G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #45

“In Search of Candy”

Writer: Larry Hama
Penciler: Rod Whigham

Summary

While doing a recon mission over Cobra Island, Rip-cord unexpectedly ejects in an effort to find his missing girlfriend, Candy. Part of Hawk’s plan; he “accidentally” assigned Rip-cord to the mission and, aw shucks, now they’ll have to send in a team to rescue him (and grab more pictures and information).

In Ft. Wadsworth, Snake-Eyes receives a telegram from the Soft Master (obviously before his death). It has the identity of the Hard Master’s killer. Snake-Eyes runs to New York City and shares the info with Storm Shadow. The two find a Cobra safehouse and fly a Rattler to Cobra Island to nab the killer.

Back on the Island, Zartan is sent out to eliminate Rip-cord. Strangely enough, Zartan suddenly uses a BOW..and he’s quite skilled with it. A compound model, he used to equip it with ultrasonic hearing devices, allowing him to hear through walls and stuff. Yup, ZARTAN is the Hard Master’s killer. Zartan knocks out Rip-cord, then uses his shape-shifting powers to take his place. Disguised as Rip-cord, Zartan plans to be “rescued” by the Joes and brought back to their HQ.

Notes:

• To say the identity of the Hard Master’s killer was a disappointment would be an understatement. Ever since he arrived, Zartan had been given a BIG push and this was the culmination of it. On one hand, it gave him some credibility…but he’s still a goofball with a hood, face paint and Jem’s hologram powers.
• In General Austin’s hospital room, Austin calls the Joint Chiefs and the President to announce his retirement….and initiate the “Alpha Plan”. Hawk has been promoted to brigadier general and is now the commander-in-chief of the GI Joe team.
• This is the official first appearance of Alpine, as he’s introduced to the team. He had no speaking roles and was just a one-panel background character in the Yearbook story. Alpine was always one of my favorite figures… but in the comics he didn’t do much.
• For no reason whatsoever, Snake-Eyes suddenly appears in his new upgraded “window visor” outfit. So this is the official first appearance of “Snake-Eyes v. 2.0”
• As the Skystriker flies over Cobra Island, we can see they’ve built landing strips, docks, barracks and a certain unidentified circular structure– what would soon be known as the Terror Drome.
• Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes fly to the Rattler safehouse in CLAWs. I don’t believe any Cobra personnel, other than Storm Shadow, ever used them. So it’s essentially “Storm Shadow’s vehicle”
• In the letters page, they mention that a “well known filmmaker” has acquired the rights to a live-action GI Joe movie. Still waiting.
• Also in the letters page, they talk about the “12 Joes and 3 Cobras” who knew Snake-Eyes before his accident. The 12 Joes were the original team members and the 3 Cobras (thus far) were Storm Shadow and Zartan… the third has already appeared, but his ID will remain a secret for a few more years. But as things are tacked on in the 90’s, the scorecard actually increases to SIX Cobras who knew Snake-Eyes before the accident.

Appearances:

Characters (figures):Ace, Alpine, Rip-cord, Hawk, Spirit Iron Knife, Flint, Snake-Eyes, Wild Bill, Quick Kick, Storm Shadow, Zartan, Cobra Commander

Characters (“comic-only”):General Austin, Professor Appel

Vehicles and stuff (toys): Skystriker, Cobra CLAWs, Cobra Rattler, Cobra Terror Drome

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

Firsties:
Characters:Alpine (official), Quick Kick
Vehicles: Cobra Terror Drome

Rating: Rating: 3 Flag Points