Creators: Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (pencils), Tony Kordos (inks), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer)
Story: In the Bayou, Zartan is being hounded by a heat seeking missile, able to personally avoid it while sacrificing his Chameleon [Swamp Skier] and realizing, from the debris, it was from M.A.R.S. Industries but suspects Destro was not behind it. On Cobra Island, Serpentor-Khan and Dr. Mindbender watch the footage from the missile but are unsure if Zartan survived or not. Elsewhere on the island, they inspect how the new Cobra cyborg troops are coming and then check-in with their Zartan imposter meeting with Destro. At the meeting, Destro and the Baroness get word that the Zartan they are talking to is an imposter but Destro decides to play along. We then cut and see Snake Eyes go through an urban training simulation and, afterwards, Scarlett commends him on it and talks about his different weapons. In Springfield, Dawn's parents are pulled over as they are leaving (to check on her sister) and end up getting shot by the Springfield police. We then go to the Revanche facility and find out they are switching out the chips for Serpentor's cyborgs so that they can control them, if needed. Finally, we see a job team (consisting of Wetsuit, Muskrat, Helix, and Multo) perform a HALO jump into the ocean and infiltrate Cobra island, barely avoiding a Cobra Ferret ATV patrol. And, finally, back at the Bayou, the real Zartan meets with his Dreadnoks and tells them what's going on and they decide they should partner up with Destro.
Writing: While the most action is just a training sequence, Hama has set the stage for multiple events to be happening - the Dreadnoks, Destro, Springfield, Serpentor, and the Joe team. So there is a lot going on in this issue. However, most of it feels like the same we've been getting. Serpentor and Dr. Mindbender are checking on their projects and going to do the next big thing. Revanche is looking on with their betrayal at the ready. The Joe team continues to prep. The only really new stuff was the Dreadnoks. Another odd thing is seeing Snake Eyes speak now. While most of his answers are quick, it is strange to see.
Art: Paul Pelletier, Tony Kordos, and Francesco Segala join us for the art in this issue. Overall, Pelletier's pencils are really similar to what Chris Mooneyham was doing so that's always nice to get. However, The inks and colours here have more brightness and color than the previous issues. Even the night HALO drop has a lot of good shades of blues and blacks going on. And the action pages with Snake Eyes practicing is neat. We get a lot of throwbacks to classic Vipers - Alley Viper, S.A.W. Viper, and a couple more. We also get to see a classic H.I.S.S. tank and Cobra all-terrain vehicles driving around. While they may not be the focus of the story, it's nice to see them still pop up in issues.
Overall: While I feel the story seems to be stalling and just doing the same thing over and over, the art on this issue really stands out. I believe the new art team of Pelletier, Kordos and Segala will be a good addition to the comic and I hope they stay around for a while. My wish is also to start seeing all of this build up pay off with some big, explosive issues that start to resolve the on-going conflicts that Hama has put in the comics.
