G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #310
Writer: Larry Hama
Pencils: Paul Pelletier
Summary
The battle continues in Springfield, as Cobra Commander calls for a faux “retreat” of his forces to the Springfield High School. It’s all part of his “Operation Avalanche” to lure all of Serpentor Khan’s forces into one location.
In the midst of the big battle, the Crimson Guardsman in Cobra Commander’s battle armor faces off the Dreadnoks and the Baroness. He shoots the Baroness in the chest and she’s in need of medical attention. The Dreadnoks get in a few good shots on the “Commander”, though (and actually use their specialized weapons! Whoa!).
Dawn Moreno valiantly rescues the cop who shot her parents from his flaming car, with help from some handy Jaws of Life borrowed from an ambulance. After being thankful, at first, the cops says to himself that “her moral superiority is stuck in my craw” and attempts to shoot her in the back. Yet he’s apparently killed by a Frag-Viper’s grenade.
Off the coast of Cobra Island, Serpentor Khan leads a squad of Cobra planes, headed for Springfield. Thee Joes’ recon team is spotted and strafed by a Night Raven. Luckily, the Night Raven’s guns were too wide and they hid under the metallic canister they were hauling: which contains a clone of Serpentor.
Finally, in Scotland, Destro hears news of the battle in Springfield and mobilizes his Iron Grenadier forces.
Notes:
- Dr. Mindbender clarifies that, despite the arrow-in-the-eye, the cloned body is NOT the original clone from the “Death of Snake-Eyes” arc. It’s a back-up clone. He stuck the arrow on itZa to deliberately confuse everybody. Okay, good No-Prize save by Hama.
- The splash page has, I think, the first appearance of the FANG III helicopters. Without looking it up, I think they were part of the updated toyline, circa 2002-2005. I also think that they might have appeared in the Devil’s Due books, around that time. Regardless, I’m inclined to say that this is their first appearance in “ARAH”. I’m not 100% on that, so please feel free to help me out in the “Comments”, below.
- For once, the Dreadnoks don’t come off like idiots and seem like crazy psychos who carry around chainsaws, axes and blowtorches.
- I didn’t see Thrasher on-screen…but we can assume he’s there, driving the very prominent Thunder Machine.
- The letters page is another monthly waste of time, for me. One fan writes in with several grammar, punctuation, paragraph, and capitalization errors… and the editor just copy n’ pasted the fan’s (apparent) email and called it good. Yes, I make mistakes and typos… but the key difference is that I’m not getting PAID to do this crappy website. An editor is (alledgedly), and should know to re-format or correct these things.
- A 5-page preview of the Energon Universe’s new “G.I. Joe #1” is included in the back. Nothing against them, but I have no real interest in those titles. I kinda’ feel like they’re what 80’s kids always thought the old Marvel comics would be like, if they only knew GI Joe and Transformers from the cartoons and toys. So I can definitely see how they could be fun.
- I’m giving a good rating for this one. It’s non-stop action and seeing a big battle in the pages of GI Joe is actually something we don’t get that often. Strangely enough.
Appearances
Characters (figures): Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow, Scarlett, Jinx, Helix, Muskrat, Wet-Suit, Zartan, Buzzer, Torch, Ripper, Road Pig, Zanzibar, Zandar, Zarana, Baroness, Destro, Cobra Commander, Dr. Mindbender
Characters (comic-only): Multo, Dawn Moreno, Serpentor Khan
Vehicles & Stuff (toys): Cobra HISS, Cobra HISS II, Cobra FANG III, Cobra Rattler, Cobra Mamba, Cobra Night Raven, Dreadnok Thunder Machine
Vehicles & Stuff (not toys): Revanche Stealth Bomber
Firsties: Cobra FANG III
