G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #96

Snake-Eyes Trilogy Part 3: The Hexagram Completed”

Writer: Larry Hama
Pencilers: M.D. Bright

Summary:

Snake-Eyes continues his one-man assault on the Cobra Consulate building. His old LRRP buddies rush to help him, fighting obstacles on their way to the top. The Baroness barricades herself in the top control room, but Snake-Eyes disguises himself as a Techo-Viper and sneaks in. As Storm Shadow arrives, the building begins falling apart. Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes save the Baroness from falling, but she still wants her vengeance. Just then, Destro shows up in a helicopter and informs her that Snake-Eyes did NOT kill her brother– he was in Vietnam that day with his daddy, Destro the 23rd. Daddy Destro was selling arms to the two Vietcong murderers. With some forensics, they were able to see that Eugen DeCobray died from machine gun bullets, not Snake-Eyes and his .45.

Shattered that she’s based her entire terrorism career on a need for vengeance, Baroness leaps off the Consulate’s debris. Stormie manages to save her and hand her off to Destro. The ledge holding Snake-Eyes and Stormie then collapses… but Lift-ticket and the Joes arrive in the Tomahawk to save them. As they fly away, Stormie wonders aloud: “do you think it’s possible for people to change? Can the cycle of vengeance be broken? Or are we chained to our mistakes forever?”

Notes:

• This trilogy had potential…but overall it was a disappointment. Too many goofy scenes and plot advancements. The Paine Brothers? Why didn’t Snake-Eyes, y’know… TALK to someone after he had burst into Eugen DuCobray’s room? Scarlett surviving a bullet at point blank? Destro narrating his own flashback, on a bullhorn from a helicopter, while Baroness dangles? Then to top it all off.. Lift-ticket performs a barrel roll to snag the falling Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow in the Tomahawk. All while SCARLETT, still in a coma and in a stretcher was in the same Tomahawk?!!
• Snake-Eyes had his face fixed. That was quickly reverted. Scarlett appeared to die. That was quickly reverted. It was more “The Baroness Trilogy” than anything else.
• While it gained points for spotlighting Snake-Eyes and tying in the Baroness… the other stupidity helped to drag these three issues down to “mediocre”. We had been promised this story for years…and we got this? It was similar to the crappy Yearbook 3, rather than issues 21, 26 or 27 (the last three are all KEY Snake-Eyes issues).
• Around issue 60 or so, we had been told that the proposed “Snake-Eyes Graphic Novel” wold be a silent story, set in Vietnam. Hama has various fanboy interviews around the Internet, but I’d like to ask him what his plan for that proposed story was.
• Destro gave his word that he’d rescue Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes, if they could grab the Baroness. The debris falls away and makes Destro’s rescue impossible. But Destro lets the Joes fly away in peace and actually waves to them. His morals come and go, but ever since issue 32 or so, Destro has been fairly honorable toward the Joes (even directly helping them in issue 57). All the bad stuff he supports…it’s just business.
• Eerie 9/11 coincidence: Snake-Eyes set a massive fire on the middle floors of the Consulate… the fire eventually caused the entirre mid-town Manhattan skyscraper to fall apart under its own weight.
• More stupidity: three Vipers trying to hold off Storm Shadow all resemble the Three Stooges. They lose their helmets and have haircuts similar to Moe, Larry and Curly (or Curly Joe if you want to a dork).
• In Destro’s flashback we see that, in his younger days, he was apparently a fancyboy tennis player. With blonde hair. Remember that last little tidbit for next month.
• The cover title for this issue was “No Surrender” Only part two had matching cover and interior titles.
• Another weird effect on the cover: it’s evident that the cam pattern on Storm Shadow’s uniform was added at the last minute. It looks like someone took the “brush” tool from a crappy graphic program like “MSPaint” to apply it.

Appearances:

Characters (figures): Hawk, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, Stalker, Storm Shadow, Doc, Lifeline, Wild Bill, Lift-ticket, Baroness, Destro

Characters (“comic-only”): “Sarge”, Wade Collins, Destro XXIII (flashback), Eugen DeCobray (corpse)

Vehicles and stuff (toys): Tomahawk

Vehicles and stuff (not toys): Cobra gunship/transport copter

Firsties:
Characters: none

Vehicles and stuff: none

Rating: 3 Flag Points