Snake Eyes issue 1

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G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes #1
Cobra Civil War
SnakeEyes-1 cvrC.jpg
Publisher IDW Publishing
First published May 18, 2011
Cover date May 2011
Written by Chuck Dixon
Line-art by Robert Atkins (pages 1-4, 7-10, 14-22)

Agustin Padilla (pages 5-6, 10-13)

Inks by Juan Castro
Colors by Simon Gough
Letters by Shawn Lee
Editor Tom Waltz
Assistant editor Carlos Guzman

Snake Eyes recruits Alpine and Iceberg to get revenge for the murder of his students.

Synopsis[edit | edit source]

High on the south face of the mountain Xixabangma, the G.I. Joe mountain specialists Alpine and Iceberg aid Agent Helix and Snake Eyes in navigating the treacherous climb around the peak. Their mission is to make their way to the ledge that holds the entrance to Rajahistan, the base of Cobra command hopeful Vikrim Khallikhan; a difficult climb, but one that the Joes are more than capable of. Climbing down to examine the huge, elaborately-sculpted hangar door, Snake Eyes discovers that the mechanics for opening it are on the inside, and that they have no hope of blowing it open without bringing the mountain down on top of them. Iceberg is apprehensive about the idea of waiting, potentially for weeks, in the hope that someone inside opens it, but Snake Eyes provides an alternate plan: bringing the base's residents to them. Taking up shop in hammocks suspended above the hangar, Iceberg notices that they're disconnected from the Pit; Helix, meanwhile, asks Snake Eyes how he got his lead on Khallikhan in the first place, on which he silently reflects...

In the aftermath of the murder of Snake Eyes' students, Scarlett and Snake Eyes try to answer the mystery of who killed them. The six Joes were lured to the site by a phony text message from Snake Eyes and killed with stab wounds and blunt trauma, but other than that, their only clue is a symbol left carved on T'gin Zu's cheek: the Hindi character for "Kha". Aware of Khallikhan from his past, Snake Eyes realizes its meaning, and — despite Scarlett's pleas for him to not do it alone — moves to act. Some time later, the Joe ninja has infiltrated the Noorai syndicate in pursuit of information on the self-styled Rajah, and manages to extract the location of Khallikhan's stronghold from a syndicate member; with the knowledge that Cobra has a base on Xixabangma, Mainframe is able to locate a likely site for it to be based on anomalous flight patterns of helicopters in the area. Scarlett insists on coming with Snake Eyes on his mission, but General Hawk refuses her permission, needing her intel specialties in the Pit. Instead, Snake Eyes is taking Helix, something Scarlett is none too happy about.

On the mountain, a discussion of "the deal with" Snake Eyes and Helix is interrupted when a pair of Cobra soldiers exit the base to investigate an unusual signal... which turns out to be a music player, playing a song on a loop. The two grunts are baffled, until they are ambushed by Snake Eyes and Helix! Though the ensuing fight leaves Helix and one of the Vipers hanging off the ledgeon a tether, Snake Eyes manages to send both of their enemies tumbling off the mountainside, giving the Joes an opening into Rajahistan. Disguised as a Viper, Snake Eyes goes down to enter the hangar... taking Alpine with him, slung over his shoulder and pretending to be an unconscious prisoner. And, on the ledge above, Iceberg frets, convinced that the plan is too crazy to work...

Featured characters[edit | edit source]

Characters in italics are shown only in flashbacks. (Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes[edit | edit source]

"This can't be just about you, Snake. Joes are dead."

Scarlett fails to recognize the fact that Snake Eyes just got a solo comic

"There is no deal, Alpine."
"Then why does he pick to team with you all the time?"
"I have weird skills. A half-second advantage. And you're asking, when he picks me, why do I follow him into hell? Because he always comes back.

Helix is provoked into waxing lyrical about how great Snake Eyes is by Alpine

"This is insane. How'd we let a guy who never says a word talk us into this?

Iceberg

Notes[edit | edit source]

  • Scarlett notes that Snake Eyes' students were all from different teams, indicating that "Ninja Force" as a group doesn't exist in IDW continuity. However, the recap in the very next issue names them as Team Fox, so who knows what's going on there.

G.I. Joe references[edit | edit source]

  • Though unnamed, the Cobra patrol seen in this issue is based on the Snow Serpents, Cobra's arctic weather specialists, adapted to match the Robert Atkins IDW Viper design; similarly, the technical specialists are seen with the distinctive purple "scales" of the Tele-Vipers. The guards inside the base mix elements of several different Cobra mooks, including the forearm guards of the Rock-Vipers, but seem to be primarily based on the Ice-Vipers, albeit in a black and red color scheme rather than the original's white, grey and red.

Real life references[edit | edit source]

Covers (4)[edit | edit source]