G.I. JOE #23
Cobra Commander
Captured at Last!

Cover Date: May, 1984
Script: Larry Hama
Breakdowns: Mike Vosburg
Finishes: D'Agostino & Tartag
Colors: George Roussos
Editor: Denny O'Neil
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Summary:  On the border of Italy and Switzerland, Snow Job is perched in the mountains, watching a convalescent chalet fifty miles of Bern, Switzerland. Through his binoculars, he spots the Baroness, still in bandages on a balcony of the chalet. He radios to Duke and Roadblock who have set up their surveillance equipment (a camera and Duke's radio/briefcase) at a table in a sidewalk cafe across from the Hotel Bern. As Duke orders Snow Job to stay put, Roadblock complains to the chef about the quality of the food. Soon, Major Bludd exits the Hotel Bern and gets in a taxi. The cab is followed by a car with Clutch and Cover Girl inside. Back at the Pit, Hawk tells Breaker that Duke's request for backup is denied since the Pit is still being renovated and no one else can be spared.

Back in Switzerland, Major Bludd enters a telegraph office to make an overseas phone call. Clutch and Cover Girl wait outside. Bludd calls Cobra Commander and asks him to pay ransom for the Baroness.He refuses, but Bludd threatens to tell Destro that the commander tried to have him killed. Cobra Commander gets in a car and orders his masked driver to take him to the airfield after a stop at the bank and the luggage store. Back in Switzerland, Clutch and Cover Girl meet Snow Job in the mountains and they both see Bludd arrive at the chalet. Inside, the Baroness shows Bludd her new face and her new outfit, and Bludd gives her one of two tickets to Lucca, Italy. Snow Job can read the ticket's destination through his binoculars.

The next day, Duke and Roadblock are in Lucca, Italy at yet another cafe. They see several people in costume, including one man in a costume similar to Cobra Commander's outfit, but it's not him. The waiter tells them it's the time of year when the Annual International Fantasy Convention comes to town and the main event is a costume party. The streets are filled with people in cosume. Duke realizes Bludd chose Lucca as a meeting place because the Cobras would blend in. In the mountains North of Lucca, Cover Girl and Clutch spot a old car built in 1931 carrying people dressed gangsters. The car is driven by Bludd and the Baroness. After a brief chase, Clutch's Porsche crashes into a streetlamp. The people in the town just think it's part of the convention. Bludd's car rounds a corner and spots Duke and Roadblock readying their trap. They crash into the cafe, where the gangsters attack the two Joes, allowing Bludd and the Baroness to escape.

At a nearby hotel, Bludd, the Baroness and two gangsters meet with Cobra Commander and his driver, who turns out to be Storm Shadow. The gangsters are no match for Storm Shadow. The ninja pulls a sword on Bludd, but the Baroness pulls a gun on the commander. A stalemate. Roadblock and Duke break in and attack Storm Shadow and Bludd, allowing the Baroness to escape with the commander at gunpoint. They speed off in the commander's car, with Clutch and Cover Girl just behind. Storm Shadow and Bludd pursue them in a parade float shaped like a dragon. Snow Job arrives in the Vamp, where Duke is lifting a chandelier off of Roadblock after Storm Shadow cut it down from above him. They get on the Vamp and follow the other vehicles into the mountains. A firefight ensues and Clutch's tire is hit. Clutch swerves, determined to stop the dragon float from continuing. He only succeeds in tearing off the float's dragon facade and wrecking the Porsche. The Vamp drives by and Clutch and Cover Girl "commandeer" a motorcycle. The chase continues until a cement truck comes from the other direction, knocking over the Vamp. Clutch and Roadblock set the Vamp on its wheels and get in the Vamp. Clutch drives over the side of the mountain and manages to tumble down to another part of the winding road, blocking Cobra Commander's car. The Baroness escapes by leaping onto the passing float carrying Bludd and Storm Shadow. When the other Joes arrive at the scene in the commandeered cement truck they see Clutch and Roadblock holding Cobra Commander at gunpoint.

Commentary: Issue #23 continues on with some of the leftover storyline from the major story that ended in issue #19. We finally see where Major Bludd has taken the Baroness and find her alive and well. Some of the story borders on being silly, but there's enough action to satisfy readers. As the story opens, it appears that Duke has taken over Hawk's position as field commander. Hawk only appears back at the Pit, overseeing the HQ's rebuilding. Hawk's role in the series will be much the same until his promotion in issue #45. One thing that is a little confusing here is Mike Vosburg's Duke looks almost exactly like Hawk. A few lines here and there indicate Larry Hama's attempt to make Duke an old veteran, like when he calls Cover Girl and Clutch "young-bloods."

Humor is plentiful in this story, with Roadblock's constant food critiques in the European restaurants. In those same scenes, however, Duke and Roadblock's surveillance his hardly "undercover" especially when Duke speaks into his radio in his briefcase opened on the restaurant's table. Clutch is as much of a "chauvanist pig" with Cover Girl as he was with Scarlett. At one point he suggests that they "make-out" so Major Bludd won't spot them. The exchanges between Bludd and Cobra Commander are funny as well with the commander insulting Bludd's poetry. Bludd decides that Cobra Commander is a "Philistine." The commander's attitude is quickly shaping into that of the unstable character always losing his temper. He doesn't even acknowledge his underlings' salutes as he exits Cobra headquarters through a fast food restaurant in Springfield. The Baroness and Bludd's suspicious characters come out when both are quite willing to abandon the other to save themselves. The Baroness' new costume that now matches her action figure is premiered for the first time in the comic. Supposedly, she has also had reconstructive surgery and has a new face, but in comic book terms, she looks the same. A quick appearance of Destro reminds us that he still believes the Baroness is dead.

In the realm of artwork, this issue displays how the look of a penciller's art is greatly affected by the inker. It's fairly obvious where D'Agostino's inking ends and Tartag's begins. The character drawings get much rougher than with D'Agostino's inks. Roadblock's mustache seems to disappear between scenes.

There are a few little questionable items in the story that a commentary has to address. One wonders if anyone can really read the destination written on an airline ticket inside a building, a valley away, as Snow Job does. Those are some powerful binoculars! Also, it's a little silly to think Clutch can tumble down the side of a mountain in the Vamp without hurting anybody inside. It sounds like complaining, and it may be anal to notice, but the Joes are tracking the Baroness' whereabouts with a hidden tracking device behind her ear. Not only is the tracking a device a tired plot device, it's doubtful that Baroness could have reconstructive surgery on her face without the doctor noticing the tracking device.
Reprinted in:
  • G.I. JOE Comics Magazine #9 (April 1988). Digest format from Marvel Comics. Includes issues #24 and 25.
  • G.I. JOE: Volume 3 (August 2002). A trade paperback collection from Marvel. Includes issues #21-30.
  • 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 Duke (June 2009). Part of a series of reprints from IDW. Also includes issues #23, 48-50, 80.