Cobra Civil War issue 0
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| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | April 13, 2011 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | April 2011 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Chuck Dixon "G.I. Joe, Snake Eyes" Mike Costa "Cobra" | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Javier Saltares "G.I. Joe" Antonio Fuso "Cobra" Agustin Padilla "Snake Eyes" | ||||||||||||
| Color assist by | Romulo Fajardo, Jr. "G.I. Joe" Arianna Florean "Cobra" J. Brown "Snake Eyes" | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Shawn Lee | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Andy Schmidt | ||||||||||||
| Assistant editor | Carlos Guzman | ||||||||||||
Cobra Commander is dead...
"G.I. Joe prelude"[edit | edit source]
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
As Team Mike, G.I. Joe's domestic recon team, arrive in Springfield, Deadcheck is unimpressed with its mundanity. With Halfstep confirming that the town is abandoned other than the energy spike they were sent to investigate, the Joes gear up and investigate; though they are unable to raise the Pit on their radios, they manage to find the source of the energy spike in the Springfield Movies cinema.
Cautiously entering the building, Team Mike hears voices ahead, and breaks into one of the rooms to find... a movie, playing on the screen, which Deadcheck notes has probably been playing on a loop for months. Unnerved by the zombies on-screen, the Joes work carefully through the theater, finding nobody; but when Ratrace goes to shut off the movie, the projector explodes and the power is cut, robbing the Joes of their vision. Unable to see, Team Mike is quickly wiped out by Krake, a high ranking Cobra soldier. As a member of the Cobra Council praises him over the radio for his killing skill and showmanship, Krake leaves the cinema burning down behind him, the Joes dead inside.
Featured characters[edit | edit source]
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| G.I. Joe | Cobra |
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Quotes[edit | edit source]
"Six soldiers in as many seconds. An impressive accomplishment."
"Soldiers. What are soldiers? You don't waste good iron to make nails. And you don't waste good men to make soldiers."
- —The Cobra Council member and Krake
Notes[edit | edit source]
- Other than Barbeque, the Joes here are all hi-and-dies with no prior G.I. Joe appearances, which means that a savvy reader will see what happens to them from a mile off. Bye, guys!
Continuity notes[edit | edit source]
- Halfstep notes that the official reason for Springfield's abandonment was the 2007 recession. As established in Origins #5, the recession happened thanks to a plot by the Chimera that the early G.I. Joe failed to stop.
- Snake Eyes and Mainframe visited Springfield back in G.I. Joe vol. 1 #9.
- Krake first appeared in G.I. Joe vol. 1 #24, and appeared again the next month in G.I. Joe: Origins #23.
Real life references[edit | edit source]
- Sandcrab notes "getting that Fallujah feeling" from Springfield.
Errors[edit | edit source]
- On the first page, Barbeque's mustache is either missing or miscolored, and his outfit is different to on subsequent pages.
"Cobra prelude"[edit | edit source]
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
Alone together onboard a Cobra jet, Crystal Ball unnerves a deeply uncomfortable Rodrigo Vargas with his talk of death coming to everyone. The doctor believes Crystal Ball's superstitions and philosophy are ridiculous nonsense, with his work with disease and death being far more meaningful, while the sinister adviser sees Vargas as a small-minded fool whose lack of Crystal Ball's worldview makes him afraid. When Vargas questions the purpose of their journey, Crystal Ball simply tells him to gird himself...
The reason for their trip is only revealed to Vargas once the two arrive in a Cobra facility in China: as he is informed by the Baroness over video link, Cobra Commander is dead. Through the shock of the other men in the video call, she explains that, in light of the unusual manner of the Commander's death, the Cobra Council have decided to create a contest; whoever kills the most members of G.I. Joe, or does them the worst harm, will become the new Commander. Those taking part in the conference are the candidates, plus Krake... who doesn't need to be there, his murder of Team Mike being what inspired the contest. Vargas has been taken to the facility in order to confirm the Commander's death for the others, with Tomax Paoli's presence serving to confirm it.
The candidates argue over the veracity of the Baroness's information and whether or not they should act, but they are interrupted by a new entrant into the Chinese facility. Serpentor has arrived... for, as he says, how can you have a funeral without a holy man?
Featured characters[edit | edit source]
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Cobra |
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Quotes[edit | edit source]
"Yes, doctor. You've seen amazing things through your microscope, I'm sure. But I've seen more from the scattered bowels of a goat than you can in your lab. And that's why you are afraid now, and I am not."
- —Crystal Ball to Vargas
Notes[edit | edit source]
- The Cobra Civil War candidates gather! Of the characters taking part, Tomax, the Baroness, and Major Bludd are classic Joe characters; Krake and Satori are Cobras already established in IDW continuity, with Krake debuting in G.I. Joe #24 and Satori in G.I. Joe #25. Vargas and Khallikhan are entirely new characters debuting in this issue... which, well, doesn't exactly speak well for their chances in the contest.
- Though Serpentor and Destro are both treated as "candidates" in the Cobra Civil War by promotional material, they aren't treated as such in the comic — in fact, Destro doesn't appear at all in this issue, and barely shows up at all during the storyline.
"Snake Eyes prelude"[edit | edit source]
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
In Bottineau County, North Dakota, three Joes — Dojo, Banzai and Nunchuck — lie dead on the ground. Lawhound, Scarlett and Snake Eyes look on; though Lawhound wants to call in an investigative unit, Scarlett tells him to let Snake Eyes investigate, as the dead Joes were his students. The ninja-commando signals that there was only one attacker, and as he ventures further, Lawhound explains — the Joes had told the commanders at the Pit that they had been ordered to deploy there, which nobody questioned thanks to their being Snake Eyes' unit.
Catching up with Snake Eyes, Scarlett sees another dead soldier, and then another: T'jbang and T'gin Zu. Scarlett is incredulous that one attacker could have killed five of G.I. Joe's best fighters, but Snake Eyes revises his estimate: there were two foes. Scarlett notes that T'gin Zu's body is still warm, and sure enough, they quickly find another Joe: Bushido, who's still alive! Scarlett asks who the attackers were, and gets a surprising answer... they looked like Snake Eyes. As Scarlett calls in a medical team, Snake Eyes senses something and, guns blazing, jumps off to try and intercept the attackers, who — dressed in camouflaged versions of Snake Eyes' suit — are escaping in strange flying machines. Despite the ninja's best efforts, they manage to evade him and escape.
In the air, the two soldiers, Slice and Dice, discuss their mission: though Dice wants to return and kill Snake Eyes, Slice insists they follow the orders of Raja Khallikhan and draw the "silent one" into a trap. Contacting Khallikhan to notify him that the deed is done, Slice complains of the ease of their task, and is promised that soon enough, they will have their opportunity to face Snake Eyes himself...
Featured characters[edit | edit source]
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| G.I. Joe | Cobra |
|---|---|
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Quotes[edit | edit source]
"Scarlett to Lawhound. I need a medical team on my twenty. Now. Follow us downhill. And keep your guns up. We're not alone."
"How're we gonna find you pronto? This is a big forest."
(Snake Eyes leaps into action.)
"Follow the sound of gunfire!"
- —Scarlett and Lawhound
Notes[edit | edit source]
G.I. Joe references[edit | edit source]
- Snake Eyes' trainees are the oft-maligned Ninja Force from the latter days of the Real American Hero toyline. If we weren't inclined to be charitable, we might say that it's likely that they were killed off as a bit of a "take that".
- Slice and Dice are one of those classic Joe duos like Law and Order who have members keep showing up without their partners, thus completely invalidating the name pun.
- The Flight Pods that appear in this issue are pretty much a direct lift of their bubble-topped classic design, rather than the more "realistic" redesign with enclosed cockpit seen in G.I. Joe vol. 1 #9.
Covers (5)[edit | edit source]
- Cover A: The Joes on a US flag, by Tom Feister.
- Cover B: Snake Eyes, by Gabrielle Dell'otto.
- Cover C: Tomax, Serpentor and Major Bludd, by Antonio Fuso.
- Cover RI: Duke, Scarlett, Snake Eyes and Hawk, by Javier Saltares.
