Mainframe (G.I. Joe)

He doesn't just mend and defend.

Mainframe is a member of G.I. Joe from the G.I. Joe portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Mainframe, real name Blaine L. Parker, is G.I. Joe's resident computer nerd. He's no pencil-necked geek, mind you - he joined the Army at seventeen, and after a brief, mind-numbing sojourn into Silicon Valley, he signed up with the Marines. Dude can probably kill you with a flash drive.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

G.I. Joe and the Transformers

After Bumblebee's destruction by G.I. Joe, Mainframe and Crankcase examined his remains at Fort Lewis in Seattle. Power Struggle There, they were visited by G.B. Blackrock, who informed them that Bumblebee was not the menace G.I. Joe thought him to be. Mainframe suspected that it would be possible to revive the Autobot. Ashes, Ashes... Mainframe did manage to resurrect Bumblebee, and partially rebuilt him. After the Joes allied themselves with the Autobots and Cobra to stop the Decepticons, Mainframe was assisted in his efforts by Ratchet and Dr. Mindbender, who rebuilt the fallen Autobot into Goldbug. Later, Mainframe, Ratchet, and Mindbender devised a way to override the Decepticon-controlled Power Station Alpha. ...All Fall Down!

Marvel Generation 2 comic

After visual confirmation was made of Megatron working with Cobra, Hawk ordered Mainframe to commandeer a deep-space satellite dish and warn the Autobots of the Decepticon's return on Earth. Goin' South War Without End!

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

While giving a presentation about a prototype satellite at Echelon 5, Mainframe was interrupted by Michael, who informed him of an image of one of the nascent Cobra organization's enslaved Transformers. Leaving the meeting, he left Michael in charge of completing the presentation. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #2 Now a member of G.I. Joe, Mainframe attempted to decode the message, but was unable to until the Joes' Autobot ally Wheeljack identified it as a coded message from Optimus Prime. The Autobot subsequently sent out a virus that freed all of Cobra's Transformers. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #3 Mainframe accompanied G.I. Joe on their mission to Cobra Island G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4 and battled Cobra's forces there. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5 With the reluctant aid of Dr. Mindbender, Mainframe and Wheeljack managed to use the SPS Satellite Cobra had hijacked to shoot down the nuclear missiles the US government had launched at Cobra Island, preventing a global catastrophe - all while being shot at by Storm Shadow, Firefly, and a legion of Cobra soldiers. The satellite began firing randomly, endangering everyone on the island, until Mainframe and Sci-Fi transmitted its position to Optimus Prime, allowing him to shoot it down. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #6

Mainframe was amongst the Joes who welcomed Perceptor, Bumblebee, Grimlock, and Arcee to Earth after they emerged through the Warp Gate from Cybertron. (He made sure to have Firewall hide her Optimus Prime coffee cup before they came through though.) Together with the Joes, this team had been tasked by Optimus Prime to destroy the remaining Decepticon technology on Earth. But as soon as the Autobots had arrived on Earth, Cobra attacked their installation, freeing their top-secret bio-weapon, Serpent O.R.. The Art of War #1 Mainframe attempted to defend the Warp Gate to from Serpent O.R. as he ran wild, but he was quickly struck down. The Art of War #2 After recovering, Mainframe and Doctor Li, a member of Serpent O.R.'s design team, attempted to repair the gate. When Mainframe sensed that Li was more interested in retrieving his creation than stopping its rampage, he punched the doctor's lights out. Working with Firewall and Li's colleague Professor Martin, he managed to get it operational, and also learned the details of the Serpent O.R. project. Sending a small contingent of Joes and Autobots through the gate, Mainframe promised to send as much backup as he could find. The Art of War #3 True to his word, Mainframe sent an army of Joes to Cybertron to battle Serpent O.R. and his forces. The Art of War #4

Some time later, while lamenting the Autobots' failure to capture Destro, Mainframe and Duke received a distress call from Firewall, alerting them to Hawk's altercation with Cobra-La in the Himalayas. Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2 As the dreaded Unicron neared the Earth, Mainframe monitored global weather disturbances, and predicted worse calamities if he continued to approach. Black Horizon, Part 2 of 2

Transformers vs. G.I. Joe

After a hostile encounter with the extraterrestrials from planet Cybertron, several members of G.I. Joe were dispatched to invade the mechanical planet, Mainframe among them. He was assigned to a group entrusted with the destruction of the massive furnaces at Cybertron's north pole. After placing down targeting markers for a missile strike, they were caught by Rodimus, putting the team at risk of being caught in the upcoming explosion. The Joes escaped after Rodimus had a confrontation with his fellow Autobot Blaster by hitching a ride on their former captor. Form Follows Function Rodimus brought the group back to Metroplex, the Autobots' mobile city. There, they learned that the rest of the Joes had allied themselves with the Autobots to take on the evil Cybertronians, the Decepticons... Who were attacking at that very moment! After an arduous battle, the Decepticons and their Cobra allies were forced into a tactical retreat. Everybody Hates Metroplex After the defeat of the Decepticons and Cobra, Mainframe returned to Earth, where he was seen having a drink with Tripwire during the Joes' celebrations. The War Never Ends

2005 IDW continuity

Blaine Parker grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, where his natural athleticism and computer skills led him into a career in the armed forces. After serving as an infantryman, Parker earned his degree from MIT and briefly worked in Silicon Valley. His thirst for action led him back to the Army, joining the Marine Corps and eventually rising to serve in the Pentagon. Parker's intellect, athleticism, and technological aptitude caught the attention of G.I. Joe, who recruited him under the codename "Mainframe." Mainframe's profile in Revolution #3

When the Decepticons invaded Earth in 2008, Mainframe watched as the Decepticons laid waste to Earth and killed many of his friends. He would remember prominent Decepticons like Soundwave who had carried out many of the atrocities, and carry a resentment against the Transformers for years afterwards. Concorde Hymn

Over the next few years, Mainframe became an invaluable member of the top-secret mission force, being one of the first agents to discover and prove the existence of Cobra. Over the course of his adventures, he developed a romantic relationship with his fellow Joe Scarlett. Mainframe's profile in Revolution #3 G.I. Joe was later decommissioned following a series of disastrous missions, and Mainframe broke up with Scarlett after. He once attended a scientific conference in Vienna, where he met Mercy Gale and Ian Noble. Concorde Hymn

After an Ore-13 cache in Mount Olympus exploded, Mainframe was contacted by Ian Noble, who had since taken up the mantle of Action Man. Ian informed Mainframe that ex-Joe Big Ben had given him a pair of dog tags that Ben took off one of the guys that killed his team... Dog tags belonging to G.I. Joe member David Dubosky. Mainframe said that was impossible, having just spoken to Countdown mere minutes prior, and posited that it was likely planted by someone trying to frame G.I. Joe. Ian warned Mainframe to keep an eye on his fellow Joes, since in their weird world, things weren't always what they seemed.

G.I. Joe was later reinstated under Joe Colton as a special branch of the Earth Defense Command following Optimus Prime's decision to annex Earth into the Council of Worlds. A team of Joes were deployed to Portland, Oregon, where Mainframe used a drone to spy on Arcee and Jazz's humanitarian efforts. When Scarlett asked if an attack would result in collateral damage to the civilians, Mainframe decided to remind his ex how accurate he could be, using the drone to fire on Jazz and lure the Transformers into a trap. When the other Cybertronians arrived, including Soundwave, Mainframe decided to use an upgraded Earth Defense Command mindbomb to kill Soundwave, lamenting how many of his friends were killed by the Decepticons. Mayday tried to get him to stop, but before he even got the chance, Soundwave disabled all of the Joes' equipment. After Rom the Space Knight appeared and killed several of their teammates, including Joe Colton, the Transformers retreated and Soundwave restored their communications capabilities so that Mainframe could radio for evacuation. Concorde Hymn In the wake of the battle, Scarlett, Mainframe, and Agent Helix mulled over Rom—whom they collectively mistook for a Cybertronian—and his strange behavior, noting that he had only killed a handful of their number before fleeing. The Divine Source of Liberty

Back at GI Joe headquarters on Governor's Island, their worries were confirmed when Doc finished her analysis of Rom's victims and concluded that their DNA was not human - their teammates had been replaced by extraterrestrial shapeshifters. O Ship of State The spate of extraterrestrial conflict on Earth, including M.A.S.K.'s capture of Kup, prompted Ian Noble to investigate, using Mainframe as an inside man. Action Man's trail of destruction through the facility revealed that Joe collaborator and benefactor Miles "Mayhem" Manheim had been keeping secrets from the Joes, including keeping Kup detained in a secret room beneath the base. A few pleas from Action Man convinced Mainframe to cover his acquaintance's escape by calling down a low-powered orbital strike designed to distract the Switchblade and Thunderhawk long enough for Kup and Action Man to make their escape. The Modern World

In the aftermath, Scarlett reported that Mayhem and the rest of the M.A.S.K. motor pool had gone missing. Subsequent news of a colossal battle in Monument Valley – home to Autobot City and a massive cache of Ore-13 – caused Scarlett to despair, as their most advanced technology had gone AWOL and their current arsenal was vulnerable to Cybertronian electromagnetic weaponry. That's when Mainframe revealed a last-ditch strategy: deploying some of their low-tech classic vehicles. The New Colossus They did so, with Mainframe and Mayday flying a Dragonfly into the massive battle. They didn't last long, as the colossal, mutated Baron Karza grabbed their vessel out of the sky... but not before Action Man and Kup blew the giant's arm off, and Soundwave safely caught the two. With time running out, Mainframe, Soundwave, Rom, the Micronauts, and Matt Trakker devised a scheme to send Karza back into the dimension from whence he had came. The plan was successful, and though Mainframe was briefly believed dead, he had survived by taking cover in Soundwave's chest. With G.I. Joe officially severing ties with the US government, the team cleared out their base in New York and prepared to go it alone. Valley Forge

Some months later, G.I. Joe was called into action in Europe when a tribe of wandering Junkions showed up unannounced on the Matterhorn. Mainframe and Hi-Tech fruitlessly attempted to pierce the cobbled-together cloaking field around the Junkion mothership. With Cybertronian tech expert Garrison Blackrock missing in action, and Talon refusing to go to Optimus for help, they weren't able to get any specifics A Lonely Pillar on the Plain until Thundercracker and Soundwave arrived to provide some technical assistance. Behind My Bleeding Back Dance Among the Shadows

A series of escalating crises spurred on by Optimus Prime's reckless decisions caused the Junkions to turn on the Cybertronians and Earthlings alike, releasing a school of Sharkticons on a diplomatic summit. Mainframe and Hi-Tech helped a wounded Cosmos while speculating on the relationship between the Junkions and Sharkticons, in turn prompting Soundwave to turn the Sharkticons using some of Megatron's old rhetoric. Future Glories Lost

A few days after the resolution of the Junkion crisis, Mainframe was part of a G.I. Joe team sent to apprehend Jazz after he had been lured into a compromising television interview. They found that their target had been forewarned of their arrival and fled. What It's Really Like

During the official ceremony to commemorate Earth's induction into the Council of Worlds, Mainframe was part of a G.I. Joe detachment sent to monitor the diplomats bound for Iacon via Metrotitan's Space Bridge. When said Space Bridge went offline as a result of Baron Ironblood's attack on Cybertron, Mainframe was almost crushed by an furious Gimlet before Jetfire managed to talk the emotional colonist down. Primeless, Part 1

After Jazz had surrendered himself to G.I. Joe, the Colonist Soldiers staged a rescue mission. Riding a VAMP, Mainframe fired on Gimlet, doing no damage to the Eukarian but annoying him to the point that he forgot his strength and angrily crushed the vehicle, fatally wounding Mainframe. In his last moments, Mainframe was pulled clear by Hi-Tech, using his last words to encourage his friend not to let the human/Cybertronian alliance collapse. Time Will Rust

Unaware of his friend's demise, Cosmos attempted to contact him for an update with regards to what was happening on Earth much to the confusion of Laserbeak and Buzzsaw who believed the Autobot was trying to contact the Autobot Mainframe. Road's End

Games

Transformers Roleplaying Game

Bored with his button-down Silicon Valley life, Blaine Parker joined the Marines instead. He graduated from the top of his class, and wound up joining G.I. Joe as their top computer specialist. As one of the toughest members of the team, G.I. Joe's leadership reserved him for the toughest missions.

Mainframe answered an urgent summons from Stalker to report to their base camp in La Grande Dune du Pilat. Upon arriving, Stalker explained that he'd called on the unique talents of Mainframe, Cover Girl, and Doc to help repair a critically wounded Bumblebee. With the assistance of Bulkhead and Minerva, and a cannibalized A.W.E. Striker, the group soon got Bumblebee back on his feet in a tougher, combat-ready configuration. After a brief chase through the streets of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, the team successfully captured Swindle, but realized that "Baroness" was actually her body double, Chameleon. All was not lost, however, as the intel Chameleon provided led them to a secret cybernetics lab in the Pyrenees, where they discovered that the villains had to constructed the hybrid warrior Fusion. Cobra/Con Fusion

Notes

• Mainframe as a child was voiced by David Mendenhall in A Real American Hero while Wally Wingert voiced "Data Frame" in G.I. Joe The Rise Of Cobra The Game.

External links

• Mainframe at YoJoe.com