R.I.P.cord Part 2: Survive This...

« G.I. Joe: Origins #14 »
"R.I.P.cord Part 2: Survive This..."
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	April 7, 2010
Cover date	April 2010
Written by	Scott Beatty
Art by	S.L. Gallant
Inks by	Walden Wong
Colors by	J. Brown
Letters by	Chris Mowry
Editor	Andy Schmidt
Assistant editor	Carlos Guzman

Armed with nothing but his wits and his commando training, "Ripcord" must stop terrorists from creating a deadly bio-weapon before it's too late.

Synopsis

With rain pouring hard on the ground in the Republic of Agak, the soil is softened... and, one hand breaching the surface, Wallace "Ripcord" Weems pulls himself out from where he has been buried alive, gasping for air. Grabbing a shovel, Ripcord intends to use it to kill a guard and take his rifle, but is forced to duck into hiding when the guard hears something and turns around; instead, he sneaks across the mercenary encampment to a greenhouse, where the mercenaries' leader Kurin is arguing with the doctor responsible for growing their product: a set of extremely valuable beans containing a virulent poison. Though the scientist insists that the beans need another week or more to ripen, Kurin needs them ready before the scheduled delivery to the organization funding them... or they might be forced to eat them themselves.

As Scarlett and Hawk head towards Agak in a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, the general reviews the transcript of Ripcord's transmissions. With the long breaks in between transmissions, Hawk assumes that Weems was laying low and doing whatever he could to survive.

Out in the jungle, the dehydrated Weems resists the temptation to drink from a puddle on the ground, knowing it could well give him dysentery. Instead, he uses a large leaf to collect rainwater to drink, before striking out again; his survival mission takes him to the body of his teammate Cruz, but he is set upon by a search party looking for him; he manages to stay hidden, killing one of the searchers, and obtains a M.R.E. from Cruz's body that he buries for later. Over the next few days, he continues to survive with skills learned in deep-insertion school, giving a running commentary through his radio while also investigating the mercenary encampment.

As Ripcord stakes out the camp, he overhears Kurin and the doctor discussing the product of their endeavors: a polypeptide similar to ricin, but far more potent; capable of killing in moments before dissipating for maximum deniability. With the deadly potential of the bio-weapon evident, Ripcord takes it upon himself to deal with it for good. Noting the fertiliser system in the greenhouse and the petrol truck nearby, Weems connects the two, spraying fuel all over the plants... and though Kurin tries to alert his men when he finds out what has been done, he is too late to stop a guard from lighting up a cigarette and consuming himself, the doctor and all of their product in a huge fireball! Weems takes the opportunity to pick off more of the mercenaries with a rifle, but he is pursued by Kurin, who follows him into the jungle... only to fall victim to a quicksand pit that Ripcord had successfully traversed days before with his survival skills. Kurin thrashes about trying to shoot his foe, but only succeeds in drowning himself in the quicksand.

With Hawk having arrived by looking for the plume of smoke from the burning beans, Weems fills the general in on the details of what he has done, before handing over the data he collected on the finances and operations of the terrorists. Impressed with his work, Hawk offers the soldier an opportunity... one that requires that he give up his identity and pretend to be dead. As such, "Wallace Weems" died eleven days before in a parachute malfunction, and G.I. Joe welcomes its newest member: Ripcord, a name that the soldier has no objection to. Offered the controls of the helicopter extracting them, Ripcord — all done with talking — takes himself and his new teammates up into the sky.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

G.I. Joe	Others
Scarlett (2) Hawk (3) Ripcord/Wallace Weems (4)	Pilots (1) Mercenaries (5) Bean-growing doctor (6) Kurin (7) Tochi? (8) Jaeger (9)

Quotes

"Any loyal listeners out there got a good recipe for refried beans? 'Cause I do."

—Ripcord prepares to do a little home cooking

Notes

Continuity notes

• Weems gets declared legally dead, as is standard for the Joes.

Real life references

• One of the pilots carrying the Joes mentions having "their own species of raptor" protecting them.

Covers (3)

• Cover A: R.I.P. Ripcord, by Tom Feister.
• Cover B: Ripcord crawls out of the dirt, by S.L. Gallant and J. Brown.
• Cover RI: Virgin version of cover A.

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