G.I. Joe Special Missions #2

Special Missions #2- “Words of Honor”

Writer: Larry Hama
Penciler: Herb Trimpe

Summary:
A forgotten Nazi warplane is discovered in a Greenland glacier. Its contents are a nerve gas that was intended for the US in WWII. The original mastermind behind the plan, a Doktor Otto Totenschadel has surfaced in Brazil and will defuse the still-potent nerve gas and wants to make a deal. Snow-Job leads a team to Greenland to check out the bomber, while Clutch leads a team to Brazil and check out Totenschadel.

In Greenland, the Joes fight off a small Cobra team and Air-tight successully defuses the nerve gas. In Brazil, Clutch’s team is captured by a group of Mossad commandos, out to kill Totenschadel. The Doktor is holed up in a compound by a group of “new Reich” Nazis. The Joes and the Mossad tear through the compound and corner Totenschadel. Alpine radioes Clutch from Greenland: not only is the gas diffused, but the flight log details that Totenschadel was the original pilot..and that there were TWO planes. The second plane was carrying Nazi gold, so Totenschadel faked an “emergency landing” in Greenland. Tots killed the other Nazis, left the plane in Greenland and flew off to Brazil with the gold. The Joes and the Mossas leave Tots to the mercy of the “new Reich”… who execute his traitorous hide.

Notes:

• I hadn’t read this book since I was 12. Had no idea what was going on, then. Makes a very satisfying read, now. It has a nice little plot and a mystery to boot. Hama got to dive into his knowledge of military history; something which he rarely got to do in the regular book.
• Recondo breaks off from Clutch’s team and is able to reach Tots before the others. He agrees to guard Tots, but as soon as Alpine radioes Clutch, the deal is off. Recondo (and the Joes) had agreed to protect Tots from the Mossad..but not the vengeful Nazis.
• The plot borrows a bit from modern headlines. From the 60’s through 80’s, several old Nazi war criminals hid out in South America and were eventually captured. Most notably, Adolph Eichmann…and this story borrows heavily from that.
• Dial-Tone appears in the first part of the story as a black man. With his beret and moustache, the colorist probably throught he was Stalker, at first. It’s corrected when the team hits Brazil, as Dial-Tone is white.
• Clutch mentions that his grandma was a Holocaust survivor and was in a Nazi prison camp. She freaked out when Clutch was watching “Hogan’s Heroes” as a kid.
• Roadblock appears in his new uniform. The one his second 1986 figure was sculpted in. So this is “first appearance of Roadblock v 2.0”
• Ibrahim the Mossad commando came back about 20 years later; as he played a noticeable part in DDP’s “G.I.Joe: World War III” arc in 2007.

Appearances:

Characters (figures):Hawk, Snow-Job, Breaker, Alpine, Airtight, Lift-Ticket, Clutch, Roadblock, Recondo, Dial-tone, Firefly

Characters (“comic-only”): Doktor Otto Totenschadel (dies), “Hans” from the New Reich, Ibraham the Mossad commando

Vehicles and stuff (toys): Tomahawk, Cobra HISS

Vehicles and stuff (not toys): German condor bomber

Firsties:
Characters: Dial-tone

Vehicles: none

Rating: Rating: 4 Flag Points