Judgments
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Cover Date:
August,
1985
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Script: Larry Hama
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Pencils: Rod Whigham
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Inks: Andy Mushynsky
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Lettering: Rick
Parker
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| Colors: George
Roussos |
Editor: Denny O'Neil
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Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
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Summary (by Rod Hannah):
Deep under suburban Springfield in Cobra headquarters,
Billy's inquest is being held. Present are Storm Shadow, Zartan,
Baroness,
Major Bludd, Wild-Weasel and Firefly, while Destro leads the inquiry.
Billy
claims there were no accomplices and he did it all himself, but Destro
contends otherwise. "Billy had help. Adult help. Someone who knew the
program
for the rally, knew Cobra procedure, knew exotic weaponry... and
had
something to gain. Those are parameters that fit most of the tribunal
assembled
here!" Major Bludd whispers to the Baroness that if Billy talks,
they're
done for.
Meanwhile in the PX snackbar at Fort Wadsworth, Ripcord
asks Gung-Ho
how a guy is supposed to have a normal
relationship with a girl when he's a member of a top secret outfit
that isn't even supposed to exist? Gung-Ho tells him he'll find a way
to
make it work, but Ripcord wonders whether he is really cut out to be a
G.I. Joe. Stalker and Roadblock enter and tell Ripcord and Gung-Ho they
have a new mission. Duke briefs them, explaining that a group of
Americans
went to Sierra Gordo in the hopes of arbitrating peace -- all but one
were
shot on sight. Now the Joes have to extract the surviving peace-maker
--
Dr. Adele Burkhart.
Back in Springfield, Zartan explains there is a simple
solution to finding
out the co-conspirators -- using the late Dr. Venom's brainwave
scanner.
Cobra Commander agrees and has Billy taken to the device. High above
Sierra
Gordo in a C-130 transport plane, Stalker, Gung-Ho, Ripcord and
Roadblock
prepare for a HALO jump. Ripcord tells Stalker that he
hears Burkhart is against everything they are fighting for. Stalker
explains that they are fighting for is Dr. Burkhart's right, and every
other American's right to believe in whatever they want to.
"Personally,
I think Dr. Burkhart is an uppity, self-centered, pretentious old
windbag
and if I even suspected for one second that our saving her would alter
her convictions one iota... I'd lose every shred of respect I have for
her!"
In the Brainwave Scanner room of Cobra HQ, Billy's
blocks out the co-conspirators
from his mind, with an older memory. On the screen he is seen as a
little
boy, sitting in his father's office. "I'm not going to let them do it
Billy.
I'm not going to be ground under the wheels of big government! They're
calling my sales program a pyramid scheme! But I'm going to create an
underground
organization that will bypass government restrictions, and garner power
through terrorism and extortion! And I
won't stop with Springfield! I won't stop until my organization coils
around the whole world like a giant ... Cobra!" The scene on the
BrainWave
Scanner changes to one of Billy seated back stage at a rally in
Springfield.
"War is an extension of politics and politics is an extension of
economics!
If the government says that an honest man can't work as much as he
wants
to and earn as much as he wants to -- It's wrong! And we have a right
to
fight back if we want to!!" The scene changes to yet another early
rally.
"Cobra may be small now, but we are growing every day! Soon, all of
Springfield
will be ours and after that... who knows what we can grow into? And
next
year by this time, I promise you everybody will have his own uniform!"
Cobra Commander interrupts the brain wave scanner claiming this is
highly
classified information, and has Billy taken to the detention block
while
they settle on a new procedure. Storm Shadow is disgusted to think that
whoever the co-conspirators are, Billy has not betrayed them. "They
probably
mistake his integrity for stupidity. Their type always does..."
At the PIT, the Joes leave the motor pool with an APC
and VAMP on a
'local' mission. Fred observes them through binoculars. In Sierra
Gordo,
Stalker, Ripcord, Roadblock and Gung-Ho land in a small field, then a
figure
appears in the shadows of a tree ahead of them -- telling them to be
quiet.
In the detention block under Springfield, Storm Shadow creeps
unnoticed along the sealing pipes to Billy's cell where two guards
are threatening the kid. In Fort Wadsworth the Joes leave through a
secret
gateway designed as a wall, rollong heavy vehicles out the front gate
all
the time attracts attention. Cover Girl explains to Blowtorch that they
are paying a visit to a suspected undercover Cobra agent --
"Specifically
the one who set up the ambush at the ARBCO brother's circus!"
Back in Sierra Gordo, the man steps out from the
shadows, but the Joes
don't recognise him. Three tribesmen popup behind them. In the
detention
block, Storm Shadow has taken care of the guards and frees Billy, but
Destro
blocks their escape. Back on Staten Island the Joes have arrived at an
innocent looking house and move in. Suddenly bullets spray out the door
knocking Lady Jaye and Duke back -- both wearing flak vests. In Sierra
Gordo, Stalker realises the mysterious man is one of the Joes --
Recondo. He gets Stalker to open his sealed orders and learns that
Recondo was sent in on a special mission to Sierra Gordo a week after
he
arrived at the PIT. Recondo explains he has been helping the local
indians
-- the Tucaros.
In Springfield, Storm Shadow rushes Destro with ninja
speed and knocks
his gun aside. The shot takes out the detention block light, and Destro
calls for the guards, announcing Billy and Storm Shadow have escaped.
In
Staten Island, Mutt and Snake-Eyes storm the house -- as they enter the
kitchen a grenade flies through the window exploding. In Sierra Gordo,
Recondo leads the Joes to a cliff top looking down to a bunker where
Burkhart is being held. It is too heavily defended for their small team
to assault, but Recondo has an idea. The bunker is built against the
cliff
on the opposite side of the small ravine. They can scale down it
unnoticed
and infiltrate the bunker. In Springfield the Cobra troopers search in
vain for Billy and Storm Shadow who have escaped through a manhole onto
the street and together they flee the town.
In Staten Island, the Crimson Twins and a Crimson Guard burst out the
window on the Ferret. They fire two missiles and destroy the APC,
escaping
the vehicle-less Joes. Mutt and Snake-Eyes emerge from the house, with
a Cobra radio and Crimson Guard suit they found in a secret basement.
Duke
and Lady Jaye are recovering from being shot -- though
unharmed thanks to their flak armor. Suddenly, Candy pulls up in her
Balloon Bear van finding the joes on the front lawn and the house
smoking.
Blowtorch asks what she is doing here, and she explains... "This is my
father's house... I live here!"
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Commentary: "Judgments"
is
an
interesting
story,
giving us an
intriguing look into Cobra Commander and Billy's past. We are
given
a glimpse of the Springfield rallys, Cobra Commander's Arbco office
room,
and little Billy's fear of his fathers aspirations for
Cobra.
Storm Shadow's disgust at the co-conspirators is great to see, as in
the
same panel, Baroness and Major Bludd grin evilly -- caring little about
what becomes of Billy. Storm Shadow sees honor and strength in
the
kid and sacrifices his chance of learning the Hard Master's killer by
rescuing
Billy and escaping Springfield with him. A surprising twist in
the
plot, especially as this will be the herald of great changes in Storm
Shadow's allegiance.
Ripcord's little chat with Gung-Ho in the snackbar about
Candy is excellent.
He doesn't know whether he's cut out to be a Joe. Somehow you
know
he badly wants to tell Candy the truth, and can't get his mind off
her.
The mission to rescue Dr. Burkhart is exciting, as she first appeared
in
issue #1. Stalker repeats his lecture from that issue, this time
to Ripcord, about what they're fighting for. This will be touched upon
several times throughout the series. Clarifying the Joes fight for
freedom
to think the way we want. A nice little bit of depth of
purpose.
Candy's connection to the Cobra safehouse is revealed, as it
belongs to her father, which will lead the Joes to wrongly suspect
her. Another example of the coincidental nature of the comic, in which
Candy turns out to be connected to Cobra, but stumbled across Ripcord
and
the others previously.
This issue features Rod Whigham as the sole artist,
making a change
from the passed few month's instability. Whigham's art is not as
good as it usually is, but it remains consistent throughout.
However,
the coloring gives the issue a kind of tehnicolor dreamcoat feel.
I found it to use far too strong reds, yellows and blues, rather than a
more realistic style tones. It gave the issue a kind of
unrealness.
Overall, this is quite a change of pace from previous issues.
Picking up from issue #33's assination plot and finally giving us the
trial,
after four months of suspense. Mixing in several plots at once,
rather
than one as with the last couple of stories. Several of these
threads
will be continued in subsequent issues. By far the highlight has
to be the flashback Billy has on the Brain Wave Scanner. A good
issue,
worth getting hold of. |
