It just dawned on me! Cobra tried to kidnap the President of the United States in R.A.H.: Special Missions #24!!! How could this not have major consequences?!? Who in the U.S. would ever have serious dealings with these bozos? I'm assuming the whole thing was kept under cover, but still... the Jugglers would have to be insane to deal with them... (Yes, I know it was Fred VII who was "Cobra Commander" at the time, but who else would be privy to that piece of intel.?)

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"The first rule about Punisher Club:
nobody talks about Punisher Club..."

Really, the only reason I brought this up is that the Jugglers would have to be aware of the fact that Cobra tried to kidnap a previous president. I just can't see anyone in a position of power being able to (or wanting to, for that matter) pull off the stunt of allowing Cobra to control security details for America... Maybe I just don't know enough about politics. Heh...

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"The first rule about Punisher Club:
nobody talks about Punisher Club..."

Hama didn't write it. As such he probably forgot about it.

The ones Larry wrote tended to not deal with those types of plots by Cobra.

Oh, and taking a peak at yojoe.com for the credits of the issue and I just want to say...holy crap Dave Cockrum penciled a G.I. Joe comic?!

You'd be surprised, some of the writers and pencilers you can find in old Joe mags. There's a short story Grant Morrison wrote starring Storm Shadow that's one of the slickest Stormy stories I think I've read.

That was a weird issue - Ladies' Night. Cobra had really recently had their "merger" with Destro's Iron Grenadiers and it almost had to be one of Fred VII's random absurd schemes, which of course factors in heavily once you realize it's one of the really absurd non-Hama issues.

Still ... a team of specialists including Zarana ... Crystal Ball ... and Firefly? Zarana and Firefly. Solid team (See: Phoenix Guard). Crystal Ball ... his "cheesy" first issue, not like when they actually used him a handful of times later to strong effect as a master manipulator guarding the Serpentor operation ... or as a freelance interrogator working with Night Creeper Leader in I.R.I.Z.

(I'm dying to see a bit of the Gate/Costa Crystal Ball rub off on the Classic Continuity)

Cockrum's likeness of George and Barbara Bush was pretty solid.

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2013, NEW SPRITES!

I actually had to dig out my issues because I didn't remember which one you were talking about. Honestly except for a few parts I still think this was a pretty solid issue. Yeah the plots a bit absurd and some of the dialogue is cringe worthy, but there are still some solid moments.

As for making this fit, well...you can sell it to the U.S. public that it was a fringe group (even though it wasn't), maybe. Or perhaps the U.S. government covered up an almost successful kidnapping of the President and instead played it as some random stunt or 'war game'. I dunno, but it's possible that what Cobra almost got away with was down played.

As for the Jugglers, the Jugglers know what Cobra really is regardless of the attempt on the President so this incident doesn't really change their position. My guess is that Cobra infiltrated the Jugglers (like they have Congress) or Hama is really playing the Jugglers as evil now or there are enough corrupt Jugglers that Cobra has power over and the others are too scared of what is going on to rock the boat. After all, the U.S. Capitol got invaded in 155 1/2 right? So that's really got to rock some guys to their core, and if Cobra said siding with us is the only way to keep your families and the country safe maybe the Jugglers would be willing to make a deal with the devil in order to face that much uncertainty ESPECIALLY if no one realizes that Cobra was behind the invasions on the U.S.

Better the devil you know and all that. So maybe the Jugglers say "hey, Cobra hasn't stormed our capital (in years) and the attempt on POTUS was way back when a different guy was in charge, maybe we should get the help we can from them rather than fight them AND the wackos who have gotten closer to hurting us than Cobra ever did".

It's a stretch but I'm enjoying the current ARAH series so much I'm willing to make the stretch.

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"It might do to include a rear-view mirror in the next model." -Destro

Yay! Destro's Back!

One glaring problem in this issue to me -- continuity-wise, anyway -- was Raptor's involvement. In the comics, he just stops appearing as of issue #64 or 65, and then shows up again in #98 or so. And at least Mindbender doesn't seem to know who Raptor is at all.

JMM

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Good points! I think I'll have to agree with sethbarton on this... "The enemy you know..." and all. Cobra played the Jugglers and they're stupid enough to think that they can play Cobra... It's kind of like what is going on with our current President and Islam. He thinks he has a serpent by the tail and that's when it's at its most deadly...

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"The first rule about Punisher Club:
nobody talks about Punisher Club..."

Yeah, unlike other Cobra mercenaries ... it's hard to imagine Raptor having much of a life or career outside of Cobra ...

No seriously! Guy frakking talks to birds!

I always figured he was either "off doing bird-based Special Missions", or the infinitely more likely "The aftermath of the Cobra Civil War and the Destro-Merger meant he had a TON of accounting paperwork". Plenty of time to play "Bird Breeder" when it's all sunshine and hope for the future of terrorism ... but you start having your own guys blow each other and their tank apart and the organization begins BLEEDING money.

If anyone knew where to find him for "one last Special Op", though ... it was Fred VII.

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2013, NEW SPRITES!

I dunno, after all Raptor was already in his full on bird mode when Cobra Commander (the real one) meets him. Fred VII already knew Raptor and utilized him when showing off the Pogo (that's what it was right?). Raptor was already dressing up like a loon waaaaaayyy before he joined Cobra, so I don't think it's much of a stretch (if you are going to buy a guy dressing up like a giant bird there isn't much stretching left to do) to think that Raptor could have been working for previous clients (or buried in paperwork) for a long time and not come in contact with the Cobra high command.

That and I really don't think anyone would have been too keen to introduce Raptor to the rest of the high command, he strikes me as "that guy", you know, the one who is an acquaintance but you don't really like to claim. Yeah, Raptor is definitely the "that guy" of Cobra.

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"It might do to include a rear-view mirror in the next model." -Destro

Yay! Destro's Back!

If I remember Raptor's file-card right, it was actually Destro who first encountered him and decided that his "attack birds" might have a special place of use in the schemes of Cobra. Granted, if you can train adult raptors to attack on command, they could seriously jack some people up. How realistic that goal might be... well... I guess even Destro has to have some flops from "interesting idea on paper" to actual product before release (or discontinuation)...

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"The first rule about Punisher Club:
nobody talks about Punisher Club..."

well I don't count non-comic stuff as a source. I don't mind looking at file cards or anything to enhance the Joe-verse, but if it contradicts the comics than I just ignore it and in the comics it was Fred VII who brought Raptor to Cobra's attention. Maybe Destro knew about him or had business with him beforehand, but his Cobra dealings were all originally via Fred VII.

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"It might do to include a rear-view mirror in the next model." -Destro

Yay! Destro's Back!

That would work except for one fact: L. Hama probably wrote that very file-card and was the very source of the comics that he was writing for. He (probably) expected us to know that... Heh...

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"The first rule about Punisher Club:
nobody talks about Punisher Club..."

Couldn't spot that one... in which issue is it?

The only Grant Morrison story I found was an Action Force issue with Quick Kick:
http://www.yojoe.com/comics/af/af17.shtml

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䷾ scryptic
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"The only way to bear the snakes is to become one." - Cobra Commander, Cobra Reborn