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Divided We Fall Written by Larry Hama;
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Summary: At the perimeter fence of the Pit in Utah, Spirit and Mutt try to find where the Star-Viper breached security. Junkyard can't pick up the intruder's scent using the t-shirt he left behind. Spirit sees no traces of human tracks, adding he must have flown in or driven in. The Desert Fox jeep pulls up, carrying Hawk, Wild Card and Skidmark. Junkyard begins barking at the jeep, and Spirit sees fingerprints on the leaf spring underneath the car. Skidmark remembers passing a hitch-hiker on the road that day, but they never stopped. They're interrupted by the appearance of a huge C-5A Galaxy transport plane in the sky. It means "some heavy brass" have come to visit. Hawk meets the plane and finds General Hollingsworth's war room inside. The General tells Hawk that the "paper-pushers" are going to bury him using the Star-Viper's theft of the black box as leverage. They fear that the box's anti--tamper device won't work and they'll want to go into action if it doesn't. Hollingsworth says he can't order Hawk to do anything about it, but thinks a prudent commander would send a team into Cobra Island and bring back some human-gathered intelligence. "Can't send in a major landing force without knowing the lay of the land, can we?"
High over Cobra Island, the Star-Viper prepares to land his Stiletto rocket plane on the airfield where there's a "red carpet reception" for him. Most of Cobra's high command are waiting for him upon a reviewing stand. Serpentor comments that this will lift the morale of the troops after the failure of the Frusenland operation. He points out that Cobra Commander (Fred VII in disguise) and the Baroness both had a hand in that operation. Zartan smiles and Dr. Mindbender snickers as the Cobra leaders argue. Fred wonders if the black box will prove Serpentor's expensive venture fruitless. Meanwhile, the Star-Viper climbs out of his plane, picturing himself getting a parade and a testimonial dinner. As he approaches the stands, Fred and Serpentor continue to argue and insult each other until Serpentor lunges at Fred. They both topple to the ground and begin fighting. Despite the Dreadnoks' hopes for a fight, the two Cobras are pulled apart and held back. They both agree that there's only room for one leader and are interrupted the the Star-Viper, who presents the box to Serpentor. He angrily slaps it away and storms off. Before the Baroness can pick it up, Mindbender grabs the black box. Star-Viper asks Mindbender if he's even going to open it. "No time for that now! We're going to have a civil war on our hands in a matter of minutes!"
A hundred miles east of Cobra Island, Hawk arrives at the U.S.S. Flagg aircraft carrier via Tomahawk 'copter, along with an operations team (Flint, Lady Jaye and Mainframe) and a recon team (Dial-Tone, Tunnel Rat, Spirit, Sneak Peek, and Gung-Ho, led by Lt. Falcon). Admiral Keel-Haul shows Hawk satellite surveillance photos of Cobra Island, pointing out the mysterious "tracked submarine" patrolling the shores, and mentions that Cobra has doubled its radar grid and aerial infrared detectors. The only way to land there is in plain sight, using a stolen Cobra Mamba helicopter (stolen in Yearbook #4).
That night, full-scale civil war has broken out on Cobra Island. Serpentor's forces are stopped cold while advancing of Cobra HQ. He orders the retreat and he and Mindbender take their troops to the land-locked freighter, which will be his headquarters. Mindbender informs Serpentor that Tomax, Xamot, and their Crimson Guard are loyal to him, and they also have the BATs. "In other words, I command a legion of the nameless and the soulless!" He discusses strategy, but suddenly stops short, grabbing his head. He's not hurt. There's simply a difference of opinion between his personalities, has he hears the advice of Genghis Khan, Caesar amd Napoleon. Mindbender realizes that he still has the black box and suggests that they can make a deal. To the east, the stolen Mamba heads for the Island, with Lift-Ticket in the cockpit and the other six Joes crammed into the two detachable pods that were designed to fit one passenger. Their escort -- Slip-Stream in the Conquest -- leaves as they approach Cobra's radar range. He intends to jam their radar.
At the land-locked freighter, Tomax and Xamot inform Serpentor that the battle is not going well. Mindbender tells him that if he goes to Washington with the black box he can make a deal with the United States government to get it back in exchange for their help. They'll give them the opportunity to back "a parliamentary monarchy against a fascist dictatorship for control of a sovereign state!" As they speak, they have no idea that a nearby BAT is transmitting their meeting to a monitor being watched by Fred and the Baroness. Fred sends out a Mamba to shoot down Mindbender's helicopter when he leaves for Washington. Later, Serpentor sees Mindbender off as Fred sees off the Mamba. Mindbender's pilot spots a Mamba coming from the Island and a Mamba approaching from the Gulf. The Mamba's Gyro-Viper spots the other Mamba and realizes it's the one the Joes captured. He approaches Lift-Ticket, and after a brief fight, Lift-Ticket destroys the other Mamba, allowing Mindbender to get away. The Joe recon team is dropped off in the forest, not knowing they're being watched by Captain Minh, the fishing boat captain left for dead by Fred when he arrived at the Island. He fears the Joes are here to kill Fred, which he intends to do.
Somewhere in the Caribbean, a cruise ship carrying Destro and his Iron Grenadiers is on its way to Cobra Island. As Destro and his officers watch the troops train, an officer asks if the troops will be ready when they arrive. Destro replies, "They may not need to be. According to my spies on the island, Cobra Commander and Serpentor may have whittled each other down so badly by the time we get there that we shall be able to take over without firing a shot!"
TO BE CONTINUED
Commentary: There's a lot going on in "Divided We Fall", which is setting the stage for Cobra's civil war. The opening shots of the war start here, and the battles will continue over the next three issues to come. The struggle between Cobra Commander and Serpentor finally turns to fighting, though Cobra Commander is really just Fred VII. As far as Cobra's rank and file -- and the Joes -- know, he's the real Cobra Commander. In fact, it's funny to see that during the argument that sparks the war, Fred "plays" the Commander, taking credit for starting Cobra and creating Serpentor. What makes this all questionable is the fact that Serpentor knows his rival is an imposter. He learned that in Yearbook #4, which is set just after the battle in Frusenland. One could argue that Serpentor wants to defeat a person the troops believe is Cobra Commander, but couldn't he just expose Fred and the Baroness?
While Serpentor is obviously not a favorite character of Larry Hama's (he's absent from the series for several issues at a time), he is handled interestingly when he does appear. While it doesn't necessarily fit well in G.I. Joe, his strange creation leads to an "argument" between his various personalities. This is the only time this aspect of Serpentor is explored, and it may have been nice to see more of it.
The Joes' involvement in the war will come about unexpectedly, but the comic's focus would move away from the Joes if they didn't get involved. Mindbender's argument that Serpentor represents a "parliamentary monarchy" is a little hard to believe. Does the United States really accept Cobra as a true nation and government? Just because international law believes so, it's doubtful the US would treat the known terrorist organization like they would an established nation. But, it's still a clever way to get the Joes involved, and over the series it allows Cobra to operate in plain sight.
With those problems mentioned, it's an exciting issue, teasing us with the beginning of the war and the arrival of the Joes and the potential arrival of Destro. This is the first appearance of the Iron Grenadier army, since only one Grenadier has been seen so far. The fact that we have no idea what Destro's up to makes it a great teaser scene to end with.
There is still some humor sprinkled into the plot, as well. The Star-Viper ends up being very disappointed when the ceremony in his honor turns into a fistfight that makes everyone lose all interest in him. Instead of being honored, he's called a "lout" by Serpentor, and Mindbender tells him to "go take a shower and keep your electrodes dry." A funny line comes from Serpentor when the Emperor tells Mindbender to "try and get as much military aid as possible." His response: "Hrmph! What does he think I'm going to ask for? Agricultural tools?"
The next few issues will be one of the Joes longest stories and biggest
battles, and this issue serves as a good starting point for it all.
First Appearances:
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