G.I. Joe Reviews: G.I. Joe 19, G.I. Joe 20

G.I. Joe #19 (January 1984) – “Joe Triumphs” – Larry Hama/Mike Vosburg/Jon D’Agostino

This one starts with the Joes building a fake operational headquarters right above the real Pit under the motor pool at Fort Wadsworth. After the Joes brought Scar-Face back last issue, he told them he was carrying the plague toxin and was meant to infect everyone at Joe headquarters. Scar-Face even managed to steal the antidote and willingly hands it over to the Joes, hoping they’ll use it to cure him. Hawk realizes that Cobra Commander isn’t counting on the virus to kill everyone; he just wants to see where emergency quarantine procedures take place, which will give him the secret location of Joe headquarters. Hawk tells General Flagg they can use the new pre-fabricated HQ to fool Cobra into thinking they’ve wiped out the real headquarters when they attack. (Hawk also had Major Bludd and the injured Baroness moved to headquarters, so they don’t miss any of the fun.) Hawk’s plan works, with Cobra Commander seeing the “quarantine” activity and preparing an assault on Fort Wadsworth. The regular soldiers are bussed out to keep the from harm, while the Joes get ready for Cobra’s attack. Meanwhile, Snake Eyes and Kwinn have tracked Dr. Venom to his secret lab in Brooklyn, but before Kwinn can exact vengeance, a bunch of Cobra helicopters arrive. Venom pretends to help them fight against the Cobras, but he tricks Snake Eyes into donning an armoured battle suit (ironically known as the SNAKE), which lets Venom subjugate the wearer’s will. Dr. Venom forces Snake Eyes to knock Kwinn out and when Cobra Commander and Destro enter, they have Kwinn placed into the other SNAKE suit. Cobra is using Venom’s lab as the jump-off point for the assault, since it’s so close to Fort Wadsworth. Clutch and Breaker go out in the VAMP for a perimeter check, taking along Major Bludd and Scar-Face handcuffed to the roll bars. Cobra attacks and they have to race back to the motor pool, where the fake HQ is being raised to ground level (right through the ground!). Cobra’s initial assault blows away the motor pool building, revealing what they assume is the real Joe headquarters. After an exchange of fire, and the use of some cleverly concealed claymores, the first wave is repelled. Cobra tries again and the Joes deploy PAC/RATs (remote-controlled weapons) to meet them. The PAC/RATs do pretty well, so Dr. Venom sends Kwinn and Snake Eyes in the SNAKE armour to face them. The SNAKEs overcome the PAC/RATs but Snake Eyes fights with all his will to overcome the mind-control. He succeeds (although it causes him excruciating pain), but Venom has programmed the SNAKE armour so it’s impossible to fire at anything painted Cobra Blue … like Venom’s HISS tank. Venom forces Kwinn to fire on Snake Eyes, who shoots back, popping open the SNAKE armour and freeing Kwinn. (The SNAKE suits are white, not blue.) Kwinn goes after Dr. Venom, grabbing him and pulling the pin on a grenade. The Cobra assault continues, but the Joes use air support and send out artillery to smash the invaders. Cobra sends a sapper in to plant a bomb on the roof of Joe HQ. Inside, Doc hears the chopper land on the roof and his distraction allows Major Bludd to knock him out and get free. Bludd plans to take Baroness back with him and leave Scar-Face behind. General Flagg catches Bludd, but Scar-Face disarms him and Bludd shoots him. Despite Scar-Face’s help, Bludd leaves him behind, taking Baroness and stealing the FANG chopper on the roof after killing the sapper (who has already planted the explosive). Doc comes to and takes General Flagg out of the HQ, being forced to leave Scar-Face behind since Bludd took the keys to Scar-Face’s handcuffs. Kwinn decides not to kill Dr. Venom, but when he turns his back, Venom shoots him. Kwinn staggers back and drops the armed grenade at Venom’s feet, blowing both of them up. Snake Eyes warns the others in time to avoid the blast, but mourns losing a noble spirit like Kwinn. The bomb the sapper planted explodes, blowing the pre-fab HQ to hell and Cobra retreats, thinking they’ve won. In a sense the have, since General Flagg has died of his injuries. This is a really good conclusion to the ongoing storyline, with Cobra thinking they’ve triumphed but the Joes actually coming out on top because the location of the Pit is still secure. This issue also deals with long-running characters like Kwinn, Dr. Venom, and Scar-face (by killing them all off), although we’ll have to wait a bit longer to see what happens with Baroness. Destro still doesn’t know she’s alive (though Cobra Commander almost lets it slip), but I assume he’ll find out soon enough, whenever Bludd decides to bring her back. Marvel’s deal with Hasbro at the time said they had to feature all the Joe toys in the comic and this issue manages to fit in some of the goofier ones (like the SNAKE armour, the PAC/RATs, and the big headquarters playset) without making it too obvious. This issue marks something of a transition, since a lot of the original Joes will be seen less and less in upcoming issues to make way for new characters. In fact, the next couple issues are basically filler before we get back to the main story.

G.I. Joe #20 (February 1984) – “Home is Where the War Is” – Steven Grant/Geof Isherwood/Jon D’Agostino, John Tartaglione

As I mentioned above, this one is basically a filler story that doesn’t reference any of the ongoing plotlines. It starts with a bunch of Joes on an obstacle course, where Clutch goes all out to finish first. We soon see that his new attitude is because there’s a reward for coming in first: a furlough, which Clutch intends to spend back in his hometown of Asbury Park, New Jersey. He arrives in Jersey and immediately runs into an old pal (Billy Kline) driving a prototype race car. Billy takes Clutch to the company where he works, impressing him with the set-up and offering him a job testing the cars they’re building. Billy tells Clutch he can stay in the quarters at the company, but Clutch overhears Billy arguing with someone on the phone and follows him to a top secret area. Clutch sneaks up to the door, but when it opens he comes face to face with a Cobra trooper. Clutch blurts out that he recognizes the guy as a Cobra, which leads him to call for help in eliminating Clutch. Clutch takes out the Cobras with some improvised weapons and grabs a gun to go check the top secret room. It turns out to be a weapons lab for Cobra, with Billy helping them design new armaments. Clutch tries to capture the Cobras, but Billy knocks him out from behind. When Clutch wakes up Billy apologizes, saying Cobra is holding his family. Clutch is skeptical but Billy does slip him a knife just before the Cobras strap a new remote jet-pack to his back and send him rocketing up into the air. Clutch uses the knife to cut his ropes and manages to reactivate the jet-pack after the Cobras turn it off. He lands in the river and heads to his old high school, where he convinces the shop teacher to lend him a hot rod the kids are working on. He uses the car to smash into the house where Cobra is holding Billy’s wife and kid, rescuing them. He calls in some more Joes for back-up and they assault the Cobra weapons factory. The Cobra in charge tries to escape with one of the new jet-packs after shooting Billy, but Clutch takes another jet-pack and chases him. They end up duelling in the air and Clutch drops him over a gas farm where he explodes on impact. Billy will be fine and thanks Clutch for saving him and his family. This is an all right story that focuses on Clutch, who’s almost a walking cliché. He’s from Asbury Park, likes to race cars, and refers to women as chicks … he’s basically a character from a Springsteen song. This story gives him a bit more depth, but not much.