Issue 305
Author: Larry Hama
Art: Chris Mooneyham
Covers: Andy Kubert and various others for variants
On to the issue
We begin Issue 305 with events unfolding, as Cobra Commander and some Vipers are examining the cyborg remains of those that self destructed at the end of issue 304.
Cobra Commander has one Techno-Viper doing preliminary forensic analysis on the remains. (Cobra Commander must also be trying to acquire more Techno-Vipers to his ranks, just like G.I. Joe Classified action figure collectors.)
Cobra Commander deduces that the cyborgs were spying on him while he was holding his rally in the recreation center.
The Tele-Viper looks at the fiber-optic thread and gathers a little information showing that the Vipers were modified by Revanche.
As a reminder, Revanche is an AI that has constructed and inhabited android/robot bodies of various shapes and sizes. The queen appears to be a gigantic caterpillar like creature. But there are blue ninjas, and other formations as well.
There is a brief discussion if the cyborg Vipers self-destructed, or another party took them out. The Commander orders an immediate search in case a 3rd party is loose in Springfield.
Elsewhere in Springfield, Dawn Moreno (the young woman imbued with many of Snake-Eyes memories) is transmitting to Duke and the Joe's back at HQ. She is keeping it on the down low, since she is at her parent's home. They seem to be loyal Cobra citizens of Springfield.
She describes how the cyborgs self-destructed after she beat them so as not to be discovered. (She is the 3rd party CC was worried about.)
Just then, she notices her parent's neighbor, a Crimson Guard, approaching. She name checks him as Fred 23 (standard numbers rather than Roman numerals of days gone by.)
Somehow, Fred 23 has already deduced that the attack on the rec center and the destroyed cyborgs somehow has the earmarks of their daughter Dawn. I know the comic needs to keep moving, but "Holy leap of logic, Batman." C'mon!
Her parents mention it would be best for Dawn to be deprogrammed by the brain wave scanner. After inviting Fred 23 inside, her Dad confirms Fred 23 told no one else so he could get the credit for bringing her in.
Then her parents clobber Fred 23 unconscious.
They are loyal to Dawn after all. They tell her they won't kill their neighbor, just keep him tied up so she can leave safely.
Back in the PIT, the tech team is working on the remains of one of the robots from the last issue. There is a vertical scene that is highly reminiscent of Marvel Issue 3. And then Marvel Issue 3 starts happening!! One of the hands starts moving on it's own!!
One of the OG Joe's who helped resolve that problem in Issue 3 takes care of business. His name rhymes with "Talker."
Elsewhere in the PIT: Spirit, Lady Jaye and Multo are working to engage some modified Vipers who are searching the Quonset huts "above" the PIT. There is some cool action as they take care of business.
A tense moment happens when one of the invading mutant Cobra's pulls the pin on a grenade. Lady Jaye and Spirit grapple with him. Lady Jaye covers his hands so the grenade can't activate. Someone shoots him in the head, then Multo cuts off the hand holding the pin so they can reinsert it and disarm the grenade. Grisly and awesome!
There is also more intrigue with Serpentor Khan, Mindbender, and Revanche. Including a very violent scene where a Python Officer (the one all in black) mutates and destroys a Revanche Blue Ninja. Wild! Looks like Serpentor Khan is planning on double-crossing Revanche.
There is also a scene at Destro's castle in Scotland. Destro and Baroness are hosting what appears to be Zartan, but is clearly a simulacrum (think Synthoids from the Sunbow cartoon). Serpentor and Mindbender are concerned that if the real Zartan were to turn up, that would throw quite a wrench in the plan. But the real Zartan is seen on the last page trying to elude a missile on his Swamp Skier.
Another action packed fun issue.
Now go buy that comic!!
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Issue 305 showed the continuation of the conflict between G.I. Joe and Cobra, and between Cobra and itself. The fighting continues, and intrigue is underway!
(all photos are courtesy of Skybound Comics and are used with the expressed intent for review purposes and to encourage you to purchase this book and then add the series to your pull list through your LCS or purchase/subscribe digitally. We thank Robert Kirkman for his investment in our beloved franchise and for Larry Hama continuing to serve us new stories moving forward. YO JOE!! These photos are part of the teaser solicit and are linked here: https://www.skybound.com/announcements/ ... n-hero-305)
Hope you enjoyed this review!
Now You Know - a little more about:Issue 305 Feel free to let me know what you thought of this issue in the comments or on Twitter or Instagram @yorktownjoe.
