G.I. Joe #41 (November 1985) – “Strategic Diplomacy” – Larry Hama/Rod Whigham/Keith Williams
Last issue, Cobra tricked the Joes into blowing up an underwater bunker in the Gulf of Mexico, which aggravated a fault line on the ocean floor. We soon learn why … the fault line pushes up a new landmass in the Gulf, which Cobra plans to claim as its own sovereign territory. (They already have an army of lawyers ready to plead for formal recognition in various capitals, as well as the United Nations.) While the Joes deal with the tidal wave caused by the rising landmass, Cobra Commander congratulates Professor Appel (whom he refers to as Jones … maybe just a Crimson Guard cover name?) on pinpointing the exact place in
the fault line to give Cobra their new subcontinent. Zartan reminds him that the Joes are still around, but we see they’re not in the best of shape. The tactical battle platform and Killer Whale both rode out the tidal wave, but the Joes are pretty beaten up from the fighting last issue. They know that Cobra has to physically occupy the new island in order to claim it, so it’s their job to kick Cobra off before their lawyers can cajole their way to sovereign nation status. The USS Flagg aircraft carrier is listing from the tidal wave, which means the Joes will have to attack the island without air support. Cobra is ready for them and immediately sends out a couple of Rattlers (with a FANG 
chopper as a spotter) to take out the Killer Whale. On the carrier, Ace decides to try a takeoff in the Skystriker, despite the 30º tilt to the deck. He just makes it and heads out to help the Whale, blasting one Rattler and luring the other to be taken out by Cobra gun batteries. Unfortunately, the Skystriker is hit too and Ace has to retreat, leaving the Joes on the Whale to land and try a ground assault. They do pretty well against overwhelming odds, making it to Cobra’s central bunker where Cobra Commander, Zartan, Professor Appel, and the Crimson Twins get ready to die fighting. But the Joes get a call from headquarters telling them that Cobra’s lawyers have won official recognition for Cobra Island as sovereign territory, which means the Joes
have to leave. This is a pretty good issue, giving us the first appearance of Cobra Island, a new nation (!) that will become Cobra’s main headquarters from now on. The fight for the island is pretty intense, but it’s interesting that the real fight was taking place elsewhere, with Cobra’s lawyers getting them what they wanted (possibly through a little bribery, but that isn’t explicitly mentioned). It’s cool to see the bad guys’ plans actually work, instead of just seeing them get their asses kicked one more time.
G.I. Joe #42 (December 1985) – “Ties That Bind” – Larry Hama/Rod Whigham/Andy Mushynsky
This one starts with the Joes returning from the fight for Cobra Island last issue. Hawk tells Ripcord about Candy being taken by Buzzer during his escape, which pisses Ripcord off since the Joes already thought Candy was a Cobra agent. She’s not, as we soon see, since she’s demanding Buzzer let her go. He’s not inclined to do that, since she might cause trouble for him once she’s free, and he wants to get back to Cobra with the secret location of Joe headquarters. In New York, Billy is still training as a ninja with Storm Shadow, and in Staten Island, Fred II has a fever but refuses to stay in bed. He’s a real dick to his “wife”, reminding her that he’s not her real husband,
just a replacement sent by Cobra after some plastic surgery. His wife was hoping he might’ve actually wanted to be a family with her and the kids, but he’s not really into that idea. Meanwhile, General Austin has a heart attack while giving Hawk shit, so Hawk decides he wants to head to Washington discreetly and asks Stalker and Snake Eyes to drive him. Outside Springfield, Soft Master hitches a ride with a travelling salesman who’s half-lit from drinking brandy-laced coffee. Buzzer trades the stolen Army bus for a stolen pickup truck and Candy tries to escape, but he recaptures her quickly. In New York, Billy’s training continues, with him trying to see the spectre of death that some ninjas experience when their lives are in danger. But Billy sees nothing and 
wonders if he isn’t truly a ninja at heart. Storm Shadow assures him he is and Billy promises to find out who killed the Hard Master whenever Billy finally confronts his father, Cobra Commander. Fred II sees the Vamp coming out of Fort Wadsworth and puts a tracker on it, following Hawk, Stalker, and Snake Eyes all the way to Washington, even though his fever makes it hard to concentrate at times. The salesman drops Soft Master off by the Springfield police station, but Soft Master forgets his suitcase in the car. He heads into the cop shop to look up info on his brother’s killer, but has to pound all the cops in order to get access to their system. On the way to Springfield,
Candy finally gets the opportunity to escape from Buzzer, almost blowing his head off and scaring the shit out of him. In Washington, Stalker and Snake Eyes drop Hawk off at the Pentagon and go to visit the Vietnam War Memorial. They look up their fellow LRRP soldiers who were killed on patrol, but one of the names is missing: Wade Collins. Fred II steps out of the shadows with a gun and tells them he’s really Wade Collins, their old patrol buddy, given a new name and face by Cobra. In New York, Storm Shadow finds a note from Billy saying he’s gone to Springfield to confront his father. This 
issue has a lot going on, but most of it just setting up next issue, which will resolve the fates of Candy, the Soft Master, Wade Collins, and Billy (temporarily). It’s interesting to see Stalker and Snake Eyes’s reactions to the Vietnam Memorial, which they’ve apparently never visited before; Larry Hama is a Vietnam veteran himself, so maybe he’s channelling some of his own feelings here. Anyway, we’ll have to wait a while longer to find out who killed the Hard Master and let’s not forget, Buzzer still knows where Joe headquarters is.