G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #18

“Destro Returns”

Writer: Larry Hama
Penciller: Mike Vosburg

Summary

Hawk and the Joes are floating the APC (remember kids, it’s AMPHIBIOUS) to Coney Island. Seems that none other than Snake-Eyes has sent them a postcard about where to find Scar-Face (wow, postcards move QUICK in the Joe Universe!) For no good reason, Rock n’ Roll and Torpedo break out the new MANTA windsurfer on the way to Coney. Scar-Face arrives at the old utility shed he used to live in, just as Destro is dropped off on the top of the rollercoaster. Snake-Eyes and Kwinn break into the shed first and question Scar-Face, while Destro and the Joes have a firefight. Kwinn and Snake-Eyes disappear, but Scar-Face tries to escapes in their pink Cadillac. Destro takes off after Scar-Face and comandeers an ICE CREAM TRUCK!! After a chase through Coney, Destro and Scar-Face hijack a plane from JFK to Libya. Cobra Commander and Dr. Venom board a supersonic transport and meet Destro and Scar-Face in Libya. Scar-Face is instantly injected with Venom’s plague toxin, much to his regret.

Cobra heads off on a convoy to Mizda, but the Joes arrive and inflitrate the convoy under cover of dust. Hawk captures Scar-Face and the Joes are chopper-lifted out. The Cobras rejoice as their plan has worked– a captured, plague-infected Scar-Face will ferret out the location of G.I. Joe HQ.

Notes:

• Titled “Destro Returns”, but was he gone?! This issue had a TV commercial that emphasized Destro and it was used to “push” him.
• The Cobra convoy is up made of HISS tanks, Cobra motorcycles with sidecars and “utility jeeps”– the Cobra answer to the VAMP. I figure these were the prototypes of the “Stinger” jeeps and were coincidentally drawn into the comic. The only differences are that they don’t have the folding doors and have a machine gun mount instead of a missile launcher.
• This issue was released right as the cartoon was debuting. In fact, I’m pretty sure I remember seeing the commercial the first time I ever saw the cartoon.
• The MANTA makes its only appearance in the series. It was an exclusive mail-in premium. Yup, I already had mine at the time.
• The car chase on Coney makes an homage to “The French Connection”.
• Snake-Eyes’ postcard includes a hidden postscript, “for Scarlett’s eyes only”. Awww…..really, I always thought that was sweet. We don’t see what it says, though.
• Seeing Scar-Face’s old home is very depressing. A single bed, in a shed, with a table full of junk. You start to feel bad for the guy. BUt it’s next door to a roller-coaster, so that’d be kinda’ cool, right?!
• Torpedo, who was never met Snake-Eyes, asks Rock n’ Roll about him. Rock n’ Roll says that he’s “really sweet. Ask him to show you his collection of spike-knuckled trench-knives sometime”.
• Torpedo misses the flight to Libya because he has to run back and colect the MANTA from some beach bunnies. Rock n’ Roll mentions that he’s “probably getting down to some heavy manuevers in the sand”.
• Pretty cool that Rock n’ Roll, the guitar-playing surfer from SoCal got to pilot the MANTA.
• With the appearance of the C-130 transport plane, I had assumed that a toy version of it was not far off. They never released one, but it makes perfect sense. Such a toy would’ve been huge and massively out-of-scale.
• Airborne continues his role as the gunner of the Dragonfly. He had the same role in issue 16. Whenever we see the Dragonfly from now on, it can be assumed Airborne’s in the gunner’s seat.
• Kinda’ weird how Libya is suddenly sandwiched in. The Libyan government welcomes Cobra with open-arms as “fellow freedom fighters”. Libya was giving the US some real-world heat at this time, so that’d fit with the theme.
• No mention is made of what happened to the hostages aboard Destro’s hi-jacked flight. You’d think the Joes would be going to Libya to save the hostages, but they’re just going to get Scar-Face.

Appearances:

Characters (with figures): Hawk, Scarlett, Stalker, Clutch, Rock n’ Roll, Torpedo, Airborne, Wild Bill, Ace, Grunt, Flash, Snake-Eyes, Cobra Commander, Destro

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

Vehicles and stuff (toys): VAMP, APC, RAM, DragonFly, Skystriker, MANTA, HISS, Stinger (as “utility jeep”)

Vehicles and stuff (not toys): Cobra sidecar cycles. GI Joe C-140 transport plane. G.I. Joe sub.

Firsties:
Characters: none
Vehicles: MANTA, Stinger

Rating: 3 Flag Points