G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #134

“Throwdown in the Citadel”

Writer: Larry Hama
Breakdowns: Andrew Wildman
Finishes: Stephen Baskerville

Summary:

So much for the dreaded Scorpion Formation.. Snake-Eyes jumps at it, slashes one guy and it falls apart. Snakes then leads a small crew of Red Ninjas into a trap with some C-4 explosives. Outside, the other Joes keep themselves in the plot by… shooting stuff. They eventually make it inside the Cobra Citadel, where they shut down Firefly’s BAT production plant.

Snake-Eyes corners Firefly in his control room. Firefly’s ego causes him to turn on his TV cameras so he can broadcast his victory throughout the Citadel. Instead of attacking, Snake-Eyes goes into the mystic “Arashikage Mind Set”. While it doesn’t work on Firefly, it works on all the Red Ninjas, Slice and Dice….through the frickin’ TV SET!!! Snake-Eyes leaves with the other Joes, while Firefly is seemingly at the mercy of those he brainwashed.

Notes:

• It had been used as a deux ex machina in issue 104 or so (Snake-Eyes’ solo mission into Borovia), but the all-reaching power of the “Arashikage Mind Set” is pretty damn goofy. The fact that all the ninjas happened to be watching TV and were affected by it is equally of the goof.
• This is the last we’ll see of Firefly in the Marvel series. It’s implied that Slice, Dice and the Red Ninjas will kill him… but as we find out next issue, he gets away. Firefly won’t pop up again until 2003 in the Devil’s Due series, so Choose Your Own Adventure with what exactly happens to him.
• Slice and Dice were basically Ninja Stooges of the Larry, Moe and Curly variety. They eventually returned to mess with Firefly in 2008’s Hasbro Comics’ “Firefly vs. Storm Shadow” two-pack (one of the better “Hasbro Comics”, IMO).
• The other Joes explain their increasing assortment of “big guns”. They kept grabbing more ammo and armaments off all of the BATs and Paralyzers they blew away.
• The Firefly story was a huge disappointment. When he returned in issue 126, it seemed like bigger things were in store for him. After all, he was embedded in the series’ Main Plot: the Snake-Eyes/Storm Shadow story. But instead of anything exciting or interesting, Firefly flew to a vacated Cobra Island, sprayed graphitti everywhere and kept making BATs. Not exactly a great scheme. While tying him to the Arashikage clan was a nice touch, he had no MOTIVE. What exactly was he trying to accomplish? Money? Revenge? Start his own terrorist/libertarian front? Who knew?
• Aside from Snake-Eyes’ little C-4 trap, every conflict is resolved by blowing it up or slicing it with a sword.
• Slice quotes a little “A Clockwork Orange” as he says to Dice:” Let us hie to yon melee for a refreshing spot of the old ultra-violence!” Dice answers: “HIE? Cut me some slack…”
• For me, this was a curious issue. I had stopped buying GI Joe with issue 128, since I was starting college. I saw this issue at a grocery store in February 1993, browsed through it and picked it up. Halfway to the register, I thought: “waitaminut…this story looks Incredibly Stupid”…so I dropped the issue onto a grocery shelf and did NOT buy it. I eventually filled in my collection in the summer of 1993 and kept buying “GI Joe” out of loyalty, but this issue elluded me until mid-2007, when I picked it up for 3 bucks. Weird.
• Next issue blurb promises a “new beginning for the Joes”. This is the end of Year 12, as Year 13 officially begins next issue. For what it’s worth, Year 13 becomes my least favorite of the entire series. The series has become WELL removed from what it was in 1982 to 1985.

Appearances:

Characters (figures): Duke, Snake-Eyes, Lady Jaye, Roadblock, Firefly, Slice, Dice

Characters (“comic-only”): Red Ninjas

Vehicles and stuff (toys): Cobra Paralyzer

Vehicles and stuff (not toys): none

Firsties:
Characters: none

Vehicles and stuff: none

Rating: 1 Flag Point