Creators: Joshua Williamson (writer), Tom Reilly (artist), Jordie Bellaire (colorist), Rus Wooton (letterer)
Story: Picking right up after last issue, Rock 'n Roll is down and the Joes are cornered but Duke comes in on a Cobra F.A.N.G. to help out. Despite a valiant fight, Cobra is able to head off with the Shard/Energon Tech, though Duke is able to recognize Mercer. Cobra Commander sends in his elite "Valkyries" to finish the job (who kill any wounded) and remote detonates the laser guns so they aren't captured (upsetting Destro as he didn't know that feature was built in). In the hospital, we find out Stalker and Cover Girl have pretty serious injuries, Rock 'n Roll is dead and Clutch is missing in the rubble. General Hawk introduces Guerrero La Caza aka Risk, a CIA operative (seen last issue) to the team, upsetting Duke and they get into a fight. Back at Springfield, Destro would like some more answers about the origin of the Energon Tech but Cobra Commander is elusive in his answer. They decide they need to capture a brainwave scanner and its creator Archibald Monev/Doctor Venom so they ready two teams for the missions. One Viper walks off and we discover it is Clutch who is worried about what he's witnessing.
Writing: A fast-paced issue that also covers a lot of ground, this was a good read. Williamson is doing a lot so far with this series. He is incorporating a lot of his ideas and the Energon Universe ideas, bringing in classic features (brainwave scanner, Springfield), and at the same time, isn't afraid to make his own mark on the G.I. Joe franchise (killing off Rock 'n Roll, a long-standing character) and potentially giving us a great new character in Risk (we'll see how it turns out). I enjoy that we see the beginning of the Joe team so there are a lot of issues to hammer out (working together, trusting each other, knowing the enemy). It's nice to be on the ground floor of this.
Art: Reilly and Bellaire are great on the art and colors. They aren't afraid to show injuries but without being gory (when the Valkyries arrive, they kill "off panel"). We get a good reference back to the Cobra Commander series, with a flash of Decepticon leader Megatron in Cobra-La. And when Duke hits Risk, having the color all red just does a great job showing us that Duke is just full of pent-up anger over this entire ordeal.
Overall: A great follow-up to a strong first issue, the second issue keeps the story moving forward and lays more of a foundation of what to expect. We can see that, potentially, "no character is safe" and that death could be a regular part of the Joe series. After all, these are soldiers taking part in very risky missions.
