G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #99

“Calm Before the Storm”

Writer: Larry Hama
Pencilers: Herb Trimpe

Summary:

While the guys trapped in the Arbco Star formulate an escape plan, Cobra Commander arrives in Broca Beach. Zarana weasels her way out of jail by telling him about the two brainwashed Joes. Aware of the Joes’ recent troubles with the Jugglers, CC and Zarana plan to make them go berserk in their HQ.

Meanwhile, Mutt (w/ Junkyard) and Spirit arrive in Millville, to spend time with Mutt’s Uncle Jeff. Millville’s a little bit like Flint, Michigan after GM pulled out. Back at the Pit, two teenaged girls in search of an “Area 51” stumble onto the Joes’ nighttime training manuever and are taken inside.

Cobra Commander decides to mobilize a Cobra assault force… destination: Millville.

Notes:

• While there’s a lot going on, it isn’t very engaging and too much time is wasted on the nerdy teenaged girls, Roxy and Tiff.
• Top-secret government installation? Lady Jaye just about gives the girls a guided tour of the “GI Joe Base”. Compare this to the harsh way Candy was treated by the Joes, circa issue 40.
• The only reason Sci-Fi is included is so the girls can say: “look! An alien!”
• The girls compare the Mobile Command Center to “a sandcrawler” (from Star Wars). May have been a little in-joke, since the MCC toy looked VERY similar to the Jawas’ mobile home.
• Cobra Commander continues his “Skeletor” impression with stuff like: “not enough mold on the stale bread! The cells are nowhere near dank enough!”
• Cobra Commander’s outfit is slightly different from the last time we saw him in action. He now wears a darker blue outfit, almost black. He also prefers to wear his hood into combat, no longer using his special battle helmet. Aside from a few instances of using his “Egyptian CC” outfit, circa issue 120 or so, this is how he remains.
• The mascot of the Broca Beach High School is “Rattlers”.
• In the Arbco Star, Fred VII mouths off and gets himself in trouble. Presumably, Raptor and Dr. Mindbender beat the crap out of him.
• In past issues, it was established that the Cobra space shuttle was housed in the Arbco Star. Why wouldn’t they use that to help escape? Two No Prize explanations: the shuttle was scrapped after the Terror Drome project went kaput. Or, Cobra moved it out of there when the Star was converted to a “party boat” solely for the purpose of entertaining sales clients.
• Senator Hegel, the guy who gave the Joes grief after the Cobra Civil War (circa issue 78) returns. He mentions that he got off on technicality, while General Malthus was sent to Leavenworth. More likely, Hegel threw Malthus under the bus.
• Herb Trimpe returns to the main title, for the first time in roughly 90 issues.

Appearances:

Characters (figures): Clutch, Rock n’ Roll, Lady Jaye, Sci-Fi, Wild Bill, Steamroller, Flint, Wild Card (?), Rumbler (?), Mutt, Junkyard, Spirit, Cobra Commander, Zarana, Buzzer, Road Pig, Zartan, Dr. Mindbender, Raptor

Characters (“comic-only”): Fred VII, Billy, Tyrone, Capt. Minh, Sen. Hegel, Gen. Hollingsworth, Roxy, Tiff, Uncle Jeff

Vehicles and stuff (toys): Mobile Command Center, Thunderclap, Desert Fox, Mean Dog, Rolling Thunder (shadows only), Cobra HISS, Cobra Mamba, Cobra Python Conquest

Vehicles and stuff (not toys): GI Joe C-130, Arbco Star, Cobra transport copter (NOT the gunship), Cobra jeep.

Firsties:
Characters: Steamroller, Roxy, Tiff, Uncle Jeff

Vehicles and stuff: Mobile Command Center

Rating: 1 Flag Point