G.I. Joe Reviews: G.I. Joe Special Missions 5, G.I. Joe 61

G.I. Joe Special Missions #5 (June 1987) – “Showdown” – Larry Hama/Herb Trimpe

This one starts on Cobra Island, with a ground crew prepping the Night Raven stealth fighter for a recon flight. The crew are all impressed by the plane’s tech (including low-tech stuff like a breakout tool to be used if the canopy jams in a crash), but much less so with its pilot, the Strato-Viper. He’s an arrogant asshole, who treats everyone like crap and thinks he’s the greatest pilot in the world. Naturally, that doesn’t engender warm feelings from his ground crew. The Strato-Viper takes the Raven up to skim the Florida coast, never quite violating U.S. airspace but coming pretty close. The Joes decide to send up Ace and Slipstream (in the Skystriker and Conquest, respectively) to let Cobra know they’re close to stepping over the line. And if the Strato-Viper initiates hostilities, the Joe pilots are authorized to fight back. In contrast to the situation on Cobra Island, Ace and Slipstream have made friends with the ground crew from the local air base, hanging out with them and giving them their own code names. Slipstream even visited one guy’s kid in the hospital because he was stuck at the field fixing something on the Conquest. When Ace and Slipstream encounter the Strato-Viper, they goad him into firing first, but he manages to down Ace with a missile and blind Slipstream with a flare. He tags Slipstream with a missile and leaves him for dead, not realizing that Slipstream has recovered from his spin and is coming back after him. Since the computers on the Raven haven’t been well-maintained (in contrast to the Joe equipment), the Strato-Viper doesn’t see Slipstream coming and gets blasted. He goes down and radios for help, but the rescue crew take their sweet time getting there since they hate his guts. On the other hand, the local air base crew has already found Ace and rescued him. The Strato-Viper hits the water and finds more shoddy maintenance has caused the canopy release to stick and when he looks for the breakout tool, it’s gone. Turns out one of the crew lifted it from its bracket, hoping something like this would happen. This is a good story that shows the differences between the way Cobra and the Joes operate. The Joes treat their support crew with respect and the crew go above and beyond for them, while the Strato-Viper treats everyone like shit and gets no loyalty at all. Karma’s a bitch, I guess. We also learn that Strato-Vipers are surgically altered to withstand higher altitudes and G-forces.

G.I. Joe #61 (July 1987) – “Beginnings … and Endings” – Larry Hama/Marshall Rogers/Danny Bulanadi

This one starts with Hawk briefing Stalker, Quick Kick, Outback, and Snow Job on their next assignment. A reporter has been kidnapped in the (fictional) Eastern European country of Borovia and the Joes are being sent in undercover to get him back. Their contact is named Spigou and they’re all being discharged from the Army just so the government can deny any knowledge of them if they’re caught. In Denver, Billy’s memory has returned but he no longer hates his father (Cobra Commander) like he used to. Billy has achieved inner peace and is willing to walk away from everything, but Fred VII is worried he might betray them and tries to shoot him. Billy disarms him easily and swears he won’t betray them, so Cobra Commander lets him go. In Borovia, the Joes meet with Spigou and he gives them the info on the State Security Building where the reporter is being held. Spigou has arranged for them to hitch a ride with the garbage truck that stops at the building every night, and has provided untraceable weapons. In Denver, Billy goes back to the dojo where he met Jinx and the Blind Master last issue. The Blind Master isn’t there, but Jinx is and she admits she’s connected with the Joes, but doesn’t ask Billy to betray his father. At Fred’s garage, Cobra Commander tells Fred and Raptor that he’s quitting Cobra to try to become a better person and maybe earn back some of Billy’s love. Fred isn’t happy about that after giving up his whole life for Cobra, so he shoots Cobra Commander in the back, figuring he can wear the new armour himself and nobody will know the difference. In Borovia, the Joes make it into the security building relatively quietly, but find the reporter isn’t there. Apparently, he was exchanged for a Borovian spy and the deal was so secret that the Defense Department wasn’t told about it before they sent the Joes to Borovia. They end up having to fight their way out of the building and run into heavy resistance from the Borovian army. Quick Kick and Snow Job are both wounded, so Stalker orders Outback to get out of the country and get in touch with Hawk to let him know what happened. Spigou is wounded too and sacrifices himself to delay the troops, but the Joes are caught anyway. Outback escapes into the sewers, but the others are captured and taken to a gulag. Back in the States, the Joes hear about their teammates being caught, but Hawk tells them there will be no rescue attempt and that if anyone defies orders to go into Borovia, they’ll be denied by the government too. This is a good story that highlights the tension between East and West in the waning days of the Cold War, as well as how governments use soldiers to do their dirty work but don’t give them any support (or even acknowledgement) if they’re caught. It’s cool to see the Joes operating undercover, although I’m not sure how Outback is supposed to pass for an Arab businessman with his red hair and beard. Maybe it was a colouring mistake and the beard and hair were supposed to be shown dark, having been dyed. This story continues in the next issue and we’ll see Outback’s escape from Borovia in the next Special Missions, both of which I’ll review next week.