G.I. JOE #24
The Commander
Escapes!

Cover Date: June, 1984
Script: Larry Hama
Art: Russ Heath
Colorist: George Roussos
Editor: Denny O'Neil
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Summary:  Somewhere on a plateau in the Rocky Mountains, Duke, Roadblock, Gung-Ho, Rock 'n' Roll and Grunt have parachuted from the G.I. Joe C-130 with Cobra Commander as their prisoner. As the Joes set up their equipment, Cobra Commander points out that the plateau "may be remote and isolated, but it's also undefendable!" Duke tells him to keep quiet and then the C-130 drops two crates that hold the Joes' pre-fab fortress. To put the Commander's mind at ease, Duke has him help them bolt their fortress together.

In Cobra Headquarters, Major Bludd arrives. Destro is about to shoot him for having tried to kill him until the Baroness follows Bludd in. The three plot to take over Cobra now that the Commander has been captured. Later, in New Jersey, McGuire AFB is being watched by a biker who transmits the C-130's return and how long it was gone to a Cobra plane carrying Storm Shadow. He and a Cobra technician plot the possible route the C-130 took on its journey.

Back in the Rockies, Cobra Commander is still questioning the Joes defenses and notes a mysterious crate. Duke doesn't tell him what's in it. He asks the Commander to join he and Gung-Ho in the fortress for a cup of coffee. At Cobra HQ, Destro decides that if they are to take control Cobra, the Commander must be eliminated. The others tell him Storm Shadow is looking for Cobra Commander and Major Bludd has planted a homing device on the ninja's sowrd handle. They send "The Firefly" to find Storm Shadow with Cobra's best pilot to help him.

At the Joes' pre-fab fortress, Duke asks Cobra Commander if he's going to take off his helmet to drink is coffee. As he opens a small panel in his faceplate and drinks the coffee with a straw he mentions that the removal of his helmet without the proper code sequence would trigger the plastic explosives that line the helmet. He hasn't told them that the helmet also includes a short-wave radio receiver. Over the Rockies, the Cobra plane finds Cobra Commander's position after analyzing a satellite photo. Before he has a chance to explain more, the technician turns to see Storm Shadow has gone, leaving nothing but an opened cargo door. Shortly, the Commander hears Storm Shadow through his short-wave radio. The ninja tells him to get outside somehow. He asks for some fresh air and Grunt and Grunt leave Duke and Gung-Ho to play poker while they escort the Commander outside for a walk. While they walk outside, a Cobra CLAW glider roars up from the edge of the plateau. Grunt and Rock 'n' Roll are taken by surprise as Storm Shadow takes off with the Commander. Roadblock fires on the CLAW, just clipping it. It keeps flying but is losing fuel. Duke opens up the mysterious crate that was holding a G.I. Joe Skyhawk, a small one-man VTOL aircraft.

Further down the mountain, the Commander tells Storm Shadow that they can't escape with the CLAW rapidly losing fuel. He drops off the ninja, telling him he'll send troops back to pick him up. "Just go...," Storm Shadow says, "...before I change my mind." Duke, in the Skyhawk, arrives and starts firing on the CLAW. The Commander radios Storm Shadow for help, and the ninja tells him to lead the Skyhawk to the tall pines. Storm Shadow has a rifle and is ready to fire on Duke, but Roadblock and Gung-Ho spot the ninja up a tree and Gung-Ho knocks it down with his grenade launcher. Meanwhile, the Cobra plane that brought Storm Shadow launches two Cobra FANG helicopters to protect Cobra Commander. Storm Shadow gets the jump on Gung-Ho and slashes his back with a sword. Roadblock knocks Storm Shadow out. The Skyhawk is more versatile than the Cobras think and the FANGs are destroyed by Duke's missles. Duke can't catch up the the Commander before he reaches the plane and gets away.

Roadblock returns to the fortress carrying Gung-Ho on his back and dragging Storm Shadow. Gung-Ho's injuries aren't too serious, but Storm Shadow's still unconscious. "Dude kept fallin' down," says Roadblock, "Wasn't my fault." In the ninja's pocket, they find a mailing slip addressed to Chokoloskee, Florida. "What could a ninja be mailing to Chokoloskee, Florida?," Duke wonders.

Back at Cobra HQ, Destro, Baroness and Bludd get a video call from Firefly and the Cobra pilot. They've tracked the homing beacon (that Bludd hid in Storm Shadow's sword) to an empty shack in the Everglades, near Chokoloskee, Florida. Cobra Commander surprises everyone by arriving at Cobra HQ and telling them that the shack isn't deserted and the man who lives there is quite upset about trespassers. On the monitor a man steps up behind Firefly and the Cobra pilot, holding them at gunpoint.

Commentary: The man in the shack is Zartan, but he isn't named in the issue, unless you count the "NEXT ISSUE" box. This issue's story is a good one, fast-paced and interesting. The Joes know that Cobra Commander is no ordinary prisoner, and they take extreme measures to bring him to a remote area.

The storyline continues the treacherousness of Cobra Commander's lieutenants. When Bludd arrives at Cobra HQ, Destro's response -- pointing a gun at him -- is just what one would expect, considering Bludd tried to kill him. Bludd gets let off the hook when Destro finally learns the Baroness is alive, believing her dead since issue #16. Destro's shock explains his forgetting about what Bludd did to him. Destro's sudden decision to help Cobra Commander seems to contradict his later statements that he is loyal to Cobra Commander despite his personal dislike for him. But, his change of heart probably is due to discovering that he'd been lied to all this time. There is also the first indication that Storm Shadow may be less than thrilled about being a part of Cobra. He reluctantly lets Cobra Commander leave him behind, telling him to hurry before he changes his mind. There's nothing particularly important going on with the Joes, but the appearance of Zartan marks the first move toward a less classicly military G.I. Joe. Firefly and Wild Weasel (known only as "the pilot") make their first appearances as well, but they appear very little in the issue. The storyline also brings us closer to the vital storyline in issue #26 and #27.

One interest scene had Cobra Commander explaining his helmet is lined with explosives and are set to go off without the proper code. This seems quite strange, especially in light of later issues where we learn that there's nothing important about Cobra Commander's appearance or identity. It could just be a precaution taken due to the Commander's extreme paranoia and egotism. The old "plastic-explosives-in-the-helmet" routine are used later with the appearance of the Cobra battle armor in issue #58.

This is the first issue featuring Russ Heath as the artist. Heath's drawings of the Joes look remarkably like their cartoon series counterparts, which is not coincidental since Heath was one of the original designers of the cartoon. The same is true for the villains, although he draws the Baroness in her new costume like a pin-up girl, spending an entire scene stretched out on a couch, seemingly posing for the "camera." Russ Heath is still one of the better G.I. Joe artists.

First Appearances:

  • Cobra: Zartan (unnamed); Wild Weasel (unnamed, "the pilot"); Firefly
  • G.I. Joe vehicles: Sky Hawk (VTOL aircraft)
  • Cobra vehicles: Water Moccasin attack speedboat
  • Geography: Zartan's Everglades hideout
Reprinted in:
  • G.I. JOE Comics Magazine #9 (April 1988). Digest format from Marvel Comics. Includes issues #23 and 25.
  • G.I. JOE: Volume 3 (August 2002). A trade paperback collection from Marvel. Includes issues #21-30.
  • A version of the issue was released by Hasbro in 2005, packaged with comic-based action figures of Destro, Duke and Roadblock as seen in the issue. All references to Marvel Comics were removed.
  • Another version of the issue was released by Hasbro in 2008, packaged with comic-based action figures of Cobra Commander and Duke as seen in the issue. All references to Marvel Comics were removed. It features a new painted cover, based on the original.
  • G.I. JOE: Best of Larry Hama (April 2009). Part of a series of reprints from IDW. Also includes issues #21, 26, 34, 63, 85, 86, 91, 104 and Special Missions #17.
  • Classic G.I. JOE: Volume 3 (May 2009). A trade paperback collection from IDW Publishing. Aside from some slight changes made to the cover, this is a reprint of the earlier Marvel collection. Includes issues #21-30.
  • G.I. JOE: Best Worst of Storm Shadow (July 2009). Part of a series of reprints from IDW. Also includes issues #25, 38, 39, 42, 43.