G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #259

Summary:

Sightline is evac’d from Springfield, but the damage to his leg is too severe and it has to be amputated (Claire Hauser and her team from Bethesda were even flown in).

The Joes soon receive a suspicious package at the Ogden, Utah post office. After Tunnel Rat, Airtight and Law & Order check it out, it’s revealed to contain schematics for a robotic prosthetic leg– a “thank you”
gift from Dr. Mindbender for saving their lives from the Venom-Bot, last issue.

In New Jersey, Destro, Baroness and a platoon of Iron Grenadiers take out a Revanche office in a “hostile takeover”. Destro reveals that other Revanche offices, around the world, were all hit simultaneously. The “queen bee” of the Revanche Blue Ninjas, Alpha 001 Prime, orders an offensive against G.I. Joe, Cobra and the Arashikage clan (citing the Arashikages as their prime target).

Finally, in a completely new plot thread, Cover Girl leads a team of Joes into “Shazidar– a sliver of a former emirate between Benzheen and Trucial Abysmia”. A team of Joes had been sent in, previously, to rescue three U.N. workers… but they lost radio contact and are missing.

Notes

• Lot of action and no wasted space this issue!
• While being evac’d, Sightline has a big “M” on his forehead. I’m guessing that’s some quick-n-dirty military code written on a battlefield patient. Maybe…?
• The missing Joe team in Shazidar is composed of Airborne, Ripcord and Heavy Duty.
• The three U.N. workers are Violette Robial, Fred Van Heusen and Idun Lundgren. You can’t say Hama’s NOT putting thought into the background characters he comes up with.
• The Shazidar Joes mention that they’re using a “Chenoweth” and a “Flyer“– they appear to be “real world” military vehicles and not GI Joe toys. Kinda’ odd. I expected something like the AWE Striker, Hammer or (modern) VAMP.
• The facial scar/gouge that Destro’s mask has had, in the past year or so, seems to have gone away.
• Dr. Mindbender shows his first signs of humanity since, well, ever. He even offered to treat Sightline in Sprinfield, but Cobra Commander wasn’t having it.
• Of course, a robotic leg from Dr. Mindbender isn’t exactly trustworthy. I could see this developing in a future subplot where Mindbender has some sort of Trojan Horse in the design.
• Mindbender’s package was addressed to simply: “G.I. Joe Team \ Somewhere in Utah”. A bit of joke to past Cobra excursions into Utah to find the Pit (issue 200, then circa issue 128 or so).
• You could complain that the top-secret Joes are being identified by a US Postal worker. BUT… the postal worker is a government employee and you could “Noh-Award” this by saying he’s helped the Joes, before.
• Lifeline mentions that “Caseload, our JAG Specialist” is going over the legal paperwork with Claire Hauser’s team. I guess that’d be the “Legal Trooper”! Another mentioned-but-not-seen Joe, like “Bottom Line” the accountant.
• I think this is the first time Law has had a speaking part since…his first appearance in issue 60?!
• A fan named “Dan” writes in, saying how he’s the “#1 Thunder fan” and wants to see more of him in the book. Umm… hate to tell ya’ this, “#1 Thunder fan”, but your guy famously DIED back in issue 109, over 25 years ago. This death was even acknowledged in the letters column, just a few months ago.
• You could wonder if maybe “Thunderwing”, who popped up at Snake-Eyes’ funeral in issue 214, is who Dan is talking about… but he specifically mentions Thunder’s name: “Matthew Breckinridge”.
• Hama seems a little crotchety, as he laments that nobody writes in to comics, anymore. I think fan forums and social media have taken over from people even writing emails. In forums and social media, you get a direct response, rather than waiting 3 months to see if your email was received and answered in print.
• He also asks fans if they’d like to see a big arc with everybody involved, including the Oktober Guard. Umm, yeah, we would! I remember Devil’s Due had their ambitious “World War III” arc that ran for about 12 issues. I’d like to see Hama tackle something like that.
• Little annoyed that I got stuck with an “alternate cover”, again. I noticed that it appears to be a mirror or “flipped” image. Note that Chuckles is driving a car with the steering wheel on the RIGHT side and that Cover Girl appears to be holding her gun as if she were left-handed. You can No-Prize/NOH-Award this and say that they’re in a European country, thus the right-side steering wheel. Cover Girl is either ambidextrous or else she’s left-handed and we never noticed.

Appearances:

Characters (figures): Bombstrike, Sightline, Ambush, Duke, Roadblock, Lifeline, Big Ben, Wild Bill, Cover Girl, Muskrat, Dusty, Leatherneck, Airtight, Tunnel Rat, Law, Order, Cobra Commander, Baroness, Destro, Dr. Mindbender

Characters (“comic-only”): Claire Hauser, Dr. Panjit,
Violette Robial, Fred Van Heusen, Idun Lundgren

Vehicles and stuff (toys): Cobra Rattler, Tomahawk

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

Firsties:
Characters: 
Violette Robial, Fred Van Heusen, Idun Lundgren

Vehicles and stuff: Chenoweth, Flyer

Rating: 4 Flag Points