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[shanecdavis]

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G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #177

Larry Hama (w) • Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema (a) • Herb Trimpe, Frenz (c)

The stakes are higher than ever! Cobra Commander has discovered the danger in the midst of Broca Beach, and has begun his preparations to face off against the Blue Ninjas. Meanwhile, DUKE, SCARLETT and STALKER split off on their own from G.I. JOE in order to head to Broca Beach. And with SNAKE EYES and BARONESS en route as well, this could be the showdown to end all showdowns. Prepare for the final confrontation in G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #177!

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

*Variant covers:
Larry Hama variant sketch cover cover!

Bullet points:
Featuring stunning art from industry legends Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema!


PREVIEW:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=12104

[RG1701]

Didn't Snake Eyes get get successive plastic surgery treatments to fix his disfigurement? I just saw one of the IDW ARAH TPBs in which his face was all fixed up...

I don't care what this title says, this is not a continuation of Marvel's ARAH

It's a different continuity with similarities and some identical history. It's like the Trek reboot.

[Leneer1]

I remember that Snake-Eyes had hot coals thrown in his face right after he got plastic surgery during the "Snake-Eyes Trilogy" story arch. He put a mask on again after that, but I don't recall the extent of the burns on his face or if he bothered to have surgery again.

I'm not a fan of the cyborg ninjas. They fall into the category of "Too much sci-fi" for G.I. Joe. They would fit better in Transformers or any number of superhero books. I have always enjoyed G.I. Joe best when it was military action with a smidgen of sci-fi within the realm of possibility. That said, I am digging the storyline itself. I enjoy the all out action, character moments, enemies forced to form alliances against a common foe, and the sense of events being set in motion that will change both Joe and Cobra forever.

I just feel that this all could have been accomplished with a more realistic foe than cyber-spider and his terminator buddies.

[shanecdavis]

That's the beauty of continuity, it can be whatever you want it to be! For me, I see Mr. Hama cutting out the more ridiculous aspects of the latter part of the Marvel run. Snake Eyes is back to his disfigured self, as he should be. Colton is back to being just a civvie and liaison for the Joe team, as he should be. This is definitely my continuation and aside from a few black spots it has been a return to the glory days of the Marvel run. Here's hoping Mr. Hama will stick around for #200, or dare I dream, #250!!!

As for the issue itself, aside from the art I thought it was just a terrific read! I won't go into too much detail as I myself am not a big fan of spoilers but this issue is chock full of action and suspense and I cannot wait until next month! Still not a big fan of the Terminator plot, but it is providing one hell of an interesting story. I will add my thoughts later after people have had time to read it.

I also went with Cover A, although neither cover stood out to me much.

BTW - Leneer1, we see Snake Eyes without his mask in #149, prior to the horrible Cyber Castle story. Bad writing, worse art, and it has no place in my continuity.

[Mamu_Nestor]

There were a lot of references to the past in this issue. I liked it a lot. Looks like SE is on another rampage like in the Marvel 104 series. I wasn't sure about Se leaving SS in the hospital, but I guess he was ding a "Charlie Mike"...
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Author: Karate is Self-Defense Available at Amazon.com. Kindle Version Coming Soon.

[General Tekno]

Still counting on the Blue Ninja leader being Cobra Commander II, myself.
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Big Time Toons - updated Tuesdays!


And what I say is OK to Print!

[General Tekno]

Well, read and finished the issue. I have to say, I LOVED the touch about reminding the troopers (and the reader) that the Cobra troopers are people with families who are now being threatened. It adds a rare human element to the story and helps me root for Cobra here.

Also, I kinda got curious given how the Blue Ninjas know Broca Beach so well.... did some digging, and it seems it was set up under Cobra Commander II's reign? As this lends credence to my "BN-001 is Fred VII" theory.
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Big Time Toons - updated Tuesdays!


And what I say is OK to Print!

[Beach-Head v2]

I just gotta say I freaking loved seeing CC's Sigma Six suit as his new battle armor(even if it is the wrong color).

[ER]

Voted for and bought Cover A

Pages 1-4
Baroness taking SS to the hospital - love it! Larry gets her dialogue perfect here, showing her to be the spoiled aristocrat that she is. "It's BARONESS DeCobray, if you don't mind." Ha ha. She once "killed" SS and now she's saving him.

I do have to subtract a few points for the SE face continuity glitch. His face was restored in #93-94 and was only minorly damaged afterward. For the last 50 issues or so of the Marvel run we saw his real face several times and there were just a few minor scars. But oh well. Continuity glitches are going to happen in a series that's now 30 years old and it's not going to stop me from enjoying what's good from it.
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30 Years of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero! 1982 - 2012

[ER]

Pages 5-7
Cobra Commander written very well - somehow obsevant enough to spot the BN phoney in a crowd of siegies - and this is the first time since #116 (I think) that we get confimation that Tomax and Xamot are still active in Cobra. "Name the two commanders of the Crimson Guard!" Awesome!

But on the downside, the blue ninja gets taken down pretty easily compared to how difficult they were to defeat in previous issues.

Pages 8-9
The Baroness and SE outrunning the cop in their souped-up ride - Love it!! And we see that Baroness and SE will be using some souped-up ammo against the BNs. I suppose if we assume that CC gave this stuff to his siegies it would account for how quickly they took down the BN earlier in the issue.

Pages 10-11
Wow, Larry does an amazing job raising the tension of the story as we see the Cobra Troopers' concern over thier families. (I totally agree with General Tekno on this) And I agree wih Beach-Headv2 about the CC Sigma Six battle armor - nice touch! Also great to see Vipers, Techno-Vipers and Tele-Vipers all on the same page!

Pages 12-13
This is so much fun - classic Storm Shadow! And it's great that we get a reference to SS's gun shot wounds from the past "some of which should have been fatal" probably referring to #48 when the Baroness gunned him down.

Pages 14-18
The main action sequence of the book - more great stuff! And we see that BN-001 has arrived onto the scene.

Pages 19-20
Hmm. An unexpected development with the Cobra copters running out of fuel and taking over the ship. It will be interesting to see where this goes. Is there something on the ship that will be key to taking down the BNs? Hmm.

Pages 21-22
Looks like all heck is about to break loose - can't wait for #178!!

Larry continues to deliver huge with the action, suspense, pacing, etc. Such a total blast to see a circumstance that has SE, Baroness and Cobra teamed up together! If only the BNs were highly skilled ninjas with advanced weapons and not robots I would really have no complaints other than the SE face continuity glitch. Despite these complaints, though, I absolutely love this issue - thanks for another great one IDW!

Script: "A-"
Art: "B"
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30 Years of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero! 1982 - 2012

[Leneer1]

Maybe Snake-Eyes tripped and fell face first down several flights of stairs in between issues. That would explain why he's back to wearing a mask again.

Seriously though, didn't Larry read the last ten issues of G.I. Joe to refresh his memory of where he left off? You think he would've caught on to the fact that Snakes was walking around sans a mask. Or perhaps he just decided to overlook that fact. I don't think Larry cares all that much about continuity. I believe the only reason he gave us an explanation about Sneak Peek being alive was because we raised such a stink over it. Guess it's not overly important in the long run (maybe the guard just thought Snake-Eyes was a very ugly man), but an explanation for the current state of Snakes' face would be nice.

[Mamu_Nestor]

Several of the last 10 issues wern't written by Larry. And he doesn't read stuff he has written about from other authors.
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Author: Karate is Self-Defense Available at Amazon.com. Kindle Version Coming Soon.

[Leneer1]

True, but Larry wrote the general lot of them, and Snake-Eyes was unmasked in those particular issues. Of course, if Phil Gosier's/Scott Koblish's artwork from #151 is any indication of what Snakes looks like under his mask no wonder the guard reacted the way he did. He looks as if he's suffering from acromegaly (as do most of the characters in the issue).

[blackjax30]

As Leneer1 said, during the Snake Eyes Triology he was most definitely burned again after his capture with the hot coals thrown in his face when he fought the Paine Brothers, disfiguring him.

[cashel]

I really wish Larry would stop retconning stuff. The editor needs to read the trades and remind hama of continuity gaffs. This sort of stuff bothers me. I can't help it. I know this is all made up but it makes past issues feel negated. The ongoing continuity and reference to past events is what originally attracted me to g I Joe. I'm just wondering if Larry is actually forgetting past issues or just choosing to ignore them. Oh-well-i still enjoyed the sigma six reference and the cobra troops' concern for their tallies.
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Thank-you IDW for supporting G.I. Joe: the revamp and ARAH. Here's to forty-nine years of adventure!