Never mind that John Rambo, fictional protagonist of some of the most violent films known to man, was a troubled Vietnam vet with PTSD and authority issues--he could still be transformed into a kid-friendly animated hero. Put him together with an elite fighting force, pit them all against a villainous organization with a catchy acronym, and you have yourself a daily cartoon.

Sylvester Stallone portrayed Rambo in the movies, which followed the misadventures of a disenfranchised war veteran who finds it hard to adjust to civilian life. Things go haywire when corrupt cops keep pushing him and pushing him and Rambo shows everyone that his favorite words are 'body count' and 'collateral damage.' The first movie's sequels find Rambo traveling the world as a freedom fighter and the cartoon drew inspiration from that. Very little inspiration. A tiny bit.

In the animated series, Rambo belonged to the Force of Freedom team which undertook missions against the terrorist organization S.A.V.A.G.E., led by General Warhawk. Rambo's crew included Kat Taylor, master of disguises and Turbo Hayes, a mechanical expert. Rambo himself had morphed into a quick-thinking genius, who used his wits and only resorted to violence in extreme cases. Though gun play abounded, there was barely any blood pictured and nobody really died.

This toned-down version of the Rambo anti-hero drew considerable criticism from fans of the movies and the novel on which the films were based. The toy and action figure lines the cartoon spawned proved much more popular than the cartoon which ended after one season.