SNAKE HUNT” Part 1! When the original Snake Eyes lost his life battling forces of evil, Sean Collins (aka Throwdown) took up the mysterious mantle to deny Cobra a moral victory in their long-running war against G.I. JOE. But Cobra Commander—not realizing the original Snake Eyes’ memories and skills are now implanted in the mind and body of Dawn Moreno—has never given up his desire to remove the legendary ninja from his enemies, and will do whatever it takes to make it happen, including kidnapping and brainwashing Sean Collins and making him part of Cobra! Can G.I. JOE save Sean from the dark clutches of Cobra before it’s too late?! Written by living legend Larry Hama and featuring the long-awaited return of artist Robert Atkins to the pages of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, “Snake Hunt” is a star-studded 10-issue event that will feature EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF G.I. JOE!
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—The description as originally solicited by IDW Publishing.
A Cobra reconnaissance droid, MX-0005, infiltrates its way through the sewers, emerging from a manhole as Clutch and Rock'n'Roll drive by in a Vamp jeep. They are delivering lunch for the martial artists, who are in the middle of training Sean. Clutch tells Rock 'n'Roll they should call him Throwdown, but as far as Cobra is concerned, he's Snake-Eyes. MX-0005 hitches a ride underneath the VAMP as it drives back to Fort Wadsworth. Cobra Commander, Dr. Mindbender, and a Techno-Viper view the feed. It turns out that Cobra Commander is plotting to capture Snake-Eyes and indoctrinate him with the Brainwave Scanner, and MX-0005's surveillance is key to constructing a 3-D layout of Pit IV to give them an environmental advantage. Stalker waves Clutch and Rock 'n'Roll through and accompanies them on the ride down, but suggests they let the training session finish before lunch is served. As "Snake-Eyes" spars with Scarlett, Jinx, Helix, and Bombstrike, MX-0005 tries to find a good vantage point while attempting to remain undetected. When Cobra Commander expresses annoyance of viewing from "the POV of a cockroach," the Techno-Viper deactivates the droid's self-preservation protocols, but warns that this will severely degrade its survivability. Throwdown shows impressive agility by disarming Helix and Bombstrike while dodging Scarlett's trick arrows, but he then sees MX-0005 and destroys it with Bombstrike's knife. Stalker inspects the fallen droid and notes that it is Revanche technology. Scarlett checks to make sure that nobody called Throwdown by his real name. Jinx notes that it is somewhat confusing, with Sean masquerading as the original Snake-Eyes, while Dawn possesses his memories. Rock' n'Roll agrees that it can be somewhat headache-inducing, as they pause for lunch. As Stalker returns her knife to her, Bombstrike tells him that while Throwdown has a lot to live up to, he's well on his way to becoming a legend in his own right.
Having seen "Snake-Eyes" in action, Mindbender warns that any attempt to capture him alive will invariably result in heavy casualties. Cobra Commander simply reminds him that they can't make an omlette without breaking a few eggs.
Meanwhile, in a suburban neighborhood in Staten Island, a paper girl named Julie visits the house of a resident who has missed two delivery payments. A woman named Laura answers, insisting that she is subletting the place, but Julie refuses to leave without her payment. Laura goes to gather cash from her fellow boarders, revealed to be a Cobra sleeper cell strategically positioned a stone's throw away from The Pit.
