their master's favorite. Storm Shadow believed that fear was a good way of keeping people in line and held no qualms about killing innocent people. He was indifferent about destroying Paris; in fact, he was the one that fired the missile filled with nanomite warheads which would have resulted in the French capital city's destruction and cause its people to panic. Storm Shadow was also very confident in his abilities and believed that he would be capable of defeating and even killing Snake-Eyes, though the other ninja eventually emerged victorious during their final battle.

Interestingly Shadow once referred to Snake-Eyes as "brother" even though they were not related and certainly did not have a brotherly relationship. Despite his aggressive and ruthless nature, Zartan said that Storm Shadow never killed women. When Zartan killed Cover Girl, Shadow said that he would make an exception this time. Storm Shadow was a master of martial arts and he was an absolutely lethal fighter. Out of all the members of G.I. Joe, only Snake-Eyes has been able to combat him on equal terms. He wielded 2 katana swords which he could clip together to form a single double bladed sword. Shadow was also able to throw shuriken with deadly accuracy. In his youth, he also proven to be skilled at wielding a nunchaku, being able to defeat Snake-Eyes whilst using the weapon. Even without his weapons, Shadow was still a deadly opponent being a master of hand-to-hand combat. Like Snake-Eyes, he was capable of performing impressive acrobatics and moving with great agility. His fighting style was apparently more aggressive than Snake-Eyes' style, which suited his aggressive personality.

Trivia[]

  • He had a principle of never killing women and was disgusted when Zartan did just that.
  • It's possible that he may have had feelings for Anna himself after he killed her husband.
  • A native of Korea, actor Byung-Hun Lee had very little knowledge of G.I. Joe prior to his casting, but received the role because of his highly praised performances.
  • Like Park Chang-yi and Han Cho Bai (whom played by the same actor) who had a grudge against Yoon Tae-goo and Frank Moses.
  • Lee is one of Korean actors who played ninjas along with Rain as Raizo in Ninja Assassin, Jang Dong-gun in The Warrior's Way and Gianna Jun in Blood The Last Vampire.
  • He is the second antagonist in the film series to defect to the G.I. Joes after Anna Lewis in Rise of Cobra.
  • Arasikage means "Storm Shadow" in Japanese.

External Links[]

Navigation[]

            GIJoeTitle Villains

COBRA
Cobra Commander (Sunbow version | Krake) | Baroness | Tomax & Xamot | Storm Shadow | Dr. Mindbender | Firefly | Major Bludd | Scrap-Iron | Wild Weasel | Copperhead | Serpentor | Cobra-La | Golobulus | Cobra Troopers | B.A.T.S.
M.A.R.S. Industries: Destro
Dreadnoks: Zartan | Zarana | Zandar | Buzzer | Ripper | Torch | Monkeywrench | Thrasher
Other
Dr. Lucifer | Robert Harper | Gamesmaster | Georgi Potemkin | George Latimer | Buck McCann | Sheila McDermott | B.A. LeCarre | Pierre LaFonte | Raven

Alternate Continuities
G.I. Joe: Sigma 6: Cobra Commander | Destro | Storm Shadow | Baroness | Firefly | B.A.T. | Zartan
G.I. Joe: Resolute: Cobra Commander
G.I. Joe: Renegades: Cobra Commander | Dr. Mindbender
G.I Joe 2009-2013 Film Duology: Cobra Commander/The Doctor | Destro | Storm Shadow | Baroness | Zartan | Firefly
2021 Film Series: Kenta | Baroness | Storm Shadow | Mr. Augustine
Energon Universe: Cobra Commander | Golobulus | Destro

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