Beached
Whale
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Cover Date:
November, 1984
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Script: Larry Hama
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Pencils: Frank Springer
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Inks: Andy Mushynsky
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Lettering: Rick
Parker
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Colors: George
Roussos
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Editor: Denny O'Neil
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Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
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Summary:
[Whoever
wrote this
summary, please e-mail me. I lost your name!]
The Joes that got shot up last issue--Duke, Cutter,
Roadblock, Deep-Six, Steeler, Clutch, and Breaker--take the WHALE to
make
repairs. They stop in Ehrlinger's Cove on the gulf coast of Florida,
and
are heckled by some local sailors. A few young kids try to test
Roadblock's
strength by hanging onto some armor plating, but Roadblock picks it up
along with them.
Back in the Everglades, Destro and Firefly decide to get
revenge on
Cobra Commander, and Destro tells Firefly that Cobra Headquarters is in
Springfield. And back in Springfield, the Commander himself returns to
the town courtesy of Wild Weasel and his Rattler. In the welcoming
crowd,
we once again see Billy, who vows revenge on Cobra Commander as well.
Billy
wants vengeance for what Cobra Commander did to him as well as Billy's
father.
Wild Bill and Doc pick up Deep-Six in the Dragonfly and
take him to
the G.I. Jane for treatment. Meanwhile Duke, Cutter, and Roadblock stay
behind in Ehrlinger's Cove to work on the WHALE We assume that Steeler,
Breaker, and Clutch went back to the MOBAT. While back in the
Everglades,
Destro and Firefly are heading to the Cove, by commandeering a
poacher's
swampraft.
During all of this, Cobra Commander is holding another
rally, telling
his troops of the many ways that Cobra is winning in the war. We see
into
many of their strategies, like the household product pyramid scheme,
the
"Greed is Good for You" seminars, the "mindless sitcoms," and tax fraud
by Cobra accountants' clients, denying funding to the government, which
in turn cuts defense spending. Also during the speech, we are
introduced
to the first Crimson Guard, a.k.a. Fred Broca, as well as his wife,
son,
and daughter. The Crimson Guard is the Cobra elite trooper, used to
infiltrate
communities all over the country, gaining political power and
influence,
all the while using it to serve Cobra's ends.
Back in Ehrlinger's Cove, Destro beats Cutter up, and he
and Firefly
take control of the WHALE Duke and Roadblock take cover behind the
armor
plate when Firefly unloads with one of the machine guns on the WHALE
Destro
and Firefly forget them and take off. Just then, Wild Bill arrives in
the
Dragonfly with parts for the WHALE Duke gets in, they drop the cargo
net,
and give chase. When they leave, Cutter and Roadblock take a fishing
boat,
to get back to the Jane. Destro and Firefly are heading north, and they
meet R.L. and the Chief from last issue. The two policemen are finally
getting out of the Everglades, when the WHALE nearly runs them over.
The
Dragonfly catches up to the WHALE and they begin the fight.
Cutter gets to the Jane, and orders Tripwire to haul
anchor and round
up the Joes, because they need to cut off the WHALE before they make it
to the open Atlantic. In a gutsy move, Cutter deploys the hydrofoils
and
aims for the peninsula of Ehrlinger's Cove. They pass over R.L. and the
chief again, who choose to forget the incident. They grind off the
hydrofoils
and start to run on hull plates, but make it to the water on the other
side right at the spot where the Dragonfly is engaging the WHALE. Duke
tells Destro to give up, and Destro answers with a few wrist rockets
into
the Dragonfly. Wild Bill attempts to make a crash landing on the deck,
by hitting the pocket of air in front of the Jane. Duke doubts Wild
Bill
for a moment, but after Wild Bill gives Duke control, Duke expresses
his
absolute confidence in Wild Bill's capabilities. Wild Bill takes
control
back, and makes the landing in a flaming SH-BOOM. Tripwire expresses
his
relief to have Duke onboard again, and tells Duke that Cutter's been
acting
funny.
Ahead of the Jane, the WHALE launches two depth charges,
that go wide.
The Jane opens up its forward doors, and "swallows" the WHALE. When the
Joes investigate the WHALE, Tripwire finds the cabin filled with
explosive
from the depth charges, and a detonator/timer floating in the middle.
Tripwire
grabs the detonator and upon seeing that only seven seconds is left on
the timer, falls on the floor, shielding his comrades from the blast.
But
before it goes off, Roadblock grabs the bomb from Tripwire, and throws
it up a ventilation duct. The bomb reaches the deck and bounces over
the
side where it detonates.
Back below, Duke deduces that Firefly and Destro were
actually inside
the depth charges, and have escaped. Roadblock calls Tripwire very
brave
for trying to sacrifice himself, but not to do it again. This is a
team,
dead heroes don't do their buddies any good, and that medals are no
shinier
if they're posthumous. Duke orders Cutter to search for the two depth
charges,
but the fishermen are now out in force, and the Jane is stuck at sea
with
no room to maneuver. Destro and Firefly have escaped.
On a small fishing boat in the same part of water, the two villains
in question plot a course south-east to the Atlantic, and then back
north
to Springfield.
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Commentary:
This issue featured several instances of
humor. First,
there was the scene where Roadblock was about to haul the armor plate
off
to weld it, and the three kids grabbed on, to test his strength.
Roadblock
picked up the plate and the kids with no problem, and then Duke said,
"...be
sure to scrape off those barnacles before you start welding." Another
scene
was of several fishermen in a restaraunt talking about the Joes and the
WHALE. The chef says, "Think they'll get it fixed by morning?" and the
man replies, "No way. That hulk ain't moving again!" Then in the next
panel,
the WHALE crashes through the restaraunt with Destro and Firefly
onboard.
The next scene of humor was with R.L. and the Chief. The Jane on
hydrofoils
blows over them, blowing the whistle, and after getting wet and messed
up again, the Chief goes to R.L. "I didn't see nuthin. Did you, R.L.?"
and R.L. simply replies: "Not a blessed thing chief." And finally,
Tripwire
and Cutter on the bridge of the Jane are amusing in their actions.
Tripwire
is scared and nervous, and Cutter tries to concentrate and put up with
Tripwire.
This issue is also significant because we are introduced
to the Crimson
Guard. The "Siegies" play vital roles in many of the story lines to
come,
most notably when Wade Collins is introduced.
Also, the issue develops the resolve that both Destro
and Firefly possess.
They are determined to get revenge on Cobra Commander. For Destro, this
is the beginning of a path that will eventually lead him to leave
Cobra,
and lose his commitment to Cobra Commander. And for Firefly, he will
hold
resentment for Cobra Commander for the rest of his life. These feuds
will
appear in the series nearly to the end.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: The first Crimson Guardsman is shown in this
issue. While he looks like and has a similar family to Fred Broca in
later
issues, Cobra Commander calls him "Smith". It's a matter of opinion
whether
or not this was actually Fred Broca and the name Smith is a mistake, or
if this is a different Crimson Guardsman.] |
