European Missions #3A- “Old Scores”

Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciler: Mark Farmer

Summary:
To avenge the death of his old Vietnam comrade, Danny Jefferson, Storm Shadow tracks down the former Viet Cong General Loi to Southeast Asia. Storm Shadow and Danny were tortured by Loi for weeks, while captive during the war. Danny eventually succumbed and died, but Stormie obviously escaped. Now an old man, Loi feels protected; with his bad-ass bodyguard Han, his flunkies and a string of bells which surround him. Storm Shadow easily gets through all of Loi’s defenses. Despite killing
all of Loi’s flunkies, Stormie offers the paranoid General only a warning: Storm Shadow is watching and he can come back at any time. Filled with guilt and unable to live with the constant trepidation, Loi commits suicide shortly after Storm Shadow leaves.

European Missions #3B- “The Cold Zone”

Writer: Ian Rimmer
Penciler: Jerry Parris

Summary:
Somewhere in North America (presumably Canada), a traitorous guy named Chattle has sold out to Cobra and led
them to a secret government laboratory. Snake-Eyes and Timber are waiting for them inside the lab and dispose
of them. Chattle escapes and finds a prototype weapon that was developed in the lab; a set of armor which shoots massive arcs of shrapnel. He hunts Snake-Eyes in the wilderness, until Snake-Eyes and Timber manage to trick him into
falling off a cliff and onto some punji sticks.

Notes:

• Take away the words “Action Force” and both of these stories can fit into the US chronology.
   
• But, but… this Jefferson guy wasn’t in the famous LRRP unit with Stalker, Snake-Eyes and Strom Shadow! True. Jefferson is not mentioned as being in THAT unit. Stormie did several tours of Vietnam, so it’s entirely possible that the incident with Loi took place before he ever met Snake-Eyes and Stalker.
   
• Storm Shadow is wearing his old uniform, but it is noticeably without the Cobra sigil. You can twist this and state this mission took play during Stormie’s sabbatical, circa issue 54 or so.
   
• Storm Shadow uses his ability to disppear as if it were a super power.
   
• Storm Shadow’s tattoo appears (incorrectly) on his LEFT arm at one point. It was always the right arm in the US. Not surprisingly, the tattoo disappears for the rest of the story.
   
• General Loi consults the I-Ching and wonders about the significance of several hexagrams (including the Arashikage symbol) as Storm Shadow aproaches.
   
• The “Cold Zone” is billed as 800 miles of uninhabitable wilderness in North America”. With a chunk that big, I’d almost have to place it in Canada’s Yukon or Northern Territories.
   
• As the Snake-Eyes story seems to have been concocted during the “Wave 5” or 1986 era of
  the toys (at least in the UK), the STUNs and Snow Serpents (version 1) both appear. Both appeared way behind-schedule in the US. The original Snow Serpents never appeared in the US line.
   

• Yes, the writer is THAT Grant Morrison– he of wacky, self-absorbed writing credits for DC and Marvel.

Appearances:

Characters (figures): Storm Shadow, Snake-Eyes

Characters (“comic-only”): General Loi (dies), Han (dies), Chattle (dies), Danny Jefferson (flashback)

Characters in Back-up Story (figures): Flint, Scarlett, Airtight, Barbeque, Bazooka

Vehicles and stuff (toys): Cobra STUNs

Vehicles and stuff (not toys): none

Firsties:
Characters: General Loi, Han, Chattle

Vehicles and stuff: none

Rating: 4 Flag Points