G.I. Joe (2024) issue 2

Publisher	Image Comics; Skybound Entertainment
First published	December 18, 2024
Cover date	December 2024
Written by	Joshua Williamson
Art by	Tom Reilly
Colors by	Jordie Bellaire
Letters by	Rus Wooton
Editors	Ben Abernathy
Continuity	Energon Universe

As the Joes recover from their disaster of a first mission, they are left with two questions: what is Cobra, and how do they stop them?

Synopsis

A horrified Cover Girl races over to help Rock 'n Roll, whose body is still smoking from laser fire, but is stopped by Mercer, who pulls a gun on her and orders her to help his Vipers load up the Cybertronian shard. However, Duke fires at them from his commandeered F.A.N.G., ordering the Joes to get back up and fight. Mercer orders the Vipers to return fire and their laser weapons easily take out the F.A.N.G., forcing Duke to bail out by leaping back into the building and tackling Mercer. Meanwhile, Cobra Commander watches the action from back in Springfield and, impressed by Duke's capabilities, idly muses about recruiting him to their side, much to the incredulity of Destro, who worries about the completion of their mission. Cobra Commander reminds him that the mission was also about sending a message to their enemies, something his "personal guard" will ensure.

Duke tackles Mercer and begins to beat him, cracking the visor of his helmet and allowing him to recognize the Viper leader as Destro's head of security. However, their fight is interrupted by the arrival of the Cobra Valkyries, who begin picking off the wounded soldiers and scientists in the facility (or, as Mercer says, "sending them to Valhalla"). One of them prepares to execute Stalker but he is saved by the Baroness, who urges Duke to finish the mission. In the middle of their fight, Clutch picks up one of the Valkyries' rifles and blasts a Viper as they secure the shard. Seeing this, Destro and Cobra Commander agree that they can't let their weapons fall into other hands, prompting Cobra Commander to activate a modification he made to Destro's design: a self-destruct sequence. As the energon-powered rifles begin the beep, the remaining Cobra forces swiftly retreat, airlifting the shard away right before the facility explodes.

In the aftermath, the Joes are in recovery, save for the deceased Rock 'n Roll and Clutch, who is missing and presumed dead in the rubble. Duke informs Colonel Hawk that the enemy called themselves "Cobra" and that they are connected to M.A.R.S., angrily suggesting they use everything they have to wipe them out, but Hawk assures him they need to assess the situation before they rush into anything. Hawk then introduces the newest recruit to G.I. Joe: Guerrero "Risk" La Caza, a former Airman-turned-CIA operative who specializes in risk assessment and cage fighting. Duke is irritated that Hawk brought in someone without consulting him, but Risk (condescendingly) assures him that he's here to help. However, when he gets Rock 'n Roll's name wrong, Duke snaps and decks him, leading to a brawl between the two.

Back in Springfield, the Vipers return with the Cybertron shard. Destro is frustrated by Cobra Commander's tampering with his weapons and insists that their partnership requires transparency. They then discuss the next stage of their plan, one that requires the assistance of one Dr. Archibald Monev and his Brainwave Scanner. Congress is currently questioning the good doctor while the scanner is secured in evidence. Destro suggests that they send two teams to retrieve Monev and his device. As the Cobra leaders finalize their plans, a lone Viper slinks off and removes his helmet... revealing that Clutch has infiltrated Cobra headquarters!

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

G.I. Joe	Cobra	Others
Cover Girl (1) Clutch (2) Rock 'n Roll (4) Duke (6) Stalker (11) Baroness (12) Hawk (13) Risk (14)	Mercer (3) Cobra Vipers (5) Cobra Commander (7) Destro (8) Battle Android Troopers (9) Cobra Valkyries (10)	Megatron (15) Archibald Monev (16)

Quotes

"Sounds like somebody doesn’t know how to take a hit. It’s one of the first things they teach you in the cage. That if you want to win, you have to not be afraid of getting punched in the face a few times."

—Risk

Notes

Continuity notes

Duke recognizes Mercer from their last confrontation in Duke #1.
Hawk claims that the military has no intel on the name "Cobra." Assuming this is true, it would suggest that the information given to Snow Job by Scarlett and Jinx in Scarlett #5 has either not yet reached Hawk, or did not contain what Jinx had learned about Cobra during her time with the Arashikage.
Hawk refers to Destro as a foreign diplomat, referencing his connection to Darklonia as established in the Destro (comic) miniseries.
Cobra Commander recalls his encounter with Megatron in Cobra-La from Cobra Commander #1.

G.I. Joe references

This issue marks the fiction debut of the Cobra Valkyries, an elite unit of all-female Cobra Troopers introduced in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line.
Dr. Archibald Monev is better known as Doctor Venom, the original Cobra mad scientist from the Marvel G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comics. He and his invention, the Brainwave Scanner, first appeared in ARAH #10.
Risk mistakenly calls Rock 'n Roll "Heavy Metal", the name of a different Joe, the Mauler driver, from the original A Real American Hero toyline.

Errors

On page four, panel four, Cobra Commander says "the calvary is on its way." Unless Cobra Commander has secretly recruited Jesus, it should say "cavalry".

Covers

Cover A: Duke and Baroness return fire, by Tom Reilly and Jordie Bellaire.
Cover B: Rock 'n Roll and Mercer face off, by David Finch, Danny Miki, and Dave McCaig.
Cover C (1:10 Copy Incentive): Cover Girl, one of a series of connecting variants featuring the female characters of G.I. Joe, by David Nakayama.
Cover D (1:25 Copy Incentive): Clutch on an explosion background, by Travis Moore and Adriano Lucas.
Cover E (1:50 Copy Incentive): Chameleon fights Stalker, by Otto Schmidt.
Cover F (1:100 Copy Incentive): Cobra Valkyries, by Derrick Chew.
Cover G (1:250 Copy Incentive): Risk taking out a Crimson Guard, by Jorge Corona and Mike Spicer.