Cobra vol. 2 issue 6
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | October 26, 2011 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | October 2011 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Mike Costa | ||||||||||||
| Line-art by | Werther Dell'edera | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Arianna Florean | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Neil Uyetake | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Carlos Guzman | ||||||||||||
Black-Out reflects on where his loyalties lie, and comes up against an unexpected snag in his operation.
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
Sitting in the dark, Black-Out thinks about his past, and why he'll never be G.I. Joe. He's always craved recognition, constantly pushing himself harder while in the army; and it was back during his first tour that he first heard of the mysterious, elite group that recruited the best of the best from the Armed Forces. Though he once encountered one of their number while in Germany, they never approached him, and so he continued to push father and harder to prove his worth; and that's why he and his teammates were so far out on the day that he was attacked. Captured and interrogated by Cobra, he was soon given the recognition he deserved and accepted into their ranks, releasing him and making sure that his "last stand" was released to the media. Only then did G.I. Joe come knocking, but he still didn't feel valued, as when he asked to drive a tank they made him a foot soldier; and so, he continues to report to Cobra, not caring if arrogant soldiers get hurt as long as he's on the winning side.
Entering the Joe facility's tech department late at night, Black-Out is stopped by a lone Fobbit, who has detected his Cobra-issued blackout box with newly-installed scanners for communications devices. While the Cobra mole tries to play it off as a gadget he'd been asked to test by Clockspring, he can't dissuade the other man from going to ask his fellow Fobbit about the device, and makes a decision...
Chameleon and Firewall are brought in when the Fobbit is found dead in his bath, his wrists slashed; it's quickly determined to be no suicide, as there's poorly wiped-off blood on the wall next to the man's bed and a computer plugged into the security systems to erase all security footage of the incident. A furious Firewall orders a full communications lockdown, and assigns the facility's master-at-arms Lady Jaye to Chameleon to protect her. The two are tasked with finding their mole, while Firewall leaves to notify G.I. Joe command of the circumstances.
Destroying the device he had been using to contact Bludd in the installation's main incinerator, Black-Out mentally reviews his situation and location, and is confident that he knows how to escape if he needs to. Meanwhile, Blacklight tries to use a payphone, but with the call failing to be picked up, he selects a different number.
On Tomax Paoli's plane, Major Bludd orders Error 404 to ignore an incoming call. Their silence is interrupted by Tomax, who reveals that he's deduced that Bludd has an agent within G.I. Joe, but his rival is unimpressed, claiming that he's only discovered how far behind in the contest he is. The two trade barbs before Tomax stalks off to deal with his own business: specifically, pressuring a senator in Cobra's pocket into holding accountable whichever branch of the military was responsible for the holding of a "high-value prisoner" in Chesapeake Tower. Interrupting his call to deal with an incoming one, he answers Blacklight, who asks to come in; though Tomax is frank about having neither ability nor reason to help him evade the Baroness's anger, Blacklight promises substantial benefits for Tomax if he is given specific biometric data. When Tomax asks how long it will take for him to see results, the sniper reveals that he is already in position... in Washington, DC, home to the G.I. Joe facility.
Featured characters[edit | edit source]
Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks. (Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| G.I. Joe | Cobra | Others |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Quotes[edit | edit source]
"He made me feel like I must make normal civilians feel. Anxious. Intimidated for no reason. Nobody makes me feel like that."
- -Black-Out gets his start of darkness.
"Bludd, G.I. Joe isn't some rival cartel that you can smuggle your own agent into to siphon off product and seduce the kingpin's wife. You are far out of your reckoning."
"You're right. I'm sorry. Remind me how many Joes were killed in your prison break again?"
- -Tomax and Major Bludd
Notes[edit | edit source]
Continuity notes[edit | edit source]
- As mentioned last issue, Black-Out/Steeler is Thomas Stall from Hearts & Minds issue 3, with the events and immediate aftermath of that issue depicted in Black-Out's flashback here.
Other notes[edit | edit source]
- This issue shares the opening line of "I'm never going to be G.I. Joe" with its predecessor and the following issue.
Covers (3)[edit | edit source]
- Cover A: Firewall, a silhouette of Lady Jaye, and the Baroness, by David Williams and Kelsey Shannon.
- Cover B: Blacklight in Washington, DC, by Antonio Fuso and Arianna Florean.
- Cover RI: Destro and the Baroness in a homage to the cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, by Robert Atkins and Mark Roberts; part of a month of RI covers homaging the iconic cover, along with G.I. Joe #6 and (sort of) Snake Eyes #6.
