G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #132

“Bump in the Night”

Writer: Larry Hama
Breakdowns: Rurik Tyler
Finishes: Stephen Baskerville

Summary:

A small team of Joes HALO jump into Cobra Island, where they fight off two BATs who amazingly look like Terminators (from the Arnold movies). At the Cobra Citadel, Firefly brags about his “zombified ninjas and re-conditioned BATs” for only the 515th time.

Notes:

• The HALO jump is actually very well done and saves this issue from being a dud. Stalker provides a great narrative of the whole procedure. It’s just a shame that Ripcord or (the still unseen) Freefall weren’t along for the ride. With HALO jumping given the spotlight, it seems strange to exclude both of those guys.
• Ghostrider flies recon over Cobra Island…and everyone STILL can’t remember his name.
• Despite surviving a few bullets from Lady Jaye’s gun, the BATs are torn apart by Snake-Eyes’ sword. Apparently, Snake-Eyes’ sword has become the GI Joe version of Wolverine’s claws. Duke had tried to cut a BAT earlier with a knife, but the knife shattered.
• Duke talks about the Paralyzer’s angled front-end, and how bullets bounce off the weird angle. Over the past year or so, the Paralyzer seems to have replaced the HISS as Cobra’s main assault vehicle.
• Firefly suddenly has a gaggle of Red Ninjas with him. No-Prize Explanation: while we only saw the Ninja Force, Slice and Dice pop out of the airliner two issues ago, Firefly apparently had a BUNCH of Red Ninjas stowed in there, too.
• GI Joe Dossier is of Zarana
• Roadblock has a new uniform: that of his 1992 “BattleCorps” figure.
• Despite being left in Firefly’s possession by Cobra Commander, last issue, we don’t see Zarana or Cesspool for awhile. No-Prize Explanation: Firefly had no use for them and let them leave the Island in a hydrofoil. If memory serves me correct, we won’t see Zarana for about a year.

Appearances:

Characters (figures): Duke, Snake-Eyes, Lady Jaye, Roadblock, Stalker, Wild Bill, Ghostrider, Ace (speaks, but isn’t seen), Firefly, Slice, Dice

Characters (“comic-only”): Red Ninjas

Vehicles and stuff (toys): Phantom X-19 Stealth, Cobra Paralyzer, Cobra Hurricane (?) (cameo)

Vehicles and stuff (not toys): GI Joe C-130

Firsties:
Characters: none

Vehicles and stuff: none

Rating: 2 Flag Points