G.I. Joe Reviews: G.I. Joe Special Missions 3, G.I. Joe 57

G.I. Joe Special Missions #3 (February 1987) – “Burn-out” – Larry Hama/Herb Trimpe

This one starts with some Joes (Stalker, Leatherneck, and Slipstream) hanging out undercover at a café in some unidentified Middle Eastern country. They’re with an American mercenary pilot (Deke) who flies MiGs for the local dictator, Colonel Sharif. But Deke is helping the Joes, who want to get inside Sharif’s airbase. Unfortunately, the café owner is a spy for Sharif and lets him known about Deke’s treachery. As the Joes head back to their local base, we get Deke’s story: he was a really good pilot in Vietnam before he was shot down and spent years in a POW camp. When he got home, he wasn’t allowed to fly anymore because he was deemed “psychologically unstable”, so he ended up working for Sharif (who was hiring pilots with no background checks). Leatherneck doesn’t trust Deke, or any of the other American pilots working for Sharif, but Stalker figures he’s okay. They get back to the garage they’re using as a hideout and help Crankcase finish armouring up their van, while Stalker sends the info on Sharif’s SAM (surface-to-air missile) sites to Ace in the Skystriker. At Sharif’s headquarters, Deke holds out for a while under torture, but when Sharif threatens to put his eyes out he tells them where the Joes are hiding. Sharif writes up a “confession” for Deke to sign before he’s executed and reveals there’s a hidden SAM site at the air base that could shoot down several planes. Deke busts loose and takes off after pounding Sharif and the guard. At the garage, the Joes are surrounded by Sharif’s armoured division, but they bust out and engage in a running fight. They escape thanks to a little help from the Royalists who oppose Sharif (who Stalker tipped off ahead of time). As Ace leads a squadron of bombers in to take out the SAM sites, the Joes crash through the main gate. Sharif tries to get the American mercenaries to go after the incoming planes (since local pilots can’t fly at night), but the Americans refuse to fight against their own countrymen. Sharif shoots them and heads to the hidden SAM site. We find out why the Joes are there in the first place … to steal a Russian-made VTOL jet, a YAK-36. But it’s undergoing repairs, so Slipstream can’t fly it out. He notices a Russian Condor next to the YAK-36 and suggests they put the smaller jet inside the big cargo plane and fly it out of there. They almost get blown up by friendly fire but manage to take off, still unaware of the hidden SAM site. Deke knows about it though and steals a plane so he can run interference for them. Unfortunately, his missile racks are empty but that doesn’t stop Deke, who makes a kamikaze run at the SAM, killing himself and Colonel Sharif and enabling the Joes to get away safely. This is a pretty good issue; it’s nice to see the Joes fighting someone besides Cobra and Deke is a compelling character, who gives his life for something he never fully understood. I also like how we can see that the Joes are actually killing their opponents, instead of sanitizing the realities of combat.

G.I. Joe #57 (March 1987) – “Strange Bedfellows” – Larry Hama/Ron Wagner/Kim DeMulder

This one starts with the Joes analyzing the components from the Terror Drome they captured last issue. Some of the tech is so advanced they can’t figure it out, but they determine it was made by MARS (Military Armaments Research Syndicate), which is a family business run by Destro. Hawk informs Flint and Lady Jaye that Destro (and probably Cobra Commander) is still alive and that Destro was spotted taking a flight to his ancestral home in Scotland. Flint and Lady Jaye are to head over there, link up with the SAS, and get their hands on blueprints for the Terror Drome at any cost. They land in Scotland and meet their SAS contacts (Jingles and Sgt. Day), who take them to Castle Destro. The Laird of the castle (aka Destro himself) has already returned, but gets a surprise when he finds another Destro already there. This Destro claims the real one is an impostor and has him carted of to jail by the local cops. Flint and Lady Jaye observe what happened and figure the Destro in jail is the real one, since he’s the one who flew over from the States. Lady Jaye disguises herself as an old lady spouting religious messages to get into Destro’s cell. She and Flint bust him out and they head back to the castle. Destro says he’s tired of Cobra and is willing to give them the Terror Drome blueprints (which the fake Destro is probably after too) if they help him get his castle back. Destro knows the best way to get into the castle … he and Lady Jaye borrow an old WWII glider from a local airbase and glide in to avoid RADAR, while Flint and Jingles create a diversion on the ground. Destro crashes the glider into the greenhouse and leads the assault on the castle, with Flint and Jingles driving the jeep right inside and through a security door. The fake Destro tries to get away with the Terror Drome plans, but Destro jumps him and they end up fighting. The real Destro wins and exposes the faker as Major Bludd. This is a pretty cool issue, with the Joes and Destro actually fighting together. It’s interesting to see Destro in this context, as Laird of the Manor instead of working for Cobra. He shows his honourable streak at the end by keeping his bargain and handing over the plans and proves he’s a pretty good fighter by kicking Major Bludd’s ass. Destro assumes Bludd was sent to impersonate him and get the Terror Drome plans by Serpentor, but we don’t get confirmation of that. (Apparently, different companies manufacture different parts of the Terror Drome, which is why Cobra and the Joes both need the blueprints.)