G.I. Joe #6 // Review
Duke has got Cobra Commander at gunpoint. And since this is only the sixth issue of the new G.I. Joe series, the two haven’t met before. This is only the first time Duke’s even heard the name of the villain, but Cobra Commander knows Duke. And he’s about to deliver his “we’re not so different, you and I” speech. All that Duke would have to do to end it would be to pull the trigger. That’s not going to happen, however, as writer Joshua Williamson continues his opening for the new “Energon Universe” iteration of the popular franchise with artist Tom Reilly and colorist Jordie Bellaire.
Cobra Commander has a brain bomb that’s about to go off in Washington D.C. And while that DOES sound like a set-up to a joke, it’s very real. If Duke doesn’t act soon, everyone in the immediate vicinity will become a mindless zombie following the orders of Cobra. Given the fact that that happens to include everyone in the nation’s capital, it’s going to be really easy for them to take over one of the most influential nations on the planet. So Duke has to think quickly if he’s literally going to be able to save the United States.
Williamson strikes a suitably pulpy climax to G.I Joe’s first encounter with Cobra. The action is framed quite well in the time-honored tradition of high stakes,npulpy good-vs-evil conflicts. Both the arch-hero and the arch-villain get a chance to beat the hell out of each other as elements of story reveal themselves that will likely prove to be even more interesting as they move forward. Williamson isn’t exactly drawing on very many larger themes with respect to the story in question, but it’s more sophisticated than many of the original “Real American Hero” stories from the early 1980s.
Reilly slams the page with some serious percussion. The fight between Duke and Cobra Commander feels remarkably powerful given Reilly’s willingness to pull the perspective of the fight into a variety of different angles...often pulling things back far enough that both combatants seem like abstract representations of themselves in wide-angle silhouette. It’s a remarkably sharp and stylish approach to the action that is made all the more powerful by Bellaire’s colors.
It all fits together quite well on the page as Williamson and company push forward into a shared universe between the two Hasbro properties. The big reveal at issue’s end feels quite vivid. There’s a strong sense of a larger orchestration going on between the two series that feels like it might prove to be an interesting iteration of both properties. It’s still a little early to be certain whether or not the Energon Universe is going to be as successful as earlier iterations of the properties. Williamson and company have done an admirable job of delivering some of the first bits of story into that universe. It will remain to be seen quite precisely how everything is going to fit together in the larger picture.
