G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #168

Writer: Larry Hama
Penciler: S. L. Gallant

Summary:

In the Arctic, Blizzard uses a little trickery and misdirection to rescue Coldfront, Iceberg and Frostbite. They hi-jack a Wolf and; with the help of Joe Colton’s pulse beam; are able to stop Cobra’s recovery of the ultra-low frequency wave equipment.

Simultaneously, Firefly and Crystal Ball try sneaking into Colton’s HQ in the Chrysler Building. They make it up to the phony advertising agency, while two helicopters of Night Creepers approach from the sky. Destro and the Baroness fly by in a Night Raven, locking-on to the Creepers’ copters. They pick up the lock, freak out, and abandon the mission. Joe, Jane and Mainframe then prepare to deal with Firefly and Crystal Ball.

Also, in a quick interlude, Dusty confronts Sneak Peek about his supposed “death” in Trucial Abysmia. Sneak Peek remains silent and simply says “I’m sorry Dusty, you don’t have a need to know”.

Notes:

• Like all of Hama’s combat stories, there’s a LOT of character narration during Blizzard’s fight with the Wolfs. Both sides talk about strategy, route of escape and other details. Just the usual “Joe Combat Narrative” to help advance the story and explain stuff to readers.
   
• In the Chrysler Building, we can see a sign outside the ad agency’s office, reading “Marvelou…” and the rest is cut-off.
   
• I think this is the first time we’ve seen a Cobra Night Raven since… umm, Special Missions circa 1989?
   
• Crystal Ball actually uses his “Hypno Shield” to fool the folks in the ad agency. He carries it around as if he were Captain America.
   
• Crystal Ball even uses his limited precognitive powers to see around a corner, at one point
   
• The Night Creepers fly under stolen “Manhattan Sky Tours” helicopters. One Creeper even jokes: “don’t you wish we had Flight of the Valkyries blaring from the speakers?” Yet another reference to Apocalypse Now.
   
• Dusty knows his military history and references Alvin York, a famous WWI hero.
   
• The new subplot with Sneak Peek and Dusty is very intriguing. I still wonder if Sneak Peek’s return was originally an accident and now they’re making something positive out of the slip-up.
   
• It’s a little frustrating how Duke and the other Joes all stand around in the sit-room, following the Arctic Joes and simply hoping Joe Colton’s pulse beam will come back on-line. I would’ve expected an elite team of over 100 operatives to have some other form of back-up action. At least some lines along the lines of: “dammit, Duke, we need to get our boys! Let’s scramble Ace and.. ” “No, there’s no time. Especially with Cobra’s recent satellite tracking of the Pit”.
   
• Minornote, but I think this is the first time we’ve seen a Cobra C-130. It was rendezvousing with the Wolfs for an extraction. Blizzard’s team appears to capture it as the issue ends.

Appearances:

Characters (figures): Blizzard, Frostbite, Iceberg, Cold Front, Mainframe, Duke, Dusty, Sneak Peek, Lady Jaye, Stalker, Scarlett (cameo), Cross Country (cameo), Low-light (cameo), Cobra Commander, Destro, Baroness, Firefly, Crystal Ball

Characters (“comic-only”): Joe Colton, GI Jane

Vehicles and stuff (toys): Avalanche (cameo), Snow Cat (cameo), Cobra Wolf, Cobra Night Raven

Vehicles and stuff (not toys):Cobra C130

Firsties:
Characters:none

Vehicles and stuff: none