G.I. Joe #114 (July 1991) – “Metal-Head” – Larry Hama/John Statema/Randy Emberlin
This one starts with the Benzheen conflict still underway. Some Joe armour (led by Steeler and Hot Seat) are taking out some Cobra HISS tanks with support from a few infantry guys (Dusty, Salvo, and Rock n’Roll). There’s a bit of rivalry between armour and infantry units, like in any army. Meanwhile, Cobra Commander is meeting the Emir of Benzheen on neutral ground (without the Joes’ knowledge) to hammer out a deal. In Benzheen, the Joes’ Pulverizer is taken out by a crazy-looking dude (Metal-Head) with a rocket launcher. They chase him down an alley, but
Dusty spots an anti-tank booby trap. The negotiations between Cobra Commander and the Emir get a bit testy when the Emir brings in troops to threaten the Commander, who has disguised his own men as locals and quickly turns things back to his advantage. In Benzheen, Steeler and Hot Seat decide to go ahead over some obstacles without waiting for support from the others. Metal-Head blasts Dusty’s vehicle, but he and the others bail out just in time. Metal-Head then leads the last tank into a trap, planning to bury them under a falling building. The trap works and they’re stuck just long enough for Metal-Head to blow their tracks off. Before he can finish them off, the infantry shows up and Rock n’Roll sprays Metal-Head’s bunker with 
machine gun fire, while Salvo pops some rockets at him. Dusty moves forward, ready to finish Metal-Head off, but they get word that Cobra Commander has made a deal with the Emir (in other words, he was paid off) to withdraw his forces … which means the Joes have to leave as well. Back on Cobra Island, some patrolling guards find evidence that someone dug their way out from under the volcano where Cobra Commander buried them. Apparently most of them (including Raptor, Dr. Mindbender, Fred VII, Captain Minh, and Croc Master) died from eating C-Rations tainted with botulism, but Billy and Zartan survived and are loose on the island somewhere. This is a decent story, although it seems like an excuse to show off Metal-Head, who’s a bit goofy. The best part is learning that Zartan and Billy are still around, although it’s interesting that all those other characters were killed off.
G.I. Joe #115 (August 1991) – “Counting Coup” – Larry Hama/John Statema/Randy Emberlin
This one starts with Ace and Dogfight coming in to land on the USS Flagg aircraft carrier with their Skystriker on fire. They’re waved off but Ace refuses to eject and ditch the jet because Dogfight’s ejector is jammed. He makes a dangerous landing on the carrier and lets Hawk know that they were hit by something from the supposedly friendly nation of Benzheen. Hawk figures the Emir and Cobra Commander made a deal (as we saw last issue), which might mean that Benzheen is no longer quite so friendly to the United States. Hawk sends Ghost Rider and Slipstream in the stealth fighter to recon over Benzheen, giving Ghost Rider sealed orders on exactly what the mission entails. When they read the orders, they’re not too happy about them. In Benzheen, the Emir is upset
that Cobra tried to shoot down the Skystriker, but Cobra Commander reminds him that there are parts of their “deal” that neither of them want to become public. It sounds like Cobra is going to maintain a secret presence in Benzheen, while publicly seeming to withdraw. Off the coast, Wild Weasel is flying a Rattler and almost runs into the stealth fighter. He chases them and Ghost Rider leads him down the coast where Backblast and Rampart are waiting to blast the Rattler with a surface-to-air missile. But Cobra knows about the stealth plane now, so they put shitloads of planes in the sky, turn on the searchlights, and black out the city. The stealth manages to fly at ground level for a bit, but when they gain altitude to avoid a cloverleaf, they’re 
spotted by the searchlights. They zoom into the heart of the city to find their target and carry out the mission, which turns out to be taking a photo that proves Cobra has installed a Terror Drome in Benzheen secretly. This was a pretty good issue, with the mission being to take a picture instead of destroy a target, but that mission is very important in the grand scheme of things. The running joke about everyone forgetting Ghost Rider’s name continues here, although it seems to be catching: his co-pilot is named as Slipstream early on (and certainly looks like Slipstream), but is referred to as Dogfight later.