G.I. Joe Special was a one-shot comic book published by Marvel Comics. Released following the end of the Marvel's A Real American Hero, the issue is essentially a reprint of that series' issue #61, but with art by Todd McFarlane.[1] The cover features Snake-Eyes and is an homage to McFarlane's Spider-Man #1, published in August 1990.
Issue summary[]
Cobra Commander's plans are derailed by Fred VII, while Stalker leads a dangerous mission into Borovia.
Stalker, Quick Kick, Outback and Snow Job have the mission to bust reporter Devlin Winchell out of Borovia. Hawk gives them cover identities as trade emissaries from separate countries and has them discharged to give the government basis for denial.
The next day, in Borovia, the Joes reunite with Spigou, their underground contact, who tells them Winchell is being held in the basement of the State Security building, Borovian equivalent to the FBI. Spigou has blueprints of the main floor and the basement, some security tips, and weapons for the Joes to attempt a jailbreak.
In Denver, Billy verbally confronts his father, Cobra Commander, and leaves despite Fred VII and Raptor's attempts to stop him. He seeks the Blind Master, but only finds his assistant Jinx, with whom he agrees to walk the path of the ninja, but despite suspecting that she's affiliated to the G.I. Joe team, he won't betray his father. Cobra Commander has an ephiphany about messing his son's live and quits, leaving his battle armor, but Raptor says that without Cobra he would go to jail for tax fraud, and Fred claims that he gave up his past for Cobra, so Fred shoots the now unarmored Cobra Commander in the back, and then notices that anyone could pretend to be him with the armor.
In Borovia, the Joes enter the building and beat the guards, but all cells are empty, so they interrogate the last conscious guard, who answers that Winchell was already sent to the U.S.A. in exchange for a Borovian spy, and the State Depertment didn't inform the Department of Defense. Upstairs, other guards arrive and activate the alarm. The Joes escape in a truck driven by Spigou, but Quick Kick and Snow Job are injured, and Stalker stays with them as mission leader, so he orders Outback to escape alone, and Spigou is blown up by a Borovian tank.
In the United States, the other Joes watch the news about so-called "western mercenaries" and the State Department denying any connection with them. Rock 'n Roll asks Hawk when will be the rescue mission, but Hawk answers that there will be no rescue attempt, and anybody who tries one will be disowned as well.
Featured Characters[]
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| G.I. Joe | Cobra | Civilians | Borovians |
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Featured Vehicles & Equipment[]
| Borovian military |
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Featured Locations[]
| G.I. Joe | Cobra | Civilian |
|---|---|---|
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Memorable Quotes[]
Billy tells Raptor to go lay an egg, then later refuses to hit him on the grounds that there's "too much bad karma generated by striking someone as pathetic as you". One suspects Hama was having trouble taking Raptor seriously and only using him under orders from Hasbro, or something.
"One last thing. You will be discharged from the service for the duration of the mission. The government wants basis for denial..."
- --Hawk may come to regret those words.
"I'll write you both nice letters of recommendation to Serpentor for all the good that'll do you... but you have to understand I've finally seen the light..."
- --Say it ain't so, Cobra Commander, say it ain't so!
"Great thing about this armor... could be anybody inside."
- --Fred VII just got himself a promotion.
Errors[]
- Outback's cover is a red-headed Arab? Who put these disguises together?
- Raptor's speech patterns are completely different from those in Divergent Paths two issues earlier.
Real World Refs[]
- The four Joes sent into Borovia each get a unique cover story:
- Stalker is an African agricultural attache
- Quick-Kick is a Southeast-Asian economist
- Outback is an Arab refinery engineer
- Snow Job is a Finnish vodka distiller
- The story is continued in Special Missions #6.
- Issue #61 like #60, was originally drawn by Todd McFarlane. However, his art was deemed unacceptable, and the entire issue was quickly redrawn by Marshall Rogers. This Special publishes McFarlane's rejected art.
- Featuring both the capture of three Joes and Fred VII taking over for Cobra Commander, this issue is a pivotal point in the series.
Footnotes[]
You call this a report?!
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