Scarlett issue 1

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Publisher	Image Comics; Skybound Entertainment}}
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First published	June 5, 2024}}
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Cover date	June 2024}}
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Written by	Kelly Thompson}}
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Art by	Marco Ferrari}}
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Colors by	Lee Loughridge}}
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Letters by	Rus Wooton}}
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Editor	Ben Abernathy}}
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{{#if: Scarlett 1 Cover A.jpg | {{#if: Image Comics
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Scarlett must undergo her most dangerous mission yet: braving a storm to infiltrate the shadowed world of Clan Arashikage to save her best friend!

Synopsis

Sergeant Shana "Scarlett" O'Hara infiltrates a party at a private compound in Monaco looking for information about a group of hostages. She suggests to her superiors that the hostages could be on site, but they remind her that even if their intel is incorrect, she is ordered not to engage. Scarlett identifies their target, a buyer named "Bartleby", but is soon distracted by the sight of a woman with a tattooed symbol that she vaguely recognizes, only to realize the woman is Jinx, an old friend of hers who went missing two years ago. Noticing that Jinx and several men are wielding swords, she requests permission to engage but is repeatedly denied. She then notices a series of symbols scrawled on the wall: a code from Jinx telling her not to get involved. Jinx and the swordsmen free the women being held hostage, leading to a brawl with the compound's security. Scarlett — against the orders of her superiors — engages, grabbing a crossbow and taking out the rest of the security detail, saving Jinx and allowing her to escape with one of the hostages.

Later, in Washington, D.C., Scarlett is berated by her superior, Major Gorman, for her insubordination and causing an international incident. Though she defends her actions, she is ultimately kicked out of Gorman's unit. Angrily returning to the home she used to share with Jinx, she finds that her home has been broken into by Stalker, who has come to her with a mission. He reveals that Jinx disappeared while on a mission to infiltrate Clan Arashikage, a rising power in the global arms race. Because of how close Jinx and Scarlett were — having developed their own code of symbols to communicate secretly, as Jinx did back in Monaco — Stalker wants Scarlett to infiltrate the Arashikage, retrieve Jinx, and also find a secret weapon that the Arashikage possess. Stalker tells her that she'll have to go in alone, with her only backup being her pilot, Harlan "Snow Job" Moore, whom Scarlett has worked with before. She accepts.

Snow Job takes her up in a helicopter to her target location: a hidden fortress at the top of a snow-covered mountain, guarded by a number of ninjas. She fights her way through the ninja to reach her intended target: the Hard Master, the leader of the clan. She apologizes for the interruption, and reveals her intentions, offering her services to the Arashikage. The Hard Master questions if he needs her services, which Scarlett insists he does. However, she is swiftly knocked out from behind by the Hard Master's most loyal servant: Storm Shadow!

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in photos.
{{#if: ||(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)}}

{{#if:* Scarlett (1)

Gorman (4)
Stalker (5)
Snow Job (6)|

{{#if:* Scarlett (1)

Gorman (4)
Stalker (5)
Snow Job (6)|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |
Scarlett (1)
Gorman (4)
Stalker (5)
Snow Job (6) }}{{#if:* Jinx (3)
Arashikage ninjas (7)
Hard Master (8)
Storm Shadow (9)|

United States military }}{{#if:* Jinx (3) Arashikage ninjas (7) Hard Master (8) Storm Shadow (9)\|	Arashikage }}{{#if:* Bartleby (2)\|	Others }}{{#if:\|	Others }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}
Jinx (3) Arashikage ninjas (7) Hard Master (8) Storm Shadow (9) }}{{#if:* Bartleby (2)\|	Bartleby (2) }}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}

Quotes

"--caused an international incident that will takes weeks to clear up! Is there anything you want to offer in your defense?"
"No sir."
"No sir what!? I can always hear the 'but' with you O'hara. What smartass thing do you have to say today soldier?"
"I suppose I would ask how the victims and their families feel about being home, instead of us coming home on intel on where they were going to be... sir."

—Gorman is told not so subtly by Scarlett where he can shove it.

Notes

Continuity notes

Back in Duke #2, Stalker displayed his martial arts prowess, saying he learned a roundhouse kick from "a friend." This issue reveals that he received some of his training from the Arashikage.
Storm Shadow makes his first full appearance this issue after being glimpsed on a computer screen in Cobra Commander #5.
It isn't entirely clear when exactly this series takes place relative to the other Energon Universe Joe titles: Stalker makes no overt reference to the new team formed at the end of Duke #5, so while it's possible Jinx's operation was merely a standard military op, it could have been under the purview of the Joes.

G.I. Joe references

In a departure from previous Energon Universe Joe comics, most of the cast of Scarlett does not seem to be based on their Classified Series toys: Scarlett's main uniform (seen only on the covers) is an updated interpretation of her classic costume, while Storm Shadow wears an original design. The one exception to this is Jinx.
During the skirmish in Monaco, Scarlett grabs a crossbow, her signature weapon.
Stalker training with the Arashikage plays on his history with both Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes from back in the Marvel series.
Scarlett's snow uniform is based on Snow Job's usual attire.
Snow Job is shown in flashback using a sniper rifle. The original Snow Job’s file card made note of his expertise in such weapons.
Jinx's real name is conspicuously never addressed in this first issue. Originally, her true identity was classified top-secret, with all that was known about her identity being that her family had ties to the Arashikage clan and later she's identified as Storm Shadow's cousin. The Devil's Due Press comics introduced her given name as "Kimi Arashikage", while noting that "Kimi" might be a nickname. This name was later used in G.I. Joe: Renegades cartoon, and it has also been given as just "Kim" starting in 2012. HOWEVER. This isn't true of every version of Jinx. IDW's Hasbro Universe incarnation was a Chinese-American with some martial arts background but not a ninja, though they later introduced the character of "Ronin/Chameleon" as a stand-in for the original after Jinx's death. The 2019 IDW G.I. Joe series introduced a half Japanese-American, half Korean version named Elaine Song. What route will this series take? Only time will tell!

Errors

In her letter at the end of the book, Thompson writes the G.I. Joe slogan as "GO JOE" instead of "YO JOE".

Other trivia

Scarlett notes that Snow Job is a "good guy" both on and off the battlefield, which is slightly out of step with his usual characterization as a perpetual con artist and prankster.
This is the first #1 issue in the Energon Universe to contain no references to Transformers.

Covers (24)

Cover A: Scarlett with the Arashikage symbol in blood in the snow, by Marco Ferrari and Lee Loughridge.
Cover B: Scarlett, Jinx, and the Arashikage, by Joëlle Jones.
Cover C (1:10 Copy Incentive): Connecting cover, by Gleb Melkinov.
Cover D (1:25 Copy Incentive): Scarlett on explosion background, by Steve Epting.
Cover E (1:50 Copy Incentive): Scarlett and Stalker, by Leonardo Romero.
Cover F (1:100 Copy Incentive): Scarlett and Storm Shadow, by Jonboy Meyers.
Cover G (1:250 Copy Incentive): Scarlett and Storm Shadow, by David Mack.
Cover H: Blank sketch cover.
Cover I: Energon Universe Anniversary connecting cover, by Jason Howard and Annalisa Leoni.
Cover J: Energon Universe Anniversary connecting cover (black and white), by Jason Howard.
Second Printing Cover A: by Jason Howard.
Second Printing Cover B: by Jason Howard.
Second Printing Cover C: by Marco Ferrari and Lee Loughridge.
American Library Association 2024 Cover: Chapbook variant of Cover A.
Black Saber Comics Cover: by Freddie E. Williams II.
Stadium Comics Cover: by Laura Braga and Prasad Rao.
The Comic Mint Cover: by Rob Csiki.
Southern Comics Cartel / Syndicate Comics & Collectibles Cover: by Deegan Puchkors and James Offredi.
Comic Kingdom Creative Fan Expo Dallas 2024 Cover: by Sajad Shah.
CBNS / Stronghold Collectibles Cover: by Andrew Wildman.
Bird City Comics / Rabbit Comics Cover A: by Junggeun Yoon.
Bird City Comics / Rabbit Comics Cover B: by Ivan Tao.
Big Clutch San Diego Comic-Con 2024 Cover A: by Dave Dorman.
Big Clutch San Diego Comic-Con 2024 Cover B: Virgin variant.