G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #277

Writer: Larry Hama
Pencils: Brian Shearer

Summary:

Another “Untold Tale”, set sometime between issues 199 and 200— when Cobra snuck into the Pit.

Law and his good buddy Order are in the lower-levels of the Pit, dissecting the remains of a firefight with Cobra Vipers, when they run into Scarlett, Snake-Eyes and Falcon. Law and Order then agree to sweep the far end of the garage level, while the other Joes continue on.

On an auxiliary space between floors, Law and Order track crew of Toxo, Night and Techno Vipers who are setting up a dirty nerve gas bomb. With some straight-up assault tactics, and the help of a large ventilation fan, the duo are able to eliminate the Vipers and save the Pit from being contaminated.

Notes:

• As far as “spotlighting the lesser-known Joes”, this story is pretty effective. While Law and Order are certainly well-known among fans, I don’t think too many were pining for a solo story about them. Yet this worked, very well.
   
• While talking to himself (and Order, of course), Law mentions his real name of “Kirk Bozigian”. In our “real world”, Bozigian was actually a longtime product manager for Hasbro on the GI Joe line. The physical appearance of Law’s action figure was even based on Bozigian. This story was, most likely, a cool nod to him.
• Yet, as someone pointed out to me, the character name of Law, as seen on his file card is: “Christopher Lavigne”. I saw the name “Bozigian” in print, and took it as fact, without doing any research. Another editorial mix-up.
• No-Prize Explanation: “Christopher Lavigne is deliberate misinformation that was produced on the publicly-available file card to protect Bozigian’s REAL identity”. Or: “Christopher Lavigne was an alias Law used during his two years as a beat cop in Houston”
   
• Scarlett mentions: “don’t you recognize Snake-Eyes’ wolf, Timber”. Technically, this was “Trips” or “Timber III”, as introduced in issue 192. He even has the scar on his snout/face, so it’s definitely intended to be Trips. No-Prize Explanation is that Trips was new and most Joes know about Snake-Eyes’ Timber….so Scarlett didn’t want to argue semantics, talk about the new wolf, and it was simpler to just say “Timber”.
   
• As Law uses the large ventilation fan to disperse the gas from inside the Pit, we see the gas being expelled up through the quonset huts on the surface… but I think those had actually been destroyed in issue 199-200. I don’t have those issues on my desk, right now, so I’m not sure. Either way, you could whip up a No-Prize Explanation.
   
• Order single-handedly (single-pawedly?) drags an injured Law away from a deadly thermite grenade.
   
• I’m a big softie for dog stories, so the last page is kinda’ somber, as Law believes a Night Viper killed Order. Order’s okay, as he quietly barks and gives Law a big smooch.
   
• At times, I was going to score this story as “4 Flag Points”, as it’s a good self-contained story and the conflict is resolved. I bumped it down, because ventilation shafts, ducts, maintenance areas and secret tunnels are a pet peeve of mine and an “action story” crutch (as long time readers of my Crappy Website probably know). You can get ANYWHERE in a secret base via the HVAC, sewer, or plumbing systems. This was even used, last issue.
   
• It’s only a cameo appearance, but one of the VAMPS appears to be the 2010 “Vamp MK-II”. Tough to tell, as we only see the hood, but that’s my best guess. Note that this is different from the 1984 “Vamp MK 2”.

Appearances:

Characters (figures): Law, Order, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, Falcon

Characters (comic-only): none

Vehicles & Stuff (toys): VAMP (cameo), VAMP MK-II (cameo)

Firsties: None

Rating: 3 Flag Points