G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #17

“Loose Ends”

Penciller: Mike Vosburg

Summary

Picking up immediately form last issue, the Joes attend to Hawk. Hawk had the foresight to wear a bulletproof vest, but is still taken to Bethesda Hospital. Gung-Ho beats the crap out a frustrated commuter’s car as Hawk is arlifted away in the Dragonfly. Somewhere on the Jersey turnpike, Major Bludd hi-jacks a bus and runs a toll booth. Stalker and Grand Slam give chase on the RAM. Grand Slam, in his only notable action of the ENTIRE SERIES, jumps into the bus and beats the shit out of Bludd. Meanwhile, Destro, Cobra Commander and Dr. Venom are driving their HISS along another highway. They radio for a Cobra transport plane, eluding a group of Joes who had been pursuing them in the APC (and towing the new Whirlwind cannon).

Kwinn and Snake-Eyes escape from their Miami jail cell and take a pink Cadillac in search of Scar-Face. Kwinn reasons that Scar-Face will know where Dr. Venom is. In Cobra Central, Destro enlists a Cobra pilot to fly him to Coney Island– where Scar-Face used to hang out. Kwinn and Snake-Eyes are also on their way to Coney Island. Scar-Face buys a bus ticket to Coney Island. Next issue: Coney Island!

Notes:

• Transitional issue, as they’re just filling in the gaps from last issue.
• After getting his ass handed to him by Grand Slam, Major Bludd is taken to Bethesda, where he’s put in the same room as Hawk. In another of those fun Hama coincedences, the crispy crittered Baroness is also brought to Bethesda. We don’t see it, but both become prisoners of the Joes.
• Cobra Commander convinces Destro that Major Bludd wasn’t acting under the Commander’s orders while trying to kill Destro… Bludd was simply infatuated with the Baroness and wanted to eliminate his rival. Destro, like a complete meatball, buys this.
• Gung-Ho agains uses his SuperHuman Cajun Powers by completely demolishing the commuter’s car with his bare hands. Also, he was torqued off that it was a “Cobra” (the model, not the terrorists)
• The rest of the Joes from the Treasury fight show up at Hawk’s shooting on the Wolverine— completely intact despite the fact that it was run-over and totalled by a HISS tank last issue (or roughly 15 minutes ago in “comic time”).
• Cool page where Mike Vosburg draws a collage of Destro and the Baroness.
• Wow, I’ve been to DC a few times and even though this was early morning, the characters were extremely fortunate to have almost no gridlock on the roads! Especially Cobra, they just drive their HISS tank down the interstate like it’s no big deal.
• Scar-Face was also on the bus that Bludd hi-jacked. Bludd recognized him, but Stakler and Grand Slam apparently didn’t. Scar-Face was staying low-key by covering himself in a trenchcoat.
• Stalker and Grand-Slam were hiding beyond the tollbooth like a pair of state troopers. Seems ridiculous. A No-Prize might reason that they just happened to be stationed there, providing back-up for last issue’s operations. Since coincidences were a big part of this issue, I’ll buy that.
• A doctor at Bethesda was another Cobra agent. He calls in the status of the Baroness and Major Bludd to Cobra Commander.
• Kwinn and Snake-Eyes escape their jail-cell with a hidden saw blade in Kwinn’s boot.
• Snake-Eyes had a $100 bill stashed in his costume and they used it to enter a low stakes back alley gambling game. The dice game is “snake-eyes” and a few pages later, we see the duo walking away with the gamblers’ pink Cadillac. Snake-Eyes was apparently a good gambler, always a trait of a bad ass.
• One of the gamblers remarks that Snake-Eyes is laughing. Fans complained that this was impossible since Snakes was mute. But, it’s possible to laugh without using your vocal chords. Just expelling air through your nose rapidly can be interpretted as laughing.
• Just to be a dick, Snake-Eyes also took the gambler’s cowboy hat.
• Kwinn has his weasel skull necklace back, despite being stripped of it by the cops in issue 15.
• Grand Slam should’ve been on the cover, but it looks more like Short-Fuse. No “laser trooper” gear. Poor Grand Slam, his only time to shine with a cover appearance and he gets shafted.

Appearances:

Characters (with figures): Hawk, Scarlett, Breaker, Ace, Clutch, Stalker, Gung-Ho, Grunt, Doc, Torpedo, Cobra, Tripwire, Wild Bill, Airborne, Short-FUse, Zap, Flash, Cover Girl, Rock n’ Roll, Grunt, Cobra Commander, Destro

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

Vehicles and stuff (toys): RAM, APC, VAMP, Wolverine, Dragonfly, HISS, FANG, Whirlwind, Skystriker
Vehicles and stuff (not toys): Cobra transport copter

Firsties:
Characters: none
Vehicles: Whirlwind

Rating: 2 Flag Points