G.I. Joe Special Missions #15

Special Missions #15- “…Into the Fire!”
Writer: Larry Hama
Penciler: Herb Trimpe

Summary

The Chinese troops return and assault the Hidden Valley’s Monastery. All of Esterhazy’s bandits respond to the attack and are summarily blown away by the Chinese. With only a few of his men remaining, Esterhazy teams up with the Joes to sneak into the monastery and rescue the Abbot. They escape the Hidden Valley, but Esterhazy stops off to cover their route, presumably sacrificing himself while killing the Chinese pursuers.

Safely out of the Valley, the Joes return home, but Anderson has a change of heart. He picks up Esterhazy’s old copy of Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” and decides to take his place in Chomo Lungma. It fulfills the Abbot’s doctrine of “the circle of life”.

Notes:

• Several references to Sun Tzu in this issue. I really need to get the Cliff Notes version of that, because I’m sure many of those themes recurred throughout the entire GI Joe series.
• To assault the monastery, the Joes scale up a sheer cliff (the least likely point of attack, as Sun Tzu would’ve said). Iceberg takes the point, but everyone mentions that Alpine would’ve been a better choice. Just a way to appease all the uber-fans who might’ve had a cow, since this scenario was ideal for Alpine.
• Snake-Eyes has a Bad Ass Moment when they reach the top of the cliff. He’s trying to hook a grappling hook on the monastery’s wall. He lands the hook in a guard’s head and sends him plummeting down the cliff.
• The Joes sabotage all the Chinese vehicles before they free the Abbot. Worth mentioning, because Chuckles whispers to himself that he’s cutting fuel lines. Just thinking that would’ve been more appropriate, but Larry Hama NEVER used thought balloons in any of his GI Joe stories from 1982 to 1994. An oddity at Marvel, during the time.
• The first few pages are spent discussing political philosophy and how the CIA considered Esterhazy an “embarassment”.
• Tenzing, Esterhazy’s big lug and right-hand man gets a lot of exposure in this story.

Appearances:

Characters (figures): Chuckles, Iceberg, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett

Characters (“comic-only”): CIA Agent Anderson, Cullen Esterhazy (dies), the Hidden Valley Abbot, St. Wu (dies), Col. Peng (dies), Tenzing

Vehicles and stuff (toys): none

Vehicles and stuff (not toys): Chinese armor

Firsties:
Characters: Tenzing

Vehicles: none

Rating: Rating: 2 Flag Points