G.I. Joe Reviews: G.I. Joe 63, G.I. Joe 64

G.I. Joe #63 (September 1987) – “Going Under” – Larry Hama/Ron Wagner/Andy Mushynsky

This one starts with Snake Eyes, Scarlett, Flint, and Lady Jaye on leave in Grenada. Snake Eyes is stewing over Stalker, Snow Job, and Quick Kick being captured in Borovia, but since their mission wasn’t officially sanctioned, nobody is allowed to make a rescue attempt, not even a covert one. In Borovia, Snow Job and Quick Kick’s wounds keep them from joining the work detail, so they’re made to sew teddy bears in a sweat shop. (Apparently the bears are sold in the West as “genuine peasant crafts”.) The two Joes are informed that anyone who breaks the rules will get everyone in their section shot, then are promptly deposited at an empty table with a guy named Boris. That makes them wonder how many people Boris has informed on in the past. Stalker is made to do heavy labour, like hauling logs, and is taunted by a guard who claims to be an expert rifle shot. In San Francisco, Billy is taken into the Defense Language Center by Jinx and gets a surprise when he’s whisked into an underground bunker. He meets Hawk, Chuckles, and Law and Order, who have an offer for him. They’re unaware that Raptor has followed Billy and Jinx and is trying to report their location to Fred back in Denver. But Fred’s not there, having hit the road with his Cobra tech, headed for Galveston. In Utah, the Joes are playing some friendly football, not knowing that Cobra has satellite photos of the base. Serpentor realizes there must be some underground levels to hold so many Joes, and he also gets a report about the Defense Language Center. In Grenada, Snake Eyes and the others meet a blind man walking home from the beach and he shanghais Snake Eyes into helping him get home. Scarlett goes along with them, but Flint realizes too late that they’re walking through a mine field. An explosion seems to obliterate all three of them, freaking out Flint and Lady Jaye. In San Francisco, Billy meets with Ripcord and Storm Shadow, telling them how Candy and the Soft Master died. In Borovia, Stalker suggests to his teammates that they start planning an escape, but Boris narcs on them and Snow Job is dragged off for a beating. Flint calls Hawk to let him know what happened to Snake Eyes and Scarlett, but Storm Shadow gets suspicious when he hears there’s no trace of the bodies at all. When Flint mentions the old blind guy, Storm Shadow realizes what’s happening (although we’re not told yet what he suspects). In Galveston, Fred hires a Vietnamese boat captain to take him to Cobra Island. This is a pretty good issue, with Snake Eyes and Scarlett “dying” in an explosion that’s obviously fake, and Billy finally reuniting with Storm Shadow. I’m pretty sure the blind guy is the Blind Master (who said he was going somewhere tropical when he left Billy and Jinx in Denver) and that Snake Eyes recognized him. This obviously has something to do with a rescue attempt in Borovia; with Snake Eyes and Scarlett officially listed as dead, there’ll be no repercussions if they’re caught. Fred is apparently planning to masquerade as Cobra Commander, using the armour to disguise himself, but I’m not sure how he plans to deal with Serpentor. We also get confirmation in this issue that Flint and Lady Jaye are a couple and it’s cool to see them “double dating” with Snake Eyes and Scarlett.

G.I. Joe #64 (October 1987) – “Maneuvering for Position” – Larry Hama/Ron Wagner/Russ Heath

This one starts with Fred getting into Cobra waters and putting on the armour. He takes the Pogo pod (leaving the boat captain to get blown up) and takes out a couple of Cobra choppers sent after him. He lands on Cobra Island and tells Serpentor that he’s Cobra Commander. In Utah, a bunch of new Joes report for duty, but since their paperwork hasn’t caught up with them, Leatherneck is paranoid and doesn’t want them to know anything top secret. (The new Joes include the ones we saw in issue 60, plus Psyche-Out and Backstop). On Cobra Island, the troops want Serpentor and Cobra Commander to fight to determine who should lead them, but when Baroness shows up Zartan suggests she can authenticate Cobra Commander’s identity, since she’s seen his real face. In Utah, Chuckles is still pissed off about being screwed over by the military in issue 60, so he wants to look around and see what the Joes are hiding. He and Psyche-Out check outside the barracks and find tread tracks for a vehicle about fifty feet wide, but the tracks just stop with no indication of what happened to the vehicle. In Marseilles, Snake Eyes, Scarlett, and Blind Master are tailed from the docks by some thieves who want to steal whatever valuables they’ve brought with them. (The thieves had a confederate on board who informed them that the trio of Americans bribed a purser to keep one of their bags from going through customs.) The Blind Master deals with the thieves, leaving Snake Eyes and Scarlett to board a train to Borovia (although they fully expect him to join them there later). On Cobra Island, Fred reveals his face (in private) to Baroness and figures he’s dead meat, although he lies to her about what happened to the real Commander. But Baroness decides to play along and back up his claim, reasoning that she can exercise power through him. In Utah, Chuckles and Psyche-Out get more suspicious when they return to the barracks to find it full of Joes having a party, especially since the Joes are all sweaty, like they’ve been doing some heavy work. This issue is mostly set-up, giving us a new power struggle on Cobra Island and a new mystery with the Joes. The mystery is pretty obviously explained … the base in Utah is going to be the new Pit, complete with secret underground levels. And the conflict within Cobra is kind of familiar, except we have a fake Cobra Commander jockeying for power with Serpentor instead of the real one. Fred tells Baroness that the real Commander quit to spend time with Billy, so I’m wondering what she’ll do if she finds out Fred killed him (although I suspect the real Cobra Commander might not really be dead). We get some new Joes (Psyche-Out, Backstop, Payload, Hardtop, and if you really squint, Frostbite and Sci-Fi) and the rescue mission in Borovia seems to be shaping up. This was about the time I stopped reading Joe comics, so I’m not familiar with a lot of these new characters. It seems like there were too many introduced at once anyway, making it hard to get a feel for their personalities and quirks.