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December, 1986 "Words of Honor" |
Two days later in Brazil, Clutch, Roadblock, Recondo and Dial-Tone are spying on Dr. Otto's home. The building is surrounded by guards, watchtowers, machine gun emplacements and barbed wire. Otto is being assisted by a group dedicated to resurrecting Hitler's Third Reich. They are the sons of some of the original Nazi SS. The Joes need to sneak inside to meet Otto, because he doesn't want the other Nazis to know about his deal. Clutch admits that he's always been spooked by Nazis. He recalls that his grandmother, a survivor of the Holocaust, once saw Clutch watching that show with "the funny Nazis", and started screaming, reminded of the horror of the Nazis.
His story is interrupted by a group of armed "banditos" who emerge from the jungle, calling Otto their prey. Recondo sees through the "bandito's" lie, noting that their leader is a Moroccan Jew, and his buddies are Mediterranean Jews. Roadblock guesses that they are members of the Mossad -- Israeli Intelligence. Their leader tells the Joes to drop their weapons, and introduces himself as Ibraham. Recondo realizes they're here to either kill Otto or bring him to trial. He almost blurts out that they have a deal with Otto, but a swift punch from Roadblock shuts him up -- and knocks him out. As rainclouds start to form, Ibraham suggests they cover the unconscious Recondo with a poncho to keep him dry. On the house's porch, Otto hears something in the jungle and fears that the Jews are coming to kill him. His fellow Nazis tell him not to worry. "We won't let the Jews kill a hero of the fatherland!"
Meanwhile, in Greenland, Snow Job's team arrives at the glacier via Tomahawk helicopter. The bomber could fall in a matter of hours. They can't bring the helicopter alongside the bomber because the wind kicked up by the props could cause the plane to fall. They decide to get dropped off on the top of the glacier and rappel down by ropes to the bomber. Snow Job and Breaker stay atop the glacier, helping to lower down Alpine and Airtight. Before they reach the plane, a Cobra HISS tank arrives carrying Firefly and a small group of Cobras. They're after the bomber, too.
Back in Brazil, the Joes have been tied up by Ibraham's men. They all wait in the jungle for the rain to stop. Ibraham tells Clutch he can't believe they would cut a deal with Otto knowing what he did to his people. Clutch reminds him that they're his people, too. Ibraham describes the horrible toxins that Otto developed and how they treated imprisoned Jews as test subjects. "What of his victims?" he asks. Suddenly, Ibraham notices that Recondo should have woken up by now, and checks under the poncho that covered him. Recondo is gone! Out near Otto's house under the cover of the rain, Recondo stealthily makes his way under the perimeter fences and past the guards. He finally reaches Otto's room. Otto welcomes him. "Sit down," he says calmly. "Let's deal."
Atop the glacier, the HISS tank charges Snow Job and Breaker. The Cobras are afraid that it's too dangerous too shoot at them, so they plan to crush the Joes under the tank treads. Despite having the same fears about cracking the ice, Breaker tosses a grenade at the HISS, not wanting to let the gas fall into Cobra's hands. The grenade knocks out one of the tank's treads. It loses traction and spins out of control, falling off of the glacier. The Cobras bail out just in time, except for the HISS driver who is barely hanging onto the edge of the glacier.
In Brazil, the rain has stopped. Otto and Recondo are working out his deal. Once he gives them the codes to shut down the gas canisters, he won't have to except the young Nazis' "hospitality", and can live a normal life. Recondo thinks he wants money, but Otto explains he has gold bullion from the Reich treasury. He wants sanctuary and protection from the Israelis. Recondo tells him the deal will be honored. In the jungle, Ibraham decides that they must attack Otto's compound before a deal is struck. Clutch convinces him to let himself, Roadblock and Dial-Tone to be a part of the assault. Ibraham agrees.
In Greenland, Alpine and Airtight have reached the Nazi bomber and carefully climb inside. As Airtight begins neutralizing the gas canisters, Alpine mentions he can speak German and begins to read the pilot's log book, and is amazed at what he finds. Outside, the HISS driver hanging from the glacier starts firing on the plane, hitting one of the tanks and causing the gas to leak out. The HISS driver then loses his grip and falls to his death. Airtight tells Alpine that the gas is a "binary agent" -- it is only deadly when combined with the gas from the still intact tank. Unfortunately, the gas is highly volatile and flammable. Alpine gives Airtight a hand to help speed things up.
In Brazil, Clutch leads the charge as the Joes and the Israelis attack the compound. Roadblock isn't too impressed with the "master race" and they easily storm the house. Inside, the young Nazis rush to help Otto, but find him with Recondo. He introduces them to one of his new "protectors". The Joes rush in, and Recondo complains that everything was going well until they attacked.
On the glacier, Snow Job and Breaker are pinned down by Firefly's cover fire as the remaining two Cobra troopers rappel down to the plane. The Joes on the glacier have to pull Airtight and Alpine up quickly, so they jump off the other side of the glacier, causing the ropes to yank Airtight and Alpine up to the top. The Cobra troopers arrive at the plane just as the Joes get pulled up and away from them. They try to get inside the plane to shut off the valves, but one of the trooper's ice cleats scrape on the plane's surface and causes sparks. The sparks ignite the leaking gas and the plane explodes. The Joes meet atop the glacier and radio the Joes in Brazil.
When Dial-Tone relays the message from Greenland, Otto is upset to hear that the gas was neutralized without his help. He tells them they had a deal, and they can't go back on their word. Clutch shuts him up and tells him the rest of the story Alpine figured out after reading the bomber's log books. There were originally two bombers heading towards the Americas. Otto was onboard the plane set for the gas raid on the United States, while a second plane was carrying gold stolen from Jewish prisoners and was to deliver it to Argentina to begin funding a new Reich. Otto faked a hydraulics problem and radioed the other plane for assistance. When they all landed on the glacier, Otto killed the other crewman and stole the plane full of gold, heading off in the other plane for a new life in Buenos Aires. He sold out the Nazis and hoped no one would find out. The young Nazis had thought Otto was living a life of poverty in Argentina before they helped him.
Otto says that it doesn't matter. The Joes still made a deal to protect
him from the Israelis. Recondo agrees and the Joes escort the Israelis
away. But Otto is far from pleased. The Joes were leaving him with the
other Nazis! "We made a deal to protect you from the Israelis," Clutch
explains. "We never made any deal to protect you from your own kind!" Otto
is frantic as the Joes leave. "You can't do this! It's-- It's-- unfair!!"
One of the Nazis reaches for his holster. "Shut up, Otto... And take it
like a man..." As the Joes walk off into the jungle, they hear three gunshots from
inside the house. They keep walking and don't look back.
Commentary: Words of Honor" is a perfect example of how the Special Missions series can some times have deeper meaning than the G.I. Joe series proper. This story certainly has a darker, more serious tone than most of the other stories. When one brings up Nazis and the Holocaust, it can't help be be serious and dark. The Joes here are torn between helping stop the nerve toxins from killing thousands of people and making a deal with a former Nazi war criminal. They choose the lesser of two evils, in this case. The story also gives some unexpected depth to Clutch, who up until this story seems to have no depth at all. (By the way, the show with the funny Nazis would be "Hogan's Heroes".)
This issue also uses a wide variety of Joes, and it's nice to see Clutch and Breaker return to more important roles in a story. They have for the most part been phased out of the stories due to the use of newer characters. Recondo is used quite well, as his ruthless nature (showcased in his adventure in Sierra Gordo in G.I. JOE #38-39) motivates him to possibly act on his own to make the deal with Otto. The involvement of Cobra seems pretty unnecessary, though, and it's not certain what their motivations are.
So, in short, the depth of this story, coupled with it's dark ending make it one of the best of the Special Missions stories.First Appearances:
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