Snake-Eyes: The Origin

Cover Date: August, 1984

Scripter / Breakdowns: Larry Hama

Finishes: Steve Leialoha

Lettering: Rick Parker

Colors: George Roussos

Editor: Denny O'Neil

Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Meanwhile, in Spanish Harlem a young boy enters a store marked "Comidas Chinas" (Chinese food) and pulls a gun on the pleasant old Asian man sitting behind the counter. The old man only seems mildly amused and the other man in the store wearing a hat and trenchcoat doesn't even look up from his newspaper. The old man points out that the boy has left the safety engaged. That allows him to slide the safety back and release the clip. The old man offers the boy fifty dollars for the gun. He tells him it's a better price than the man with a machine gun behind his newspaper will give him. As the confused boy leaves with his money, the old man tells the man in the trenchcoat that no legislation will stop people from having weapons. He throws the gun into a draw already full of them. The other man takes off his hat and coat, revealing that he is Snake-Eyes.

At G.I. Joe headquarters, Hawk and Scarlett are using the computer to try and discover learn the significance of the tattoo shared by both Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow that Gung-Ho noticed earlier (#25). Stalker walks in and tells them that he had seen that mark before, "more than ten years ago... and Snake-Eyes was there." Ten years ago Stalker was with the Long-Range Recon Patrol in Southeast Asia, Hawk and Scarlett recall. Stalker begins to tell the story of his LRRP unit. Six members of the unit walked into "that stinking valley" and only three walked out. After a confrontation with North Vietnamese soldiers, Stalker, a Japanese-American kid with an unpronounceable last name known as Tommy, and Snake-Eyes ("Even back then, he was a mystery") decided to sneak out through the marshes. They stumble onto an North Vietnamese soldier. They take cover and Stalker is about to shoot the man with his rifle when Tommy stops him and tells him that this bow and arrow will take him out without the sound of a rifle's discharge. They finally reach a the landing zone where they sat and waited to be picked up. Stalker notes that Snake-Eyes and Tommy were close and Tommy promised Snake-Eyes a place in the family business in Japan when they got home. Snake-Eyes was always carrying a photo of his twin sister as a good luck charm. Finally the helicopter arrived but on the way to the 'copter, red tracer fire erupted from the treeline, hitting Snake-Eyes. Stalker ordered Tommy to leave Snake-Eyes and get on the chopper. The pilot decided to give Tommy a chance to rescue Snake-Eyes. Out in the grass, Stalker was amazed as he watched Tommy rescue Snake-Eyes, seemingly dodging the bullets. "I still don't believe it, but I saw it." While Tommy bandaged Snake-Eyes' wounds he removed his writs bands. That was when he saw the tattoo on Tommy's arm. Then he tells Hawk and Scarlett, "I just called the records division at [Fort] Leonard Wood. Tommy's unpronounceable name? It translates directly into English as 'Storm Shadow.'"

Back in the Everglades, Junkyard's leading Destro, Baroness, Zartan and Cobra Commander into the swamps, right towards the Joes, much to Mutt's dismay. As they retreat into the woods, they reach the tree they tied Firefly and Wild Weasel, only to find they have escaped.

In Spanish Harlem, the old man reminds Snake-Eyes that when he left, he left behind his belongings. The old man pulls out a box filled with Snake-Eyes' mementos, including medals and his sister's photo. He notes it must be very important, since his nephew retrieved it, even as bullets buzzed past his head.

At the Pit, Hawk decides to pick up the story where Stalker left off. He met Snake-Eyes "that one awful time... he was coming home." Snake-Eyes was at the airport after returning home from Vietnam. The airport was filled with soldiers being met by their loved ones. All except Snake-Eyes who wasn't met when he arrived. Hawk eventually showed up four hours late to tell Snake-Eyes the bad news. He had to tell Snake-Eyes that his parents and sister were killed in a car accident while driving to the airport. The other car that collided with theirs was driven by "a stoned-out vet" who came back from Vietnam with "a funny look in his eye."

Back in Spanish Harlem, the old man remembers that fate brought Snake-Eyes to Japan, ready to join the family business. It was run by the old man, known as the Soft Master, his older brother -- the Hard Master, and Tommy -- the Young Master. The "family business" was in fact a clan of ninjas. Time passed, and during a practice session with swords, the Young Master won, but the Hard Master knew that Snake-Eyes had let him win to save face in front of his uncles. Snake-Eyes was soon allowed to wear the clan tattoo. Tommy displayed his prowess with the bow and "the ear that sees" (a technique that let one recognize a person by the sounds he or she makes), but could only display it by killing (in this case, a nearby squirrel). Snake-Eyes abhorred the killing and a wedge was driven between the two friends. One night, the Hard Master and Snake-Eyes were practicing, and the Hard Master hinted that Snake-Eyes may be made heir to the business instead of Tommy. Snake-Eyes didn't like the idea. The Hard Master then displayed a way to conteract "the ear that sees": "the chameleon's mantle." It allowed one to imitate the sounds that someone else makes, thus letting someone believe you are someone else.While the Hard Master imitated Snake-Eyes, an arrow shot through the window and killed the Hard Master. The Soft Master saw Tommy racing out of the main gate, and one of his arrows was the one that had killed the Hard Master. They assumed Tommy had betrayed them, yet the Hard Master denied Tommy's guilt with his dying breath. "My nephew is not to blame...Do not punish him for his road will be hard enough. He must live with a lie to find the truth..." The Soft Master then recalls that Tommy never returned home, and he learned of a ninja working for Cobra and using the family name, Storm Shadow. He knows that Snake-Eyes was the assassin's true target.

Commentary: This is probably the most important issue of the series. The flashbacks in the story form the basis for many other storylines and for the backgrounds of Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow. The series will return to the story over and over again. As the years go on, the story is expanded more and more, but all that information can be found on this site in the biographies of Snake-Eyes, Cobra Commander, Zartan and Storm Shadow. In G.I. Joe, Vietnam seems to be the route of all evil. Eventually, the series will explain that Storm Shadow was not the assassin; we'll learn who did it and why and we'll even be told who was in the other car during the accident. The use of the Vietnam setting brings an element of seriousness to the storyline. With this issue, we learn about the tragedy that has followed Snake-Eyes through life.

For better or for worse, Larry Hama introduces the ninjas into G.I. Joe. As the series went on, the ninja aspect of it began to annoy some people, but that was when it became more of a gimmick to sell toys. Larry Hama's use of the ninjas is entirely his idea, and will not be a significant part of the toys for years. In small doses, the ninjas add an almost mythical quality to the stories. Larry Hama's writing here gives the readers some credit and some mystery is maintained before we learn who the old man in Spanish Harlem is, and Tommy's identity is not revealed immeadiately. In this way, Hama turns the facts into revelation, not just information. The interweaving of the narrators' stories is also done quite well, with the Soft Master picking up where the Joes leave off, and vice versa.

The rest of the story that takes place in the Everglades is less important and less interesting than Snake-Eyes story, but it allows the current story to continue while the flashbacks are told. Destro remains the most honorable of the Cobras, stopping from killing Junkyard, just for the sake of stopping unecessary killing. He says that he knew an eskimo who once said that "a man who whips a dog will pull his own sled some day." Makes you wonder if that eskimo was Kwinn.

This issue also marks the second time Larry Hama pencils the issue, with Steve Leialoha inking (Leialoha, by the way, is Torpedo's last name on his filecard). It's ironic that Larry Hama remains one of the best of the G.I. Joe artists. His pictures are very detailed and his characters have distinct and realistic expressions, especially the drawings of the Soft Master. Hama's artwork in G.I. Joe is very rare, and the only full issues he does are ones that use Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes (#21, #26). Personally, I think these are "his stories" in his view. He obviously has a love for ninjas, too.

First Appearances:

• Recurring characters: Hard Master, Soft Master
  

• Action Force #11 & #12 (May 16th & 23rd, 1987). A Marvel UK series featuring the UK's version of G.I. Joe reprints this story in two parts, alongside an original story. All references to "G.I. Joe" were changed to "Action Force".
  
• G.I. JOE Comics Magazine #10 (June 1988). Digest format from Marvel Comics. Includes issues #27 and #28.
• G.I. JOE: Volume 3 (August 2002). A trade paperback collection from Marvel. Includes issues #21-30.
• A version of the issue was released by Hasbro in 2005, packaged with action figures of Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow and Stalker as seen in the Vietnam flashback scenes in this issue. All references to Marvel Comics were removed. It features a new painted cover, based on the original.
• Many scenes from this issue were recreated in the Devil's Due Publishing miniseries, Snake-Eyes Declassified. A comparison of the scenes can be found in this site's special feature, here.
• G.I. JOE: Best of Larry Hama (April 2009). Part of a series of reprints from IDW. Also includes issues #21, 24, 34, 63, 85, 86, 91, 104 and Special Missions #17.
• Classic G.I. JOE: Volume 3 (May 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 #21-30.
• G.I. JOE: Best of Snake Eyes (July 2009). Part of a series of reprints from IDW. Also includes issues #10, 21, 27, 31 and 144.
  
  
  
  
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