Enter the Shadow

	{{#if: \|; }}}}
	"Enter the Shadow" {{#if: \| {{#if: \|; (')}} {{#if:\|; ""}}}}
Publisher	IDW Publishing}}
Published by	}}
Imprint	}}
Published in	}}
First published	February 22, 2017}}
Shipping date	}}
On-sale date	}}
Cover date	January 2017}}
Credits	}}
By	}}
Manga	}}
Manga by	}}
Original story	}}
Story & art by	}}
Story and color art	}}
Story	}}
Story by	}}
Story consultants	}}
Story concept	}}
Screenplay by	}}
Screenplay	}}
Adaptation by	}}
Adapted by	}}
Adaptation	}}
Based on	}}
Writer	}}
Writers	}}
Writing	}}
Written by	John Barber}}
Written & art	}}
Plotter	}}
Plotters	}}
Plot	}}
Plot by	}}
Plot/Script	}}
Scripter	}}
Scripters	}}
Script	}}
Scripting	}}
Script by	}}
Script and art	}}
Sript [sic] consultant	}}
Translation by	}}
Artist	}}
Comic artist	}}
Artists	}}
Art	}}
Art by	Fico Ossio}}
Additional art by	}}
Flashback art by	}}
Art assistant	}}
Art assist by	}}
Line-art	}}
Line-art by	}}
Line art by	}}
Penciller	}}
Pencillers	}}
Penciler	}}
Pencilers	}}
Pencil art	}}
Pencils	}}
Pencils by	}}
Penciled by	}}
Penciling	}}
Guest penciler	}}
Layouts	}}
Pencil breakdowns	}}
Breakdowns	}}
Breakdowns by	}}
Illustration	}}
Illustrations	}}
Illustrator	}}
Illustrated by	}}
Illustration by	}}
Illustrations by	}}
Finished pencils	}}
Finishes	}}
Finished art	}}
Finishes by	}}
Inker	}}
Guest inker	}}
Inkers	}}
Inks	}}
Inks by	}}
Ink finishes	}}
Ink assist by	}}
Additional inks	}}
Inking	}}
Backgrounds	}}
Backgrounds by	}}
Colorist	}}
Colorists	}}
Colourist	}}
Colourists	}}
Color	}}
Colors	}}
Color art	}}
Colour	}}
Colours	}}
Colored by	}}
Color by	}}
Colors by	Sebastian Cheng}}
Color art by	}}
Colors assist by	}}
Color assists	}}
Color assistance by	}}
Additional colors	}}
Additional colors by	}}
Color assist by	}}
Colour/Computer FX	}}
Computer coloring/effects	}}
Color Reconstruction	}}
Flats	}}
Flats by	}}
MTMTE Profiles	}}
Letterer	}}
Letterers	}}
Lettering	}}
Letters	}}
Letters by	Tom B. Long}}
Lettered by	}}
Lettering\|Production	}}
To}}	}}
Collaborators	}}
Contributors	}}
Editor	David Hedgecock}}
Editors	}}
Editing	}}
Edits by	}}
Compiled and Edited by	}}
Original series editor	}}
Original Edits by	}}
Deputy editor	}}
Assistant editor	David Mariotte}}
s}}	}}
Editorial Assistance; provided by	}}
Senior editor	}}
Associate editor	}}
Story consultant	}}
Project manager	}}
Production by	}}
Designer	}}
Design by	}}
Designed by	}}
Design/editorial	}}
Book design by	}}
Collection designer	}}
Collection editor	}}
Collection Edits by	}}
Graphic design	}}
Graphic design by	}}
Collection Design by	}}
/ Layout}}	}}
Contributing editors	}}
s}}	}}
Managing editor	}}
Editor-in-chief\|Editor in chief}}	}}
Editorial consultant	}}
Dinosaur consultant	}}
Publishing manager	}}
Cover	}}
ist}}{{#if: \| by}}	}}
and Elements }}by	}}
Inside cover	}}
Apologies to	}}
Continuity	2005 IDW continuity}}
Chronology	Current era}}
ISBN	}}
TPB ISBN	ISBN }}
UPC	}}
Page count	}}
Price	}}
Packaged with	}}
Printed in	}}
Animation	}}
Music	}}

{{#if: Revolutionaries2 subcvrA.jpg | {{#if: IDW Publishing | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: February 22, 2017 | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: January 2017 | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: John Barber | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: Fico Ossio | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: Sebastian Cheng | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: Tom B. Long | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: David Hedgecock | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: David Mariotte | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: 2005 IDW continuity | {{#if: Current era | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: |

{{#switch:{{#sub:xx|2|14}}|dark cybertron=}}

Kup, Mayday, and Blackrock team up with the Micronauts to rescue Action Man from Doctor X's moonbase.

Synopsis

After awakening on the surface of the Moon, Action Man manages to break the chain holding him to a flagpole outside the long abandoned Cobra lunar outpost Section Sabine. With his air running out, he manages to locate the base's airlock (filled with the dead bodies of stranded Cobra troopers), and makes his way inside. There, he is met by an old "friend"—his former partner turned supervillain Mercy Gale, aka Doctor X, and her allies Baron Ironblood and Storm Shadow, as well as Storm Shadow's ninja army, the Red Shadows. This alliance of villains has taken possession of the mysterious Talisman obelisk retrieved for them by the Oktober Guard, which now sits surrounded by Ore-13...

At the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Kup, Mayday, and Blackrock have located the diminutive interdimensional visitors known as the Micronauts based on Blackrock's belief that they may know something about the Talisman. Unfortunately, having only recently escaped human captivity, the jumpy Micronauts assume they are under attack and react to Kup's approach by striking first. Mayday tries to keep the impatient Kup in check, while the Micronauts try to escape and find their way blocked by Blackrock. He smacks their ship, the Heliopolis, out of the air, but when the crew emerge to fight, Blackrock makes no further aggressive moves, making them realize they over-reacted. Kup manages to use the universal greeting to communicate with Biotron, resulting in peace between the two groups. When Blackrock shows them an image of the Talisman, Larissa realizes that she knows the enigmatic device from somewhere, but cannot place where. Suspecting that it may provide them an opportunity to get off of Earth, the Micronauts agree to help locate the Talisman, providing Blackrock access to their sensor systems. Their equipment tracks the Talisman to the Moon, and Blackrock outfits Kup with a set of booster wings so he can fly them there.

Back on the Moon, Action Man makes a break for it, heading deeper into the moonbase with the villains all nipping at his heels. Doctor X again refuses Ironblood's suggestion that they just kill him; she has loftier criminal ambitions than killing to get what she wants. Deducing that X must be using Cobra's old M.A.S.S. Device teleporter to get to and from Earth, Ian manages to locate the machine—also now powered by Ore-13—only to be stabbed through the hand and pinned to the wall by Storm Shadow before he can use it. Storm Shadow objects when Doctor X restates that he is not to be killed, but before the villains' disagreement can escalate, Kup comes crashing through the roof of the base, with Blackrock, Mayday, and the Micronauts in tow!

As battle kicks off, Storm Shadow and the Red Shadows unleash the bio-mech abilities Doctor X has given them, extending their limbs into tentacles to fight the heroes. During the mayhem, Larissa is able to get close to the Talisman which opens at her touch to reveal a cockpit. Using her "enerchange" powers to interface with it, Larissa realizes it is no simple obelisk as it flies into the air at her control—triggering an explosive chain reaction in the Ore-13 that prompt Baron Ironblood to order an evacuation of the base. While the villains escape via the M.A.S.S. Device, frustrated that the heroes have obtained the Talisman but confident they will not unlock its powers "in time," Blackrock and Larissa get the Talisman out, and the Micronauts lead Mayday and Kup to the still-pinned Ian. The base explodes before they can get out, but Kup protects the humans from the blast by putting them inside his chest compartment, and the Micronauts are safe inside the Heliopolis. As they head back to Earth, Larissa tells her allies that the complexity of the Talisman is such that it will take years to master, at which point Action Man reveals that he knows the identity of someone who can operate it: the man who his British Intelligence files say found it in the first place...

Featured characters

{{#if:* Kup (5)

Garrison Blackrock/Sovereign (11)|

{{#if:* Kup (5)

Garrison Blackrock/Sovereign (11)|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |
Kup (5)
Garrison Blackrock/Sovereign (11) }}{{#if:* Doctor X (12)
Baron Ironblood (13)
Storm Shadow II (14)
Red Shadows (15)|

Autobots }}{{#if:* Doctor X (12) Baron Ironblood (13) Storm Shadow II (14) Red Shadows (15)\|	The Iron Ring }}{{#if:* Action Man (1) Lotsa dead Cobras (2) Mayday (10)\|	Other humans }}{{#if:* Phenolo-Phi (3) Acroyear (4) Biotron (6) Oziron Rael (7) Microtron (8) Larissa (9)\|	Micronauts }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}
Doctor X (12) Baron Ironblood (13) Storm Shadow II (14) Red Shadows (15) }}{{#if:* Action Man (1) Lotsa dead Cobras (2) Mayday (10)\|	Action Man (1) Lotsa dead Cobras (2) Mayday (10) }}{{#if:* Phenolo-Phi (3) Acroyear (4) Biotron (6) Oziron Rael (7) Microtron (8) Larissa (9)\|	Phenolo-Phi (3) Acroyear (4) Biotron (6) Oziron Rael (7) Microtron (8) Larissa (9) }}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}

Quotes

"I'm sure this looks impressive, but I spent an embarrassing amount of time yelling for help."

—Action Man breaks his bonds

Kup: "Lemme try a little trick I know... bah-weep-graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong.
Larissa: "Did he say what I think he—"
Biotron: "THIS MAN SPEAKS WITH CLARITY AND PRECISION."

"He killed one of my ninja!"
"One so far. The night's still young."

—Storm Shadow and Action Man

"I feel ridiculous."
"Aw, stop playing cool. When you were a little girl, you dreamed life would be like this."
"Well... maybe."

—Mayday surfs into the moonbase on Blackrock's back

"Before this summer, I'd never even been to America. Now I've not only visited the Moon, I've gotten blown up on it."

—Action Man has been having a funny day

Notes

Continuity notes

The Micronauts were captured and taken to a human lab for study in Revolution #5, but escaped over the course of the new few issues of their own series. Additionally, Oz refers to a meeting with a Time Traveler which took place in Micronauts #9, and in which the Talisman appeared as part of a collage of objects that represented possible ways for the Micronauts to return to Microspace.
Doctor X previously appeared in the Action Man mini-series, in which it was revealed that the original Doctor X had died, and his mantle had secretly been taken up by Action Man's friend Mercy Gale. The secret got out at the end of the mini-series, following which it was established that she was working with Storm Shadow and the Red Shadows, and "the Baron", whose identity is made explicit here as Baron Ironblood.
The new female Storm Shadow also debuted in Action Man. She replaces the original Storm Shadow, who was seen to be killed by Snake Eyes at {{#if:the climax|the climax|Snake Eyes, Agent of Cobra Part Five: The Silent Warrior}} of the {{#if:Snake Eyes, Agent of Cobra|Snake Eyes, Agent of Cobra|G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes, Agent of Cobra}} mini-series.
Oz mentions being able to speak English; while a little jarring at the time of release, this was explained in the subsequently released Micronauts #10, which showed him obtaining this ability.
The Red Shadows are established to be the refashioned remnants of the Arashikage, the classic G.I. Joe ninja clan to which Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes belong. The clan was left in tatters following Snake Eyes's infiltration of the group during the 2011-2012 {{#if:Snake Eyes|Snake Eyes|G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes}} series. Though the ninjas appeared in Action Man, the "Red Shadows" name was not used until G.I. Joe vol. 5 #1, in which they stole resources that this story reveals were used on the Cobra moonbase. That issue also name-dropped Baron Ironblood, and showcased the fact that the Red Shadows have been "upgraded" by Doctor X with new abilities (including additional limbs). They appeared to be cybernetic in that issue, but they're sure looking a lot more... Dire Wraith-y in this story...
Cobra's M.A.S.S. Device and the struggle to get it working was the central threat of the original IDW {{#if:G.I. Joe|G.I. Joe|G.I. Joe (comic)}} comic book, which ran from 2008 to 2011. The M.A.S.S. station on the moon was still under construction (hence the bulldozer on the lunar surface seen this issue) when the destruction of the one working M.A.S.S. Device on Earth cut them off, as detailed in {{#if:G.I. Joe vol. 1 #27|G.I. Joe vol. 1 #27|M.A.S.S. Destruction Part 5}}. Using Ore-13 (which Revolution established has a resonant connection to the frequency of a spacebridge), Doctor X and Baron Ironblood have got it working and have evidently upgraded it over Destro's original, which required an orbiting satellite to store and transmit travelers' genetic patterns, and which needed anyone teleported to wear individual "recall tags", without which they could not be summoned back to their departure point.
Mayday mentions G.I. Joe's "budget problems" as the reason that the occupants of the Cobra moonbase could never be rescued. These issues hit the team right after the {{#if:||Cobra Civil War}}/{{#if:||Cobra Command}} storyline when a Cobra-bought senator slashed their operating budget, and would continue to plague the Joes right up until the end of {{#if:the last Joe volume|the last Joe volume|G.I. Joe vol. 4}} prior to the 2015-2016 hiatus.
In order to speak to the Revolutionaries on the last page, Larissa asked Biotron to patch her through to them. Biotron, like Oz, learned how to speak English in the aforementioned Micronauts #10 (in his case by connecting to the internet). In the following issue, he helped translate between Dr. Conway's family and the other Micronauts, which he presumably does for Larissa and the Revolutionaries here.

Hasbro franchise references

The universal greeting originated in The Transformers: The Movie, in which Kup used it to try making peace with Allicons (he makes a jokey reference to a similar event here, noting the greeting saved him once when he was "almost eaten"). This is a rare modern example of the greeting being played straight (though some of the Micronauts do flag up how silly-sounding it is, just as Hot Rod did in the film), actually successfully accomplishing its intended purpose. Normally it's just done for laughs because ha ha '86 movie reference.
Baron Ironblood and the Red Shadows were the evil faction from Action Force, G.I. Joe's British antecedent-slash-counterpart, who were eliminated from the Action Force story and replaced with Cobra when Hasbro acquired the property and folded it into G.I. Joe mythology. In that telling of events, Ironblood actually became Cobra Commander! Later media would revive the Red Shadows and incorporate them into the G.I. Joe storyline, but IDW is the first to depict them as ninjas; normally, they're a paramilitary force like Cobra.
The M.A.S.S. Device was the central plot device of the original 1983 G.I. Joe animated mini-series. It's reappeared multiple times in Joe history, including in IDW's Transformers vs. G.I. Joe crossover series.

Real-life references

This issue's title is a reference to the 1973 martial arts movie, [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Enter the Dragon|{{#if:||Enter the Dragon}}]].
Upon realizing he is on the Moon, Ian decides to "Matt Damon the situation," referring to the movie [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}The Martian (film)|{{#if:The Martian|The Martian|The Martian (film)}}]], in which Damon's character becomes stranded on Mars.
Ian pluralizes the word "ninja" as "ninjas", but by contrast Storm Shadow says "one of my ninja". The former is a common adaptation of "ninja" to the grammar rules of English while the latter reflects Japanese grammar, wherein all common nouns doubly function as singular and plural.
Ian refers to Storm Shadow as "Tetsuo" after her arm undergoes its bio-mech transformation, in reference to the character of the same name from [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Akira (1988 film)|{{#if:Akira|Akira|Akira (1988 film)}}]], who undergoes a similar process.

Errors

Ian refers to the Cobra bulldozer sitting on the Moon's surface as a "lorry". Sorry guv, but in the UK, a lorry's wot you Yanks call a truck, innit, not a piece of construction equipment!
Ian observes that the corpses in the base's interior have decayed down to the bone because there was air. While his reasoning may be a gross oversimplification, it arguably leads him to a valid conclusion. But then why have the bodies on the surface of the moon also become skeletonized?
Kup's size shifts radically in several panels, in one being so small the Micronauts are as big as normal humans in comparison to his hands, in another being able to hold the Heliopolis in one hand...which was just shown to be about as long as half a human. Any scenes with him and humans tend to be more consistent.
Acroyear's untranslated Ancient Cybertronian is represented in one panel as scribbly lines – the established depiction of how the Micronauts hear English – rather than the correct Cyberglyphics.

Other trivia

Originally solicited for release in January this issue arrives a month late in the last week of February.

Covers (4)

Regular cover: Mayday and the Micronauts, by Tradd Moore and Felipe Sobreiro
Subscription cover A: Action Man, Storm Shadow, Baron Karza, and the Micronauts, by Tone Rodriguez and Thomas Deer
Subscription cover B: Our heroes and Storm Shadow, by Fico Ossio and Sebastian Cheng
Retailer incentive cover: Storm Shadow and the Red Shadows, by Andrew Griffith and Jason Millet