“Sins of the Mother, Part 4”

Writer: Mark Powers

Pencils: Mike Bear

It has been two weeks since the Baroness’ escape from The Rock during the assault by the Phoenix Guard. Able to free herself during the confusion of the attack, the Baroness managed to procure several back-up discs from a server room (subduing two members of the Rock staff in the process) before making her way up to the hangar for her confrontation with Zarana. The flashback ends with her lamenting the fact that what she must now do, she does alone.

In present day Honduras, the Baroness and Destro stand in a “Mexican standoff” in the presence of Cobra Commander. The Baroness has made her intentions toward the Commander quite clear yet Destro cannot allow her to harm him. The two spar, with the Baroness subduing Destro who seems reluctant to harm his ladylove. Destro reveals that he cannot allow harm to come to his former ally because the Commander is in possession of their son.

Spirit and Snake Eyes arrive in Honduras as the airstrip where the Baroness landed. Inside the plane, they find and release Flint who was left bound and gagged in passenger compartment. Flint agrees to join up with the duo stating, “duty calls”. The trio departs into the jungle, observed by Blackout who reports their progress back to Cobra central. He follows the Joes back to the Cobra facility and, with the help of several armed blueshirts, manages to capture them. Before they are brought before the Commander, Snake Eyes signs a simple message to Blackout: “Traitor”.

Upon seeing his one-time companion, Cobra Commander laments what he and Snake Eyes could have accomplished. The moment passes and he orders Blackout to execute the prisoners. However, the Baroness wishes to bid a final “goodbye” to Flint. She kisses him, stating that he will now join his beloved Jaye, and slips him what appears to be a small key. As Blackout steps in to take his shot at Fairborne, Flint frees himself from his restraints and assails Blackout. A firefight ensues, with the Joes fighting Blackout and Snake Eyes engaging Cobra Commander. Things are brought to an abrupt halt when Destro announces that the Commander is still under his protection. Sensing the tide has turned, the Baroness states that all she wants is the return of her child and she will leave Cobra. The Commander laughs and refuses, until Destro puts forth a more tempting offer. He agrees to turn over the totality of his empire- his corporations, his troops, and his technology over to Cobra in exchange for the return of his son and safe passage for himself and the Baroness. The Commander accepts but adds in the condition that Destro’s son Alexander now belongs to him. Destro unmasks and he and the Baroness leave with their son—whose name is revealed to be Eugen.

Flint steps forward and demands that Cobra Commander and Blackout stand down and surrender. The Commander laughs and reveals that he has the names and locations of every living family member of every soldier who has ever been a Joe at his disposal. If anything happens to him, Vipers are standing by to wipe out everyone on the list. Sensing that this is a battle they reluctantly cannot win, the Joes leave with Spirit stating that this is “not over”. The Commander replies that this is only the beginning. Later, as the base is being evacuated, a blueshirt comments to his leader that this development makes him the most powerful man in the world. The Commander shoots him dead and replies “Now you’re seeing the possibilities.”

Review:

I said it last time and I’ll say it again- Mark Powers and the crew at Devil’s Due have put the “GIJoe” back into “America’s Elite”. This issue, which serves not so much as the end of “Sins of the Mother” but more as the prelude to the forthcoming “World War 3”, does something that hasn’t been accomplished in a long time. This issue makes Cobra Commander a real and dangerous threat to the entire world. Not since the end of Devil’s Due’s “A Real American Hero” volume has the Commander been shown to be this ruthless and deadly. The shift in power that the transfer of MARS represents is astronomical and Powers and company set the stage for what has the potential to be the biggest GIJoe story arc ever in World War 3.

There are a few points that bothered me such as how Flint knew Blackout’s code name and the fact that Cobra Commander was essentially keeping a baby inside a bookshelf. (Notice the little Cobra mobile over the bed? Creepy!) However, the issue itself is a solid piece of writing and one that promises to return GIJoe back to the conflicts of old, rather than the “satellite silliness” that plagued the first issues of this title. Bear’s artwork is still a bit “murky” for my tastes but he manages to make each of the characters clearly individual and keeps their uniforms and gear believable. I’m a harsh critic of his but that’s only because I was such a fan of Tim Seeley’s work on GIJoe. However, the artistic direction of the book is growing on me and if Mike’s run on the book is a long one I’ll be a happy Joe fan. Overall, an outstanding piece of publishing from Devil’s Due that firmly establishes “GIJoe: America’s Elite” as a “must-read” title each and every month.

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