G.I. Joe vol. 2 issue 5
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| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | September 7, 2011 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | September 2011 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Chuck Dixon | ||||||||||||
| Line-art by | Javier Saltares & Ron Adrian | ||||||||||||
| Inks by | Christopher Ivy & Brian Shearer | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Romulo Fajardo, Jr. & Andrew Crossley | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Neil Uyetake | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Tom Waltz | ||||||||||||
| Assistant editor | Carlos Guzman | ||||||||||||
Having taken up residence in the Tuna, G.I. Joe must retrieve the data from their backup server farm while evading their Cobra attackers.
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
Outside a Paris hotel, a disguised Baroness is approached by a man in a trenchcoat and fedora, who — despite having changed his face in a poor joke — she immediately recognises as Cobra's resident shapeshifter Zartan. The Baroness has no time for Zartan's self-amusing antics, and tells him to get to the point, which he does: an offer of information on a G.I. Joe facility, one that they will inevitably be returning to now that their original base has been destroyed. His one condition for his help is a preferential place in the organisation if the Baroness ascends to leadership, something he would not otherwise obtain thanks to his origins as a clone; with this assured, he gives her the facility's location: Bear Lake, Maine.
Some time later, G.I. Joe team Alpha — led by Flint — makes landing in a helicopter near the Bear Lake facility. While Flint warns the Joes to be on their guard, Hard Drive explains their mission's purpose to Tripwire: Bear Lake, which originated as a nuclear bunker, serves as the Joes' backup server farm, and the Joes now need to retrieve the data for use in their new headquarters, Fort Baxter and the Tuna. Entering the underground facility via a hidden entrance in a bridge over the lake and descending deep below the ground, the team splits into three groups: Flint's "Papa Bear" to guard the entrance, Mooch's "Mama Bear" to secure rear access, and Hard Drive's "Baby Bear" to head to the server well. Though Tripwire gets distracted upon finding a boxed up Davy Crockett tactical nuke, Hard Drive's unit makes their way to the servers to secure the data; meanwhile, Mooch and his group investigate the facility's motor pool, deciding to take inventory of the base's vehicles on their way to the rear entrance. Their investigation of a prototype R.H.I.N.O. finds an unwelcome surprise, however: the base has already been infiltrated by Cobra, and one of their vehicle drivers is now operating the armored vehicle! Taking cover from the gunfire, Mooch orders Pokerface to warn Flint and his team, before "Mama Bear" is overrun by enemy Vipers. Mooch is taken captive, but the Cobras' leader, the Baroness, simply kills him herself, before ordering her men to kill everyone in the facility and strip it to the walls.
While Pokerface explains the situation to Flint, the Baroness — now mounted in the R.H.I.N.O. — launches a three-pronged attack much as the Joes did before: a team to secure the entrance, a team to the server well and a team to eliminate any resistance. The Vipers fare poorly, with tripwire mines taking out the server well team and the team at the entrance being cut down with a machine gun; regardless, Flint is pessimistic about their chances, until Tripwire comes up with a solution: the Davy Crockett missile! When the Baroness and her Vipers arrive, Roadblock launches the Crockett, destroying the R.H.I.N.O. and sending the Vipers fleeing in panic at the sight of the nuclear markings on the missile; pulling the Baroness's unconscious body from the vehicle, Flint sends Tunnelrat to meet up with Crankcase, and Tripwire and Beachhead to go after the Cobras.
Climbing out of the base, one of the Vipers ponders aloud why the nuke hasn't yet gone off, but his teammates don't have any time for his skepticism and regroup above the ground. Their leader doesn't care that they've left the Baroness for dead below the ground and prioritizes their own survival, but suddenly, the Vipers are all gunned down by someone who's happy to hear that the Baroness might be dead: fellow Cobra Commander candidate Krake!
Featured characters[edit | edit source]
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Quotes[edit | edit source]
"There's what we know and what General Hawk knows."
"I thought knowing was half the battle."
"It's all the battle, Tripwire."
- —Another day, another obligatory reference, courtesy of Flint and Tripwire
"So, the Baroness is dead? That saves me the trouble."
- Krake
Notes[edit | edit source]
Continuity notes[edit | edit source]
- Hard Drive mentions that Mainframe and Scarlett would've overseen the tech aspects of the mission if they weren't so busy; IDW Scarlett was established as a techie back in the first arc of G.I. Joe: Origins.
G.I. Joe references[edit | edit source]
- You shouldn't need to be told that Tripwire's "knowing is half the battle" line is a reference to the tagline of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon PSAs.
- The R.H.I.N.O. is a toyline-original vehicle originally sold as an online exclusive in the 2005 "Valor vs Venom" G.I. Joe line.
Real life references[edit | edit source]
- Zartan wears the face of Humphrey Bogart, though the Baroness is unimpressed.
- The Davy Crockett is a real tactical nuclear device, though they were never actually used outside of tests.
Other notes[edit | edit source]
- This issue's cover A, by Tom Feister, was almost definitely intended for issue 4 (considering Duke, the Africa-shaped outline and the biohazard symbols). This off-by-one pattern continues into the next issue.
Covers (2)[edit | edit source]
- Cover A: Duke clutches a biohazardous container within an Africa-shaped border of skulls, by Tom Feister.
- Cover B: The Baroness poses in front of a R.H.I.N.O., by Will Rosado and Romulo Fajardo, Jr..
- Cover RI: Duke and Scarlett pull a "days of Cobra past", by Danny Cruz and Esther Sanz; part of a month of RI covers homaging the iconic cover, along with Snake Eyes #5 and Cobra #5.
