G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #15

“Red Eye to Miami”

Writer: Larry Hama
Penciller: Mike Vosburg

Summary

Kwinn emerges from the water in “Apocalypse Now” fashion and saves Snake-Eyes and Dr. Venom from the Cobra “mercs”. All three continue their uneasy alliance. Snake-Eyes starts beating the crap out of Dr. Venom after the mercs are disposed of. But Kwinn halts the attack, saying they need Venom’s piloting skills to get out of Sierra Gordo. They sneak into the Rio Lindo airfield and comandeer an old WW2 bomber. Venom flies them to Miami and they encounter a few obstacles along the way. Most prominently, Venom tries to eject Kwinn and Snake-Eyes through the bomb doors.

In Springfield/Cobra Central, Cobra Commander is aware of Destro’s double-cross from last issue. So he brings in a new mercenary to kill Destro– one Major Bludd. In a darkened corner, Destro reveals his wonderful plans to kill Cobra Commander, take over Cobra and shtoink the Baroness. She’s torn between his romantic commitment and her loyalty to the Commander.

In the bomber, Venom discreetly radioes Cobra Central to inform them that he’ll be in Miami, and that he has the missing ingredient to the toxin. The three crash their bomber on Miami Beach and are immediately surrounded by a horde of cops. Kwinn and Snake-Eyes are taken into custody, but Cobra Legal Troopers have already arrived and arranged for Dr. Venom’s safe release.

Notes:

• The cover incorrectly depicts Dr. Venom and Kwinn as being in cahoots.
• Only one scene with the other Joes this month. In the Pit, Hawk, Stalker and Breaker and examining some of the wreckage they salvaged from the Arbco Furniture Company. Nothing too substantial, except a lot of printing ink. Hmmm…
• The Cobra “mercs” are led by a black guy. Strange, because I don’t think a black officer was EVER seen in Cobra again. Obviously, it would’ve been somewhat controversial to have a black man be part of the “evil, terrorist organization”.
• Funny how Dr. Venom is still wearing his tie and lab-coat through everything. His tie never comes undone or loose in all the action.
• This issue feels VERY “Marvel-y”. The stuff with the bomber and the three guys’ plight to Miami feels like any non-superhero Marvel story of the time.
• The bomber buzzes a smuggler ship off the coast of Florida. The smugglers freak and break out a machine gun. They blast parts of the bomber, but the plane’s fuel starts leaking and a muzzle flash ignites a massive explosion. Of course, the smugglers made sure to narrate all of this for us. One of Hama’s techniques, as he would use dialogue to a very informative extent.
• Baroness mentions that she owes Cobra Commander too much. It was never revealed how or why she felt this way. So yup, a shitty “Baroness; Declassified” is probably in the queue.
• After Kwinn and Snake-Eyes survive Dr. Venom’s bomb door trap, Kwinn wants to toss Venom out. Snake-Eyes stops him and Kwinn gets off one of the best lines of the entire series: “A man who whips his dogs will pull his own sled, one day”.
• The bomber crashes into Miami Beach is fun. A geriatric couple is sunbathing and watching the whole thing. Everyone on the beach runs as the bomber approaches, but they never flinch. Finally, the wife gets pissed when the bomber stops in front of them and sand is tossed into her drink.
• The next issue blurbs promises: “someone will DIE in the Night Attack!”.
• This was the last GI Joe comic I bought for awhile. I still wanted to read ’em, but around this time comics became very hard to find in my town. Waldenbooks and Safeway both stopped selling them. Sure, there were comic stores on the other end of town, but I wouldn’t find out about those for another 6 months or so (and when I did… uh-oh, there went my life).

Appearances:

Characters (with figures): Hawk, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, Breaker, Stalker, Cobra Commander , Destro, Major Bludd

Characters (no action figures, or “comic-only” characters): Baroness, Scar-Face, Kwinn, Dr. Venom

Vehicles and stuff (toys): none
Vehicles and stuff (not toys): old WWII planes

Firsties:
Characters: Major Bludd
Vehicles: none

Rating: 2 Flag Points