The war between Green and Tan is so old that no one really knows why or where it all began
When the Army Men and the Plastic World itself discovered the Portals that transported them to multiple universes, an infinite number of life forms, societies and nations were known. It was from that moment that the history of the Plastic World began to be compiled with the words “Army Men” before each historical event, because the Plastic World main Toy race was the Army Men plastic soldiers. So, using “Army Men” before every iconic history event, all those societies inside and outside the Plastic World knew who narrates them and who they are.
Regarding the universal time measurement, the different worlds/universes decided to use the time measurement of the Giant World (or Real World) which through studies is known to be apparently the oldest and primordial world of origin of most Worlds and Toy societies.
Real behind the story facts:
Some Army men fans are divided on whether or not Sarge’s War, Major Malfunction and other games are canon or not, like Sarge’s Heroes fans citing that the change in voice actors, the darker tone, the metalized weapons and the continuity issues in Sarge’s War had placing this game and others to not be in the same universe as Sarge’s Heroes. Some consider it the canonical ending to the series, but others say RTS is the true finale (forgetting that they also use metal weapons). The reality is that the last work of this continuity was Major Malfunction, making its events the last of this timeline.
Continuity errors are all over the place, and we will going to try to make sense of them. We will also work in a way that allows us to change them in the future, in the case that we make a mistake.
The wishes of the fans who like to imagine and canonize what they want, does not really count against what the owners of the IP and authors clearly made in their work. The only truth is what it is and what is seen, without to much place for the subjective and the speculation, except what the end of Sarge’s War and Major Malfunction means and what follows after that.
Regarding fans conflicts about the continuities of the original games with the continuity of Sarge’s Heroes, or themes as if Sarge and Sarge Hawk are the same individual or not, like the rest we are not competent as to assert and try mere theories. We cannot interject what we want and our emotions with reality, even if this reality it’s not clear and open to some speculation. Some issues will be left unresolved and open to subjectivity and speculation, until they can be resolved or an official entity does it (official entity does not mean former employees).
On the other hand, we are likely to be forced to solve some irregularities, in order to carry out our history.
That said, we will do the best possible given the available tools and information, even if we don’t like it.
Sources for this article:
Army Men Episodes
The history of the Army Men is told in several named events, but the Army Men Episodes are the most important and influential for the Toyverse, and they go beyond the history of individual plastic soldiers: they tell the hisstory of the Army Men toykind as a whole.
Army Men: Episode 1
Prologue (crawl):
Army Men episode I: Plastic World
In a world made entirely of plastic, war has raged endlessly for years.
The Green Nation plastic soldiers remain strong, but the shadows of the Tan Army extend across the land.
From deserts to forests, from mountains to swamps, danger lurks around every corner.
Recently, the Green Army have discovered a secret that could change everything: the Tans are after the ultimate weapon, capable of tipping the balance of the conflict in their favor once and for all.
In a conflict where every Army Men matters, the fate of the Plastic World hangs in one brave and determined soldier, prepared to face this new threat…
Summary of events:
Army Men 1 and 3D were a MacGuffin quest, ending with Sarge discovering a portal that takes him to the Real World for the first time. It’s an episode 1 set in the conventional Army Men war (later returned to in the World War games, suposed prequels) that ends with the discovery of the Real World. Plastro only appears in the introduction…
Army Men: Episode 2
Prologue (crawl):
Army Men episode II: Real World
In the continuing conflicts of the plastic soldiers, the four main factions—Green, Tan, Blue, and Gray—remain at war. No army has managed to gain the advantage over the others… but that’s about to change.
Magical portals to other worlds blur the lines between what is real and what is plastic, and once again, the fate of the Green Nation rests in the hands of a brave soldier.
Having narrowly returned alive from the enigmatic giant parallel dimension, Sarge re-enters it with his best men to try to prevent the Tan forces from discovering it…
Summary of events:
It’s a direct sequel to the first game. Sarge reappears in the Real World, but with a squad (presumably he went back to look for them). But this time, Plastro appears for the first time, in real time, stepping on Sarge’s toes, sending troops after him.
Plastro is about to go through the portal… but he has a feeling or senses something, stops and looks behind him. There, where he looked before finally entering the portal, appear, as if using a cloaking device from Star Trek, a group of Tan soldiers with a slightly different appearance, and a blue spy.
These are Major Mylar and his troops. He orders one of his soldiers to detonate the portal, leaving Plastro without the possibility of returning (for now).
Something interesting is that these soldiers wear berets and MP40 machine guns, like the Germans of WW2. And why do they destroy the portal? To leave Plastro out of the Plastic World? Well, during the game, none of this matters too much…
We fight against Plastro’s troops, independent factions, and Mylar’s troops at the last mission. Plastro, at the end of the game, makes it clear that he’s after Sarge and the Greens, thanking them for getting rid of Mylar and his men. So Mylar betrayed Plastro’s Tan Army?
Mylar seemingly dies… but in the final animation, Dr. Madd appears with pieces of several soldiers, including one of Mylar’s arms (supposedly the one that falls off when he tries to throw the last grenade).
And speaking of Dr. Madd, the game marks his first appearance in the story of Army Men. While he and Colonel Green are shown as secondary characters, their performances will have future implications in the Army Men episodes.
Dr. Madd makes it clear that he’s a threat that’s been in business and in the making for quite some time, with a knowledge and aura of mystery that adds a lot of mystery to the character. It’s worth noting not only the machine that creates zombies, the experiment in transferring consciousness into a gorilla, and so on, but also that when Sarge gets close to him… he teleports out of there, from nowhere, something basically unheard of. So maybe Madd is behind Mylar clocking device?
Regarding the Green Colonel AWOL, he’s the first iteration of the crazy colonel from Apocalypse Now (there being 3 in total in Army Men canon). His brief appearance shouldn’t go unnoticed, due to his enigmatic words and the mystery behind them… and it’s worth keeping in mind that he’s the first to betray his nation, gaining followers from all the major armies of the time: Green, Tan, Grey, and Blue… although, thinking about it, should Mylar be considered the same? Did they even know each other or respond to the same ideas? They work togheter?
Army Men: Episode 12
Prologue:
Army Men episode XXII: Major Malfunction
The Toy Wars conflict has been ongoing for years. Civilization cowers under the shadow of Major Malfunction.
At a secret base away from the Major’s glare, a small unit of resistance fighters plan to save the day.
Colonel Koftshorts sends Sarge and his crew to find the Scientist who created the plans for a destructive weapon… the DEATH MAKER.
During the mission, not all went well; Months pass with no word from Sarge.
Now the fate of the Toykind lays with a Private named Anderson…