G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #86

The Joes have to stop an invasion of the Chrysler Building by the Iron Grenadiers. Along the mission, they are aided by the building's chief of security, a man named Joe...

Detailed summary

...Not Fade Away
High atop a famed New York City landmark, the Tomahawk is fired on by Iron Grenadiers inside the building. Lift-Ticket manages to evade the missile, with Muskrat saving Repeater from being thrown out the door, and he and Lady Jaye stay on board as Hawk leads a six man team rappelling into the upper levels, with Repeater providing covering fire. Hawk explains that there are three helicopters full of Joes on the way but they were the closest.

The team are met by the installation's security chief, Joe, who introduces them to the project director, Jane. They explain that they are part of the "star wars" program, bouncing rapid pulse electron beams off a target. Jane thinks Joe was premature in requesting an aerial insertion, since the top levels are isolated by a "dead" floor directly below and steel vault doors.

Three floors down, the Iron Grenadiers are exchanging fire with DOA agents. Their leader, "Mean Ol' Frisco", reports the progress of their operation to his senior, "C.C. Rider", via radio. Joe shows the team the floor above the dead one full of computer banks and Lightfoot quickly deduces that since the door opens inward it could easily be blown with explosives. Sure enough, the Iron Grenadiers are placing explosives on the other side while their fellows engage SWAT teams two floors down, sending up crates that the team's leader notes are their tickets out of there.

The defenders, including Joe, situate themselves to take on the attackers as they come through the door, although Muskrat and Repeater are quickly injured in the exchange of fire. "C.C. Rider" gives the order to use gas and the Joes retreat to the laser chamber, although Muskrat notes that the Iron Grenadier was using Toxo-Viper equipment. Joe suddenly realises that the attackers aren't after the actual laser, but the operating program disks from the computer, which is in the area that has just been captured.

Down below, the "Iron Grenadiers" remove their uniforms to reveal a group of Vipers led by Firefly, paying Destro back for raiding Picatinny disguised as Cobra. They are awaiting the arrival of a drone that will pick up the disks, with Cobra Commander and Doctor Mindbender waiting at a nearby hotel to receive it.

The Joes rapple down the outside of the building to the floor below the dead one and engage the Vipers, but make it through to the computer room just in time to see the Vipers heading off in multiple directions in Cobra gyro-copters. Joe deduces from a radar trace Lady Jaye reported earlier that the disks are on the drone and he and Jane set the laser for a satellite bounce, hitting the drone mere feet away from Cobra Commander's hotel window. Mindbender hastily shoos away the room service bringing them champagne.

As Roadblock arrives with a large group of Joes as reinforcements, Hawk announces that they should make Joe an honorary member of the G.I. Joe team. Joe and Jane both laugh: Joe was the original GI Joe 25 years earlier and Jane was their nurse. Muskrat comments that he always thought he was bigger.

Appearances

Featured Characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Memorable quotes

• None yet.

Other Notes

Errors

• The cover celebrates the 25th Anniversary of G.I. Joe, citing the years 1963 and 1988. But the issue came out in 1989, and the first G.I. Joe figure in 1964.
• The cover also spoils the "reveal" at the end.
• The laser program appears to be stored on 5 1/4" disks - dated technology even in 1989.

Items of note

• First Appearances: Joe Colton,^[2] Jane
• This issue celebrates the 25th anniversary of the whole G.I. Joe line in general. The cover features the use of metallic ink around the borders.
• This issue was reprinted in the G.I. Joe: The Best of Larry Hama collected hardback.

G.I. Joe references

• The "Iron Grenadiers" hump their gear in Arbco Office Machine Corp. crates.
• Muskrat says he's surprised that Colton isn't "bigger," a nod to the original toy's 12" size.
• Jane mentions she was the team's original nurse. The original 1963 line had an unnamed nurse figure, "The Action Girl Nurse."

Real-world references

• One of the tourists at street level calls the Chrysler Building^[3] the Studebaker Building, Studebaker and Chrysler both being types of cars.
• "C.C. Rider" and "Mean Ol' Frisco" are both famous blues songs.

Footnotes and References