G.I. Joe Special Missions #9
Special Missions #9- “Plausible Denial”
Writer: Larry Hama
Penciler: Herb Trimpe
Summary
In Afghanistan and posing as Russian soldiers, Psyche-Out, Lt. Falcon and Slipstream stage a rescue mission on three captured Spetsnaz commandos. They get the Spetsnaz guys to pose as them (Psyche-Out, Falcon, Slipstream) and sneak into Iran to free political prisoner Chip Toler. The Russians agree, but after freeing Toler, they bog down the Joes (and their evac plane) with dozens of helpless Iranian refugees. With a huge diversion created, the Russians fly away as free men.
Notes:
- The whole time, the Spetsnaz guys know that the Joes are fake “Russians”. They go along with the mission since it’s their only chance.
- Return of Ahmed the Afghani and the unnamed CIA liaison. Last seen in issue #6 of the main series. Ahmed mentions that the CIA guy has been their liaison for five years, which corresponds in “real” time. Although, it doesn’t mean that the Joes met Ahmed five years ago. In fact, with the murky qualities of “comic book time”, they might have been in Afghanistan for issue #6 maybe 18 months ago.
- The helpless refugees are all Gabar Zoroastrians, a repressed religious minority. Legitimate “real world” group and situation. Muslims didn’t like ’em.
- Trimpe’s monthly warplane indulgence: an old JU52 Russian plane from WWII.
- This issue’s cover was done by Dave Cockrum.
Appearances:
Characters (figures): Slipstream, Lt. Falcon, Psyche-Out
Characters (“comic-only”): Ahmed the Afghani, Unnamed CIA liason, Spetsnaz guys, Chip Toler
Vehicles and stuff (toys): none
Vehicles and stuff (not toys): Russian JU52, Russian armored vehicles, Russian HIND-D choppers.
Firsties:
Characters: Lt. Gomorov, Sgt. Orlov, Pvt. Pritkin (all Spetsnaz), Chip Toler
Vehicles: none
Rating: Rating: 2 Flag Points
