| “ | How does Cobra work out disputes with its sub-contractors? It's cold-blooded murder as Destro and Baroness battle to the death inside the walls of Castle Destro! All this while the Joes battle mechanical terrors to take back The Pit. | ” |
—The description as originally solicited by IDW Publishing. | ||
Detailed summary
In Castle Destro, McCullen is busy fighting off the Baroness. For a moment, she had the upper hand but when she recalls his failure to hold his end of the deal with Cobra, an enraged McCullen overpowers the Baroness. McCullen rejoins Rory and Glynis in the control room where the latter two are still maneuvering their remaining assault drones out of the Pit. He hopes that the information that he could obtain from the drones would still be worth something to Cobra.
Back at the Pit, Hawk leads a team who are able to destroy another of the assault drones. Meanwhile, Duke takes charge of another group out to pursue the remaining drone from getting out of the Pit’s GPS blind spot before their location is compromised. Tunnel Rat takes Scarlett with him to find the drone since she is the only other team member who could fit into the air ducts. Duke tells Scarlett to not get lost and “stay frosty”. She mutters that he’s a jerk. The team make jokes at Duke’s expense but all he cares about is finding the drone. Duke’s team get into their AWE Strikers to intercept it should it reach the surface.
Dusty in the command room guides Scarlett and Tunnel Rat through the Pit’s airshafts. Scarlett mistakes cool air coming from a shaft and falls. Tunnel Rat catches her in time before she falls to the ventilator fan.
Elsewhere in the Pit, another group of Joes intercept one of the two remaining drones. Finally frustrated, Barbecue vents out, gets close to and hacks at the drone with his axe.
In the airshafts, Tunnel Rat finds the remaining drone but he is found and wounded by it. Scarlett tries to shoot at it. The drone is too fast and finally finds the shaft that leads it out to the surface. She radios Duke’s team which shaft it is coming out of. The drone destroys one of the Pit’s defenses alerting Duke’s team where it is.
Duke’s team heads to the drone in pursuit. Since the command and control was knocked out, the Pit’s perimeter defences came online and activated the minefield around. One AWE Striker is taken out of commission and leaving a bruised Crankcase and Rock & Roll.
Brainstorm figures out what must have happened and is not willing to go through a minefield. Duke pushes him out of their AWE Striker. Duke drives towards the minefield. Beachhead asks him if he had thought this through to which asks him back if he had as well. Beachhead replies that he wouldn’t have if he had.
Appearances
Featured Characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| G.I. Joe | Cobra | M.A.R.S. |
|---|---|---|
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Featured Vehicles & Equipment
| G.I. Joe | M.A.R.S. |
|---|---|
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Memorable quotes
"I've no wish to kill you."
"That gives me a distinct advantage, Destro. I have every desire to kill you."
- --Destro and the Baroness meet-cute.
Other Notes
Errors
- Leatherneck should be in Manila with Recondo and Stalker, not in the Pit.
- In the desert, Beachhead goes from manning the A.W.E. Striker's gunner's turret, to standing next to the vehicle, to back on the guns as the angle shifts.
Items of note
- First appearance: Bazooka, BBQ, Boomer, Ripcord, Tunnel Rat
- Flint is finally named.
- We get a close view of the scar under Duke's right eye.
- A discussion between Beachhead and Duke indicates that a recent relationship between Scarlett and Duke is over.
G.I. Joe references
- The plot of this story, with the Joes racing to stop robotic intruders from giving away their position, is similar to the Marvel story "The Trojan Gambit."[2]
Real-world references
- Rory and Glynis seem to be guiding the spider-bots with wireless Playstation controllers.
Footnotes and References
- ↑ The character traditionally known as Barbecue is referred to here as "BBQ." It's unclear whether this is his actual codename, or just shorthand used by the Joes. The truth wouldn't be revealed until Cobra Civil War #0
- ↑ G.I. Joe (Marvel) #3
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