G.I. Joe Special Missions #1
G.I. Joe Special Missions #1- “That Sinking Feeling”
Writer: Larry Hama
Penciler: Herb Trimpe
Summary:
Disguised as a Swedish fishing boat, a group of Joes are in the Baltic Sea to recover a “sunken US submarine”. There really is no such sub, but the October Guard and Cobra don’t know that. The whole thing is a ruse to get the harbor master of Kaliningrad, Capt. Bulgakov, into the open so he can defect to the US. The Joes’ C-130 swoops in to pick him up via sky-hook.
Notes:
- As the Baroness attacks the October Guard’s ship, she hollers: “For Cobraaaa!”. Firefly hollers: “For personal survival and the promise of riches”.
- Bulgakov was held back in the Russian Navy and could never become an admiral because his wife was a Jew. Although she was loyal to the Communist Party, Bulgakov wasn’t. When she died, he had no reason to remain in Russia. I really only mention this, because I didn’t understand any of it when I first read this book at age 12.
- The Joes even set up a fake video tape of the “sunken sub”. It turns out to be pre-filmed footage of a toy sub in an aquarium. The October Guard taps the Joes’ video cord and fall for it, hook, line and sinker.
- Deep-Six is quite vocal in this issue and isn’t the unfriendly recluse he was back in issue 25.
- Shipwreck’s parrot appears, albeit unnamed. It even talks to him, just like Polly did in the cartoon. Well, at least he wasn’t a key part of the plot, as he sometimes was in the cartoon (remember: “Squawk! Hail Cobra Commander! The great snake rules forever!”)
- Shows how specialized the Joes were getting, as they have an entire “sea team”.
- Kinda’ cuhttps://www.option38.com/wp-admin/post-new.phprious why Dragonsky didn’t appear. At the time, it led me to believe that he might have been a one-shot character. But he returns as a full-fledged Guard member in the future. They just probably forgot about him.
- This issue, along with #52 have a special Marvel “Bullpen Bulletins” in the middle, hyping up the New Universe. Ha!
Appearances:
Characters (figures):Hawk, Wild Bill, Cutter, Deep-Six, Shipwreck, Torpedo, Wet-Suit, “Polly”, Baroness, Destro, Firefly, Cobra Eels
Characters (“comic-only”): Col. Brekhov, Daina, Stormavik, Schrage, Horrowshow, Capt. Bulgakov
Vehicles and stuff (toys): Cobra Hyrdofoil, Cobra FANGs
Vehicles and stuff (not toys): October Guard Hind-E, GI Joe C-130, Cobra submarine, “Swedish” fishing boat, Russian steamer
Firsties:
Characters: Capt. Bulgakov, Shipwreck’s Parrot (for ID purposes, we’ll call him “Polly”).
Vehicles: none
Rating: Rating: 3 Flag Points
