As a child, Conrad Hauser gained approval and affection from his parents by meeting their high standards of excellence. As an adult in the military, he was able to build a career out of pleasing his commanding officers. His need for approval was so great it caused him to turn down opportunities for his own command. Being asked to serve under Colonel Hawk on the GI Joe team was a dream come true. A dream that came crashing down when he met a red headed vixen, codenamed Scarlett.

He fell in love with her the moment he laid his eyes on her. He began doing everything in his power to please her. Her heart however was with another man – Snake Eyes. How could she want that telethon reject over him, he wondered. His internal conflicts between jealousy and duty started a downward spiral that ended in the disbanding of the Joe team. Duke was involved with every mistake made by the unit from there on out.

He assigned Snake Eyes to every mission whether it suited his abilities or not. He led the mission that created Cobra Island. His order to surrender in Trucial Abysmia led to all but three of that squad's deaths. He convinced Hawk to support the Ninja Force project. Neon uniforms and missile launching weapons for non-specialists became a norm under his leadership. His last act as field commander was as the leader of the Star Brigade. Through his efforts, the over-funding and failure of the Joes to put an end to Cobra caused their eventual disbandment.

In a state of limbo, Duke was solicited by none other than Fred Broca himself. Duke refused while working with the CIA, but never reported it. When GI Joe was reinstated, seeing Scarlett with Snake Eyes yet again was too much. In a final act of treachery he sabotaged the current Pit's communication center ending the lives of several fine military men and women.

Now he is serving in Cobra as their Joint Forces Operations Commander. Cobra forces using Duke's tactics and strategies might just be the end of GI Joe.