G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #264
Writer: Larry Hama
Penciler: Netho Diaz
Summary:
Destro and the Baroness are pawns in the continued Revanche assimilation, as Alpha 001 Prime adds an army of Iron Grenadiers in New Jersey.
Elsewhere in New Jersey, Zartan meets up with Crystal Ball for yet another potential visit to Springfield.
In Kalingaville…the original Oktober Guard’s Col. Brekhov, Stormavik, Schrage and Horrorshow are all alive and well. They’re joined by Dragonsky and Daina, who all mobilize to thwart a pending operative against “our old foe, Snake-Eyes”.
Finally, a small terrorist group is holding hostages at the Statue of Liberty. The Joes fly over in a Tomahawk, dispatching Throwdown and Scarlett (with some sniper help from Low-light) to quell the situation. The whole thing was caught on camera by a nearby news copter and everybody could see “Snake-Eyes” doing his thing. Even those in Springfield.
Notes
- Another typical “moving a buncha’ things along” issue.
- The terrorists claim to be “real Americans” and are “sick and tired of immigrants coming here and taking our jobs and women”. You might say: “this is pulled from the (2019) cultural climate”… but jackwagons like this has been around a long time, unfortunately.
- Dr. Mindbender and Cobra Commander appear to have cooked up yet another “Brainwave Scanner”… but now with Revanche tech. Oh joy.
- Horrorshow opened a “chikhirtma and borscht” restaurant in Kalingaville. Stormavik and Schrage have been training the local troops on a two-year contract. Col. Brekhov has been living under the name “Alexi Krasnyzvesda” in Springfield.
- Waitasec…the original OKTOBER GUARD?! The four guys who all famously died in Special Missions #26?! Yup.
- I’m guessing Hama forgot they were dead. You can No-Prize this, but it takes a BIG leap of faith.
- Theory #1: They survived their supposedly “fatal” mission in Sierra Gordo from Special Missions #26. Darklon survived a missile attack, Cobra Commander survived a gunshot through the chest, Sneak Peek somehow survived his first death… wouldn’t be unprecedented for Hama to pull the same crap—errr— storyline idea with the Guard. “They all got gunned down…but got better and stumbled their way back home”.
- Theory #2: In issue 146 (Star Brigade story), Red Star/Col. Krimov is mentioned as looking exactly like Col. Brekhov. That subplot was never explained. You could surmise that there’s some sort of weird cloning, LMD or android program that the Russians cooked up, which created these “new” versions of the Guard. These new Guardsmen don’t know they’re fakes, so they have the memories of the originals, which would explain the scene above.
- Theory #3: similar to #2, but these are somehow tied in with Revanche and are artificial humans or sleeper agents. Think of the “Final Five” Cylons from the relaunched Battlestar Galactica.
- No mention of the other “New” Guardsmen– Lt. Gorky, Sgt. Misha, “Red Star”/Colonel Krimov, Colonel Chikatilo and Malyenkiy.
- Keep in mind that I’ve always been a big Oktober Guard fan. I even re-purposed my Remco knock-off GI Joe figures as my own versions of them. Still, this is disappointing.
Appearances
Characters (figures): Scarlett, Lift-ticket, Low-Light, Zartan, Crystal Ball, Cobra Commander, Dr. Mindbender, Destro, Baroness, Col. Brekhov, Stormavik, Schrage, Horrorshow, Daina, Dragonsky
Characters (“comic-only”): Throwdown. Terrorists and security officer hostage
Vehicles (toys): Tomahawk
Vehicles (not toys): None to speak of
Rating: 2 Flag Points
