G.I. JOE #2
Panic at the
North Pole
Cover Date: August, 1982
Scripter: Larry Hama
Penciler: Don Perlin
Inker: Jack Abel
Letterer: Jim Novak
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Tom DeFalco

"Soon, the spirits of snow and ice will devour your souls! That is sad, for you are brave fighters!"
— Kwinn

Summary:  Near the North Pole, a U.S. Army unit finds an American research station nearly destroyed after a "commando-style" raid. The colonel calls generals Flagg and Austin. A Russian research station is nearby, but the generals are afraid to send a recon mission to check out the Russian base. Instead, they choose four Joes into the area. Stalker, Breaker, Scarlett and Snake-Eyes have their leave interrupted.

Flagg flies with the Joes to the North Pole to brief them. They parachute in to watch the Russian base from a hidden camp. An eskimo arrives on a dogsled with a machine gun. He walks inside the base, then returns a few minutes later and leaves the base. The Joes find the base is full of dead Russians -- frozen to death -- and records are missing, as is a key component to a ultra low-frequency modulator that affects human brain waves. Snake-Eyes discovers a bomb and the Joes escape just before it explodes. The joes take off after the eskimo until Breaker receives a "teleprinter" print-out. The file identifies the eskimo as Kwinn: a mercenary who is extremely honest, but will reveal nothing about his employers.

The Joes reach Kwinn's camp near a crashed plane, but are ambushed by Kwinn. The Joes are forced to pack Kwinn's sled, as he tells them the research stations were working on a way to beam "fear waves" that cause mass paranoia. The Joes let him leave, but build an ice boat with the plane's parts and follow Kwinn. Stalker sets a bomb that will collapse an ice bridge and trap Kwinn. Unfortunately, Kwinn escapes and the Joes attack him. He beats them and Snake-Eyes cannot shoot him since Kwinn removed the Joes' weapons' firing pins and placed them onto his weasel skull necklace -- a charm against gunfire. Kwinn reveals he dislikes delivering the modulator to the Russians, but must follow his contract to the letter. "If only there were some other way..."

Later, Kwinn meets up with the Russians who are waiting to be picked up by their sub. Despite their protests, Kwinn does not stay to protect them until the sub arrives. It is not part of his contract. He adds that he left his weasel skull necklace out in the snow as an offering to the spirits of ice and snow. He tells them that they might find the necklace before the Joes do, to protect themselves, but he doubts it. "They are trackers...and you are not." Meanwhile, the Joes continue on, but now, Snake-Eyes is wearing Kwinn's necklace...

Commentary: In a familiar formula for the series, a small group of Joes are sent on a mission. In this second issue, Cobra is nowhere to be found, emphasizing the fact that in the comic book series, the Joes fight more than just Cobra. The story includes an interesting character in Kwinn. He is the villain in the story but he is only a mercenary, not actually aligned with the Russians. He simply completes his contract with little concern for the people involved. He is clever enough to best the Joes, by first setting up a dummy for the Joes to attack, only to find Kwinn hidden away, ready to ambush them. In G.I. Joe the stories seem to include characters who are clearly good or evil. Kwinn is neither. At the end of the story, we assume the Joes find Kwinn's necklace, replace their firing pins and will find the Russians before their submarine arrives. But, the story allows you to think, and figure that out for yourself with actually showing us what happens. Larry Hama doesn't always believe in ending the story with a big explosion and a clear victory.

This story sets up many aspects of later stories. The Joes are briefly shown on leave, before the army interrupts them. Stalker is seen aiming at a deer through crosshairs. When an army helicopter arrives and scares off the deer, we find out Stalker was trying to photograph the deer, not shoot it. Unfortunately, Stalker's photography is never referred to again in the series. Breaker is seen -- chewing bubble gum as we always see him -- at M.I.T., running some complex computer program. He disappears after getting a brief transmission from General Flagg. Scarlett is seen winning a martial arts tournament, the first major reference to her martial arts skills, later used more and more, especially when she joins the Ninja Force towards the end of the series. Snake-Eyes is interrupted from his stay in a sensory deprivation tank. When he comes out of the tank, the army officer is startled when he sees Snake-Eyes' face. This is the first place in the series where we learn Snake-Eyes' face is disfigured. This is later a major aspect of the series.

This will not be the only appearance of Kwinn in the series. He will return to play a major role in issues #12-19. Much later on in issue #68, we learn that Kwinn sold the ultra-low frequency "paranoia-wave" modulator plans to Cobra. Cobra scientists will supposedly develop "paranoia wave" generators for some time, making them a major part of their Terror-Dromes. Only in a series with a single writer would a reference years ago be incorporated into a later plot. Sometimes it seems like Hama had some "master plan" for the series. Interestingly, Breaker's portable "teleprinter" seems to be an early fax machine. This must be a prototype, considering the story was written in 1982.

First Appearances:

  • Recurring Characters: Kwinn
Reprinted in:
  • G.I. JOE Comics Magazine #1 (December 1986). Digest format from Marvel Comics. Includes issue #1.
  • Tales of G.I. Joe #2 (February 1988). Reprint series from Marvel.
  • G.I. JOE: Volume 1 (May 2002). A trade paperback collection from Marvel. Includes issues #1-10.
  • A version of the issue was released by Hasbro in 2004, packaged with three comic-based action figures of Scarlett and Snake-Eyes, and the first ever Kwinn action figure. All references to Marvel Comics were removed.
  • Classic G.I. JOE: Volume 1 (January 2009). A trade paperback collection from IDW Publishing. Aside from some slight changes made to the cover, this is a reprint of the earlier Marvel collection. Includes issues #1-10.