G.I. Joe #23 (May 1984) – “Cobra Commander Captured at Last” – Larry Hama/Mike Vosburg/Jon D’Agostino, John Tartagione
This one starts with Snow Job observing a chalet in the Swiss Alps where Baroness is recovering from her plastic surgery (and reading Cosmo … maybe she likes the quizzes). The chalet is fifty miles south of Bern, where Duke and Roadblock are keeping an eye on Major Bludd’s hotel (with Roadblock complaining about
the sub-par food in their café). When Bludd leaves in a taxi, Clutch and Cover Girl follow him, while Duke reports in to the Pit. Hawk tells him they can’t spare any back-up, as every available Joe is working on reconstructing and securing the Pit. (If you’re wondering how the Joes tracked Baroness and Bludd to Switzerland, Hawk apparently placed a tracker behind her ear when she was at Joe headquarters, although you’d think that would’ve been found during her plastic surgery.) Clutch and Cover girl tail Bludd to a telegraph office, but can’t get to close without being spotted. Bludd calls 
Cobra Commander to demand a shitload of money or he he’ll tell Destro that Cobra Commander hired Bludd to kill him, something Baroness can confirm. The Commander has no choice, so he heads for Switzerland with a suitcase full of cash and only his masked driver for company. Clutch and Cover Girl follow Bludd to the chalet and join Snow Job on surveillance. Baroness has recovered from her plastic surgery (although she looks exactly the same to me) and debuts the new leather look that will be her usual outfit from now on. Bludd shows Baroness their plane tickets to Lucca, Italy (where Bludd told Cobra Commander to bring the money) and the Joes see the tickets through binoculars. Duke and Roadblock head to Lucca, where
they find the town full of people in elaborate costumes, part of an annual fantasy festival the town hosts. Duke realizes Bludd chose the place just for that reason; if everyone is in costume, Cobra Commander will be harder to spot (and the Commander actually does walk right past Hawk and Roadblock without them noticing). Just before arriving in Lucca, Bludd and Baroness notice Clutch and Cover Girl tailing them and try to blast them. They arrive in Lucca, where Duke and Roadblock attack. While the Joes are fighting Bludd’s minions, Bludd and Baroness head into the hotel to get the money from Cobra Commander. But his “driver” turns out to be Storm Shadow and all hell 
breaks loose, with Storm Shadow holding a sword to Bludd’s throat while Baroness pulls a gun on Cobra Commander. She seems to be more interested in the money than anything else and tells the Commander they’re leaving. Roadblock and Duke bust in and go after Bludd and Storm Shadow, leaving Baroness and Cobra Commander to slip out the back and take off in the Commander’s limo, followed closely by Clutch and Cover Girl. Storm Shadow drops a chandelier on Duke and Roadblock and he and Bludd join the chase in a parade float. Duke and Roadblock are picked up by Snow Job in the Vamp jeep and they bring up the rear in a wild chase up the mountainside. Clutch tries to crash into the float, but just pulls the top off, leaving Bludd and Storm Shadow to gain on the limo. A cement truck coming down in the
opposite direction slams into the Vamp and turns it over, delaying the Joes. Clutch takes over the Vamp and bounces it over the cliff onto the road below … right in front of the escaping limo. Roadblock blasts the limo and Cobra Commander surrenders, but Baroness is picked up by Bludd and Storm Shadow, who take off before the other Joes get there. This issue is pretty good, with plenty of action and a little bit of humour to lighten things up. The title doesn’t lie, with Cobra Commander being captured at the end, although catching him and keeping him are two different things.
G.I. Joe #24 (June 1984) – “The Commander Escapes” – Larry Hama/Russ Heath
Since capturing Cobra Commander last issue, the Joes have brought him back to the United States, but instead of taking him to their headquarters, they bring him to a small plateau in a remote section of the Rocky Mountains. Cobra Commander isn’t impressed, since the place is very exposed and not fortified at all. But the Joes solve that problem by dropping a pre-fab fortress … forcing the Commander to help them construct it. Meanwhile, Bludd returns to Cobra headquarters with Baroness, which makes Destro so happy he forgets about Bludd trying to kill him (in issue 16). Baroness reports Cobra Commander’s capture and
says this would be the perfect time for her and Destro to take over Cobra. Elsewhere, Storm Shadow is still searching for the Commander and thanks to some surveillance on the Joes he narrows the possibilities and heads for the Rockies. Destro figures they need to eliminate Cobra Commander before taking over, but realizes that will be difficult with Storm Shadow still loyal to him. Bludd reveals that he planted a tracer in Storm Shadow’s sword handle and introduces a couple of new operatives (Wild Weasel and Firefly) who are going to track the ninja straight to Cobra Commander and take care of him. In the impromptu mountain base, Cobra Commander tells the Joes his helmet is 
wired with explosives, thus discouraging them from trying to remove it. He neglects to mention the short-range radio receiver in the helmet, so when Storm Shadow gets near the base and heads down (using a CLAW glider), he’s able to let the Commander know he’s coming. Cobra Commander asks to go outside for some air and Duke sends Grunt and Rock n’Roll to guard him. Storm Shadow surprises them with the CLAW and picks up the Commander, but Roadblock manages to hit the CLAW as they’re flying away. Because of the damage, the CLAW starts losing power and Storm Shadow gets off to let Cobra Commander have a better chance of escape. Duke chases them in the Skyhawk and tries to bring down the Commander. Storm Shadow is ready to snipe Duke from a tree, but Gung Ho knocks the tree down with a grenade. Before Duke can
recapture Cobra Commander, a couple of FANG helicopters intervene, delaying the Skyhawk long enough to let Cobra Commander make it to the rescue plane. Meanwhile, Storm Shadow takes on Gung Ho and Roadblock, slicing up Gung Ho a bit but getting pounded by Roadblock. They find a postal receipt in Storm Shadow’s pocket; apparently, he mailed something to Chokoloskee, Florida, in the middle of the Everglades. We soon find out that it was his sword he sent to Florida, obviously realizing that Bludd had planted the tracker in it and wanting to lead him on a false trail. It worked, as Wild Weasel 
and Firefly end up at a shack in the middle of a Florida swamp. Destro and the others are wondering why Storm Shadow would be in a place like that when Cobra Commander returns and tells them the shack belongs to a guy called Zartan … who doesn’t like visitors. This is another aptly titled issue, with Cobra Commander proving difficult to hold onto, although he never would’ve escaped if it wasn’t for Storm Shadow. We also get our first look at some characters who’ll be around for a long time: Wild Weasel, Firefly, and Zartan. I can’t help wondering how much backstory Larry Hama had already worked out by this point, since Firefly and Zartan will both end up tying into Storm Shadow
and Snake Eyes’s backgrounds. Cobra Commander and Storm Shadow both seem familiar with Zartan, while Destro, Baroness, and Bludd aren’t. Baroness seems to be doing a lot of posing in this issue, but maybe she’s just showing off her new look .. or trying to get Destro worked up.