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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 17, 2024 15:34:10 GMT -5
GI JOE #64 All hail Darth Cobra! Creative Team: Larry Hama-writer, Ron Wagner & Russ Heath (!)-art, Joe Rosen-letters, Neil Yomtov-colors, Bob Harras-editor, Jim Shooter-gone, baby, gone; the love is gone. Synopsis: Fred's boat is under attack, in the Gulf, by Cobra Mambas (attack helicopters). He climbs into his pod and takes off, leaving the Vietnamese captain to die. He shoots down a Mamba, then gets close enough to the other that the Cobra gunners are afraid to fire, for fear of hitting their own men, when Serpentor orders them to target both craft. They spot Cobra insignia on the pod and allow it to land and Serpentor gets a surprise......  Meanwhile, in Utah, the JOE team has some new arrivals.....  Leatherneck seems overly concerned about security clearances, all of the sudden and keeps talking about "you-know-what." There is a big rumble and the quonset hut is shaken by vibrations. Chuckles looks out the window, but doesn't see anything and asks what's going on. leatherneck gets aggressive and says they don't have a "need to know." Meanwhile, two other guys, one in a pressure suit, one in a construction hardhat and jumpsuit, ask what all of the vehicles are about and says they nearly crushed them, before Leatherneck tells then "Schtum!" On Cobra Island, "Cobra Commander" is interrogated and gives the answers, but Serpentor isn't satisfied. CC grows tired and the natives grow restless, demanding a trial by combat to decide things. Meanwhile, The Baroness and Dr Mindbender are returning to the island, after being relieved of command at the New York Consulate, after the events of the Special Missions issue. They see the commotion and land and Zaran suggests she can sort things out, since she has seen Cobra Commander, without his mask. In Utah, Chuckles wakes up Psyche-Out to go investigate the rumbling they heard. They find some big tracks and they do not belong to a mountain lion or grizzly.....  We shift to Marseilles, where a freighter, from the Caribbean, arrives, with a guy in a rubber mask, a blind black man who gets around rather easily, and a woman who practices throwing knives. A sailor tips off some hoods and they follow, suspecting smuggling. The trio get into a Citroen CV2 cab and the hoods follow, intending to ambush them and take the valise. Scarlett spots the tail and alerts the Blind Master, who take a ballpeen hammer and hand grenade and tells the others to get down on the floor, before bullets start flying.... IN THE BACK SEAT OF A CITROEN CV-2?  ?  You can barely get your feet onto the floor, let alone your whole body! Blind Master blows up the hoods and Scarlett and Snake Eyes escape to make their train, to Boravia, though Scarlett notes that the Blind Master took his own ticket, so he will be rejoining them. Back on Cobra Island, CC is ordered into the Baroness' helicopter, alone, and remove his helmet to reveal his face to her, to determine his identity. Fred knows the jig is up and does it, expecting the axe to follow. He tells Baroness about CC giving up, to look after Billy and Fred deciding to fill the void. He is resigned to the firing squad that will follow...  ...except the Baroness covers for him and tells Fred that she is his silent partner. She intends to take over Cobra, with him. Chuckles and Psyche-Out return to barracks to find the lights on and figure they are cot, but discover a party inside and wonder where everyone came from. Thoughts: A lot of mystery setting for this issue. The new arrivals wonder what is going on in Utah and what the heck makes caterpillar tracks with 50 ft between treads? What is going on below ground? The Baroness knows Fred's secret, but feels it is her chance to take control of Cobra and get rid of Serpentor and other rivals. The whole "need-to-know" thing is a legitimate security concern with classified material and operations. Servicemembers are assigned a security clearance, which allows them clearance to read and be aware of any classified materials rated up to that level, but not materials beyond that clearance. However, that doesn't mean they have access to specific information, unless there is a "need-to-know." As a midshipman, I had a SECRET clearance, which meant I could view materials that were rated NON-CLASSIFIED, CLASSIFIED and SECRET. I could not view materials rated TOP SECRET or above. However, I didn't have any real access to anything classified as SECRET, except on summer training cruise. I didn't have a "need to know." Later, as an officer, I had access to SECRET message traffic, related to ship repairs and could read the message traffic during the Gulf War, though which didn't really contain anything I wasn't getting from CNN, except specific ship duties, for our ships deployed in the Gulf. Anyone assigned to GI JOE is going to have a SECRET or, more likely, TOP SECRET clearance, which would be indicated in their orders. When arriving at a new duty station, you report to the CO or their representative and present your orders. That would tell them all they need to know. Now, whatever is going on underground may be a different story, until they are cleared for that specific operation. Still, how do you hide whatever created those tracks? Even at night, it would be visible and satellites can see in the dark, with various surveillance systems, so that idea doesn't really work. If you paid attention to the toy line, you probably figured out what it was, based on the two guys who show up after Chuckles & the Gang, especially since one of them is wearing a pressure suit, like an astronaut. The bigger question is why an officer is bunking with enlisted personnel? An officer would be assigned his own quarters, either alone or with other officers. LT Falcon isn't just a call-sign, he is a lieutenant. he may train and fight beside his men, but no Army expects him to live with them. Some things just aren't done!  Meanwhile, we have confirmation that Scarlett, Snake Eyes and the Blind master are alive and the land mine was a diversion to get them off the books, to carry out a covert rescue of the imprisoned JOEs. Marseille is one of the biggest ports in the Mediterranean, and in Europe, as a whole. There is a panel where the sailor tells the gangster that no one smuggles drugs INTO Marseilles, which is total BS. Where do you thing the drugs come from? France isn't known for it's massive poppy cultivation. Marseilles is the main conduit for drugs coming into Europe, especially heroin, back in the days of the French Connection. It transits through the port; it doesn't originate there! Not sure what Hama was thinking, there. Meanwhile, that crack about the Citroen made me laugh. A CV-2 is Citroen's equivalent of a VW Beetle and the rear seat is just as roomy. You'd have to be toddler size to get down into the rear footwell. I should know; my dad owned a bug, when I was a toddler, before trading it for a Squareback. The Citroen is probably best on display in the early part of the james Bond film For Your Eyes Only..... Man, I hate that incidental music. It was about 6 years out of date then. Bill Conti di some great music, but not for Bond. So, we have the mystery in Utah deepening, and it involves very large vehicles; Fred impersonating Cobra Commander, now with the help of The Baroness, and Snake Eyes and Scarlett are headed to Boravia to free Stalker, Snow Job and Quick Kick. That's some decent plot for a few issues.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 24, 2024 16:24:33 GMT -5
GI JOE Special Missions #8 Looks like the mission went "t@#$-up!" Creative Team: Larry Hama-writer, Herb Trimpe-artist, Phil Felix-letters, Bob Sharen-colors, Bob Harras-editor, Tom DeFalco-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Synopsis: A C-47 Skytrain (or Dakota, to cite the civilian DC-3 version), painted black and filled with counter-measures and modifications to reduce noise and heat signature, flies off from Thailand, on a covert mission, to insert a JOE team, into a hostile country and retrieve or "terminate, with extreme prejudice" their target....  As you can see, the CIA "spook" is not exactly well though of, by the JOE Team. Then again, I don't know many people who are endeared by lying sacks of s@#$, who can't speak in anything but euphemisms and double-talk. Said "target" is an alleged "traitor and a spy" who was working on a project, in Thailand, and crossed to river with its secrets. If that river is the Mekong, then they are crossing into Laos. They reach the drop zone and Duke acts as jumpmaster, as the team gets ready to jump. Said team consists of Wet-Suit, Footloose (Footloose, kick off your Sunday shoes...), Flint, Beachhead, Tunnel Rat, Lowlight and Leatherneck. Not Recondo? Seems right up his alley. The team executes a low-altitude jump, while questioning why the target is being moved in a small convoy and not just put on a flight, to Moscow. They land and bury their chutes, then move out into the bush. They come across a village that isn't on their maps. The map was taken from a tax collector, which makes it current, but they soon discover why the village isn't on the tax collector's route and map....  Okay, that would suggest Cambodia, which means the river wasn't the Mekong, but one of several that form parts of the border between Thailand and Cambodia. It could still be Laos, as the civil war there left plenty of dead, especially among the Hmong, who fought for CIA-backed operations, during the secret war in Laos, as well as in opposition to the Communist Pathet Lao and their PAVN backers. The JOEs stop for the night, but can't risk a fire, so its cold MREs (blech....) and no lights. Footloose (Please, Louise, Pull me off of my knees...) examines the radios and find components that aren't on the wiring diagrams. Anderson, the "spook," issued the radios and Lowlight suspects they are being set-up. Someone just watched Rambo: First Blood Part 2 (Remember when First Blood was the emphasized connection between films?) In the morning, the team moves out and eventually humps to the ambush site, along a road. They deploy to provide a maximum field of fire and prevent an escape and wait. And wait. Eventually, they hear singing and bells. It turns out to be a young boy, herding the family water buffalo home. The convoy turns up behind him and yells for him to get of the trail, but he cannot, without injuring the bull. The convoy is made up of Soviet armored personnel carriers and they are loaded for bear. The "pucker factor" just increased on the JOE Team. Flint tells Wet-Suit to send the squelch signal to Anderson. The Soviet officer tells the boy to get the buffalo off the road and the bot tries to reason with him and he shoots the buffalo. Then, sirens go off and all hell breaks loose....  The Russians are trained and Beachhead gives Lowlight the signal to cap the target, but he runs into the bush before Lowlight can take the shot. Lowlight runs after him and says he will meet the rest at the extraction point. Leatherneck rips out the component that triggered the siren and Flint orders the team to disengage and head for the extraction point. The Soviet officer orders his men into the bush in skirmish order. The officer then turns to kill the boy, as a collaborator. Lowlight kills the man, at distance and the boy runs off to safety. The team makes it to the extraction point and radios in for dust off. A tomahawk comes in and lands to pick up the team. They start to take off as Lowlight comes charging in, with heat close behind him.  He climbs aboard and asks where Anderson is. Wild Bill tells him they have already "worked him over," after they caught him transmitting the siren to the radios. The ambush was set to fail, to cover Portland, who was a Trojan Horse, carrying a computer chip with a virus, which would be spread throughout their defenses systems when they incorporated the technology. Lowlight confirms that he didn't kill the double agent, but he shows them the case, with the computer chips. The whole mission was a complete waste of time. Thoughts: This issue is pretty much a commentary on the CIA's operations in Southeast Asia, during the Vietnam War. They played all kinds of games throughout the region, including assassinations in Vietnam and an entire secret war in Laos, propping up the government and attacking PAVN and NLF (the Viet Cong) forces using Laos as a refuge, to strike into South Vietnam. They operated under the cover of a private cargo carrier, Air America, which inspired the mediocre film, with Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr, from 1990. The CIA front ferried in special operations troops into Laos, conducted missions in support of the Royal Laotian Government and also ferried drugs out of the region, either in direct support or at least turning a blind eye to it. The re-educated village, with the skulls conjures up images of Cambodia and The Killing Fields, as the Khmer Rouge, under Pol Pot, launched a systematic genocide within the country. Between 1975 and 1979, some estimated 1.5 to 2 million people were executed by the Khmer Rouge....about a quarter of the population of the country. It was immortalized in the film The Killing Fields, which featured Cambodian-American actor Haing Ngor, in an Oscar-winning role, only to be later murdered in a street robbery, which some have labeled a political assassination. It was also the subject of the song "Holiday in Cambodia," by The Dead Kennedys.... (Warning: Awesome Punk music and some language) The mission itself is standard recon and ambush, with Hama and Trimpe illustrating a basic patrol pattern, through rough terrain, then setting up a textbook ambush, as they position an M-60 to fire down the road, at the column, and two fire teams to drive the soldiers towards the opposite side, where they have laid mines. The site features a bend in the road, taking the lead vehicle out of sight of the rest of the convoy...basically a place where any smart commander would have flankers deployed to watch for an ambush. The water buffalo prevents them from trying to race forward through the area. I'm surprised the JOEs didn't mine the road, itself, to hit the convoy and create a jam. Their best bet would be to have mines positioned at both ends, preferably remote activated, and hit the rear of the convoy first, to seal a retreat, and keep the vanguard oblivious, until they detonate the front end, trapping the center of the convoy between damaged or destroyed vehicles. then, just rain gunfire and grenades down on the convoy and troops. However, since they want their target alive, they have to allow some kind of route out, to herd him towards it. A prisoner snatch from a convoy, via an ambush, is a dicey situation, at best. Too many things can go wrong and result in a dead target, which suggested that it was just a cover for an assassination, though the JOEs just weren't paranoid enough to see that it was a set up to aid in the cover story for the Trojan Horse. Another nicely put together story which gives a modern gloss to old war stories.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 27, 2024 22:03:03 GMT -5
GI JOE #65 This seems familiar....... Never saw Marines with hair that long....even in the 70s! Creative Team: Larry "Buzz" Hama-writer, Ron "Gordo" Wagner & Randy "Deke" Emberlin-art, Joe "Gus" Rosen-letters, Bob "Wally" Sharen-colors, Bob "Gene" Harras-editor, Tom "Chris Craft" Defalco-head of MASA (Marvel Aeronautic and Stories Administration) Synopsis: Hasbro, needing to sell a ridiculously high ticket toy........ Ahem.... Some Air Force pukes....I mean astronauts...are busy working on a spy satellite, in Earth orbit.....  Um...guys...none of the shuttles had USAF markings....they were NASA spacecraft, not military transport. They all had USA and United States, plus the NASA insignia. Anyway, the satellite module update goes on-line and starts feeding data that has some crew soiling their space diapers. They get word to NORAD, NASA and, possibly General Foods, because they are low on Tang. They are observed by another satellite, which bears Cobra markings. On Cobra Island, Fred 7, aka "Cobra Commander," is s@#$in' bricks........ you shouldn't say that.......oh; s@#$in' rocks, because he is likely to be found out. The Baroness tries to reinforce his spine....  ...and, possibly, check his tonsils (the fun way). They are interrupted by Dr Mindbender with data from their spy satellite, about the American spy satellite, which may have uncovered the secret to the Terror-Dromes (that they are an easy target for an airstrike?). He tells CC that he knows what must e done and it must be done, now! CC has no clue and just BSes his way through and says "Do it!" Dr M is happy to have such decisive leadership again. Meanwhile, Hawk and Ripcord arrive at the Utah base and Hawk is shown to "The Pit III" ("This time, it's personal!")....  Main-Frame briefs Hawk on the spy satellite discovery. They detected a network of narrow beam transmissions. Once the other satellites are on-line, they should be able to triangulate the source. Meanwhile, on Cobra Island, "Cobra Commander" is leading from the front......  He and the Baroness are headed into space, in the fine tradition of astronauts and cosmonauts the world over.... Cobra launches their shuttle, which, of course , is picked up by NORAD and relayed to the JOE team. Payload, a new JOE, alerts Hawk and he tells him to get Hardtop together and draw their team...their mission is a "go." Up in space, the Air Force mission suddenly finds their radars jammed and soon discover why......  Sheesh; you know how big their launch booster would have to be to put that into orbit? Here's the math..... let's see, nought plus nought is nought......carry the 2..........how do you work this slide rule thing again.........Well, take my word for it; it would be big! Back in Utah, the ground opens up.......  The crawler moves into position and then raises the launch platform and then Payload launches the Defiant, the JOE Team's own space shuttle....... link(https://www.3djoes.com/defiant.html) Meanwhile, the Cobra shuttle has captured the satellite, with a robot arm, while an astronaut is still tethered to it, on an EVA.... The Baroness is alerted to a radar contact, closing fast. On the Defiant, the crew alerts the Air Force shuttle to release umbilical and get clear. They comply and Hawk tells Sci-Fi to arm the lasers. The Baroness orders her crew to target the Defiant and they get target solutions and she orders them to fire a salvo of missiles. Payload maneuvers out of their path, while Sci-Fi tries to get a laser lock for firing. They move in and Sci-Fi gets a target lock on the cargo arm and fires, severing it. They also score a hit on the Cobra ship, which causes the Baroness to be injured by inertia. She is out cold and Fred is starting to panic, as the crew starts bombarding him with damage assessments. The JOE crew deploy their cargo arm and secure the satellite and astronaut and bring them into their cargo bay. They fire a parting shot at the Cobra ship. They secure Maj Jones, the astronaut, who says Cobra was after the satellite, not him. They reverse course to go after Cobra. On the Cobra ship, Fred snaps out of it and calls for a damage report, then starts delivering decisive orders. They shut down unnecessary systems and prepare another missile salvo. The Defiant comes at them and fires lasers. Cobra responds.....  Cobra targets the other satellites and destroys them, severing the network and causing enough damage that the JOE team will not be able to triangulate the Terror-Drome frequencies. The JOEs have lost their navigation and targeting systems and withdraw to protect their crew and payload and Cobra also withdraws. Elsewhere, Scarlett, Snake-Eyes and the Blind Master have joined the circus....  Thoughts: Looks like Larry Hama has been down to his local Blockbuster Video again. Let's see, he rented Moonraker, You Only Live Twice, 2001 A Space Odyssey; and, he taped an episode of Hogan's Heroes and watched a bootleg video of Irwin Allen's The Time Tunnel! Basically, this is one big commercial for the latest GI JOE toy, the Defiant space shuttle and launch complex. Some assembly required. That's an understatement! This issue actually got its own commercial..... ...which is a real Ouroboros (snake eating its tail), as it is a commercial for a commercial for the toy! The cost over $100 retail, which, adjusted for inflation, would be around $270, today. For a kid's toy. The tooling model cost around $2 million, in development. It was the most expensive model for Hasbro, at that point and the shelf box for the thing was even bigger than the USS Flag, measuring 28 in x 46 in, per the 3D Joes site. Hell, with that much cardboard, you could create your own space station complex! Kids then (and today) had no concept of the possibilities of cardboard construction! All of this ignores that you have to have the right launch window to insert a craft into Earth orbit, not to mention the logistics of obtaining and transporting the rocket fuel to Cobra Island, the telemetry and communications network, tracking stations and the inevitable contractor cost over-runs. Who's allocating the budget at Cobra anyway? If there was that much money in Amway products, more suckers....er, product reps would be raking in fortunes! Meanwhile, how secret can a base be after you launch a large rocket from it? Not only will Cobra know the location for the GI JOE base, but so will the Soviets. While we are at it, why weren't the rest of the JOE team in pressure suits, like Payload and Sci-Fi? It may be a shirt-sleeve environment in orbit, but not on launch and not during combat with enemy spacecraft! There is macho and then there is just plain stupid. Fred 7 faces his crucible of leadership, as the Baroness is incapacitated and he rises to the occasion, shaking off his fears and doubts and assessing the situation and deciding a course of action. One of the things you learn in the military is how to react to crises. It's a military axiom that no plan survives contact with the enemy. You fall back on your training and adapt to the situation. That is why the military drills again and again, throwing new hiccups into the equation and devising strategies to deal with them. It's also what drives me nuts in the corporate world, as upper management refuses to deviate from schemes that aren't working and haven't prepared contingencies. Everything will always work right, first time. In the military, we know that is a load of bollox and "plan for Murphy" (Murphy's Law-anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.). You also find out what you are made of, when the "defecation hits the oscillator!" I have discovered, through the years, that I am pretty cool, in a crisis, though my heart will be racing. It served me well through my years with Barb, with medical incidents and mental health episodes. I grow very calm, outwardly, and reassure the person and deal with the emergency people, giving them as much info as the need, as directly as possible and keep the other person calm. I have sat in ERs, unable to do much else except calmly talk to my loved one and just try to get them to relax, as much as possible and let them know that they are in good hands and we will get through it. It's all you can do. That is really all leadership is...doing what is necessary, with the tools available, while keeping everyone focused on a goal and working together. I didn't necessarily start out that way, as a young officer; but, I had an experience, after the ship had secured from a Damage Control drill, where they called Emergency Flight Quarters, as our helicopter signaled an engine problem and requested an emergency landing. I was Helicopter Control Officer, meaning I sat in a tower, above the flight deck, monitoring conditions and signaling that it was safe to launch and recover the ship's helo. When the call came down, I didn't even think and ran out of Damage Control Central, headed for the flight deck. We still had doors shut, from the drill and I slammed into them, throwing up the locking arm, to release the "dogs" while the rest of the deck crew, running up behind me, shoved me through the door and I continued to the next bulkhead and door, until we were on the flight deck and I climbed up to the tower and the deck crew donned their gear. We signaled a "green deck" in just a few minutes of hitting the flight deck and recovered the helo. They weren't in that desperate a situation, but we demonstrated that we could handle it, if they were. It did a lot to erase some doubts in my head about my ability to handle a crisis. I still struggled with political and administrative BS; but, I knew that when it counted, I could handle it. Fred has that moment. He is filling his flight suit, upon launch and deferring to the Baroness; but, she goes down and it is up to him and he comes through the doubt and stress and finds the core of his character, to react to the situation. Of course, that core leads him to try to kill the JOEs, so it isn't a perfect metaphor.  There is a subplot going through this commercial, as we get further hints about what Cobra is doing with the Terror-Dromes and why they are selling them so cheaply, all over the globe. There is something bigger going on, which will carry us forward through the storyline. Meanwhile, we check in on our covert rescue team, as they join a circus, in Austria, which will be heading into Borovia. Once again, Hama has been taping tv shows, but I will get to that next issue. Meanwhile, on last gripe: do you know how long it takes to move something the size of the space shuttle? A crew of 25? The JOEs have one guy. he's either really busy or NASA is padding the payroll! 
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Post by foxley on Oct 28, 2024 2:07:59 GMT -5
It's more likely he rented You Only Live Twice than The Spy Who Loved Me (although the two movies have essentially the same plot): the scene where an astronaut is performing EVA when his craft is attacked by a larger enemy spaceship is lifted straight from YOLT.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 28, 2024 10:28:43 GMT -5
It's more likely he rented You Only Live Twice than The Spy Who Loved Me (although the two movies have essentially the same plot): the scene where an astronaut is performing EVA when his craft is attacked by a larger enemy spaceship is lifted straight from YOLT. Yeah, that was a brain fart and I have corrected it. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 7, 2024 0:09:00 GMT -5
GI JOE #66 Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS Meets Enter The Ninja! Creative Team: Larry Hama-writer, Ron Wagner & Randy Emberlin-art, Joe Rosen-letters, Bob Sharen-colors, Bob Harras-editor, Tom DeFalco-Col Klink Synopsis: Storm Shadow and Billy are busy making shadow puppets.....  Jinx comes in with surveillance photos of the gulag, in Botovia, which they have identified as the place where Stalker, Snow- Job and Quick-Kick are being held. They further identify an acrobat with a circus, which has moved into Borovia as Scarlett. In Borovia, said circus plays to a sparse crowd of Sgt Mosiev and some lady soldier and he recognizes the ringmaster the White Clown and uses that knowledge to taunt him.....  Scarlett tries to assist the dwarf but is rebuked, as an outsider. She laments to Snake Eyes that they are no closer to finding their friends, when in comes the ninja clan with the intel. The dwarf, Orlovsky, sees the clown back to his wagong, then notices a light on in the main tent. He looks in and finds a group meeting in secret.....possibly Masons or Shriners.....  See? Funny handshakes and signs! Orlovsky goes to the clown and rats out the others and says they can sell them out to Mosiev, in exchange for information about Magda, the missing bareback rider. The clown says he would do anything to find Magda. In the gulag, an alert sounds as a guard reports an escaped prisoner. Mosiev goes hunting and leaves the camp in Ilsa...I mean Olga's hands. The ninjas and Scarlett garotte the gate guards and head for the watchtowers to silence them. Olga tries to beat information out of the prisoners. She turns to Boris The Canary and he starts singing a song, claiming Snow-Job planned the escape. Olga knows Boris is lying to save his own skin. She has him dragged out to be beaten to death. Boris doesn't last long, but neither do the guards, as they run into the ninja team.  The ninjas emerge victorious and they walk into the barracks, armed to the teeth and pass out weapons to the prisoners. The start a mass escape and steal a truck, saying they are headed west and invite all to come along; but, the Borovian dissidents intend to hide in the mountains and work to bring down the government. Mosiev returns to the camp and finds the guards (and Olga) dead. He heads for the river crossing point, to try to intercept the escaped prisoners. Near the river, the JOEs see the electrified fence and gaurds that cut off the border to Austria. They also spot reinforcements moving in, by truck. Escape looks unlikely, when they find an unlikely ally. Down below, Mosiev and a soldier hear "booms," and wonder if an artillery unit is nearby. They then spot the JOEs on the other side of the river. Mosiev takes aim with his Dragunov sniper rifle, but an officer blocks him, reminding him of shooting the bareback rider and the trouble it caused. the JOEs are on the other side of the river, in Austria and killing them on Austrian soil would cause an international incident. he turns his sights on the bluff above and sees the White Clown and Orlovsky, then spots Stalker taking aim at him. They both pull their triggers....  Mosiev loses and Stalker climbs into Orlovsky's cannon and is launched over into the river, escaping to the other side. The Clown tells Orlovsky they will make it out and reminds them that to betray the JOEs to the government would betray Magda's memory and everything she stood for. Thoughts: If this plot seems familiar, then you, like me, probably saw the first season Mission Impossible two-parter, "Old Man Out." In the episodes, the IMF team has been tasked with breaking out of prison a Catholic cardinal, from an Eastern Bloc country, who is the leader of the opposition to the repressive state. The cardinal was inspired by Cardinal Josef Mindszenty, of Hungary, who had opposed the Nazis and then the subsequent Hungarian Communist government, for which he was imprisoned, by both groups. He was freed during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and granted asylum in the US Embassy, where he remained, for the next 15 years. he was finally allowed to leave Hungary, in 1971 and then lived in exile, in Austria, until his death. The cardinal's imprisonment also inspired the play, The Prisoner, by Brigette Boland, which was one of the influences of the creation of the ITV series The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan. In the episode, the IMF team goes into the communist country under cover, as a circus troupe, with Willy (Peter Lupus) as the strongman, and Mary Ann Mobley as Crystal Walker, a trapeze artist and old flame of Dan Briggs (Steven Hill) who he recruits, to aid them. Rollin acts as a pickpocket, in the crowd watching the performance and gets himself arrested, to get inside the prison and near the cardinal. He then uses smuggle lockpicks to get out of his cell and free the cardinal, then make it to the rooftop, where the rest of the team rig up a zip line and they speed down it, over the prison fence. The episode is usually ranked as one fot he best of the entire series (counting the two parts as a single episode. Same basic set-up, except they use the human cannonball prop cannon to launch everyone into the river, at the border. Then, it's sniper vs sniper. The ninja stuff and all of the hand gestures and philosophy slows things down and its more martial arts hooey, as ninjas were not spiritual warriors, but basic spies. Infiltrating the camp seems rather easy, especially after they are on alert for an escaped prisoner. They wouldn't take that big of a hunting party, with so many prisoners left to guard. More likely, they would alert nearby military and security units and they would do the hunting. Olga is pretty much the basic stereotype of female camp guard, ala the Ilsa series of Nazi-exploitation films, of the 70s, as well as the kind of dominatrixes you'd see on covers to men's adventure magazines and paperback covers, either Nazis or Communist, as either has been interchangeable as a boogey-man, in pop culture, after WW2 (while we propped up Right Wing dictators throughout the world, like Pinochet, Samosa and the Shah of Iran; and industrialists of the 30s praised Hitler). Thing was, there were enough real life examples to feed any exploitation series, as there were some real nasty women involved with the camps. Men, too...the worst of a whole rotten bunch. They were the real cowards, playing the bully against the helpless, rather than fighting someone who could fight back, on the battlefield. The Waffen SS were fanatics, but those involved in administering and guarding the camps made them look like a girl scout troop. Similar can be said of other armies and nations, where people were held as political prisoners in concentration camps, including many so-called democracies. The story is a bit abrupt in the escape, but we have been building to this. John Ostrander did this sort of thing better, in Suicide Squad; but, Larry Hama does a pretty decent job, here. You do expect the clown and orlovsky to rat them out, which makes the twist of them aiding in their escape better and you knew Boris, Olga and Mosiev would earn hangman's justice. Billy and the Blind Master make this a bit ridiculous (more Billy than anyone else); but, I'll let it pass. I assume we can now get back to Fred's attempts to wrest Cobra from Serpentor and the letters page asks if we will see Destro soon. I have a hunch, we will. More Special Missions, next time.
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Post by foxley on Nov 7, 2024 0:17:13 GMT -5
I suspect Hama got the idea of using the circus cannon to shoot someone over the border from one of the Modesty Blaise short stories were Modesty and Willie use the human cannonball cannon to shoot someone over the Berlin Wall.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 7, 2024 0:31:36 GMT -5
I suspect Hama got the idea of using the circus cannon to shoot someone over the border from one of the Modesty Blaise short stories were Modesty and Willie use the human cannonball cannon to shoot someone over the Berlin Wall. Possible, but a bit less likely, given that they weren't as big a deal in the US, compared to the UK and other English-speaking markets. Mysterious Press printed them here, and I had the whole set (in a few different editions, as they were hard to track down); but, Modesty had far more of a cult audience int he US. The strip was carried in the Menomonee Falls Gazette, a paper devoted to comic strips; but it wasn't widely syndicated in US papers, so the paperbacks were less well known and marketed. Octopussy had also come out a few years before, as well, with the circus cannon as a plot element (to hide a nuclear device). I think others have used the cannon idea, before that. Probably comics, possibly tv or movies and likely paperback thrillers. I recall a Charlie's Angels episode, with a group of male private eyes, as an opposite number for the Angels (led by Barbara Stanwyck) that included Olympic pole vaulter Bob Seagren, who has to vault an electrified fence and just happens to have a break-down pole handy, for just such an occasion. It was like an earlier test for Gymkata. There is a Six Million Dollar Man episode where he has to smuggle a Middle eastern prince out of the state, before he is murdered by his uncle, who rules as dictator, with the help of the USAF Thunderbirds and a hollowed-out nose section of Austin's T-38 Talon aircraft. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 9, 2024 22:46:47 GMT -5
GI JOE Special Missions #9 More fun in Afghanistan. I notice they stay out of Kafiristan. They must have heard of the reputations of Peachy Carnahan and Daniel Dravot! Creative Team: Larry Hama-writer, Herb Trimpe-artist, Phil Felix-letters, Bob Sharen-colors, Bob Harras-editor, Tom Defalco-Worshipful Master Synopsis: Some mujahadin lure a pair of Soviet Hind gunships into a mountain pass and then ambush them with CIA-supplied Stinger missiles....  We then see the CIA liason, the same dude that was there when the JOE team ran an op to steal a Soviet surveillance aircraft and brought it to Pakistan, after first dealing with both Cobra and the Oktober Guard. The guy is still a barrel of laughs. They trade 12 cases of Stingers for 3 Russian SPETSNAZ prisoners. Along for the ride are Psyche-Out, Lt Falcon and Slipstream. The JOEs don the uniforms of a KGB major, a GRU captain and a flight officer. The mujahadin leader directs them to the building, in the bombed village, where the three SPETSNAZ dudes await and "liberate" them. They then tell them that they have need of troops who are "off the books," for a special mission. They are to be flown into Iran, disguised as GI JOE team members, to rescue and American CIA section chief! They are taken to their transport, a captured WW2 JU-52 transport plane......  Falcon claims that the corrugated metal skin will confuse modern radar (*COUGH- bull@#$%-COUGH*). They take off, with Slipstream at the controls and are given the JOE codenames, for the mission. They are outfitted with American uniforms and weapons and then parachute when they are across the border. They are to rescue the CIA chief and then rendezvous with the aircraft. When the Russians hit dirt, it is clear they haven't bought this story.....  They flag down a transport bus, which happens to be carrying Gabar Zoroastrian religious dissidents , who are persecutedfor adhering to the ancient Persian mono-theistic religion, by the Islamic government. They welcome the "JOEs" as liberators. The Commies are dropped off at their target. Meanwhile, it is made clear that Psyche-Out didn't intend the Borscht Boneheads to actually believe him, but that they will see out the mission to get the CIA man and take him to the Soviet Union, so they will be heroes and be given privileges. The SPETSNAZ dudes assault the compound where the CIA guy is held prisoners and "nadrat' zadnitsui vzyat' imena!"  They get the man out and ride the bus out to the rendezvous point, with the militia hot on their tail. They promised the Zoroastrians asylum, in exchange for their help in getting the CIA man out. Lt Falcon and Psyche-Out start to argue, but incoming fire makes a good point and the load the plane and take off. Meanwhile, the Commies use the distraction to head north to the USSR border. Psyche-Out foresaw that plan, but not the refugees, though that helps them, as the Iranians can't afford to shoot down a plane of religious refugees. Thoughts: Yeah, this whole game of human chess doesn't really work very well and the plan makes no sense, other than the JOEs want the Soviets to take the blame for their rescue of a CIA section chief. Not sure how they are going to do that, with the Russians in American uniform. The Iranians will say it was the dogs of the Great Satan, no matter what. They need Soviet sympathy and aid, though the Reagan Administration was busy selling them weapons to fund Contra operations in Nicaragua, as the Iran-Contra Scandal would reveal, around this time. The CIA provided Stinger missiles to the mujahadin and it greatly equalized the fight with the Soviets. The Hind gunships were a major search and destroy platform, utilized by the Soviets, to go after the rebels. the Stingers were sophisticated, shoulder-fired surface to air missiles, which could down the gunships. The mujahadin didn't need air cover, because the Stingers took out the Russian aircraft. The CIA funneled this aid through Pakistani Intelligence, which had created a nucleus of fighters among the mujahadin, to battle the Soviets. Among those fighters were Osama Bin Laden and the core of what would become Al Qaeda, who would then use their CIA training to launch attacks on the US, after taking umbrage at US troops stationed in Saudi Arabia, in the Gulf War. To have infidels welcomed near the holy city of Mecca was unconscionable. So, jump ahead a decade abd we are fighting terrorist that we trained. Hama largely gets the basics of the Soviet special forces correct. The SPETSNAZ fell under control of the GRU, Soviet Military Intelligence, while the KGB was in charge of state security and espionage. The KGB had its own military ranks and special operations forces, who were in play during the hardline coup, seeking to seize the Russian parliament building, where Boris Yeltsin had made his stand. Yeltsin put in a call to Gen Alexsey Lebed, of the Soviet Airborne forces, to protect the parliament, while he was also receiving orders from the coup hardliners to seize the building. His memoir was published in English, detail the situation, as he basically acted to protect the parliament, while seeming to comply with KGB orders, without actually accomplishing anything, delaying action long enough for the coup to collapse. I assume the use of yet another vintage aircraft was Hama throwing a bone to Trimpe, who held a pilot's license and was an aviation enthusiast. So far, we have had PBY Catalinas, C-47 Skytrains and now a Junkers JU-52, a plane rather similar to the Ford Trimotor, as both were early commercial passenger aircraft. The difference is that Lufthansa aircraft were designed to be easily converted to bombers and military transport planes, allowing the Germans to circumvent the armament prohibitions in the Treaty of Versailles, until they gave up any pretense of abiding by it. The JU-52 was the workhorse of the Luftwaffe, dropping airborne fallschirmjager troops over Crete and Belgium and The Netherlands, transporting men and supplies to the Russian Front and North Africa and also taking part in bombing missions, during the Blitz. They had also been used to bring the Spanish Army of Africa, and its officers, to launch a coup of the Spanish republic, touching off the Spanish Civil War, with planes flown by the Condor Legion, German pilots acting as mercenary soldiers for Gen Francisco Franco and the Nationalists. Zoroastrianism was an ancient Persian religion, based on the teachings of Zarathustra (Zoroaster, in Greek), which featured a monotheistic system (though there is debate about that, though you could say the same about other faiths, at different points in their history). At the center of it is the supreme being Ahura Mazda, who is opposed by the destructive spirit Angra Mainyu....basically, the equivalent of the Judeo-Christian God and the Devil, in terms of their roles in the faith. It is said the Ahura Mazda will ultimately triumph over evil. The faith's main religious text is the Avesta. There is some belief that contact between the Hebrew and the Persians, during periods where the Persians dominated the region, that their belief systems influenced teachings within the Hebrew faith, leading to changes, though this is disputed by other scholars....as you would expect in these kinds of debates. Zoroastrian priests were known as magi and they are referred to in the Gospel of Mathew as coming from the East to pay homage to the Christ child. The decline of the Persian Empire and the conquest of the region in the 7th Century AD (CE, as they say, now), as Arab muslims established an Islamic caliphate. Under the new rule, Zoroastrians were persecuted as infidels. This led to a migration of many, seeking escape from persecution, including a significant group who fled to India, the Parsi. The Parsi were able to settle in India and largely remain unchanged by assimilation. This group includes Farrokh Bulsara, better known as Queen lead singer, Freddie Mercury. Upon his death, the family held a private funeral, under Zoroastrian tradition. The term Gabar was a derogatory term for Zoroastrians, in Iran, though it became a sort of cultural identity. It has similarities to the Arabic word for infidel, which is linked to other racial slurs, in South Africa. The Russian uniforms we see are far closer to actual combat gear of the era than the Oktober Guard, though the use of the AK-47 rifle is still incorrect, as the Soviets were using the AK-74 in Afghanistan. trimpe's depiction of the Stingers is basically right, though some of the details, like the IFF antenna, are greatly simplified. This one is a bit disappointing to me, as Hama kind of buries the plot under an overly-complex con and it kind of collapses under the weight. Psyche-Out is not a character I like, too much, especially as Hama uses him to poke fun as Freudian psychology, which is low hanging fruit. Also, he never seems that perceptive and is mainly there as an excuse to explain a plot twist that is pretty hit and miss. LT Falcon remains under-developed and, considering he is an officer, seems to defer to lower ranks far too often, for things other than their basic expertise. I don't know whether this is Hama's prejudice against military officers or just more of an affinity for certain character types. I don't think the former is that strong, as Hawk is treated fairly well and so are a few other senior officers; but, he never really does anything with the junior officers. Non-comcs are the backbone of any military and I guess Hama is more at home in that world. Write what you know. Besides, he's an Army puke.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 9, 2024 22:48:55 GMT -5
ps The Russian phrase in the synopsis roughly translates (according to google) as "kick ass and take names."
The Worshipful Master bit is a Masonic joke, which I urge you to read Kipling's "The Man Who Would be King" and/or view the excellent John Huston film, to understand the connection.
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Post by foxley on Nov 10, 2024 0:05:55 GMT -5
ps The Russian phrase in the synopsis roughly translates (according to google) as "kick ass and take names." The Worshipful Master bit is a Masonic joke, which I urge you to read Kipling's "The Man Who Would be King" and/or view the excellent John Huston film, to understand the connection. As a lit geek and a movie buff, that's two thumbs up for "The Man Who Would Be King" references. It always amazes me that the movie isn't more well known.
I introduced a friend of mine to Kipling's more adult stories (he was familiar with The Jungle Book and The Just-So Stories) by showing him the movie and then loaning him Plain Tales from the Hills, which contained the short story.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 10, 2024 1:56:54 GMT -5
ps The Russian phrase in the synopsis roughly translates (according to google) as "kick ass and take names." The Worshipful Master bit is a Masonic joke, which I urge you to read Kipling's "The Man Who Would be King" and/or view the excellent John Huston film, to understand the connection. As a lit geek and a movie buff, that's two thumbs up for "The Man Who Would Be King" references. It always amazes me that the movie isn't more well known.
I introduced a friend of mine to Kipling's more adult stories (he was familiar with The Jungle Book and The Just-So Stories) by showing him the movie and then loaning him Plain Tales from the Hills, which contained the short story.
Here in the US, it just wasn't marketed well. I recall the trailer on tv, but I didn't see it until it was shown on Cinemax. Loved the film and read the original story, in college, in a lit class. I used to have a really nice two-volume set of Kipling, with his main novels, the Jungle Book and the Just-So stories, as well as some short stories and poems. Gave it up in a move, to my utter regret. I later found another volume of the Jungle Book, a volume that included some of his fantasy work (with a forward by Neil Gaiman, and a paperback of the Just-So stories. He gets a lot of flack fo colonialism, which is deserved; but, the man could write and that story is just perfect adventure. I enjoyed the film's expansion of the narrator into Kipling, himself and Christopher Plummer was his usual great self in the role. I recall hearing Huston talk about how he had wanted to do the story years before, with Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart, which would have lacked the Britishness, but would have been an interesting pairing. Caine and Connery were a perfect double-act though. Kim Newman put Daniel Dravot into his Anno Dracula series, as an agent/bodyguard for the Diogenes Club. Makes perfect sense, since he is a Mason and fits with the whole Masonic conspiracy theory, as well as the Masonic connections within British police and security services. I'm also quite partial to Huston's other film, with Caine: Escape to Victory (just called Victory, in the US). Great film, terrific soccer game at the heart of things. That was when the North American Soccer League was in its brief glory, so I actually recognized a few players, since I had watched some of the New York Cosmos games, with Pele on the team. |
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Post by foxley on Nov 10, 2024 6:52:33 GMT -5
I'm also quite partial to Huston's other film, with Caine: Escape to Victory (just called Victory, in the US). Great film, terrific soccer game at the heart of things. That was when the North American Soccer League was in its brief glory, so I actually recognized a few players, since I had watched some of the New York Cosmos games, with Pele on the team. Can't say I enjoyed that one. Sylvester Stallone was just so misplaced, and was the embodiment of the Hollywood's idea that Americans won't watch a movie unless it has American hero. Because Americans are the only race capable of heroism. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 10, 2024 11:27:46 GMT -5
I'm also quite partial to Huston's other film, with Caine: Escape to Victory (just called Victory, in the US). Great film, terrific soccer game at the heart of things. That was when the North American Soccer League was in its brief glory, so I actually recognized a few players, since I had watched some of the New York Cosmos games, with Pele on the team. Can't say I enjoyed that one. Sylvester Stallone was just so misplaced, and was the embodiment of the Hollywood's idea that Americans won't watch a movie unless it has American hero. Because Americans are the only race capable of heroism. I just tune him out and focus on the real actors and the game. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 13, 2024 18:34:06 GMT -5
GI JOE #67 And that's a court martial for Lady Jaye, for striking a superior officer or non-com. Nice knowin' ya, toots! Creative Team: Larry Hama-writer, Ron Wagner & Randy Emberlin-art, Joe Rosen-letters, Nel Yomtov-colors, Bob Harras-editor, Tom DeFalco- chairing the tribunal. Synopsis: A C-130 lands in Utah and the entire JOE team turns out (not in dress uniform, I might add......never happen in a Navy operation) to welcome home the returning members from the Borovian mission....  Heh-heh...yeah....Nixon..........president again..............ha-ha.........  Stalker is searching for someone and spots them...Outback, hanging back from the crowd, alone. Stalker goes right up to him and tells him de did good. Outback still feels like he let them down, for bugging out to report what happened and Stalker sets him straight.....  " Um...yeah....we'd have done the same thing.......nice job, dude...ahem....um.....I'll just be in the PX.......Outback springs for the drinks, while Scarlett Snake Eyes de-plane and come face to face with Flint and Lady Jaye. They walk past the Defiant crawler, heading back to the below-ground hangar ( TM Irwin Allen )....Flint says something stupid and Lady Jaye commits an offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, with witnesses. She then reads them the riot act about Scarlett and Snake Eyes caring enough about them to not implicate them in is obeying orders. Flint gets the message and Scarlett and Snake Eyes leave them alone......more so they can do their own mamboing, in the horizontal orientation. Hawk tells the returning AWOL couple that they have been cleared due to extreme psychological stress, from the landmine explosion, affecting their judgement, or some other BS, concocted by Psyche-Out. Meanwhile, in the until-recently unknown Scandinavian nation of Frusenland, near the capital city of Frusenhagen (where they eat Frusen Gladje, three meals a day!), not far from the Haagen Dasz District, Prime Minister Volff (he's the one sniffing The Baroness' backside....) is given a helicopter tour, by Cobra Commander (Fred VII), The Baroness and Dr Mindbender and he isn't impressed....  Must have told them that the driverless Dromes are completely safe. Volffie tells them to go pound sand, that he is severing all acquisition ties with Cobra and switching to the US Government, leasing them Arctic bases and weapons testing grounds, though they don't really want the Cyber Trucks that were attached to the deal....by someone....... Dr Mindbender argues that the US has run out on allies, before and CC-Fred tells Volff that he doesn't want to end up in exile, with Imelda Marcos, sorting shoes. The Baroness smacks her head at that blunder. Volff tells them they don't need Terror Dromes and The Baroness tries to snow him with internal strife, which makes him laugh.....  They land and the Prime Minister departs, leaving Sir Humphrey to try to negotiate...oh, wait, that was Jim Hacker....never mind. Cobra is unloading a cargo ship, which Volff questioned, but the Baroness claims to just be warehousing stuff and they have the proper import licenses and paperwork. His limo pulls away and The Baroness makes a cryptic comment. The Trio board their ship and then activate the secret of the Terror Dromes.....  All of a sudden, the Dromes extend out antenna and they start broadcasting and people start acting like it is election season.......  They toast to civil disorder and to Kwinn, then reveal that Kwinn succeeded in providing them with the plans for the Soviet paranoia device, which they have installed in the Terror-Drome, which are now inducing false hysteria and fear in the populace, leading them to violent action, which then creates a need for increased security and weaponry to maintain the peace, which creates new arms deals. We switch to San Francisco, where Storm Shadow, Jinx, Billy and the Blind Master watch a news report from Frusenland, as Prime Minister Volff makes an announcement that he is declaring martial law, to quell the unrest. A snot-nosed punk, in a Van Halen shirt, tries to snatch Jinx's purse and gets felled by the Blind master's cane. A beat cop tries to arrest the kid, but the Blind Master claims that he tripped over his cane and grabbed the purse when he tried to stop his fall. He whispers to the kid to nod along. The cop gives up and the Blind Master hires the kid to show him around, earning money rather than stealing it. Billy doesn't understand and Storm Shadow says that showing the punk that someone cared would do far more than locking him up, as a thief. He says they abhor violence, which Billy says is a strange philosophy for a martial artist. Storm Shadow responds with a bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with breaking boards and kicking ass! Something about honor and the warrior hating war, but still fighting, and I think Hama is having a flashback to an argument from a peace activist. In the background, we see Prime Minister Volff signing an agreement with Cobra Commander and The Baroness, to supply munitions and equipment. Thoughts: So, we basically provide a coda to the prisoner rescue storyline, lifting Outback's spirits and basically flipping a middle finger to the JOEs who questioned Outback leaving the others behind. That may have been intended as a commentary about abandoned MIAs or it might have just been a literal statement about the storyline, which can be read into similar situations. I am reminded of the tag line to the Ridley Scott film version of the book Blackhawk Down, "Leave No Man Behind," which conveniently ignores that was exactly what happened, in Mogadishu, as the US Government had to negotiate the release of the surviving captured Blackhawk crew. The "rescue mission" was a fiasco and the only rescuing was getting themselves out of a mess created at command level. The book far better details the failures there, while Scott ignored reality to tell the story he wanted....much like with his tinkering with Blade Runner. I've said it before and I will say it again: Deckard being a replicant undercuts the central theme of empathy, which the human Deckard has to learn from the artificial man, Roy Batty, to reclaim his humanity. That was the central point to Phillip K Dick's original novel. Scott knows better, though, because he is never wrong...just ask him...or listen to the commentary. I like a lot of his work, but he has gone completely up his own @$$, in recent years. Can't understand why his star and much of his production crew couldn't get along with him.... Anyway. That storyline is finished and whoever handles admin is preparing the charges being filed against Lady Jaye for her court martial. And for Flint, for fraternization with an enlisted. Oh, and while we are at it, add being out of uniform, to Lady Jay. There is no way you can properly wear US Army utilities and show that much cleavage....any cleavage, actually, since a t-shirt is part of the uniform. Hair is non-reg, too. And put some spit to work on those boots! Look alive, soldier! Sorry....flashback. Meanwhile, in our storybook Scandinavia, land of reindeer herders and baby seal clubbers, Cobra has turned their Ice Station Zebra maguffin into an actual weapon....to create arm sales? Why not just conquer the nation outright? I mean, Military-Industrial (Congressional) Complex and all that; but why not just cut out the middle man? The US Government is the world's largest arms dealer......by a very wide margin. This is Omni-Consumer Products-level strategy. CC-Fred kind of p***ed away his points from the space battle with one bad crack. He may find himself looking for another job, if he isn't careful, though I'm sure he could find himself a suitable position with similarly minded employers. Recent history, around the globe, suggests several suitable organizations and governments. Kind of makes the originals screeching and cackling look nostalgic. The Baroness is trying to hold things together; but, of course, she is the lone female in a boys' club, so who is going to listen to her. Zarana doesn't really count...she's an outside contractor. The ending seems a bit out of left field; but, I think Hama was kind of rebutting the notion that soldiers are war mongers, by definition. Nothing in life is that cut and dry, though I'm not sure he gets his point across well, with the philosophical approach. It's the inherent problem of providing a deterrent. In a wild environment, the strong prey upon the weak. By showing strength, a predator thinks twice about attacking and moves along to easier prey. That's all well and good, until you start looking for reasons to show off how strong you are....as a deterrent. One nation's deterrence easily becomes another's naked aggression. He seems to make the point that politicians act without honor, creating wars in which soldiers are forced to fight and the solder is blameless for carrying out their duty. That's getting into messy territory, if that is what he is saying, because honor is no more a concrete thing than and other philosophical construct. There will always be a murky grey area that is situational that leads to redefining what "honor" means. Warriors are no purer than the rest and history has shown that the code of Bushido was no more sacrosanct than the European codes of Chivalry. An army will take an advantage when it presents itself. The "surprise attack." Were the fire bombing campaigns in WW2 "honorable?" They were as much terror attacks as the Blitz. Lip service was given to strategic targets, but with little evidence to support those claims. It was an "eye for an eye;" a strategy which leaves everyone blind. That is the problem with war...it is messy and a total failure of mankind. It is easy to criticize with the benefit of hindsight, but it is also just as easy to extrapolate where a course of action may lead, before you take it, if you are imaginative enough. It is easy to rationalize decisions as being for the greater good, like the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki potentially saved thousands, if not millions of lives. There is no way to really know if things would have played out in that fashion. You can extrapolate, based on the fighting on Iwo Jima and Okinawa; but, that doesn't mean that there weren't alternatives to such course of action, like a complete naval and air blockade of Japan, a country largely dependent on imported resources for its war machine. We easily had the resources to carry such a thing out. The counter-argument would be the kamikaze attacks; but, given the depleted nature of pilot trainers and actual aircraft, plus the effect of a complete blockade, could such a strategy be maintained for long? Anyway. Cobra bad, JOE good. Come back next time as the JOE team carries out Operation Snowstorm. The Battle to Liberate Frugenhagen has begun! Freedom to all fictional Scandinavian deserts!
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