G.I. JOE #31
All Fall Down!

Cover Date: January, 1985
Script: Larry Hama
Pencils: Rod Whigham
Inks: Andy Mushynsky
Lettering: Rick Parker
Colors: Charlie Sheele
Editor: Denny O'Neil
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Summary (by Henry Dera):  Starts with Fred, a Crimson Guardsman on reconnaisance for Cobra Commander, watching Fort Wadsworth for G.I. Joes. Then we see Hawk, Snake Eyes, Ace, and Wild Bill in a C-130 transport plane. Ace questions why Hawk didn't stick with regulations and authorize the flight. They are bringing Snake-Eyes to his cabin for a vacation, but Hawk says that they are on a training flight. Zartan planted a bug on the C-130 the Joes are on and he sold the frequency of the bug to Cobra Commander. After Snake Eyes parachutes out of the plane, Hawk sends Airborne and Spirit Iron Knife after him. Before jumping out Spirit finds the bug and steps on it.

Destro and Firefly meet Fred at his house and Cobra Commander phones them and tells them the last known signal from the bug. The three are sent by the Commander to the Sierra's.

On the ground, Snake Eyes notices he is being watched, at the same time Spirit knows his cover is blown. Spirit can't understand how Snake Eyes can see him from 10km away.

The Cobra Commander assassination story line is introduced in this issue. We see Baroness and Major Bludd driving along with Billy in their car, and they feed him the idea of assassinating Cobra Commander.

The three Cobras (Destro, Firefly and Fred) arrive at what they thought to be a G.I. Joe base and see Snake-Eyes, Destro immediately opens fire. At the same time Airborne and Spirit hear the gunshots and go to help Snake-Eyes. During the fire fight Snake Eyes blows up Fred's car and then Firefly throws a grenade into Snake-Eyes' cabin. Snake-Eyes attempt to throw the grenade back, but it misses the open window and explodes. Destro enters the cabin and it appears that he shoots Snake-Eyes at point blank range. Firefly decides to drop a explosive charge down the cabin's chimney, Airborne and Spirit finally reach the cabin and Airborne tries to stop Firefly but instead gets shot by Fred in the leg. In turn Fred is shot by Spirit through the chest, Destro runs out of the cabin and he and Spirit see each other simultaneously and begin to fire....then Firefly's bomb explodes, destroying the cabin. We are left pondering what happened to everyone except Firefly who escaped. The last frame of the comic shows the burning rubble of the cabin.
Commentary: Awesome issue. This issue is very well written, with a brilliant ending, leaving the reader with many things to puzzle: Is Snake-Eyes dead? How badly hurt is Airborne? Is Fred dead? What happened to Destro and Spirit? What was Hawk's true intention? He states the plane ride is just to let Snake-Eyes off, but why do Airborne and Spirit Iron Knife pursue him?
Reprinted in:
  • Action Force Holiday Special (1987). A Marvel UK series featuring the UK's version of G.I. Joe. All references to "G.I. Joe" were changed to "Action Force".
  • G.I. JOE Comics Magazine #11 (August 1988). Digest format from Marvel Comics. Includes issues #29 and #30.
  • G.I. JOE: Volume 4 (2002). A trade paperback collection from Marvel. Includes issues #31-41.
  • G.I. JOE: The Best of Snake-Eyes (July 2009). A trade paperback collection from IDW, including reprints of various issues.
  • Classic G.I. JOE: Volume 4 (July 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 #31-41.