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 GI Joe the Atlantis Factor was a 2D action platformer developed by KID (Kindle Imagine Develop, who later did Ever 17: The Out of Infinity, the Memories Off series and Low G Man, among others), published by Capcom, and released in March 1992. So why haven't most people played or heard of it, outside a Nintendo Power feature the same year? Three main reasons. 1. Like the previous game, it was only released in North America, so that limits the audience right off the bat. Their ad campaign was also pretty limited, as so far I can only find one print ad which ran in comics and game magazines, and searching on Youtube has given me a lovely result of Diddly/Squat. I am aware that for the most part individual Nintendo games didn't get very many "featured" ads the way some SNES games did, but this was towards the end of the console's life cycle, so they really should have at least done one. 2. The DiC cartoon had ended just two months previous. So except for the diehard fans, collectors, and readers of the monthly comic, Joe was starting to fade from the collective consciousness. As well, the DiC cartoon being somewhat more "kiddy" in comparison to the Marvel/Sunbow series really didn't help the brand as a whole for being taken seriously. 3. The Real American Hero brand was on a slow fade out by this point (it ended in 1994, in fact), especially since war was a good bit less popular in the early 90s than it was in the early 80s, when Larry Hama, a Vietnam veteran and comic book writer, helped come up with it in the first place. People were less keen on soldiers and wars after Desert Shield/Storm, and the Cold War ending certainly contributed. So why are we going through this game? Because it was fun as hell, dammit, and the developer figured out what they did wrong in the first game. Auto-scrolling boss fight(s) with insta-death bottomless pits, and you're forced to take the heaviest and lowest jumping Joe as your team leader? Passwords that ignore what weapon and life levels your team members are at? Nope, we're having none of that garbage here, thank you. Since this isn't the longest game ever (a couple of hours if you're really good), I'll also be doing File Dossiers on six characters and/or vehicles per video, as Mr. Hama did come up with some pretty interesting stuff. SkippyGranola has been kind enough to join me on this journey, and Voidburger was quite kind and helped me by doing some editing for me, since I didn't quite bring myself to get the software and figure out the process on my own. So let's move out! YO JOE! Episode list: Episode 01 Bring Along a Wet Suit (Initial editing on this episode done by the lovely Voidburger) Episode 02 Roadblock, When Did You Get Here? Episode 03 Solving Snake Eyes' Sorrows Episode 04 Shooting Up is a definite survival skill (Initial editing on this one done by Voidburger) Episode 05 Who misses Maze levels? Episode 06 You mean I have to fight Cobra Commander again? (And once more, the lovely and talented VB helped me out with the special effects) File Dossiers: 01 - Stalker through Road Pig 02 - Wet-Suit through Storm Shadow 03 - Skystorm through Alley Viper 04 - Firefly through Techno-Viper 05 - T.A.R.G.A.T. through Laser-Viper 06 - Overkill through Cobra Commander Bonus Updates: Snake-Eyes and shopping on his own, or, why you don't leave a Ninja on their own for too long Snake-Eyes' greatest hits Bonus video 1 - Storm Shadow's Revenge Bonus video 2 - The Many Deaths of Cobra Commander SorataYuy fucked around with this message at 21:56 on Nov 24, 2016 |
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Mar 7, 2016 05:30
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Comic images from scans of the series, game images from screenshots I took myself, and all figure pictures are from YoJoe.com. E5 (later E-7) Primary Military Occupational Speciality: Infantry Secondary MOS: Medic, Interpreter (Fluent in Spanish, Arabic, French, and Swahili) Before enlisting, this Joe was warlord of a large urban street gang in Detroit, Michigan. This would later serve him well in Vietnam, as he was picked to lead a squad of six troops in the Long Range Recon Patrol. Three of the other five he served with would live to become part of the conflict between Cobra and GI Joe - Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, and Wade Collins. The other Joes would describe him as a "tough, but fair field commander". In The Atlantis Factor, he's Mission Control and in charge of your Passwords. Stalker also likes to unwind in a rather interesting way for an infantryman...   While serving in Vietnam with Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes as part of Long Range Recon Patrol, Snake Eyes was hit as the extraction helicopter was coming in. He ordered Tommy (Storm Shadow) to leave him, and expected the chopper crew to lift off then and there...  Stalker has since regretted giving that order. In his own words, "There just ain't enough brave men left in the world that we can afford to leave them for dead on the killing ground." Stalker took part in a rescue mission for a scientist and peace activist (who they had encountered before on the team's first active mission), and ended up having to remind one of his troops who had a difference of opinion with her to not be too big a dick.  He also led a mission to rescue an imprisoned journalist in a rather unfriendly Eastern European country.  The infiltration went well, and getting into the prison went quite nicely. Only one little hitch in the plan came up...  Stalker and his team ended up incarcerated at a prison camp for months, where the Ranger was singled out by a particularly nasty guard -   which turned out to be a big mistake on the guard's part   Despite the horrible conditions though, he never broke or lost his sense of humor.  He recovered enough to lead the landing team during Cobra Civil War, when the Joes were ordered into the conflict on the side of Serpentor's forces.  Stalker also served in Battle of Benzheen on the recon team, where he was put off by new guy, Cool Breeze, and his carefree attitude  (he also couldn't help but be a bit awestruck at the ignorance of the new recruit)  Fellow Recon team member Ambush called him out on this  Even after Cool Breeze grabbed the radio and prepared himself to make a sacrifice play  The respect of Stalker is hard to earn apparently, so it's impressive that a guy who looked like Dwayne Wayne in a lime green jumpsuit managed it.  Years later, he returned to Borovia as part of Hawk's team backing up Destro at Silent Castle,  For a few issues, anyway, until he showed up in New York with Duke, somehow. Image included mostly because it's one of the few times this outfit ever showed up in the comic.  (Personal reaction the second time reading this one: "Hey wait a minute... what the heck is this, we never saw him leave Borovia - Larry Hama, did you goof???") And he came up with a plan for helping Scarlett infiltrate Cobra   O-6 (later 0-7 and 0-8) Denver, Colorado Primary MOS: Artillery Secondary MOS: Radar Clayton Abernathy is a West Point graduate from Denver, Colorado that comes from a well established (real loaded) family. He was top of his class and has seen action in a number of trouble spots. Hawk's been the field comannder of the team for quite some time, almost from the beginning when he was a full-bird Colonel. The Joes are more than willing to serve with him because they know he won't ask them to do anything he won't do himself. In-game, he's your first character, and your basic "jack of all stats" with the third highest vertical jump height, and the strongest laser rifle. Even before the Joe team was assembled, Hawk met Snake Eyes - to have to deliver some very bad news.  Early in the team's life, he infiltrated a compound run by an extremist survivalist   He even ended up in a hand to hand battle with Destro  Hawk handed field command over to Duke upon completion of Pit II, and the reshuffling of the team to start handling its own paperwork and bureaucracy  And later ended up becoming the General in charge of team when his successor had a heart attack  After a successful but disastrous assault on a Cobra held town, the team was suspended and investigated. Unfortunately, Cobra found the Pit and launched an assault when only Hawk and three other high-ranking officers were in it.   Hawk mounted a mostly successful defense, although the base was a loss.  (amusing note: this "nomad" status lasted maybe a year.) The general personally lead the assault team during the Cobra Civil War.  But unfortunately, the council of generals nicknamed "the Jugglers", who normally "bear bad news and take the blame", had some bad news of their own -   the Joes were going to be considered renegades, despite being ordered into the conflict. Hawk gave Roadblock the unofficial assignment, "get out of here and do what you can to fix this"  (this storyline resolved quite nicely in the Destro dossier, promise) Hawk was present when Duke and his much-reduced team made their way back to the safety of their own lines during the Battle of Benzheen  and tried to help out Destro when Cobra Commander put a contract out on the semi-retired weapons manufacturer (notable for this being the only time this uniform shows up in comic)  Hawk was on hand to give Destro back up during his return to the Silent Castle, an old Cobra stronghold, long-abandoned.  However, he and the team had to take the long way home  They made their way through the country of Borovia, which was suffering some civil unrest  Hawk showed some unwarranted optimism about the decency of his fellow man  which did not go well for him.  Hawk and Stalker advised Wolkekuckuckland General (Liederkranz) when Cobra set their sights on their country  (this is why you should leave that sort of thing to Stalker, general...) And they came up with some unorthodox tactics to distract an entire division while they decimated another.    Vipers are the backbone of the Cobra forces, highly motivated, superbly trained, and formidably equipped. All Vipers are issued a combination assault rifle/grenade launcher, a sustained fire cover support weapon, or a long range sniper rifle with an advanced light-intensification night vision telescopic sight with a built-in range-finder. The specialized Viper types generally get their members from this corps, once the "regular" Vipers have shown enough apptitude for one speciality or another. Large groups of Vipers tend to be used as backup to smaller squads of specialized Vipers, and can be expected to have the life expectancy of your typical red shirt. Vipers are what you'd expect in this game, your basic mook. The only Vipers that ever stood out:    Primary MOS: Communications Secondary MOS: Electronics These are the RTOs (Radio Telecommunications Operators) of the COBRA ground forces. They carry a standard modular radio pack that contains as a main unit a VHF transceiver equipped with an automatic frequency hopper, a crypto unit and passive jamming and anti-jamming devices. The Tele-Viper helmet contains high resolution earphones with overload dampers and two sets of voice actuated microphones. The interior of the helmet offers and alternative LED readout triggered through the optional computer pack. Optional transmission modes include microwave beam and laser - Both available as add-ons to the basic pack. Unlike most of the other Viper types, Televipers tend to be deployed one or two at most in a force. This guy being included as a regular mook was an odd choice, especially as TeleVipers in this game tend to love to kick you.  Cobra troopers can be an unruly bunch at times. They aren't motivated by patriotism, unit loyalty, honor or sense of duty. It takes a brutal, unfeeling taskmaster to whip them into fighting trim and Big Boa fits the bill to a tee. He has a voice like a bullhorn, fists the size of frozen turkeys and the disposition of a rabid grizzly bear. "Big Boa kicks open the Cobra barracks door at 0500 and makes everyone do the low-crawl up the mountain while pushing a bowling ball with their noses. Then, it's a twenty-mile run through the bramble thickets, more push-ups than you want to know about, and a two-mile swim upstream with flak jacket and helmet. After breakfast, he starts on the HARD stuff!" Big Boa was created as the Cobra "drill sergeant"/fitness instructor, with a counterpart in the Joe forces at the time being Rocky Balboa. However, the deal fell through and Rocky didn't get used, so Big Boa never showed up in the 82-94 comic series or the 2 cartoons that run during those years, either. Yet he got used as a regular "mook" in both games, without anyone seeming to realize there's only one Big Boa. Whoops, way to go, Kid, Taxan, and Capcom.  Hailing from Goblu, Michigan, this Dreadnok is apparently the only one to have ever gone through a probationary period. Even by 'nok standards, he's obnoxious and dangerous, and this is a biker gang that considers grape soda and chocolate covered donuts to be all the nutrionary value that's needed. It probably doesn't help his case that he's the only Dreadnok with a split personality, making the rest of the gang have to be wary for saying things to make "nice" Donald go away, and Road Pig come out for "good stomp-a-rama time"... Road Pig serves as a mini-boss in the Atlantis Factor, several times, in fact. Quite fitting for a guy who can stop a car more or less barehanded. The first time we meet Road Pig  Donald sees a news report with Zarana in it and makes a quick decision,   Yes, that's definitely the face of liking someone a little bit...  Donald has his reservations about that, Zarana.  While on vacation, the Joes Clutch and Rock and Roll accidentally stumbled onto the Cobra-run town of Broca Beach. They had almost escaped, when   (Joe covers tended to be pretty good at not exaggerating what was inside, but this one took the cake for being pretty representative of what was about to transpire.) Road Pig once tried to muscle his way into a top meeting, with less than favorable results.  And he worked with Zarana to "recruit" Scarlett when she was apparently on the outs with the Joe team. 
SorataYuy fucked around with this message at 01:31 on Mar 25, 2016 |
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Mar 7, 2016 05:31
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Ah! Thank you, yes that's much better (really not sure why I couldn't find one that nice. =\ ) I'll take a look and talk with her so we can see what I can do to fix that stuff, thanks for that heads-up. ^ Ah, right, fixed! Long day, brain no really worky as good as I'd like right now. x.x SorataYuy fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Mar 7, 2016 |
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Mar 7, 2016 06:15
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VoidBurger posted:If you think I still have the raw footage and files from a one-off project I completed way back in October of 2014, I got bad news. You don't, but I do. I suspect the frame blending happened on my end during splicing, anyway. Time to sit back down with Movie Studio and figure out what settings to tweak. :P Scalding Coffee posted:The first was such a Nintendo-era game. Multiple characters to switch out will not make the game any easier. Hell yes. The Taxan one had way too high a difficulty and learning curve. Several of the bosses were more of a "puzzle" than an actual fight, and the stage to actually get to the boss gave you far too many chances to get killed along the way. The second one was much improved when the developers apparently realized "they have enough opportunities to die from enemies already, multiple contact-damage traps and floor panels and insta-death pits might be a bit much..." I had something of the same experience as a kid, it took me until reaching teenaged years to really do more with it, and start figuring out my team's strengths and weaknesses.
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Mar 7, 2016 18:18
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^^ confirmed, I've found the right "Make Movie"/export settings to where Youtube will be quite kind to my video, and where it's still a decent filesize without a huge upload time (my previous attempts to fix that somehow ended up with files over a gig in size and resolution all the way up at 1920x1280, cripes.) Thanks for the suggestion!  Dossier 01 update will be up by tomorrow afternoon. It's just taking longer than I thought because my primary photo editing tool went and somehow corrupted its own install and uninstall, so now Windows 10 thinks Photoshop is still installed, and has the menu shortcuts, when in fact it's now all borked up. I also ran into an unexpected stumbling block - it's harder than I thought to write about individuals that don't get many personal growth moments or "personal stories" in what is essentially a "team" book. 
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Mar 10, 2016 07:16
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Dossier 01 is finished and uploaded! Update 02 will be posted in about a week, along with the accompanying Dossiers.
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Mar 10, 2016 22:37
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Episode 02 is live! Roadblock, when did you get here?
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Mar 16, 2016 20:40
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Dossiers 02 Grade: E-5 (later E-6) Primary Specialty: SEAL Secondary Specialty: UDT (underwater demolitions) Brian M. Forrest of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina may be mean to the bone, but he's also apparently quite bright, being well-read in both the classics and the standard texts of military tactics. His motto is "Well, with all due respect, nobody told me NOT to blow it up, SIR!" In TAF, he's your environmental specialist for aquatic areas (of course), being free from the constraint of taking damage every couple seconds underwater that the other Joes have to take into account. His melee is stronger than Hawk's, and his jump is the fourth highest. Like most of the aquatic specialists on both sides of the board, Wet-Suit doesn't show up much in the comic. He debuted on a mission to recover Snake Eyes and Ripcord from Cobra Island:    And he got to go back there a few years later, where he encountered Croc Master and the October Guard (the Russian equivalent of the Joe team), in a mission that ended up with the Joes in possession of a Cobra Mamba helicopter:     The Cobra heavy machine gunners, S.A.W.*-Vipers are equipped with gyro-stabilized, cryogenically-cooled mini-chain guns, scoped with an infrared night-vision, auto-ranging, optical sighting system. Or read another way, these guys have highly accurate, low-malfunction machine guns that don't burn out the barrel during long rapid-fire bursts. In TAF, they patrol back and forth, expending large amounts of ammo when they spot the Joes. *Semi Automatic Weapon The Saw-viper corps didn't show up a lot in the comic, but they managed to make up for this lack of focus, thanks to one particularly sadistic and blood thirsty member. The Crimson Guard commanders, Tomax and Xamot, captured a squad of 10* Joes at one point, and misunderstood Cobra Commanders somewhat vague orders about what to do with them. The nastiest Vipers on duty at the time seemed a bit less than eager to do the job, so a SAW stepped up and offered to do it - *Lt. Falcon, Duke, Cross Country, Doc, Heavy-Metal, Thunder, Crank-Case, Quick Kick, Breaker, and Crazy Legs  As the Cobra forces moved out for their next objective, two of the Joes boosted a third up to see what was happening outside of the trench they were held in. This did not end well...   The remaining Joes (less Doc, Crank-Case, Heavy-Metal, and Thunder) managed to overpower the Vipers left behind, steal their vehicle, and get an SOS out to Joe HQ. The Twins sent a small force back to deal with them, including the not so dead Saw Viper:  The Joes' extraction showed up, and the Cobras were ordered to stand down by the Commander. Our purple-clad sadist didn't take this too well.  And somewhat unfortunately for him, Duke, Cross Country, and Falcon weren't about to just let it go:  And very unfortunately for this particular Saw Viper, two other Joes didn't let it go, either...   Hydro-Vipers are qualified EELS (Cobra Frogmen) who volunteer to be surgically altered to withstand nitrogen narcosis and other side effects of deep diving. Synthetic webs are implanted between their fingers and subcutaneous fat production is stimulated by chemical injections to provide natural insulation. The long term effects of these procedures is known to be psychologically destabilizing... Hydro-Vipers in TAF show up only in the underwater areas of the game, and not at all in the comic series. I can only suppose that this Viper type falling under the "look, writing underwater stories is kind of tricky, okay??" umbrella made Mr. Hama just say "NO. Isn't having the Eels enough already?"  A casual visitor to Cobra Island might find his access to certain areas blocked by a maze-like system of shallow canals. These interconnecting waterways are abundantly stocked with ravenously hungry man-eating crocodiles which have been deliberately conditioned to be hostile, psychotic, and fast. The man responsible for these repugnant reptiles is Croc Master, a former alligator wrestler and burglar alarm salesman who founded Guard-Gators Inc. in an effort to commercialize the use of alligators for home security. In TAF, Croc Master serves as a mini-boss with the same attack pattern as Road Pig, but slightly less HP and attack power. Croc Master first showed up not too long before the Cobra Civil War broke out, encountering Wet-Suit and Torpedo of the Joes, and the October Guard:   Horror-Show of the Guard immediately got on his bad side:  Just before the Civil War:  During the Civil War, Croc Master was on Serpentor's side, and marked the safe paths for the Joe assault teams to drive through the swamp:  Shortly before the return of the true Cobra Commander, he was still working security on the Island:  Unfortunately for Croc Master, Cobra Commander considered him guilty by association, and had him buried alive in a freighter beneath a volcano, along with several other Cobra troops and leaders. All but two of these "traitors" died of botulism when they hit a bad batch of canned food, during their nearly year-long attempt to dig their way out of the internment.  Hailing from Newton, Massachusets, Vincent D'Alleva was the CEO of a huge multi-national corporation with vast holdings in oil refineries, chemical plants and mills. How he became Cesspool from there differs a bit, depending on the media. In the toyline, he was trying to placate environmental groups, and fell into a vat of his own "product" from a collapsing scaffolding during a tour of one of his chemical plants. The comic? Well, see below. In TAF, he's Boss of the missile base area, with a predictable yet annoying pattern. He's also notable for being the only character on either side to throw grenades in this game (Frag-Vipers did it in the last game, and all 7 Joes could as well, but only upwards.) Cesspool was given quite the debut when he showed up:   And he went toe-to-toe with the Joe team equivalent of his "Eco-Warriors" quite quickly, too:  His forces succeeded in apprehending two of the three Joe Eco-Warriors - most unfortunately for Flint and Clean Sweep:       However, the Joes were one step ahead of him, as Ozone had been sent to fetch "Plan B":  Cesspool's career with Cobra didn't go so well for him, really, as he was captured when Firefly seized Cobra Island:  And the last time he was seen was during a meeting of the remaining "top" Cobra brass.  Primary Specialty: Assassin (later Covert Operations) Secondary Specialty: Intelligence (later Martial Arts Instructor) Thomas S. Arashikage comes from a family business in an unusual trade - a clan of Ninjas. His family looked at a real shooting war (Vietnam) as a sort of graduate school for their prize pupil, when it was really more like a doctorate for him. Various circumstances after the war conspired to cause him to join Cobra, but only to discover the identity of the killer of his uncle. After some time spent reflecting on life, Storm Shadow eventually joined the Joe team, fighting alongside Snake Eyes and Stalker once again. He's qualified with the long bow, samurai sword, throwing stars, nunchaku, and is an 8th degree black belt in five martial arts. In TAF, SS is the second highest jumper, with the most powerful pulse rifle at any level. He and Snake Eyes both have an energy wave attack at melee level 2, with Stormy's being the more powerful one. Sadly, despite the lovely agility of Ninjas, he's something of a glass cannon, starting with only 3 HP. Storm Shadow showed up in the Joe-Cobra conflict by capturing one of the Joes in midair during a parachute qualification test:  Stalker revealed his identity to Hawk and Scarlett when they were attempting to figure out the connection between him and Snake Eyes, based on the tattoo they both now have on their forearms:  Stormy ended up training a boy named Billy (who turned out to be the son of Cobra Commander) when the kid impressed him with his integrity:  Not long after, he and Snake Eyes were given the identity of the killer of his uncle, the Hard Master (discovered and sent by his other uncle, the Soft Master [look, just go with it and stop snickering, it's meant to be ridiculous]). They went to Cobra Island in pursuit of Zartan, but this... didn't go well for them:   Really didn't go well. The creation of Serpentor had a small side-effect, thanks to Dr Mindbender deciding to "spice things up with some fresh meat" (read: Storm Shadow's apparent corpse):  During some of his downtime from active duty, Stormy discovered what had happened to Billy when he left to confront his father, to his dismay:  Not long after, the two of them worked with Snake Eyes and Scarlett to rescue Stalker, Quick Kick, and Snowjob from the gulag they'd spent months languishing in:  Along with his niece, Jinx, he and Billy were on the way to see what they could do for Hawk and General Hollingsworth after the Joe team was sold out for not winning the Cobra Civil War. The corrupt agents working for the Senator smearing their names attempted to apprehend them right out of airport security:  Storm Shadow was also present when Billy's mother came looking for her wayward son.  Tommy was having none of his carrying on. Zartan and several ninjas clad in red attempted to send SS to an early grave. The Red Ninjas would show up again (and again, the persistent little pests):  The Baroness' pursuit of a personal vendetta with Snake Eyes led Stormy, Stalker, and their friend Wade Collins to enter the Cobra Consulate Building in New York. One explosion later and they started to wonder if Snake Eyes was the one who needed their help...  Once the Baroness discovered the truth of her vendetta, Storm Shadow refused to let her just suicide her way out:  In an attempt to shake a depressive Snake Eyes out of his funk following these events, Tommy got him an assignment in Eastern Europe. However...  After clearing up the mess caused by his good intentions, he and Snake Eyes put together a new sub team for the Joes: the Ninja Force.  Months and many misadventures later, Storm Shadow went to the Silent Castle on his own in an attempt to rescue Billy from his father's clutches:   It ended almost as badly as his attempt at bloody vengeance.  (no caption I make could do this scene justice) Storm Shadow stayed in Cobra custody for quite some time, sadly (the series ended just 5 months after that last one), and when he broke free of the brainwashing all depends on which sequel you read. SorataYuy fucked around with this message at 01:38 on Mar 25, 2016 |
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Mar 16, 2016 20:42
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I still have a large part of my collection from my childhood. Battle Command Stalker was one of them, although the batteries died years ago. That is awesome, and you are damned lucky. There are 5 playsets from the original RAH line that are basically considered "the holy grails": (especially if you manage to get one more or less fully intact) The U.S.S. Flagg, he Defiant space shuttle complex, the Rolling Thunder, the General, and the Headquarters. I have two of them, the HQ and the General. I had one half of the Defiant at one point, when we got me the Crusader (basically the smaller shuttle from the Defiant, released with a new paint job), but it somehow disappeared or got itself misplaced in the move before my current place. Which confuses the heck out of me, because it's freaking well just big enough to rate it's own shelf on my display shelves. Like, "how do you manage to misplace something just big enough to use to give someone a concussion in one hit?!" Fun note on the Flagg that Yojoe.com forgets to mention, for some reason: it measures in at just under 7'6". The General up there that I have one of, that bastard's already hard to properly store for transport, I had to buy one of those big (the biggest size) rectangular totes with wheels. And even then, I have to put it in at an angle where the front drivers section is resting against the side of the tote, with enough room for me to store several vehicles under, around, and on top of it. The HQ? I can disassemble enough to just shove it in one tote by itself. Even the Rolling Thunder and Defiant look like they could be easily stored. The Flagg, though? I really hope the hull of the ship is just as disassemble-able as the deck is, or that's a case of "really hope you kept the box..."
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Mar 18, 2016 04:36
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Episode 03 - Solving Snake Eyes' Sorrows We have most of the team at this point, and we've cleared a good portion of the island. Just 2 bases and leaders to go!
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Mar 24, 2016 16:55
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Episode 3 A Cross Wing Chopper, the Skystorm is armed with 2 Air-toGround Anti-tank missiles, 4 "Trimmed Sparrow" Air-to-Air Missiles, and 2 "Imposer" 9MM pivoting auto-load twin cannons. The Skystorm saw only one single-panel appearance in the comic, with its pilot, Windmill, getting to show up for two issues just before the Cobra Civil War broke out. In TAF, it's seen as the Joe team leaves the Missile Base in Area B (whether using it to get out, or being used to strafe the base, we don't know, as that bit was pretty unclear.)  Hostile Environment Troopers Toxo-Vipers are given battle suits that are moderately air-tight and resistant to most solvents. Note the use of "moderately" and "most". Completely impervious to atmospheric dangers translates to "awkward", "slow-moving", and "expensive". So instead, Cobra High Command feels that the "Leaky Suit Brigade" should be motivated to get their jobs done as quickly as possible, without the pesky burdens of heavy and expensive equipment. The Toxo-Vipers didn't show up all that much in the comic, with their only real standout moment being the Eco-Warriors arc. In TAF, they use what is either their backpack from their original gear, or a machine gun nest accessory (or some combination of the two.) They mostly serve as the "inconvenient stationary enemy that can mess you up if you're careless." Toxo-Vipers were seen working with Scrap-Iron on a mission where an embezzling defense contractor was attemping to cover up his misdeeds (long and short of it, Cobra was hired to destroy all the records, and they got some new weapons plans in exchange):  They also showed up just before the return of Cobra Commander, at a party thrown for several visiting dignitaries, rulers, and despots:   The Cobra Rocket Sled was part of a small subline of gimicked accessories done in the late 80s (all the items in this line had a gimmick.) It never showed up in the comic, probably because it was too silly for Larry to ever say "okay, yes, I'll work it into the story this month." In TAF, the riders of it serve as a source of cheap damage for your team if you aren't staying vigilant.  Stuart Finlay, hailing from Annapolis, Maryland, is a walking anti-talk weapon. He can launch high-explosive missiles from his backpack racks or from his "hip-swivel" holster tubes, and guide them to their objectives on a laser beam, without the use of his hands or his feet. Destro equipped him with a voice-activated weapons command system, made up of circuits and targeting computer modules built into various components of the blast suit he wears. Metal-Head just has to make visual contact with his target, let the computer calculate the range, plot the trajectory, wait for the green light to flash in his goggles' heads-up display, then yell "bang!" to complete the firing sequence. I didn't want to mention the cartoon too much :shepgun?:, but Metal-Head got the shortest end of the stick out of all 36 of the entities we'll be meeting in this LP. He was the comic relief in a series where Cobra itself was something of a joke (the DiC seasons.)  In TAF, he's encountered just a couple of times, in Areas C and F, shooting at the player with an irregular firing pattern. Small note: until a couple of days before writing this up, I actually didn't recognize him. At all. I had to magnify those in-game screenshots I put in his header above up to 1000% and start visually dissecting him before I realized the lighter gray strips showing up on both his legs, and the one behind his head, were weapons. Then a closer look at his head made me realize that's a helmet, and it finally hit me. So why did this take so long to figure out, a good 20+ years? KID/Capcom did something kind of stupid here. Metal-Head was a boss in the Taxan game (Level 2.) They took a reasonably detailed boss sprite, and shrunk it down to the point that most details aren't easily distinguishable, and forced it into the "two-tone" color palette pretty much everyone but the Bosses has to make do with. Metal-Head only got to show up in two issues of the comic. First, during the Battle of Benzheen:  Where he had the pleasure of reminding the Joe Armor team that sometimes, manueverability is more important than a big chunk of armor:  Soon after the ceasefire in Benzheen, he reported back to his real employer, Destro, at his ancestral castle in Scotland:  However, Destro didn't seem to quite believe him.  And that was all we ever heard of this guy. Still miles better than the DiC version, who sounded and acted like a complete social shut-in emotionally stunted man child with the IQ of horseradish.  The Cobra Pogo Battle Ball is used for fast, surprise assaults, which it succeeds at (because well-armored or not, who expects to be attacked by a big pogo ball?) It comes equipped with 3 Homing Bombs, an under-slung machine cannon, and a controlled burst rocket. The PBB is one of the few things that was carried over from the previous game, which had an interesting but not very well-implemented system of "borrowing" unpiloted Cobra vehicles until they got destroyed/you went into the next level/you reached a Boss. In TAF, it shows up twice in Area C, and never again. Cobra Commander seems to have not renewed the funds for building more of them...  The Alley Vipers are the Cobra equivalent of a police S.W.A.T unit or a British S.A.S. (Special Air Service.) Cobra uses them as the spearhead of their inner-city invasion forces. To be an Alley Viper, one has to have a style of ruthlessness the other Cobra soldiers don't. In order to graduate from their training program, they are required to survive a full burst of machine gun fire across their frontal body armor, execute a thirty foot jump onto concrete with full combat load and run down a hundred meter gas-filled corridor without a gas mask. Since Alley Vipers tend to use various forms of treachery to achieve their objectives, one can imagine the attrition this leads to during the pre-graduation training... In TAF, Alley Viper shows up as a Mini-Boss in Areas C and F, and they actually remembered to have him use his shield if the player attempts to fire upon him while he's moving. Alley Vipers showed up a few times in the comic, such as during Cobra's invasion and occupation of Benzheen:  The one who "wants to rack up a good score" managed one kill, not that he got to live to enjoy it. The next and last time the Alley Viper division showed up was during the storyline that crossed over with GI Joe's sibling line, Transformers:  These two had the bad luck to be in Scarlett's way as she was escaping from her Cobra infiltration. This squad was nearby when she ran into Cobra Commander and Zarana. The Commander made the mistake of being a bit too wordy each time he tried to give them an order, which she kept taking advantage of, until: 
SorataYuy fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Mar 25, 2016 |
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Mar 24, 2016 16:58
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You found the thread at a good time, then. Firefly's in the next set of Dossiers I'm doing alongside the next video update.
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Mar 24, 2016 21:39
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Images are fixed! And screenshots from the game tend to be in the header images I've made for each entry, so it's easier to ID them from in-game.
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Mar 25, 2016 01:44
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I owned the S.L.A.M. when I was young. Oh how I wish I had taken better care of it so I could still have it today. Funny that you mention it, too, since it's going to show up a little in the Commander's dossier.
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Mar 27, 2016 01:40
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This week's update might be a day or two later than usual. I caught a cold (thanks, jackass at church the other night...) and my voice is all sorts of screwed up right now. We might do an episode while my voice is on the "bass" end of the spectrum, though, since I apparently end up sounding like a smooth jazz DJ.
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Mar 27, 2016 17:00
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Sorry for the lack of updates - life and happiness (and that cold being heavier than I thought) ended up getting in the way. Update 4 will be coming along this weekend, with 5 and 6 following soon after. Edit: Update 4 coming tomorrow! SorataYuy fucked around with this message at 04:52 on May 2, 2016 |
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Apr 27, 2016 16:17
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Episode 04 Shooting Up is a definite survival skill So. My apologies that this update took me so long. I had depression last summer when I lost my job, and I managed to mostly deal with it. However, sometimes it can flare up a bit and kick my rear end and make it hard for me to find a reason to do much of anything at all. Even though my best friend was here for her week off just the week before now, it's still been making itself known (still being unemployed makes it easy for nasty self-doubts and old self-loathing to rear their disgusting heads.) Now that I've started again though, I should have the next (and last) three updates done within the next week and a half. Dossier #4 is on the way before tomorrow afternoon.
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May 9, 2016 04:45
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This is not dead! I've been working on the dossiers so I can put them up within a few days of each other. Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander's have been taking up large chunks of time because they're so bloody big. The last videos are ready to go, I just need to finish the dossiers (especially since I have a day job starting in nine days.) I also have Photoshop working again, so the headers will at least look better.
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Aug 20, 2016 19:39
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Scalding Coffee posted:I didn't expect it to take more than two months. I sure didn't, either. I even had a nice large chunk of time set aside today to just sit and write it, and have it up by now - and then this afternoon my mother was hospitalized for appendicitis. =\ On the other hand, writing can help me get my head away from worrying for a little while, so updating is commencing!
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Aug 21, 2016 04:24
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Episode 4 No one knows what Firefly's real name is or what he looks like. He is known by his work. Expert in all NATO and Warsaw Pact explosives and detonators. Always places his charges in the one place that affords maximum damage. There is no question about his infiltration skills since no one has ever reported seeing him enter or leave any target area. "Even COBRA Commander doesn't know much about Firefly. His fees are paid into a numbered Swiss bank account and are always payable in advance. He makes no guarantees and gives no refunds." Firefly didn't get much screen time in the comics, but what little he is seen, he makes up for it. He first shows up with Wild Weasel in an early storyline where Cobra Commander is recruiting Zartan. Firefly later takes part in an assault on Snake-Eyes' mountain cabin alongside Destro and the first Fred series Crimson Guardsman (neither of these is a particularly Firefly-centric story, though.) The next time we see him, Firefly is making a decision that's a bit more important.  He's telling Scrap-Iron whether or not Billy (an important figure I'll get into in a later file), Candy Appel (Ripcord's girlfriend), and a driver with a bad habit (drinking "special" coffee while driving. "Special" meaning mostly alcohol) get to live, or die, after Storm Shadow's surviving uncle has already sacrificed himself trying to save their lives. One moment, with repercussions for many characters down the line.  Leif's favorite mercenary took part in Cobra's evacuation of the town of Springfield, after locating the disguised Joe, Ripcord, who was finally letting his team know where to find the place. (this was a running story thing, but not quite as funny as the Simpsons version)  Except for a couple of Special Missions appearances, Firefly then disappeared for quite some time, not showing up until after the Cobra Civil War ended. He and Dr. Mindbender were given a simple assignment: take and hold a new island that was erupting from the Gulf of Mexico, so the Joe team couldn't have it for a forward base for strikes on Cobra Island.  Once the Rolling Thunder showed up to back up the Joes dropped onto this smaller island, things went very badly for Firefly's forces. A little legal manuevering on his part, however, saved him from too many repercussions.  Firefly was one of the many Cobras the returned Commander condemned to death inside a freighter he had buried inside a volcano. So this was the last we got to see of Firefly in the comic.  At least until the GI Joe Ninja Force ran into him at the head of a large group of Red Ninjas (remnants of the clan Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow were once part of, until the death of one of Stormy's uncles.) Firefly explained how he survived, in between trading blows with both Joe and Cobra ninjas.   And then, new information surfaced. Some of Firefly's excellent track record at infiltration and sabotage was explained:  Not long after this revelation, Firefly took advantage of the wonders of modern technology that he had installed in his new uniform, and picked himself up a small army of unconscious ninjas. (They have more potential uses than you would think...)  He spent some time using the Brainwave Scanner on both teams  which lead to something quite interesting:  Our favorite saboteur then called the Commander to broker a deal. His method of traveling to Cobra Island was... unique, to say the least.   The meeting went off reasonably well, even with several tank turrets pointed at Firefly. Afterward left a bit to be desired, what with being chucked back into a volcano, and the zombified Ninja Forces creating major havoc freeing their temporary master. In retaliation for the attack on the Joes' headquarters, a small squad did a HALO (High-Altitude, Low Opening) jump over Cobra Island.   Duke, Snake-Eyes, Roadblock, and Lady Jaye made their way to the citadel, coming face to face with plenty of android troops and ninjas. Snake-Eyes took on Firefly himself, until he un-brainwashed the Cobra Ninjas.  Slice and Dice were seen again after this, but Firefly wasn't... So I'm breaking my own rule of talking about post-1994 Joe just for this entry, but in the sequel series done under the IDW banner (written by Larry Hama), Firefly shows up working for the Commander again. Seeing as Larry wrote the current series playing it a little loose with continuity from the original Marvel book*, it's a little unclear if Cobra's favorite saboteur would have cropped up with a new batch of trouble for both sides later on or not. *Sneak-Peek shows up again, despite dying in the Battle of Benzheen, as an example.  File Name: Hinton, Marvin F. SN: RA538203485 Grade: E-4 Birthplace: Biloxi, Mississippi Primary Specialty: Infantry Heavy Weapons Secondary Specialty: Cook Roadblock's dream was to be a gourmet chef. He was working as a bouncer to earn money to attend the Escoffier School in France when an army recruiter convinced him that the army could train him to be a chef. Roadblock joined but found army menus and preparation techniques too appalling. Transferred to the infantry. Qualified expert: M-2 Browning .50 cal.; Heavy Machine Gun; all Warsaw Pact Heavy MGs; M-16; M-1911A1 Auto Pistol. "A .50 cal. Browning weighs 84 pounds. Add fifty pounds for the ammo-that's about 134 pounds of steel generating 2930 f.p.s. in muzzle velocity at a cyclic rate of 55 r.p.m. Anybody who can handle that doesn't need a machine gun to keep me away!" Roadblock is the second heavy machine gunner to join the team, and he's pretty obviously a writer favorite, with how often he's gone on missions. Thanks to not always talking in rhyme like his cartoon counterpart, however, this is completely forgiveable (to put it another way, no, despite being a Transformers fan, too, Wheelie isn't a character I'm particularly fond of, either. :P ) During the funeral of General Flagg, Cobra decides to test out the new "tank smasher" plane, the Rattler. The team's two newest recruits had a little something to say in response to this display of overkill.   Duke and Roadblock served on an observation team staking out a plastic surgeon based in Switzerland, tracking down the Baroness. The local cuisine led Roadblock to express his opinion:   An exchange of firepower between Cobra and Joe forces down near Zartan's Florida Everglades base ended up with Roadblock helping to repair the Killer Whale hovercraft. Some locals thought they were funny, but the joke ended up being on them.  Roadblock served on a rescue mission with Stalker and Gung-Ho to Sierra Gordo, liberating the peace activist the Joe team saved in their first active mission. Roadblock proved himself quite secure in his masculinity too, thank you very much, Gung-Ho.  After a disastrous rescue mission to Borovia, Leatherneck needed some sensible talking to. Roadblock ended up being the one to take the job. On a second mission to Sierra Gordo, this time to extract a United States ambassador, Roadblock displayed his feelings on flag burners.     Roadblock participated in the Cobra Civil War, on Serpentor's side. The minute Serepentor was downed by Zartan, this rather pathetic turn of events happened.  Roadblock was the escort for Generals Hawk and Hollingsworth to meet a panel of Generals, on a mission to discover why the Joe team was being publicly treated as a rogue unit that had gone on the mission against orders (despite Mindbender making a deal with the State department, giving back a classified "Black Box" one of his Viper creations had stolen from the Joes, in exchange for military support.)  Falsely accused and arrested, Hawk gave Roadblock orders to escape and meet with the Joes not sent to Cobra Island, and clear the team's name. Roadblock immediately complied, proving amazingly able at evading his pursuers.  Roadblock personally confronted the General and Senator responsible for selling out the Joes, and was about to be smeared right in front of the newsmedia, when a most surprising figure came to their rescue - Cobra's own major arms supplier.  During a rescue attempt for Clutch and Rock'n'Roll, the Joes were confronted by several angry motorists, as they had ended up blocking a highway during their apprehension of the Dreadnoks. Roadblock ended up having very little patience for their self-absorbed whining.  Roadblock ended up in Switzerland a second time, checking into the activities of the plastic surgeon that had repaired the Baroness' face. In yet another mission to Sierra Gordo, Roadblock's unit worked alongside the Russian equivalent of the Joe team, the Oktober Guard. He helped fight a rearguard action alongside the diminutive Sgt. Misha.   This ended up not going as well as the pair would have liked...   But it did lead to the Joe showing his rarely seen sense of humor. One of the last times Roadblock was seen before the unit was decommisioned saw him heading to space.  The Joe Star Brigade worked with the Guard yet again, this time to detonate an asteroid sent plummeting to Earth by a Russian scientist that had gone rogue.    The Mamba Attack Helicopter is quite well-armed and manueverable. The Joe air corps tended to have to work pretty hard to not get waxed by these airborne engines of destruction. The most the Mambas were seen in the comic was a storyline that ended up with both the Oktober Guard, and then the Joe team, getting their hands on a mostly intact one. The Mamba was later used to drop off a recon team just before the Cobra Civil War, and dozens of the unit was seen in the aerial battles between Cobra Commander's and Serpentor's forces.  Cobra Anti-Aircraft Trooper Flak-Vipers have a passive, infrared targeting and sighting system built into their helmets. This allows them to fire extremely accurate Tail-Biter missiles at Joe aircraft with absolute impunity! These are dedicated and motivated troopers. To maintain maximum levels of effectiveness, Flak-Vipers spend long hours every day practicing simulated missilie engagements using a program cartridge that plugs into their helmets. It would be like playing a portable video game for 10 hours straight! These guys get a kick out of roaming the battlefield in the Cobra Parasite mini-tank while "picking off" incoming enemy aircraft. Due to showing up so relatively late in the line and comic, Flak-Vipers didn't get deployed much in the print adventures.  In one engagement with Cobra forces, a Flak-Viper managed to force Wild Bill to take the Tomahawk down as gently as a crash landing would allow. After Cobra Commander had Firefly chucked back into the volcano and freighter where he had sent so many "traitors", he left a detachment of Flak-Vipers to make sure that this time he stayed there.  They did not particularly enjoy this assignment...  File Name: LaFitte, Ettienne R. SN: MC56488390 Grade: E-7 (Sergeant) Birthplace: Fer-de-Lance, La. Primary Specialty: Recondo Secondary Specialty: Jungle Warfare Training Instructor Born into a large back-swamp Cajun clan. Gung-Ho moved to New Orleans and won a reputation as a bare-knuckle brawler and knife-fighter to be reckoned with. Joined the Marines at 18 and graduated top of class from boot camp at Parris Island. Attended: Airborne School, Recondo School, and Marine Ordnance School. Qualified Expert: All NATO infantry small arms and most Warsaw Pact infantry weapons, XM-76 Grenade Launcher. "All marines are crazy but Gung-Ho is the hairiest, scariest, craziest jarhead that ever scratched, kicked and bit his way out of that hole-in-the-swamp they call Parris Island!" Gun-Ho in the comics was more or less a "typical" Marine. A butt-kicker, tough as nails, and basically someone you just didn't want to run into on patrol. He showed up a decent amount in the early years of the story, then mostly faded into the background as time went on. He was, however, far more level-headed than his fellow Marine, Leatherneck.  Gung-Ho's first assignment with the team had him visiting the Alaskan Pipeline. He didn't think much of the idea of "dressing for the weather."  His next mission was playing back-up for Stalker and Breaker as they posed as salesmen attemping to buy electronic components from Cobra, in Rio Lindo. Seeing as all but Snake-Eyes ended up tied up, this attempt went rather poorly.  Unfortunately for some Cobra Troops, Gung-Ho's strength level is almost on par with Roadblock. He got to display this during their escape.  Gung-Ho and Breaker got to play medic to Stalker while he recovered from this encounter, and not long before Stalker woke up, Gung-ho went off to find them some extraction.  After an assault on the Pit by Cobra, the Joe HQ needed some repair and remodeling. A beam started giving way, and Gung-Ho jumped into action rather literally.  The team managed to capture the Commander (briefly), and a Cobra Ninja freed him. Roadblock and Gung-Ho gave chase, which didn't end too well for two of the three involved parties.  Gung-Ho was later sent as part of Lt. Falcon's recon team, shortly before the Cobra Civil War broke out. Normally, that would already not be a great assignment. But then Destro's Iron Grenadier forces showed up and took the airfield the recon team was currently observing (from the Control Tower), necessitating an escape the team was rather reluctant to partake in. They had to go out through the sewer pipes.  This was regretted quite quickly.   Gung-Ho was among the Joes present when Cobra Commander led an assault on the Pit III under the Utah desert.  Cobra Battlefield Technician Modern battles involve expensive, complicated machines and it is inevitable that these machines sustain enemy infliced damage, succumb to driver-error or simply break down of their own accord. It is the mission of the Techno-Vipers to provide field maintenance support and combat-engineer capability to the frontline Cobra troops. Techno-Vipers can repair HISS tanks, build bridges and retrieve large heavy machines from seemingly inaccessible places. Techno-Vipers are so commonplace in the comics that attempting to showcase them would make this ever longer than it already is. I'll just say they're as much the backbone of the Cobra forces as the Vipers are, and leave it at that.
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Aug 29, 2016 00:51
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And while we're at it, have a new episode to watch while I finalize the next set! Episode 05 Who misses Maze levels?
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Aug 29, 2016 01:13
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Dossier #5 is still in the works. I have two jobs right now (until the 21st), so my schedule and free time is a little messed up. Also, Snake-Eyes is in #5, so he's making it take a little longer. The other 5 files from it are all ready to go, though, so as soon as I finish his, it'll be up! Ramc posted:My friend and I had those Ninja Force comics. Show the panel where all the red ninjas form a giant scorpion and this is good tactics because ??? I'll include that in the Bonus update, for sure. Scalding Coffee posted:Most NES games give your guys the most basic attacks and some Joes can instant kill bosses. This was another reason I loved this game as a kid. "Hello, boss duder *tries Slide-Slice on it*- whoa.  "Leif. posted:Man I just love how much of a SUPREME rear end in a top hat Firefly is. He really is. I would have to go back and check, but I think he's an even bigger one in the IDW continuation series. It's pretty awesome. 
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Sep 12, 2016 18:17
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Episode 5 Always in the forefront of technology, Destro's technicians have developed a method for inserting troops into totally inaccessible locations. Trans Atmospheric Rapid Global Assault Troopers are deployed into orbit from a shuttle, wearing armored self-contained, bio-system suits and ceramic composite heat shields that double as hang gliders and weapons platforms. Their re-entry over their target could easily be mistaken for a meteor shower - until they start shooting! "T.A.R.G.A.T.s are quite formidable as assault troopers, but their psychological impact on defending troops is even greater! Who wants to have to fight a person who's crazy enough to turn himself into a human meteor?" Targats never made it into the comic. Space specialities are kind of like deep sea ones, a little tricky to do it properly.  The Buzz Boar showed up in the previous game as a vehicle the Joe team could comandeer and manuever up walls and along the ceilings with. For some reason, it never showed up in the comics. Looking at the design, I wonder why, that's gotta be the most awesome and efficient thing ever, right?  File Name: Bludd, Sebastian Grade: O-4 (Major) Birthplace: Sidney, Australia Primary Specialty: Terrorist Secondary Specialty: Weapons and Tactics Bludd received initial military training in the Australian Special Air Service. Later joined the French Foreign Legion. Worked as military advisor in a number of countries and is currently wanted for crimes in Rhodesia and Libya. Proficient with every form of infantry weapon in current use. Bludd has a tactical mind like a steel trap. Qualified Expert: All NATO and Warsaw Pact small arms. "Major Bludd writes poetry...badly: When you're feeling low and woozy/Slap a fresh clip in your Uzi!/Assume the proper firing stance/And make the suckers jump and dance! (from The Attica Gazette). The Major was another character that you can tell Larry liked, but wasn't able to do much with, thanks to the Comics Code Authority. He showed up in the first two years, had a couple storylines, then quietly faded into the background.  The Major was brought in by the Commander to do a special job. Fortunately, it wasn't to bring poetry into the lives of the Cobra High Command...  The Commander had gotten it into his head that Destro wanted him out of the way, for Destro's own eventual take-over. Bludd was paid to take old Metal-Face out. The Major got involved in a rather Byzantine maze of "who's stabbing who in the back now" that went on for several months, and ended up with him thrown into a cell under Springfield. He then helped to mastermind a plot to kill the Commander (which will be covered in his dossier, for reasons that will be clear when we get there.)  He then disappeared for a LONG time, only showing up years later when Snake-Eyes took a mission to Borovia.  The reason why the Major was there was quite surprising. Not so surprisingly, he didn't succeed in taking out his target.  File Name: (CLASSIFIED) Grade: E-5 (later E-7) Birthplace: (CLASSIFIED) Primary Specialty: Infantry Secondary Specialty: Hand-to-Hand Combat Instructor Snake Eyes is proficient in 12 different unarmed fighting systems (Karate, Kung-Fu, Jujitsu) and is highly skilled in the use of edged weapons. Has received extensive training in mountaineering, underwater demolitions, jungle, desert and arctic survival, and some form of holistic medicine. Qualified Expert: All NATO and Warsaw pact small arms. "What can I say about a good-guy who goes bump in the night? The man is the baddest dude in the valley. He scares pit bulls! He should wear a sign on his chest that says, "Don't mess, PERIOD!" The bad guys would like to see him declared illegal under the Geneva Convention. On the other hand, he is kind to small animals..." Snake-Eyes. Bloody hell, Snake-Eyes. There is so much to actually say about the franchise's most popular Joe that honestly, it's probably better to just go right into the dossier and let comic Snakes speak for himself.  The team's first mission was rescuing a nuclear physicist from Cobra's clutches. Considering the good doctor's peaceful leanings and protests towards the way the government wanted to use her work, some of the team had reservations about the rescue part. Without even saying a word, Snake-Eyes gives us an idea of what he sees as a solution - "bomb it off the map."  And during the infiltration mission Hawk and Grunt were on, we get to see that he's also kind of a smart-rear end. As noted before, Snake-Eyes and Hawk met before the team had even been thought of, much to our returned vet's dismay (recap: his family was killed on the way to pick him up at the airport.)  Fortunately, he still had somewhere to take himself, thanks to the kindness of a friend. Thanks to the death of Storm Shadow's uncle, and the sundering of the Arashikage Clan, however, our mystery man once again found himself without much of a purpose in life.  So Hawk and Stalker came along at more or less the right time. Snake-Eyes was present for one of the team's first missions, as they were still working on pulling them together as a unit. Four Joes were dispatched to a Middle Eastern country, but the helicopters they were being brought in on were missing one crucial piece. Dust shields for the engine intakes.  Scarlett, Grunt, and Rock 'n Roll managed to get out with little to no damage.  Snake-Eyes lived up to his name on this roll of the dice. A team of plain-clothes Crimson Guardsmen were once sent to capture Scarlett, since she's one of the top Joe Intelligence officers.  They picked one of the worst times to do it, as she and Snake-Eyes didn't take too kindly to their date being interrupted.  All around, it didn't end well for that team.  Stalker and Snake-Eyes went to the Vietnam Wall to honor and remember their three comrades that didn't make it out.  They ended up with quite a surprise (and yes, that's the guy that ended up hanging off Snake-Eyes' tie on the ferry.) Their old squadmate Wade had ended up not only surviving Vietnam, but enlisting in the Crimson Guardsmen program not long after he returned to America. He even ended up "replacing" Fred I after he died from his wounds in the skirmish that destroyed Snake-Eyes' cabin in the High Sierras - right down to being the new "father" for the family.  After a long talk however, Wade Collins made a decision to leave Cobra behind. And the offer was extended to the surrogate family he had become part of, thanks to his two old war buddies.  Snake-Eyes happened to be the one to get hold of the message from the Soft Master not long before he died (Snakes didn't learn about this part until a couple of years later, however.) This lead to the roaring rampage of revenge with Storm Shadow that ended rather poorly for Tommy.  Destro and Cobra Commander were later assumed dead in the ruins of the Pit. Snake-Eyes showed a surprising respect for at least one of them.  Our favorite Ninja wasn't there when Stalker's team was captured in Borovia. This had him less than thrilled, as Flint nearly found out on their vacation. (Hint: it's not a good idea to call him "grumpy", even if he's obviously feeling so.)  Snake-Eyes and Scarlett teamed up with a Ninja Master who found them in Grenada and helped them fake their deaths, all so they could rescue Stalker's team. They came up with a rather colorful infiltration method...  S-E ended up having the "pleasure" of facing off against a large majority of the remnants of the Arashikage clan, while Storm Shadow faced off against the leader of these renegades.   A few months later, he and Scarlett took a vacation to Switzerland to see a plastic surgeon about finally getting his face reconstructed.   He wore those rubber masks for a pretty good reason, as it turned out.  Unfortunately, the good Dr. had once had another patient there a few years back, and was keeping an eye out for a disfigured blonde soldier.    As for why he was being looked out for? Well, to a teenager unfamiliar with guns and violence, this scene didn't look very good.  So it turns out the Baroness is a pretty vengeful woman, if she thinks you had anything to do with taking something or someone beloved away from her. Who knew a rich woman could be so ready to wreak vengeance a good twnety years later, right?  Sadly, her team of torturers beat her to the punch a little as Snake-Eyes started making his way to freedom.  As the Baroness (and the whole of the Cobra Consulate building) started to learn however, her rampage of revenge is nothing compared to what a royally pissed off Ninja Commando can do.  This ended up with the top of the building starting to fall off, and Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow being the only thing standing between the Baroness and a long and splattery landing.  While cooling off after a bad suggestion from the Dr. treating a comatose Scarlett (he said Snakes might want to look up Dr. Hundtkinder - the same man who sold him out), yet again Snake-Eyes shows his sense of humor. And that he really is a smartass. Not too long after she was put in the hospital, Scarlett was given a terminal prognosis/the doctors didn't expect her to wake up (apparently being shot in the head will do that, even if the bullet hits at an oblique angle.) Scarlett's sister got a court order to take her off life support, resulting in a first from her love:  (a flashback later on showed he still can talk, it just hurts like hell.) Not too long after this, Storm Shadow managed to arrange a mission for Snake-Eyes, to get his mind off the probable death of his lady love. A few hours after he parachuted into Borovia:   Thanks to Major Bludd, Snake-Eyes both succeeded and failed in his mission at the same time. He was pretty angry about this, as the man he had gone to extract was once his sister's fiance.  He at least managed to bring one good thing back with him at least. For a killing machine, Snakes is pretty soft-hearted. (Also, those poor kids, playing that horrible game. T_T )  Snake-Eyes got put in a rather unenviable position during Scarlett's undercover infiltration of Cobra. The first time he ran into her, he didn't know it was an infiltration. The second encounter went even worse.  Ninja Force was the main extraction team for Scarlett during the Joe team's assault on the Cobra-held (and brainwashed) town of Millville. Of course, to counter this, Cobra had Night Creepers on retainer.   Snake-Eyes stayed behind to deal with their leader.   This went about as you would expect.   Slice and Dice learned the lesson about getting in his way even faster than the Night Creeper Leader did.  A few months later, Storm Shadow got himself captured on a failed rescue mission in the "Silent Castle" in the Trans-Carpathian mountains. Snake-Eyes went in to rescue him, facing off against the Commander himself in a new suit of battle armor.   This was regretted by at least one party in very short order.  Unfortunately... the three parties he went in to rescue (Billy, Baroness, and Storm Shadow) had all been brainwashed by this point. Although as they saw it, they were "restored to their former condition." Snake-Eyes came up with a good idea pretty quickly.  After all the hassle and pain the Commander had put the Joes through by this point, one can't help imaginging Snake-Eyes was taking a little grim pleasure in some of this. Sadly, the book was cancelled a few months after this, so Snake-Eyes curb-stomping Cobra Commander was almost the last we saw of him, except the final issue. The last issue was unique, in that the large majority of the text in it was exactly what the issue title said. "A Letter from Snake-Eyes." I might upload the entire issue as a bonus update, because even with the small challenge of reading comic book cursive*, it was a rare treat to get such a good look at what goes on in his head. *I'm not kidding, something about the paper quality of #156 combined with the cursive font picked makes it harder on the eyes than you'd expect.  The Sea Ray is an amphibious/aerial assault craft. It was included as a stage boss in the Arctic level (Level 2) in the previous game, and is a lovely source of points for free Level Ups in TAF. However - it never made it into the comic book. Looking at the design of it, it's not very hard at all to see where Larry Hama took a look and just said "Nope."  Laser weapons are only effective at relatively short ranges because of the amount of energy lost through atmospheric dissipation. Therefore, a LASER-VIPER's primary function on the battlefield is "target illumination" for H.E.A.T. VIPERS and AERO-VIPERS. The Laser-Viper places his beam on the target, then squeezes off a heat-seeking, anti-tank missile or guided bomb that "rides" the beam to destroy the target. "Don't underestimate the Laser-Vipers. You might get the impression that all they do is shine flashlights and spot targets, but that's not the case. These guys can sit well outside the range of your weapons and drop a world of hurt down on your head within seconds! If you're lucky enough to sneak in close to get a shot at them, you're also close enough for them to make it overly hot for you!" Laser-Vipers got to be a recurring mid-boss a couple of times in TAF. Most Joe fans remember them for being in the intro sequence of the DiC cartoon.  The Laser-Vipers corps made their print debut when Cobra asssaulted the Pit III in force.  Barbecue made their attempt to break in not end very well.
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Nov 6, 2016 02:09
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BONUS UPDATE #1! From the pages of G.I. Joe Yearbook #4, have a Snake-Eyes solo adventure!       
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Nov 6, 2016 02:19
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Scalding Coffee posted:It wouldn't be a Cobra Commander battle without him tossing tons of grenades. He did actually use a few. One smoke grenade to take down the holographic projector (it interfered with the lasers), one white phosophorous grenade (primed to explode almost right out of the tube) used to set the Commander on fire, and one flechette grenade. I'll be including the part where he sets the Commander on fire in the bonus update once I sit down with Photoshop and join the two pages together (spread layout.)
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Nov 11, 2016 03:45
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Dossiers 06 OVERKILL began as an experimental prototype for the third generation of B.A.T.s, but because of his advanced micro-computers and enhanced tactical logic programs, the cost projections were too high for profitable mass-production. He might have continued to gather dust on a shelf in the Cobra research labs if COBRA COMMANDER hadn't decided to utilize him as a battlefield commander for the android troopers. It was Cobra Commander's idea to add a voice synthesizer program to repeat demoralizing slogans at deafening volumes. Overkill never made it into the comic, which is interesting since the B.A.T.s he was a contemporary for did. Then again, he also debuted during the last three years of the line. Those are the ones we've already acknowledged as the ones where Larry just kind of went "eh", shrugged, and added in just what he could. And in this franchise that includes a tank-buster wearing a football jersey, a Ninja Force with rather conspicuous outfits, and an team of Eco-Warriors, all in their own garish-hued outfits... It's really not hard to see why one of the more ridiculous cartoon additions got quietly left out. In the game, Overkill serves as the rather durable Boss of Area A.  File Name: Rostoff, Grigori Ivanovich Grade: Sergeant (Serzhant) Birthplace: Archangel, Russia SSR Primary Specialty: Air Assault Motto: "You G.I. Joes! Airborne troops afraid to fall without parachutes! No guts!" Big Bear grew up in a place where the conditions are cold, wet, and nasty - everyday! He can be meaner than a Siberian wolf with its leg caught in a steel trap and wilder than a Murmansk fur merchant. Transferred from the elite 103rd Guards Air Assault Division, Big Bear's main gripe about the Oktober Guard was the constant reference to it as the Soviet Union's counterpart of G.I. Joe! He would snap back stating, "G.I. Joes - OUR counterparts!" The "Revival" support specialist of the Atlantis Factor, Big Bear is yet another one that didn't make it into the comic, and from my recollection, only made it into a few episodes of the second season of the DiC cartoon. Which is a shame, because it would have been fun to see what Larry Hama would have done with this character in the comics. A military service exchange program, maybe?  File Name: Iron-Knife, Charlie SN: RA146231009 Grade: E-4 Birthplace: Taos, New Mexico Primary Specialty: Infantry Secondary Specialty: Social Services Spirit comes from a family so far below the poverty line that they never realized they were poor. Was a hunting guide through high school. Served in Southeast Asia, then as a civilian completed his education. Returned to service for reasons inexplicable to anyone but a native American mystic warrior. Qualified expert: M-16; M-1911A1 Auto Pistol; Remington sniper rifle. "Charlie is a Shaman, a medicine man. He's not a healer or a priest or a witch-doctor. There isn't any equivalent in our culture for what he is unless we had shrinks that could actually help people." Spirit is your team's Healing support specialist in the Atlantis Factor, with an interesting event flag attached to him. You must have earned his support services before you can get Duke into the party. This can lead to first time players missing out on the full levels for 3 Joes exploit, if they're unaware of this and the layout of the island (dick move, KID.) In the comics, Spirit served as one of the wilderness experts/trackers for the team. Thankfully, Larry Hama didn't use the "Magical Navajo" character cliche the way the cartoon did. One of Charlie Iron-Knife's first missions involved being long range back up for Snake-Eyes while he was relaxing at his cabin in the High Sierras. It didn't go very well for all parties involved except one (final tally: two of three Cobras involved walked away a bit roughed one, the third died, and of the three Joes, only one got away with only a few scrapes and bruises. The other two ended up in the infirmary for a few days.) Spirit had better things to do than just hang around the med-bay though, and talked two new recruits, Blowtorch and Ripcord, into helping him go shopping for some supplies to speed his recovery. He ended up having quite a surprise once he got to the mall:  Make that two surprises. Running into a man he could have sworn he saw dead (Fred Broca, the first volunteer for the Crimson Guardsmen "Fred" program), and then getting a triple assault from Fred's family. Spirit was not having a good day, here. For quite a while after this, Spirit only quite showed up in crowd shots and big missions and storylines. In fact, he didn't get much focus again until just before the Cobra Civil War.    Although at least we get to see him doing what he does best - tracking.   So it's no real surprise he ended up on Lt. Falcon's Recon team, to scout out the island before the main Joe force landed. He did at least recruit them a local guide that made their infiltration much easier. The next time we see him (yet again a good few years later), Spirit is accompanying Mutt and Junkyard on vacation. There does end up being a big snag to their plans though - Cobra ends up taking over and brainwashing most of the town. They end up getting the help of a local veteran, who knows a few "counter-culture" types who didn't fall for Cobra's promises of "easy jobs and guaranteed employment". Only thing about these locals that Spirit was uneasy about was most of them weren't even 18 yet. It showed after their first engagement to steal more weapons and supplies:  After another assault on a Cobra stronghold, something strange started happening. This turned out pretty badly for Spirit and Mutt:   The Joe team wouldn't find out for a couple of years that Cobra had only partially brainwashed the residents of Millville. Not the whole "deap-seated, who the heck is this now" type most people think of when you hear the word, but programmed by use of a trigger word to go back to "normal" when not needed to work on Cobra equipment (or to interact with the outside world), and then back to "free labor force for Cobra" when another trigger word is used.  Eventually, Spirit was cleared for active duty enough to at least guard the surface door to the Pit III. He happened to be the one on duty at a time when Cobra Commander went for a full assault on it.  As he ended up attesting to Duke, this did not end well for the advance force the Commander sent in.  And not even two years later, Spirit and Mutt were exonerated for their actions in Millville. Sadly, this is the one time the justice system actually worked out for the Joe team, as just about every other encounter they've had with lawyers and Cobra has ended up with the lawyers getting their "client" off on some flimsy technicalities.  File Name: Hauser, Conrad S. SN: RA213757793 Grade: E-8 (Master Sergeant) Birthplace: St. Louis, MO Primary Specialty: Airborne Infantryman Secondary Specialty: Artillery, Small-arms armorer Duke was fluent in French, German, and English when he enlisted in 1967. Graduated top of his class at airborne school, Fort Benning. Opted for U.S. Army Special Language School. Specialized in Han Chinese and South East Asian dialects. Went Special Forces in 1969. Worked with tribesman in the boonies of South Vietnam. Ran four different Special Forces schools. Turned down a commission in 1971. Commands by winning respect. Current assignment: Acting First Sergeant, G.I. Joe team. Statement after declining commission: "They tell me that an officer's job is to impel others to take the risks--so that the officer survives to take the blame in the event of total catastrophe. With all due respect, sir...if that's what an officer does, I don't want any part of it." Duke in the comics ended up being your "typical" drill sergeant. Tough as nails, won't take crap from his troops, and refuses to just give up. In tAF, he's one of your best gunners (and I suspect Machine Gunners), but is also the "Mario"/Jack of all stats of your six Joes.  Duke joined the team the same time as Roadblock (shooting down a Cobra plane), and went on the same first mission with him, as well. He was quite content to, in his own words, "let the youngbloods handle" things while he and Roadblock tried the local cuisine during their stakeout.  And within a year, Duke was handed field command of the team on most missions. Most of Duke's missions for a good while didn't give him much time to shine - so seeing his technique outside of missions ended up being pretty interesting.    The next time we see Duke is a bit less amusing...   (This was just before the Battle of Benzheen)  Duke managed to come face to face with the S.A.W.-Viper that had killed 4 of his friends - but in the end couldn't bring himself to fire on an unarmed man. (And the Viper wasn't dumb enough to pick up his rifle again until the Joes were well out of sight, as it turns out.)  With how hard he ended up taking it, we ended up not seeing Duke for a few years after this.  But when he returned, it was with a vengeance. (Also! Stalker wasn't actually supposed to be in this one, whoops. The one mistake in almost 12 years of comics, I guess we can forgive, right?)  Duke was in charge of the Pit III when Cobra attempted to assault it, a couple weeks later. Duke was back to top form, as the Joes successfully repelled Cobra and took no losses (and he even managed to thwart an ambush that would have shredded any Joe caught in it, had they stuck to their usual defense plan.) Also! Duke's uniform in this game never actually existed - outside of a couple of products that were only slightly connected to the action figure line.    Yes, by 1993, the line had gotten to the point that it had a set of kiddy tableware. Much as I loved Joe, maybe it dying in the early 90s was the best for it at the time.  File Name: Unknown Birthplace: Unknown Primary Specialty: Weapons Manufacturer Secondary Specialty: Terrorist Destro is the faceless power behind MARS (Military Armaments Research System), largest manufacturer of state-of-the-art weaponry. To Destro, war is man's most natural state: the fittest survive and the greatest technological advances are made. He maintains a luxurious lifestyle around the world. Destro provides high-tech arms to any side able to meet his price and will incite war where it does not exist. He dons his silver battle mask (a family tradition) and enters battle himself, either with COBRA Command (Destro is their major weapons supplier) or against them if it's better for business. Destro respects the G.I. Joe team for their combat skills and expertise, but abhors them for wasting such skills to maintain peace. He's totally dedicated to seeing them undermined, subverted, or destroyed! Destro's journey in the comic is quite a fascinating one. He's easily the most complex personality on the Cobra side of this conflict, having honor and integrity to spare, but still being perfectly fine with selling weapons by the boatloads. In the Atlantis Factor, he's the Boss of Area E, and probably the longest fight of all six.  Technically, this wasn't Destro's first issue, but since he didn't show up in full until this issue, I'm counting it. The closest this issue comes to this scene is when he personally leads a troop of Cobra soldiers to rescue the Baroness from a trap he inadvertently snared her in. He was trying to get Cobra Commander captured, so he and the Baroness could take over Cobra for themselves. He outsmarted himself, however, because he forgot who the Commander tended to prefer as his pilot in those early days of Cobra... After an assault on Washington D.C. and a hand-to-hand duel with Hawk, Destro became head of a small cabal to oust Cobra Commander.  Sadly, the whole "everyone unite to get that schmuck out" theme never really went anywhere. But it was interesting to see all the plotting and intrigues that went on in such an ambitious organization. Destro ended up more involved in a later plot against the Commander than he expected to. Surprisingly, he ended up stopping one, for a reason none of the readers saw coming.    Tin-face ended up assisting the new Cobra scientist, Dr. Mindbender, in one of the good doctor's more ambitous projects, as well.  Not too long after, the Joe team mounted an assault on the town of Springfield. Destro led the evacuation of the civilians and non-combatants, leaving Serpentor in charge. With a couple of provisions... Destro has shown a surprising amount of honor, even in the midst of crisis. The Baroness once floated the idea of co-ruling Cobra before him.  He was a little bit less than impressed with her idea, or her timing... A few weeks later, Destro and Cobra Commander were assumed dead when the Pitt II collapsed on them. They managed to dig their way free, thanks to a Joe tunnel boring machine Destro found. On their way back to Cobra, a small town deputy gave them unexpected news of a mutual associate of the duo.  Destro parted with the Commander, leaving the grief-stricken man with some excellent advice.  Months later, Destro surfaced in the war-torn country of Sierra Gordo, with a new outlook.  And a new business plan: Creating a situation, egging things on, and selling weapons to both sides. During the Cobra Civil War, he personally led his Iron Grenadiers in a major invasion of Cobra Island. He made a deal with Dr. Mindbender and Cobra Commander, too. "Give me the one thing I want, and I will turn and leave with no further aggression."  He got exactly what he was after. After the Civil War had ended, the Joe team was sent down the river by the very General that had ordered them in to begin with. It even made the news, with the Joes being portrayed as "renegades and loose cannons."  Destro was having exactly none of that garbage. Not too long after, the Commander and Mindbender decided they wanted a little bit of payback for his assault on the island.   Yet again, Destro is having none of that. Also, by this point, most of the upper echelon of Cobra knew that the man in the armor wasn't the Commander. And once more, Destro had to stand up and take the part of the "adult in the room", as he noticed something a lot of the higher ups hadn't...  In setting things in order, he seemed to have decided on an old saying, for how things would be organized from then on.   "If you can't make everyone happy, then you might as well make everyone miserable." He knocked that one out of the park. Destro was there when the Baroness attempted to exact what she saw as her rightful revenge on Snake-Eyes, too. In fact, he was in more places than she expected...   She was disraught at the thought that her adult life had been a mistake and a waste, and attempted to commit suicide. Storm Shadow nipped that in the bud, and then  The Baroness then told Destro she was going to leave Cobra, and figure out what to do with her life. His response was interesting, to say the least.   Destro and the Baroness were out of the spotlight for a few years, until Cobra Commander decided he wanted to start paying back old debts and grudges, after the Battle of Benzheen. After attacking Destro's ancestral castle in Scotland, the Commander put a huge price on the Laird's head. The Joe team, along with the newly-commissioned Ninja Force, helped him evade the mercenaries looking to claim the reward, until he was ready to face the Commander. He stopped him in a pretty spectacular fashion.  Very shortly after, Destro took back command of the Silent Castle in the Carpathian mountain range, since the Commander now owed him a castle. He and the Baroness encountered the ninjas that had been living there not too long after arriving, resulting in the weapons dealer teaching a very amusing lesson.  "Wrist rocket always beats nunchuk."  Destro: he can swing a sword and quip with the best of them. Tin Face and his bespectacled lady love were reasonably regular characters after this, until the comic ended. Their stories ended with both of them brainwashed into thinking they were supposed to be back on the Cobra team, and then the line ended a few months later.  File Name: (CLASSIFIED) Grade: Commander-in-Chief Birthplace: (CLASSIFIED) Primary Specialty: Intelligence Secondary Specialty: Ordinance (Experimental Weaponry) Absolute power! Total control of the world...its people, wealth, and resources---that's the objective of COBRA Commander. This fanatical leader rules with an iron fist. He demands total loyalty and allegiance. His main battle plan, for world control, relies on revolution and chaos. He personally led uprisings in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other trouble spots. Responsible for kidnapping scientists, businessmen, and military leaders, then forcing them to reveal their top level secrets. "COBRA Commander is hatred and evil personified. Corrupt. A man without scruples. Probably the most dangerous man alive!" The comic version of the Commander is an amusing read, and one that's almost as involved as Snake-Eyes' personal plotlines. Which makes things all the more interesting, once you find the common thread. In the Atlantis Factor, the Commander serves as the rather formidable boss of Area F, and the load-bearing boss for the power source for the whole island.  This wasn't the first time the Commander showed up in the comic (issue 8, in fact), but it certainly gives us a good idea of his fanaticism quite early on. And bless you Mr. Hama, because this beats the cartoon version completely hollow. The Commander managed to survive the Byzantian intrigues of his command echelon's plottings. He even managed to escape from the Joes after Clutch and Roadblock made him their prisoner. But the one thing he eventually found he couldn't escape?   The damage his neglect of his son, Billy, had caused to the both of them.  CC felt enough remorse that not only had he not returned to Cobra after retrieving his son from the hospital, he took him to a Crimson Guardsman who specialized in robotics, a man called Fred VII.  Even amnesia couldn't keep his son from showing he had changed a bit during his father's absence, though. While CC was helping Billy with his physical therapy, Raptor, an associate of Fred VII came by.   The Commander's reaction was nothing short of memorable. A short time later, Billy's memory returned. He walked out on the Commander, while leaving his word that he wouldn't work against him or turn him in to anyone. This gave CC something new to think about :   One thought he maybe should have had was "Don't leave a loaded gun within reach of a man who seems to see you as his ticket to bigger things in life." For several years, no one knew the original Cobra Commander was dead, and the man in the power armor was an impostor. Then the secret started leaking out among the Cobra high command, and it got to the point where it was amazing word hadn't leaked out to the GI Joes yet. Meanwhile, completely unaware of his father's death, Billy had been rebuilding his life, and adjusting to his new cybernetic limb. He was quite surprised when his mother found him, as dear old dad had told him she was dead. Billy, his mother, Storm Shadow, and Jinx all sat down to dinner, and ended up discussing the man in question. An interesting fact came to light during this talk - the Commander's brother had died on a highway years before, taking a family on the way to the airport out with him. Billy's mother had known her brother-in-law reasonably well, and he had come back from his tours of duty with something of a death wish, and as Hawk once put it, "A huge disregard for highway safety and a funny look in his eye..." Somehow CC twisted things in his head, and made it all the family's fault, that "if they had never been there to go pick up their soldier from Vietnam", then his brother would still have been alive. In fact, losing his brother unhinged him quite badly.  Eventually he had enough resources and money at his command, he could even afford to hire assassins that could possibly take out a Ninja.  Well, somewhat, anyway. This was actually his second hireling for the job, as his first (Firefly), had taken Snake-Eyes' measure and realized alone he would be no match for him. So he recommended Zartan, whom the Commander recruited in person. End result: One dead Ninja Master, a second on the run and accused by his own clan of killing his uncle, the clan fractured, and Snake-Eyes with nowhere to go but his cabin in the High Sierras. Oh, and one mercenary who would eventually lead a gang of nationally feared bikers ended up carrying remorse and guilt around for years. Zartan had been taken as an apprentice by the sword-smith for the Arashikage clan, and fell in love with the art of smithing. He even grew extremely fond of the old man teaching him. However, when his master had heard what his pupil had done, he committed hari-kiri. All that pain and grief, just because the man who was almost Cobra Commander couldn't accept that his brother was the one to blame for his own death. About a year later...  Cobra Commander was actually not quite dead when Fred VII and Raptor buried him. He was in deep shock, and out like a light (catatonia), certainly. His paranoia at the ambition of the Crimson Guardsmen had borne some small fruit though, namely the saving of his own life. CC originally clandestinely ordered all the Fred series "Siegies" to spy on each other, and the one watching Fred VII caught him just as he finished burying the Commander. Fred VIII managed to revive the Commander slightly, locate a doctor to treat him, and get the bullet removed and see CC fully recovered. Cobra Commander then did the same thing he did to get rich the first time, all working secretly and away from the eyes of the whole Cobra organization. Almost the very minute he returned to Cobra Island, he also settled almost every score he could.   He had everyone within reach that he considered to have betrayed him buried under a volcano. This included his own son; the C.G. who shot him; Raptor, who helped bury him; Dr. Mindbender; Zartan; Captain Minh, the man Spirit had managed to "hire" back during Cobra's Civil War; Voltar; Firefly; Croc-Master; Tyrone, a friend of Billy's and an apprentice to the Blind Master; and sveral Vipers. Zartan, Billy, and Firefly were the only ones to manage to dig their way out.  The Commander was back to his old nasty self when his forces took over Mutt's home town of Millville.  After punishing the Dreadnoks (but not killing them, thanks to Zarana having a bargaining chip in the form of two Joes brainwashed to be sleeper agents), he turned his attention to the Joe team. He started with Storm Shadow, and offering the Night Creeper forces a hefty sum for his twitching corpse. Snake-Eyes and Stalker helped Stormy evade the bounty hunters, and Snake Eyes delivered a personal message straight to Cobra Commander's face. "Back off and get out of town." Quite shortly afterward, the Twins managed to capture Lt. Falcon's team over in Trucial Abysmia.  This poor wording choice led to 7 deaths, minimum, and the Battle of Benzheen all of a couple of days later. The Joes were saddled with a rather unfortunate "ally", who didn't seem to quite understand the idea of "operational security."   Six Joes out of the seven on the Battleforce2000 team, all wiped out just like that.  This "bargain" ended up very badly for the Emir, as he had to agree to let Cobra build TerrorDromes in the middle of his country, and basically let them have the country as a clandestine back-up launch point. Once the Benzheen operation was over, the Commander turned his attention to the last two parties he wanted a measure of satisfaction from: Destro, and the Baroness. The Joe team started to help Destro get away...   But old Bucket Head was having none of that nonsense. Cobra Commander ended up having to let Destro go, and to return the Baroness to him, thanks to some clever blackmailing on the weapons dealer's part. Or at least, let him go for now. He used Zarana's idea of sleeper agents, and returned a "conditioned" Baroness to her love. CC wasn't about to let that castle in the Carpathians go, at least not to a Destro that wasn't on his side.  He personally led the force intended to be an occupying one, only to run into Destro's back up - the Joes.  The Commander obviously didn't feel like he had torn enough strips of flesh from them back in Benzheen, since he was quite willing to drive down a nearly vertical surface after the Joes when they mounted a tactical retreat. Later that year, Cobra Commander took stock of the state of his empire   and found it quite lacking. Clearly, it was time to do something about this.   After discovering Firefly was alive, he even had the pleasure of seeing him thrown in there a second time. After he had been given the location of the GI Joe base, that is. No point in not using such information when it's offered up, after all. Cobra attacked the Pitt III a day or two later. Spirit and his eagle companion Freedom gave a very good accounting for themselves.  Yet again, Rag Face was having no such nonsense. Despite the assault being mostly a surprise, the Joe team mounted a very good defense. So Cobra pulled another trick on them. One of the Techno Vipers got a little antsy while they waited.  Technically, the assault on the base failed. Cobra Commander had a back-up plan , though: "Use the video footage of the assault as marketing material to sell our weapons systems." This turned out to be a brilliant move. Cobra even got around to retaking the Silent Castle where Destro and the Baroness were living, although the residents managed to elude capture for a good long while. In fact it was during one of Destro's attempts to make Cobra leave (by setting the castle to continuously reconfigure the architecture) that something rather surprising happened.   Yes, Megatron teamed up with Cobra for a little while. The Commander helped build him a new body with a new alt-mode (a tank), and offered him their new scientist (who made a rail-gun that actually managed to damage Megatron and still have the bullet achieve escape velocity), in exchange for plenty of Cybertronian technology from the Autobot's ship, the Ark. This particular crossover ended mostly badly for just about all parties except Megatron. Autobot squad sent to recover the ship and possibly take Megatron down or back to Cyberton: 6 out of 7 dead. Joe team: Got to watch most of those 6 allies die while trying to stop him, too. Cobra: The Joes discovered their "zombified" town of Millville and freed the populace, as well as drove Cobra out. Megatron tricked them and only gave them one trailer full of tech - which, as it turned out was considered "junk" by most Cybertronians. The last Autobot of the team to die, died blowing up said trailer, and then himself, just to make sure Cobra didn't get their hands on a shred of their technology. The one single upside Cobra got out of this whole debacle was Dr. Mindbender's clone was successfully activated, and Cobra now had a mad scientist again. Cobra expanded itself to the European continent not long after, and set their sights on the country of Borogravia. Which, it turned out, was going through yet another revolution. The man that Snake-Eyes met on his last trip into the country, Metz, was leading the side that Cobra was backing, and was about to spare the lives of two old allies and friends of Snake-Eyes, just as they had once spared him.  Then of course, the Commander just had to step in and add his own contributions to the discussion.   CC ended up being quite thrilled he brought Mindbender back from the dead, after all. Note of interest, here: technically, being a clone and all, the good Dr. isn't really back from the dead, since as far as the clone is personally concerned he never died. But as far as the universe around him cares, he did definitely die. Also, Mindbender got a new action figure around this time, which kind of forced the writer to figure out a way to bring the character back, whoops! The residents of the Silent Castle (which had expanded to include Zartan) had just added Billy to their number, when...  The Baroness and Billy were subdued by Destro and Zartan, and spent a few weeks being interrogated and tortured, until the two managed a successful plot to launch one of the castle's defense missiles. While this got the result they wanted (the Joes started doing long range investigations of the Castle), the immediate results were less than pleasant.   Storm Shadow ended up joining them not too long after, unfortunately for all three of them. And then after this, Snake-Eyes curbstomped the Commander, used him as a human shield/crowd clearing device (throwing a heavily armored body down a flight of stairs will clear those stairs quite well, it turns out) on his way out of the castle, and then tossed him off a bridge to cause Storm Shadow to stop pursuing them and rescue him, instead. The last real time we end up hearing from the Commander in the series, he's dangling from the underside of the bridge Snake-Eyes threw him from, while he and Storm Shadow wait for the troops to get them down. SorataYuy fucked around with this message at 01:09 on Nov 22, 2016 |
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Nov 20, 2016 07:49
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Bonus Update 2! As requested, Snake-Eyes versus Firefly and a bunch of Red Ninjas in a sequence so ridiculous, you could tell Larry Hama was aiming precisely for "badly dubbed Kung Fu fight" with this scene.     And as an added bonus, the two page layout fight between Cobra Commander and Snake-Eyes. 
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Nov 20, 2016 20:57
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And finally! Two bonus videos that I had some fun putting together yesterday. Bonus video 1 - Storm Shadow's Revenge Bonus video 2 - The Many Deaths of Cobra Commander So this might be a slightly basic action game, but I love it. You'll never end up playing it exactly the same way twice, and it may be 24 years old, but I'm still finding new things as I play through. It took me longer than I expected, but I got it done in the end. Thanks for joining me on this nostalgic trip. I'll be letting Baldurk know it's ready for the archive soon, and I'll leave the thread open for a week or so if anyone still has anything to say.
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Nov 20, 2016 21:09
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Scalding Coffee posted:
Whoops, missed that, thank you! Good eye.
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Nov 23, 2016 05:09
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Scalding Coffee posted:I heard there is going to be some re-release of the original GI Joe comics in hardcover. Any news on that? I actually hadn't heard about that, but I do know IDW has been doing GI Joe and Transformers classics collections. And even better, they finally made a deal with Marvel for some of the copyrighted issues (Circuit Breaker, Spider-Man) to be reprinted in the TF volumes, as well. Last I checked, the Joe collections are up to the second set of Special Missions comics, and at least issue 50 of the main comic. Ramc posted:The scorpion was everything I remember. Thank you. Hey, quite happy to fulfill requests, especially when they're as whackily awesome as that one. Well, so long folks, this has been a fun ride. Keep an eye out for my next LP, Flying Warriors, or "Dick move, Culture Brain. Dick move."
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Dec 24, 2016 04:05
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