Creators: Larry Hama (Writer), Paul Pelletier (Pencils), Tony Kordos (Inks), Francesco Segala (Colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (Flatter), Pat Brosseau (Letterer)
Story: On Cobra Island, Revanche delivers a stealth bomber to Serpentor-Khan and he is quite impressed with it and wants more delivered. The G.I. Joe Infiltration team (Helix, Multo, Muskrat, and Wet-Suit) sees it and reports back to the Pit. Duke, Stalker and Mainframe realize the bomber is probably intended for Springfield. Mainframe then also shows them satellite footage of Dawn's parents being killed (from last issue). Back on Cobra Island, Serpentor-Khan gets a report of a transmission leaving and has his forces track down the G.I. Joe team, which results in a running battle through the jungle. At the Pit, Duke and Psyche-Out inform Dawn of her parent's death and console her, as Snake Eyes, Scarlett, and Storm Shadow remind her she has family in the Arashikage clan. In Springfield, Cobra Commander is upset about Dawn's parents being killed and is also informed of the new stealth bomber on Cobra Island. The Joe team on the island are able to finally make it to the beach but are still under attack. In Scotland, Destro (who is currently skeet shooting with the Baroness and Zartan) receives a message from one of his Iron Grenadier troops who ends up being the real Zartan and they decide to work together against their common foe.
Writing: This issue finally feels like something is happening. We get a great running battle throughout most of the issue with the Joe team versus Serpentor-Khan's forces. We get more confirmation that Destro has something up his sleeve and is now going to be working with Zartan. I do feel that including Cobra Commander was a bit of a "hey, we just need to include him because!" scene as it really didn't add anything not only to the issue but to the overall narrative this arc has taken. It ends on a good cliffhanger as well.
Art: Some really good art in this. Pelletier really feeds the cool vehicle niche in this issue, with some classic Cobra vehicles like the FANG, FANG II, HISS II, Mamba and Ferret ATV along with some classic Viper designs - Techno-, Range-, and Laser-Vipers. The running fight scene is also well done too. And sometimes it's the little things, like showing characters in a mess hall in the Pit. The Joe team needs to eat as well and probably has a few cooks on staff to feed them. One odd thing is when we first see Stalker, his face seems off but the rest of the issue is really well done.
Overall: After a few issues where it felt like the story was just spinning its wheels, it's nice to see a few things actually happening here, including a nice fight sequence. Yeah, adding Cobra Commander into this issue felt more forced than anything, but that was only for a couple pages and everything adds to the overall arc. While it may slowdown when they inform Dawn of her parent's death, I do feel there are some good character moments too.
