G.I. JOE #4
Operation:
Wingfield!
Cover Date: October, 1982
Script: Larry Hama
Plot & Art: Herb Trimpe
Inks: Jon D'Agostino and
Jack Abel
Letters: Diana Albers
Colors: George Roussos
Edits: Tom DeFalco
Commander: Jim Shooter

"We must abandon all pretense of defense, gentleman! We must launch the offensive!! "
— Vance Wingfield

Summary:  Hawk briefs the Joes on Commander Vance Wingfield's para-military group "Strike First." The Pentagon believes the group is being funded by Cobra, and the Joes are to investigate. Hawk and Grunt are to infiltrate the group as new recruits and Snake-Eyes will be the back-up, keeping the camp under surveillance from the nearby forest.

Hawk and Grunt make note of the camps defenses as they train with the group. They try to "hold back" during training, but still appear in much better shape then any of the recruits. At night Hawk and Grunt sneak into the armory while Snake-Eyes listens in on the officers' meeting; one of the officers is Wingfield's wife. Wingfield reveals that Cobra has supplied "Strike First" with two nuclear warheads. Wingfield prepares to use a B-29 bomber to trigger World War III between the USSR and the United States by dropping a bomb on Vladivostok or detonating one at the camp in Montana.

After finding tanks and weapons in the camp's armory, Hawk and Grunt are captured. Meanwhile, Snake-Eyes breaks into the camp's communications shed and sends a message to Breaker at the Pit. At sunrise, the two Joes are taken into the woods to be shot, but Snake-Eyes saves them at the last second. They see the B-29 take off and Hawk steals a jet fighter and follows the bomber. Snake-Eyes and Grunt are pinned down as Wingfield's men fire upon them. Wingfield prepares to arm the men's wives and children. Hawk shoots down the bomber Carruthers is flying, damaging the fighter allowing Carruthers to eject. He does not eject and crashes into the ocean.

As the Joes arrive, one of the women attempts to leave with her child and Wingfield prepares to shoot her rather than let her leave. He reveals he has started a countdown to detonate the bomb hidden in the camp. A helicopter carrying a group of Joes lands at the camp. Before Wingfield can kill the woman, his wife Shary shoots him in the back. Hawk calls Zap in to disarm the bomb. With Grunt's help, the bomb is disarmed. And the "Strike First" camp shut down while the men are taken into custody.

Commentary: "Operation: Wingfield" is an interesting story that seems to foretell the growth of para-military groups or militias, and the group is based in Montana. Although the Joes call the members of the group "overgrown boy scouts playin' soldier" and Hawk and Grunt are too well trained to even pretend to be as clumsy as the recruits, Wingfield is a very dangerous person. Here, Cobra is only mentioned as the supplier and sponsor of Wingfield's group. It is obviously an insane idea for Wingfield to spark a nuclear war, but Cobra would certainly benefit from it assuming enough of the world was left for them to take over. Windfield's officers are obviously blind followers. When Hawk pursues the bomber piloted by Carruthers, he only damages the craft allowing the pilot time to escape. Carruthers does not eject and we assume he did so out of devotion to Wingfield's cause. Wingfield's wife, Shary, backs up her husband, but when his insanity goes too far he is willing to shoot one of the recruits' wives as she tries to leave with her child. Shary knows what she has to do and shoots her husband in the back. She stops her husband, although it's strange that she hadn't seen his insanity long ago.

While the plot is fairly simple, some elements are serious. When Hawk shoots down the plane he only does it to disable the bomber. This shows that Hawk, or any soldier, does not take any pleasure in killing and does what he can to avoid doing so. Snake-Eyes skills are showcased as he stealthily sneaks into the camp, noting where the least guarded areas are and even cutting the fence at the highest time of nocturnal noise level. This issue marks the only time we know Snake-Eyes' thoughts. We read his recon report here, although he still does not speak. There are a few areas in the story where it seems Snake-Eyes has just spoken or is about to, but this may be Hama's way of avoiding writing things like "what's that you are using sign language to say to me Snake-Eyes?" Luckily that's avoided. The dialogue would start sounding like an episode of "Lassie." The only other time we know what Snake-Eyes is thinking is in the last issue of the series, #155: "A Letter from Snake-Eyes." It's also nice to see Zap's talents showcased since he is barely seen in most of the series.

Now for the criticism. A strange glitch occurs in the story concerning Stalker's name. During the briefing, Grunt calls Stalker "ranger." Ranger is Stalker's function, and Grunt expects the ranger will go on the mission into the woods with all the "furry animals." He is surprised when Hawk tells him he is part of the mission. Later on, though, Stalker is referred to several times as "ranger" as if that is his code-name. The original joke apparently got a little confusing. Of course, the fact that there are no lower-case letters in comic books makes it tough to know if "ranger" was being used as a proper name. One other problem is Hawk's ability to fly a fighter jet. Hawk wonders if he can remember how to fly the jet. Flying jets is not a skill most people in the army know how to do, even a veteran like Hawk. I suppose it is possible he picked up that training somewhere.

The issue ends with a couple of local people driving by in a pick-up truck. Grunt bets the locals will be glad the Joes were on the job. The two men just note that they're movin' some real soldier boys" into Wingfield's camp and decide liquor prices will go up and everyone "best be keepin' a close eye on" their "women folk, too."

While Wingfield seems to have died in this issue, it's not explicitly stated. More than 20 years later, G.I. JOE: Front Line #11 (August 2003) introduced Wingfield's son, Tyler and reintroduced his wife, Shary. Vance Wingfield himself reappeared to plague the Joes, confined to a wheelchair in G.I. JOE: America's Elite #0 (June 2005).

First Appearances:

  • Recurring Characters: Vance Wingfield, Shary Wingfield
Reprinted in:
  • G.I. JOE Comics Magazine #2 (February 1987). Digest format from Marvel Comics.
  • Tales of G.I. Joe #4 (April 1988). Reprint series from Marvel. Includes issues #3 and #5.
  • 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 comic-based action figures of Snake-Eyes and Zap, and a figure based on Grunt in his undercover fatigues from this issue. It included no ads and all references to Marvel 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.
  • G.I. JOE: Best of Hawk (June 2009). Part of a series of reprints from IDW. Also includes issues #16, 45, 47, 70 and 74.