G.I. Joe: Declassified #1-3

Set roughly six months before issue #1, Stalker, Grunt, Zap and Rock & Roll are in an “observe and report” mission in Sierra Gordo. Things go bad as the Sierra Gordo Liberation Front discovers their position and is on to them. Some Cobra helicopters– led by the Baroness– also arrive. The 4 Joes hold off the SGLF with some trickery and firepower on their way to an extraction point.

While all this was happening, Hawk, Breaker and Clutch meet with “Agent Provost” at NYC’s Battery Park. Provost uses many names, including “Mr. Ha Ha”. He gives Hawk some intel on what’s been happening in Sierra Gordo.

Back at the Pit, the remaining Joes hear about the Sierra Gordo situation and want to moblize to save their comrades. Hawk tells them that, officially, they can’t do anything about it. However, “unofficially”, General Flagg dispatches his secret operative, Sgt. Jody Craig, code-name: Shooter. Shooter is an expert concealment specialist and sniper, as she assists Stalker’s team from a distance. The Joes make their extraction pick-up, not knowing that Shooter helped them make it out.

Cobra Commander hears from a mercenary, Major Bludd, about General Flagg’s meddlings; including a failed assassination attempt on Hawk. Cobra Commander orders Bludd to kill Flagg at the next available opportunity (foreshadowing issue 19).

About six weeks later, Shooter once again secretly helps the Joes as they are escaping Cobra’s island in issue #1. She tries to save some civilains who are being forced to carry ammo for Cobra. In her efforts, she is shot and killed-in-action by the Cobra troopers.

General Flagg and Sparks confront a “Juggler” General who had dealings with Major Bludd and ordered the hit on Hawk. Flagg has gathered enough evidence to exonerate Hawk and the Juggler appears to be headed to his own court martial.

Shortly after, General Flagg holds an official funeral for Shooter. The entire GI Joe team attends, but still don’t know about her.

Notes

• Despite being published by Devil’s Due, circa 2006, this series is considered “in canon” by Larry Hama. There’s nothing in here that contradicts other stories or characters, so it works. Shooter was even an important part of issue 228.

• At one point, General Austin asks Flagg is he’s “heard anything about those wackos in the blue jumpsuits and masks”, a reference to the brewing Cobra threat.

• Ace and Wild Bill make appearances as the pilots on Shooter’s trek. As far as we can tell, they’re not an official part of the GI Joe team, at this point. You can assume that they joined in issues 11 and 14, respectively, due to General Flagg’s recommendation. “Hey, I’ve worked with these two guys before. We should bring ’em aboard”.

• The real meat of this series would probably be the flashbacks of the various Joes. Most of the stories probably would not have seen print in the early 80’s. They’re not violent or anything, it’s just that comics seemed to have matured a bit since then. These stories wouldn’t have fit in with the first 10 issues of “GI Joe” in 1982.

• Reading this, I kinda’ understand the common fan requests to “cut back on the ninja stuff”. This is completely devoid of any ninja stuff and is quite engaging. Has a similar feel to the 2018 “Special Missions” mini-arc in the IDW series.

• This series was intended to provide some background on the other original Joes…not named “Scarlett” or “Snake-Eyes” who had their own “Declassified” specials, at the time. Those two make appearances, but are understandably not given the spotlight.

• Sparks makes his first and (I think) only appearances in this series. He’s basically General Flagg’s right-hand man, running comunications, surveillance and all things tech. Of course, “Sparks” first appeared in the Sunbow cartoon series in 1985. They’re essentially the same character.

• There’s some debate on whether or not Sparks appeared in issue 1 in the scenes with General Flagg and General Austin. There’s nothing that says it isn’t Sparks…and nothing that says it is. If you want it to be Sparks, there’s really no harm in that.

• The flashbacks of Hawk, Stalker and Clutch are intertwined. It all stems from a deployment in Borovia to stop “ethnic cleansing”. Stalker coerced a bomb suspect into confessing through some extreme methods. While it was the right thing to do, the brass were upset, so Hawk took the fall for Stalker…despite not knowing who Stalker was. Hawk was then put up for court-martial.

• While being transported during the court martial, no less than Clutch was Hawk’s driver. An on-road assassination attempt at Hawk is attempted, but Clutch’s quick decisions and vehicle manueverings saved the day. Hawk was blindfolded throughout and didn’t know it was Clutch until much later.

• Zap signed up to make a difference, coming from what you may consider a “normal” family.

• Rock n’ Roll was inspired to join by an Army Ranger who saved the life of his surfing buddy, Manny, in California.

• Breaker was busted by the CID, but impressed Hawk during a random encounter by besting him on a hill run.

• Short-Fuse washed out or Ranger school for losing his temper, but was persistent in not quitting (this was re-visited in 2018 with issue 254 and Dawn Moreno)

• Steeler helped carry an injured comrade from a mission in Trucial Abysmia. It’s implied that this may have been Sparks (or maybe a friend or relative of Sparks’)… who recommended him for the GI Joe team.

• Grunt was inspired by visiting the home of a fallen comrade. He didn’t know the guy, but served in the same unit and felt it was his duty to inform his mother. At the home, Grunt is moved by a picture containing a quote from Amelia Earhart: “Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace “…which becomes a recuring motif in this series. It’s even quoted by Flagg at the funeral.

• Flash was recruited by General Flagg, after impressing him with his electronic skills and the way he could easily calculate distances with the naked eye.

• Grand Slam impressed Hawk during an artillery drill. No electronics were allowed, but Grand Slam was able to accurately hit his intended target without any electronic help. Grand Slam jokes that Hawk actually chewed him out, because his calculations were off by 1 degree.

• Flagg’s stock actually improves in this series. We mentioned in issue 19’s recap that he had kinda’ become a roadblock or hindrance to the team after issue 5.

• Shooter’s orders in Sierra Gordo were to not only help the Joes, but to shoot the prisoner they were hauling out. As Shooter prepares to leave Sierra Gordo, she hops a ride from the two pig farmers who helped Gung Ho in issue 13.

• We’ve talked about this before, but while the NAME “Shooter” was shown in issue 1, this was her first official appearance. The name, of course, was an in-joke at Marvel, referring to their editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.

• I used to think the same “Shooter” sounded silly. Until I heard/saw Dean Freakin’ Malenko using it in 1995. “Huh. He’s a shoot-fighter. I guess the name Shooter does sound kinda’ cool”. Dean Malenko was/is awesome, BTW.

• These are the retroactive first appearances of the original GI Joe team. Plus Cobra Commander, Baroness, Major Bludd, General Austin, Chuckles, Wild Bill and Ace. For this reason, I’m not listing them as “Firsties”. Yet Sparks and Shooter make their first official “on-screen” appearances, so I’m listing them.
• One little loophole that exists: how does this connect to Joe Colton and issue 152? In that, President Kennedy asked Colton to head up the new “GI Joe” team, yet here in “Declassified”, it makes it seem like the team is brand-new.
• No-Prize explanation: this is the start of HAWK’s (80’s) version of the team. Flagg has been doing something before, as evidenced by his connections and inclusion of Shooter. So a 60’s/70’s GI Joe Team could still be there. There’s nothing that specifically states “yes” or “no” in this story. Maybe the team started, stopped, and is now starting back up? The stoppage could explain Joe’s off-hand reference to being “an adventurer” in the 70’s.
• While it would’ve been nice to have some reference to Joe Colton, for the sake of nostalgia and simplicity, I see why he wasn’t included. Besides, the 80’s GI Joe mythos went almost 7 years before it suddenly included Colton.

Appearances:

Characters (figures): Hawk, Stalker, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, Clutch, Grunt, Rock and Roll, Grand Slam, Zap, Flash, Breaker, Steeler, Short Fuse, Shooter, Wild Bill, Ace, Chuckles, Cobra Commander, Baroness, Major Bludd

Characters (“comic-only”): General Flagg, General Austin, Sparks

Vehicles and stuff (toys): VAMP (cameo)

Vehicles and stuff (not toys): Cobra helicopters.

Firsties:
Characters: Shooter, Sparks

Vehicles and stuff: VAMP (retroactively)

Rating: 5 Flag Points