Darkness
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Cover Date:
December, 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 (by
James
A. Mercado):
The action begins outside McGuire Air Force base in
New Jersey, where Zartan and his Dreadnoks recognize a Dragonfly
helicopter
as the same one that raided their lair in Florida back in issue #28.
Zartan
is incredulous at first, but finally decides to investigate. Assuming
the
form of Hawk, Zartan walks right past the two MP's guarding the gate
and
proceeds to the airfield where the Dragonfly has just landed. The
Dragonfly,
of course, has just returned from Florida and Wild Bill and Deep Six
are
moved to an ambulance for medical treatment. Before he's taken away,
Wild
Bill informs Hawk that his team lost a chopper, but that the mission
was
a success: "There ain't nothing left of Cobra's Florida operation but a
charred stretch of swamp!" Zartan salutes Wild Bill and congratulates
him,
but draws suspicion from Doc when he calls Wild Bill "trooper." Doc
comments
on Hawk's negligence, but Wild Bill passes it off as stress.
Meanwhile, on Staten Island, Fred Broca and his family
are moving into
a new house just a few houses away from the main gate of Fort
Wadsworth.
Fred is a Siegie (C.G., Crimson Guardsman) and has been sent by Cobra
Commander
to do surveillance on Fort Wadsworth, which Cobra Commander suspects is
somehow connected with the Joes.
Back in Springfield, Cobra Commander receives a phone
call from Zartan
and learns from him that McGuire was the point of origin of the
transport
plane that took Cobra Commander to the Rockies (#24). He then concludes
that Joe headquarters is hidden in McGuire and has the Dreadnoks "stick
around and keep an eye on the place."
The first order of business for Zartan is finding a
place to stay. Torch
complains about having to "kip (sleep) on tyre racks and lounge about
on
hydraulic lifts." Buzzer seconds the point, and Ripper asks for a
fridge
full of grape soda and chocolate donuts. Using his portable holographic
projector, Zartan assuages their homesickness by transforming a nearby
gas station into the semblance of their shack back in Florida. "Home
sweet
home!"
Back on Staten Island, the Brocas are moving in. The
movers (of "ARBCO"
Moving and Storage, no less!) wonder at the many fragile boxes, which
turn
out to be full of assault rifles and electronic surveillance gear,
including
"passive night sights, parabolic microphones, infra red detectors,
refraction
scopes, ground wave oscillographs, and a AN/PPS 5 non-coherent pulse
doppler
radar unit." Although the gear will take hours, Fred plans to have it
all
"set up and operational by midnight. We're not going to miss anything!"
Just at that moment, the ambulance carrying Doc and the
injured Wild
Bill and Deep Six enters Fort Wadsworth. The Joes, including Clutch,
Rock
n Roll, and Short-Fuze, quip and joke on their way down to the sick
bay.
Suddenly, Hawk appears, accompanied by Scarlett and Snake-Eyes. Doc and
Wild Bill are shocked to see Hawk, whom they'd seen back at McGuire
"not
more than twenty minutes ago." Scarlett informs them that he'd been at
the PIT all day, "feeding the computer new security programs." Hawk
immediately
suspects foul-play.
Cobra Commander, meanwhile, has decided that McGuire is
indeed the location
of the Joe base. He radios in to Zartan and informs him of his plans to
attack the airfield that night with a Cobra assault team that he is
moving
into New Jersey. The team is hidden in three "ARBCO" Brothers Circus
trucks
and traveling northbound on the New Jersey Turnpike. Cobra Commander
begins
instructing Zartan on a "small job" he needs the Dreadnoks to
undertake.
Back in Springfield, in the offices of the ARBCO
Brothers Circus, Billy
discovers the secret of how Cobra moves their assault teams around the
country. Just as he is about to look for the access codes for internal
security, he is surprised by the Baroness and the newly-freed Major
Bludd.
The Baroness fills Major Bludd in on Billy's history, especially his
resentment
of Cobra Commander (his father) and Dr. Venom. She hopes to capitalize
on this resentment in order to manipulate Billy into working for her.
Meanwhile, Zartan relays Cobra Commander's instruction
to his Dreadnoks.,
who are to "recon the perimeter fence at McGuire Field and cut the
fence
nearest the [Control] Tower at zero minus ten" hours. The Dreadnoks
ride
off, eager for destruction, and Zartan reminds them to follow orders:
"Cobra
Commander is a stickler for details!"
In Staten Island, Fred has finally finished setting up
his surveillance
gear when he gets a call from Cobra. Since Cobra Commander is convinced
that he has found the Joe headquarters, he has recalled all the
Siegies.
Fred is furious, and he and his "wife" smash up all of the surveillance
equipment, which took them all of ten hours to set up, but that they
didn't
even get a chance to turn on for one minute.
Just then, a group of Joe vehicles, including Steeler
and Stalker in
a MOBAT, a Wolverine, an APC, Clutch, Scarlett, and Hawk in a VAMP, and
a Rock n Roll on a motorcycle (RAM w/o the sidegun?) zoom out of Fort
Wadsworth.
It turns out that the two MP's who let Zartan enter right under their
nose
had seen a sort of "glowing and shimmering" as the impostor approached
them, but they had passed it of as sunlight glinting off of his various
medals and emblems. The Joes suspect that the shimmering could have
been
the side-effects of a holographic projection, and that it could have
been
the work a new holographic camouflage expert who is rumored to be
working
for Cobra: Zartan.
Meanwhile, the Dreadnoks arrive at McGuire. Ripper runs
his bayonet
along the fence, ripping it to shreds and creating a gap wide enough to
accommodate Cobra's assault team. Ripper calls the fence "kids-stuff"
and
wants to tackle something more substantial. Torch suggests the planes
and
vehicles on the airfield. Buzzer, remembering Zartan's orders to
maintain
secrecy, protests but Torch calls him a "sissy" and a "candy-pants." Of
course, Buzzer falls in with the rest of them, and they proceed to
buzzcut,
tear up, and torch a Dragonfly, a VAMP, and a Skystriker.
At this point, the Joes are crossing the Channel Bridge
between Staten
Island and New Jersey.
Back at McGuire, the Cobra team has arrived and the HISS
tanks and SNAP
(FANG) helicopters are unloaded and prepped for battle. Cobra Commander
stresses the point that this is a covert operation, and that they will
attack with the advantage of surprise and stealth. Sappers are sent to
mine the hole in the fence created by the Dreadnoks to deter anyone
following
them on their way out.
Unfortunately, the Dreadnoks botch the plan. Buzzer,
caught up in the
mayhem, slices through an oleo strut on a Skystriker, which come
crashing
down, then explodes! Of course, the personnel in the Control Tower are
alerted and they sound Red Alert and wire to the PIT.
Not one to be deterred by any mishap, Cobra Commander
orders his force
to regroup and go in for a full frontal assault, with the Control Tower
as their first target.
The Cobra assault team passes the fleeing Dreadnoks, and
Cobra Commander
realizes that they were the ones who blew their cover. His first
priority
is destroying the Control Tower, however, so he lets them go and plans
to deal with them later. Torch is so bold as to wave to Cobra Commander
as he passes!
The Dreadnoks stop near the empty ARBCO Bros. Circus
trucks and try
to decide whether or not they should help Cobra Commander. Torch
explains
that if they go back, they'll only increase Cobra's chances of winning
and, as Buzzer points out, they'll only get in trouble if Cobra
Commander
survives, so... Before they can flee, the Joe forces arrive en force
and
go after them. When Hawk learns that the main force is attacking the
Tower,
he calls off the attack on the Dreadnoks and heads over to interdict
the
main Cobra force.
Meanwhile, two HISS tanks are about to catch the Tower
in a crossfire
that would cut it in half. The resourceful Tower personnel use the
search
lights to blind the HISS gunners, foiling their plan. Two nearby FANG
helicopters
witness the action and one heads over to take out the searchlights as
the
other circles around for a clear shot at the control room. Just as it's
about to fire it missiles, Clutch blasts it out of the sky with a shot
from the VAMP's rear guns. Just as Scarlett congratulates him, a HISS
comes
up behind them and gets the jump on them.
Steeler and the MOBAT engage the HISS tank, which turns
out to be Cobra
Commander's. Steeler totals the HISS with one shot, sending Cobra
Commander
crashing to the ground. Cobra Commander switches to helmet frequency,
and
instructs a FANG helicopter to come in for him under cover of the smoke
from his exploded HISS tank. Keeping the flame and plume from the
burning
wreckage between them and the Joes, the FANG and Cobra Commander manage
to escape. The Joes are confused as to whether the sound is that of a
helicopter
or machine gun ammo going off somewhere, but their suspicions re
short-lived
as the rest of Cobra's weaponry explodes in one final burst, signaling
their defeat.
The next morning, Hawk consoles a dejected Ace as he
stands over the
wreckage of his destroyed Skystriker. Hawk assures him that Uncle
Sam'll
buy him another Skystriker, but Ace still laments the fact: "I just
about
had this one broken in..."
Elsewhere, a small boat makes its way past the Statue of Liberty.
Firefly
and Destro are aboard and have just got back from Florida. Firefly is
eager
to have his revenge against Cobra Commander, but Destro has other
plans.
He intends to convince Cobra Commander that nothing is wrong and that
Firefly
and Destro are ignorant of his treachery: "Then when his guard is down,
and he least expects it... We strike!"
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