New Joes and Cobras seek to prove themselves in the Florida swamps; Storm Shadow is incarcerated in Alcatraz.
Detailed summary
Storm Shadow is transported to Alcatraz Island, guarded by Short-Fuse and Roadblock. The latter is angry about Gung-Ho being wounded and swears that as soon as (if) Storm Shadow breaks out he'll get revenge. Meanwhile in the Everglades, not far from Chokoloskee, Cobra Commander, the Baroness and Destro ride a Water Moccasin to meet with a "new friend". Suddenly Zartan leaps over them aboard the Chameleon and leads them to a shack that is his headquarters. Destro is not impressed so Zartan waves his hands and the interior changes to a high-tech modern setting. In the Gulf of Mexico Wild Bill distributes orders and discusses several new Joes with Zap. Tripwire, Torpedo, Airborne, Zap, Rock 'n Roll, Mutt and Junkyard take off by helicopter, while Deep-Six heads off in the S.H.A.R.C.
Meanwhile in Bethesda Naval Hospital Snake-Eyes visits Gung-Ho. Gung-Ho notices a tattoo on his visitor's arm and comments that the Cobra ninja who wounded him had one just like him and remembers his name, "Storm Shadow". Snake-Eyes runs off. At the Pit Hawk tells Scarlett that a recon team is about to be dropped in Florida to follow up on the mail receipt found on Storm Shadow.[1]
In Florida Zartan has received the tracking device that was put on Storm Shadow's sword by Major Bludd. He shows it to the Cobra visitors. Firefly and Wild Weasel are brought in and Zartan demonstrates his chameleonic abilities by changing his arm to match Firefly's. Then the Dreadnoks report there are some low-flying aircraft approaching and Firefly and Wild Weasel are dispatched to deal with the intruders. The Joes have reached the swamp and Mutt & Junkyard, Torpedo and Tripwire jump down. Suddenly a Water Moccasin appears and attacks the helicopters, who counter-attack. Meanwhile in Alcatraz Roadblock and Duke rush to Storm Shadow's cell as Hawk is worried about the Cobra escaping. In Florida the S.H.A.R.C. surfaces in the swamp and joins the battle. Firefly and Wild Weasel jump off the Water Moccasin as it's destroyed.
In Zartan's lair the Baroness berates Zartan and his operation and he responds by stating that at least his loyalty has never been in question. As the subject of loyalty is brought up, Cobra Commander turns his attention to the Baroness' own allegiance and she fires back, almost letting it slip, in front of Destro, that the Commander ordered the Scotsman to be killed. Flustered, Cobra Commander changes the focus back to Zartan and demands proof of Zartan's loyalty and dedication. In the swamp Junkyard charges away from Mutt. Meanwhile in Alcatraz Roadblock and Duke discover that "Storm Shadow has escaped from a sealed, locked windowless room in the toughest security block ever created in the federal penal system". Meanwhile in the Florida swamp the three Joes on foot catch up with Junkyard who has found Firefly and Wild Weasel in a tree. Whilst the Joes tie up the Cobra agents Junkyard charges off again. Out in the Gulf the Joe vehicles return to the G.I. Jane and Wild Bill discovers that Deep-Six is a cold impersonal character. Back at Zartan's lair Cobra Commander, and then Zartan himself hear sniffing at the door. Opening it Zartan finds Junkyard sitting there. Assuming the dog is a stray, he prepares to "put it out of its misery".
Appearances
Featured Characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| G.I. Joe | Cobra | Civilians | Others |
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Featured Vehicles & Equipment
| G.I. Joe | Cobra |
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Featured Locations
| G.I. Joe | Civilian | Military | Dreadknok |
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Memorable quotes
- None yet.
Other Notes
Errors
- No errors known.
Items of note
- First Appearances: Buzzer, Cutter, Deep Six, Mutt & Junkyard, Ripper, Torch, Zartan, Chameleon, G.I. Jane, and S.H.A.R.C.
- Introduction of the G.I. Jane, the Joes' freighter.
- This issue was reprinted in the G.I. Joe vol. 3 and G.I. Joe: The Best of Storm Shadow trade paperbacks.
- In the United Kingdom it was also reprinted in Action Force #9 & #10. Several changes were made for the reprint to reflect the different issues and order reprinted in the UK:
- Gung-Ho's wounds at the hands of Storm Shadow were now referenced to have occurred in the British story "Fast Feud!" in issue #7, as "The Commander Escapes!" was not reprinted in the UK.
- On both the third page and eighteenth pages dialogue about Major Bludd and the Baroness in Switzerland in "Cobra Commander Captured At Last" was changed. It now stated that Cobra Commander had sent Wild Weasel to the swamps as punishment for the wrecking of a Rattler in "Shake Down!", which had been previously reprinted in issues #3 & #4.
- The eighth page of the original was excised to remove mention of the tracking device Major Bludd placed on Storm Shadow, who then mailed it to Florida. The first panel of the tenth page was replaced with a close-up of Zartan referring to the capture, to again excise this plot device.
- Zap is a helicopter pilot, a skill not listed on his filecard.
- That Zartan's hideout was disguised as a wooden shack was also used in the episode "Cold Slither".
Real-world references
- No references.
Footnotes and References
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