G.I. Joe #71 (May 1988) – “Bailout” – Larry Hama/Ron Wagner/Randy Emberlin
This one continues from last issue, with Wild Bill, Maverick, and Crazy Legs having to cooperate with Zarana, Monkeywrench, and Thrasher to evade General Villavaca’s troops as they search the jungles of Sierra Gordo for their downed plane. Just to complicate things, they also have a bunch of refugees (who the Dreadnoks were using as hostages to force the Joes to help them escape) who need to be looked after, plus Thrasher has a broken arm and won’t stay quiet when Wild Bill is setting it. (Crazy Legs solves that problem by knocking Thrasher out.) When they see some of Villavaca’s soldiers using a bus on the jungle roads, Zarana and the Dreadnoks disguise themselves as peasants and flag the bus
down. Zarana tells the soldiers that an American plane crashed near their village and they want to help find the Americans. Zarana wakes Thrasher up and lets him go wild on the bus, taking out twenty soldiers with an entrenching tool. Thrasher doesn’t seem to want to stop, so Zarana knocks him out again. In Rio Lindo, Villavaca and Goodfellow (representative of the North American Banana Monopoly, who funded Villavaca’s rise to power) are planning to flee the country. Goodfellow has already made arrangements to get out on an old float plane, using money from bribes and graft to pay his way. After diverting all his troops into the jungles, Villavaca heads to the 
state treasury to loot it before leaving the country. In the jungle, the Joes and Dreadnoks have disguised themselves as Villavaca’s troops, but when the order comes to seal the borders, they know they won’t be able to bluff their way out. They give the bus to the refugees and start walking to Rio Lindo, but the refugees come back for them, saying that they should all get out together. At the treasury in Rio Lindo, Villavaca finds Destro waiting for him with an Iron Grenadier and some counter-revolutionaries. Naturally, Destro wants the money in the treasury for himself, but Villavaca claims there’s not much left after a succession of corrupt regimes. He tells Destro that Goodfellow is leaving with a substantial amount of cash and Destro
heads to the waterfront to stop him, bringing Villavaca with him. The Joes and Dreadnoks reach Rio Lindo and crash through a security stop, leading to a chase through the streets. Since they’re both heading for the waterfront, the bus and Destro’s truck end up almost crashing. But Zarana steers the bus clear and the truck crashes into a pursuing jeep. When the soldiers see Villavaca with Destro and the counter-revolutionaries, they assume he’s a traitor and shoot him. The Joes and Dreadnoks reach the waterfront and grab the seaplane, taking off just before Destro arrives. Goodfellow is already on the plane and emerges from the lavatory with a gun. But Thrasher is feeling 
claustrophobic, so he opens the plane door and throws Goodfellow (and all the money) out. He’s almost sucked out himself, but Crazy Legs pulls him back in. This is a great issue, showing the Dreadnoks (who I’ve always liked) cooperating with the Joes to get out of Sierra Gordo. Villavaca’s ignominious end, shot by one of his own men, is appropriate, and it’s interesting that nobody got the dirty money Goodfellow was hoarding. But even with Villavaca and Goodfellow dead, this won’t be the last time we see Sierra Gordo; places like that never seem to settle down, in comics or in real life.
G.I. Joe #72 (June 1988) – “Stiletto” – Larry Hama/Ron Wagner/Randy Emberlin
This one starts on Cobra Island, with Dr. Mindbender showing Serpentor his latest “creation”: a Strato-Viper pilot (called Star-Viper) who’s been surgically-modified with heightened strength and reflexes to withstand high G-forces. Serpentor decides to send the Star-Viper to infiltrate the barracks in Utah that they suspect is the new Joe headquarters. Serpentor is hoping to gain an advantage over his rivals, Cobra Commander and Baroness. Thanks to a modified BAT, Cobra Commander (who you’ll remember is really Fred VII in disguise) and Baroness are aware of Serpentor’s plans and talk about preparing to meet
the threat. But first they decide to have a little fun; so, if you were wondering whether they’re banging or not, the answer is yes. The next day, the Star-Viper is dropped off near the Joe base in Utah by a BAT, who he tells to drive back and forth near the pick-up spot until contacted. In the swamps on Cobra Island, Croc Master realizes someone is living rough but decides not to mention it to Serpentor to keep from getting shit for letting someone get into the swamps in the first place. When Croc Master leaves, we see the mysterious squatter is Captain Minh, who was supposedly blown up when Fred first came to the island. In Utah we see some new Joes (Wildcard, 
Windmill, and the unfortunately-named Skidmark) arriving at the base and being led underground to the new Pit. What they don’t know is that the Star-Viper is hiding under their jeep and has now gotten inside Joe headquarters. He’s watching as Mainframe shows the new recruits the “ultimate black box”, an electronic decoder that receives signals from every spy satellite they have. That night, Star-Viper sneaks into the hangar to steal the black box, setting some charges on the blast doors to cover his escape. While sneaking around, he runs into Flint and Lady Jaye (who are about to bone) and they sound the alarm. The explosives on the blast doors go off, blocking the Joes from getting any vehicles out and the Star-Viper tries to slip away in the confusion. Luckily, the new Joes left their vehicles outside, so Flint, Lady Jaye, and Tunnel Rat join them in pursuit of the infiltrator. The Star-Viper uses his enhanced reflexes to evade their fire and meets up with the
truck driven by the BAT. He blasts off in the Stiletto jet just before the Joes blow up the truck and heads to Cobra Island with the black box. Flint reveals to the other Joes that the box has an anti-tamper device that will explode if it’s forced open, but if Cobra can bypass that the Joes might be in trouble. This is a pretty good issue, although it mostly just seems like an excuse to introduce new characters (Star-Viper, Croc Master, Windmill, Wildcard, and Skidmark) and vehicles (the Stiletto plane, the Mean Dog, and the Desert Fox). This issue basically marks the beginning of the civil war within Cobra, with Serpentor on one side and (the fake) Cobra Commander and Baroness on the other. I’m surprised to see Captain Minh is still alive and he could end up being very important, since he’s the one who brought Fred to the island in the first place and knows he’s not really Cobra Commander.