G.I. Joe vol. 5 issue 6

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« G.I. Joe vol. 5 #6 »
Publisher IDW Publishing
First published June 21, 2017
Cover date May 2017
Written by Aubrey Sitterson
Art by Giannis Milonogiannis
Colors by Mark Roberts (pg 7-17). Andrew Roberts (pg 1-6, 18-20)
Letters by Shawn Lee
Editor Carlos Guzman
Continuity IDW continuity
Chronology Current era

Old hurts and grievances all come spilling out as the Joes head underground in pursuit of the Fatal Fluffies.

Synopsis

In the Lemuria mess hall, Shipwreck tries to dissuade Scarlett from sending a team after the subterranean monsters, advocating for study instead. Scarlett considers the danger posed by the monsters too great to risk, and excuses Shipwreck so she can meet with Roadblock to discuss the mission personnel. Roadblock requests Skywarp, Rock 'n Roll, and Salvo for the mission, but is taken aback when he sees one particular name in Scarlett's mission dossier he is uncomfortable taking into the field. Scarlett informs him it's non-negotiable; the Joes need to rebuild their trust in one another.

A little later, Grand Slam unveils the newly-constructed "Mole Pods" that Roadblock's team will be using to burrow into the Earth to pursue the creatures, but Skywarp is unimpressed with the machines. As additional team members tracker Spirit and explosives expert Tunnel Rat arrive, Rock 'n Roll tries to congratulate Grand Slam on his work on the Mole Pods, but Slam brusquely dismisses Rock's praise, still nursing a grudge over the injuries Rock left him with that have put him in a wheelchair. Spirit observes the exchange, and cautions Rock that he must not let the guilt and anger he is feeling fester inside him. Presently, Scarlett brings the final member of the team, who Roadblock objected to, into the hangar: Doc. Salvo shares Roadblock's concerns, given Doc's recently discovered Dire Wraith heritage, but Scarlett tells them all that Doc is a Joe first and foremost. Rock welcomes Doc and jokes about her using her new powers in the field, earning himself a friendly punch on the arm.

The team sets out on their mission, burrowing down deep into the Earth in the Mole Pods, following Spirit's lead as he tracks the monsters. Their search yields unexpected results when they come upon a pair of small, cute, fluffy creatures, but as Doc steps in to examine the seemingly-harmless little critters, a piercing whistle sound that only she can hear rips through the air. Too late, she recognizes it as Dire Wraith magic... magic that transforms the little animals into the towering monstrosities that the Joes have come looking for! Skywarp and Rock 'n Roll immediately double-team one of the monsters, while Salvo stands her ground to blast the other one, forcing Tunnel Rat to tackle her to safety when it takes a swipe at her. She doesn't take kindly to having her shot spoiled, quickly shoving him off and joining with Roadblock to resume firing on the monster, in order to prevent it from reaching the Mole Pods and the explosives they contain. Having succeeded in knocking out his target, Skywarp opens up on the second "Fatal Fluffy" (as he calls it), which passes out and reverts to its original, diminutive form. The other one remains at full size, however... and when Rock reaches out to touch it, it seems a little of the magic that transformed it takes effect on him too! All his bottled-up guilt and anger comes roaring out as his body is transformed into a giant, bestial form, and he turns on his fellow Joes. Skywarp, however, is all too ready to put him down for good...

Back aboard Lemuria, Shipwreck and Scarlett discover that Snake Eyes and Agent Helix have stolen a S.H.A.R.C., and Shipwreck is left with the job of tracking them down while Scarlett instructs Dial Tone to call up other Joes into action to help compensate for the pair's absence. And as if that wasn't trouble enough, Dial Tone informs her that a Navy submarine is approaching the base. Scarlett is there to meet it when it docks, and is greeted by the sight of her former commanding officer Duke and a team of soldiers, who are here to take custody of the captive Baroness... by any means necessary!

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

G.I. Joe Others

Quotes

"Man... you two are yoked. What do you bench? Each other?"

—Tunnel Rat compliments Salvo and Roadblock


"How can we trust her? She's a Dire Wraith!"
"She's a Joe. And we trust her because she's never given us a reason not to. If we assume all Wraiths are evil, despite evidence to the contrary... what does that make us? No one can chose how they're born. But we're all able to decide what we become."

—Salvo and Scarlett, on Doc


"Anyone can shoot a gun. But you have to know where to point it."

—Spirit justifies his use of electronics to complement his tracking skills


"If not Snake Eyes and Helix, who should we send?"
"Who's available?"
"Let's see... Stalker, Bullhorn, Hardball, Dusty, Stretcher—"
"Yes. Them."
"But... all of them?"
"Takes a lot to make up for Snake Eyes."

—Dial Tone and Scarlett

Notes

Continuity notes

  • For a character who was so prominent in the original G.I. Joe cartoon, Spirit has had surprisingly few appearance in IDW continuity. Aside from a debut spotlight story in G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds, he popped in for a short arc in G.I. Joe: Special Missions, brought in to help the main Joe team with his tracking skills, as in this issue. By contrast, Tunnel Rat's been a semi-regular presence in IDW Joe, showing up in the earliest issues of the first series, and serving as a regular member of the public team in G.I. Joe vol. 3.
  • The symbol that appears on Rock's forehead when he transforms was placed there by Crystal Ball in issue #3. He had a vision of his monstrous transformed state last issue.

G.I. Joe references

  • Mole Pods are not traditionally a Joe vehicle; they were employed by Cobra in the G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra movie.
  • The Fatal Fluffies are named as such by Skywarp in this issue, and are revealed to have more in common with their counterparts from the original G.I. Joe animated series than first appeared. Just as in the cartoon, they are normally small, cute "Mogwai"-looking creatures, and are transformed into their monstrous aspects by the sound of a whistle.
  • Other Joes namechecked but not appearing in the story include Outback, Stalker, Bullhorn, Hardball, Dusty, and Stretcher. Bullhorn and Hardball (a couple of those less-remembered Joes from the late-80s era between the two Joe animated series) haven't actually appeared in IDW continuity otherwise.

Real-life references

  • Shipwreck believes the Joes should be "Jane Goodalling" the Fatal Fluffies rather than attacking them, referring to the famous anthropologist and her study and conservation of chimpanzees.
  • The bicep-bulging "arm-wrestle-handshake" that Rock and Spirit greet each other with is an homage to the one shared by characters Dutch and Dillon in the movie Predator.

Other trivia

  • In the original outline of this series, the Fatal Fluffy who transforms Rock 'n Roll would have been D'Compose, the ability to transform humans into large, undead monsters having been a signature ability of that character in the original Inhumanoids cartoon.
  • Originally solicited for release in May, this issue continues IDW's ongoing series of delays and arrives in late June.

Covers (4)

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