The
Mountain
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Cover Date:
February, 1985
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Script: Larry Hama
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Pencils: Frank Springer
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Inks: Andy Mushynsky
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Lettering: Rick
Parker
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Colors: Charlie
Sheele
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Editor: Denny O'Neil
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Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
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Summary (by
Jeff Dill):
Continuing from "All Fall Down", this issue begins moments
after Firefly's satchel charge decimated Snake Eyes' cabin. Destro,
Firefly,
Fred, Spirit Iron-Knife and Airborne lay wounded in the snow from the
fierce
battle. As vultures hover over the fallen soldiers, a portly gray
haired
asian man appears, scaring away the winged scavengers. The man goes to
Spirit and renders first aid. As the stranger helps Spirit, Destro
sneaks
up behind them. Destro fires two wrist rockets at the good samaritan's
back. Inches before the rockets hit, he deftly deflects the two rockets
away with his pick axe.
Stunned by the skilled evasion of the rocket attack,
Destro stops his
assault. The mysterious newcomer introduces himself as Soft Master. He
tells Destro and the now conscious Firefly to take Fred and leave the
mountain.
Without a word of protest they comply with Soft Master's demand. As
they
are dragging Fred away, Soft Master picks up their weapons and tosses
them
at the retreating trio. Soft Master states, "...and take these weapons
with you. They are worthless to me."
At the Pit in New Jersey, the Joes are putting the
finishing touches
on the repairs of the base. Clutch, Recondo and Blowtorch arrive with a
VAMP full of ice cream and YoJo Cola for the dedication ceremony.
Clutch
parks next to Hawk and Duke who are looking at base blue prints. While
Blowtorch and Recondo unload the VAMP, Clutch asks Duke where he wants
the ice cream and soda stored. Sensing Clutch is holding something back
in the conversation, Duke asks Clutch what he really wants. Clutch asks
Duke if he had heard from Snake Eyes. Duke tells Clutch not to worry
about
Snake Eyes because he sent Airborne and Spirit to "keep an eye on him."
Scarlet is walking by and overhears the conversation. She confronts
Duke
and asks him why Snake Eyes needed people to keep a tab on him.
Back on the mountain in the high Sierras, Destro and
Firefly continue
to carry Fred down the moutain. Fred is conscious and angry about
leaving.
He asks for his gun back so he could return to the cabin and finish the
job. Destro tells Fred he is treading dangerously close to stupidity
and
adds he did not want to fight a man that could move faster than he
could
see.
At the cabin Soft Master and Spirit are tending to
Airborne's wounds.
Soft Master removes two bullets from Airborne's leg with his bare
hands.
Airborne asks Soft Master why he gave the weapons back to Destro and
crew.
Soft Master tells him by giving the weapons back, they know what
weapons
might be used against them. They now knew their enemy's limitations.
In an underground tunnel beneath Springfield, Major
Bludd, Baroness
and Billy rehearse their plan to assassinate Cobra Commander. When
Billy
shoots the Cobra Commander mannequin once in the head, Major Bludd goes
into a rage. He threatens to beat Billy because he didn't empty the gun
into the dummy's chest as ordered. Baroness stops Major Bludd and
assures
him Billy will do the job.
Back at the cabin Soft Master and Spirit start to remove
the debris
of the cabin looking for Snake Eyes. They find a trap door and open it.
On another part of the mountain Destro, Firefly and Fred discuss the
battle.
Meanwhile Zartan and the Dreadnoks are riding their
motorcycles on a
busy freeway while discussing the McGuire Air Force Base debacle. The
Dreadnoks
explain to Zartan their side of the story and tell him it wasn't their
fault the Cobra attack was a failure. An ARBCO moving van appears in
front
of them and the back cargo door opens. A ramp descends and they drive
up
into the cargo hold of the truck. Cobra Comander is inside the van
sitting
at a desk. He asks Zartan if he and the Dreadnoks would be his
bodyguards.
As the van continues down the roadway, Storm Shadow is seen clinging to
the top of the moving van listening to Cobra Commander's conversation.
Back on the mountain Soft Master and Spirit have pulled
Snake Eyes and
Timber from the hidden area under the cabin's floor. Spirit leaves the
group to find food and firewood. Meanwhile Firefly and Destro wake up
from
their rest to discover Fred missing. They see his footprints in the
snow
head in the direction of the cabin. They decide to go after him.
At Springfield the moving van pulls into the underground
tunnel and
parks near the room where Major Bludd, Baroness and Billy are
practicing
their assassination plan. They hear the van pull up and watch as Cobra
Commander exits. Storm Shadow appears from the roof of the van and
shows
himself to Cobra Commander.
Meanwhile on the mountain, Spirit is walking through the
snow when an
eagle appears and lands on his arm. The eagle takes flight and Spirit
follows.
The eagle dips and points out a blood trail in the snow. The trail
leads
toward Snake Eyes cabin.
In the tunnel Storm Shadow tells Cobra Commander how he
escaped from
Alcatraz Island. Cobra Commander offers Storm Shadow his job as
bodyguard
back at twice the pay. Major Bludd and Baroness are still hiding and
listening
in on Cobra Commander's conversation. Major Bludd is concerned by the
extra
security but Baroness assures him Billy will do his job.
Firefly and Destro follow Fred's trail right to Spirit.
They confront
him and tell him to drop his gun. Spirit is standing very still with
his
back toward them. He tells Destro to walk away quietly. Thinking it is
a trick, Destro and Firefly rush Spirit. Suddenly a huge Grizzly bear
comes
thundering out of the woods and charges the three. Fred appears at the
cabin and prepares to shoot Snake Eyes, Airborne
and Soft Master. Soft Master tries to talk Fred out of shooting them
but
is apparently unsuccessful. Fred aims his AK-47 at them. At the same
time Destro, Firefly and Spirit have been tree'd by the
bear. Firefly sets the timer on a satchel charge and starts to throw it
at the beast. Spirit snatches the satchel away from Firefly, telling
him
the blast will knock the tree down with them in it. Spirit jumps down
and
throws the satchel charge at the bear. The strap of the satchel wraps
around
the bear's neck. Spirit runs towards the woods, attempting to lure the
bear away from the tree. The bear doesn't follow and the charge goes
off,
vaporizing the bear.
Cobra Commander and Storm Shadow walk together through
the tunnel system
and up onto the street. As they walk Cobra Commander tells Storm Shadow
he knows Baroness and Major Bludd have turned against him. He promises
Storm Shadow he will tell him the name of the Hard Master's murderer if
he keeps him safe until that night's big Springfield town rally.
Destro and Firefly are still in the tree when the
weakened trunk snaps.
The tree topples over and slides down the mountain and over a cliff
with
Destro and Firefly still hanging on to the branches. At the cabin
Spirit arrives to find Fred laying in the snow dead. Soft
Master tells Spirit the only thing that had kept Fred alive was his
need
for vengeance after being beat in battle. When Fred saw how
unsatisfying
shooting them would be, his heart stopped beating. Soft Master sees
Snake
Eyes has regained consciousness. He tells Snake Eyes he needs to talk
to
him about who really killed the Hard Master. The tree falls into a
large river with lots of lumber floating down
it. Destro pulls Firefly out of the water and they pull together a few
logs to form a make-shift raft.
At the Pit Scarlett and Grunt are talking when a man and
woman dressed
in military clothing walk into the room from the elevator. Scarlett
hasn't
seen them before and immediately confronts them, asking to see
identification.
The woman smarts off to Scarlett and they have words. The man
intervenes
in the argument and tells Scarlett they are new Joes assigned to the
team.
They are identified as Lady J and Ripcord. Ripcord tells Grunt and
Scarlett
that they are their replacements.
At Fred's house a car pulls into the driveway. Fred II gets out of the
car and starts toward the house. Two children, Sean and Heather Broca,
rush out of the house and run toward the man they think is their
father.
When they reach him they quickly realize he just looks like their
father.
The kids tell Fred II that he looks like their daddy but he isn't. Fred
II tells them, "I am now."
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