Written by Chuck Dixon, art by Robert Atkins, covers by Atkins, Agustin Padilla.

Snake Eyes alone against Slice and Dice at the top of the world! Helix at her most ferocious! And Iceberg and Alpine must try and make it down a Himalayan peak with a half dozen Trouble Bubbles on their tail! Snake Eyes and his team carve out their own bloody corner of Cobra Civil War!

32 pages, $3.99

Cant wait to see Slice and Dice in action....

I know I've been pretty critical of Padilla's art since he started out as the artist of ARAH through the first storyline, but I have to give credit where credit is due. While I did like Robert's cover, Padilla showed me that he is a good artist. He might not have the right tone I expect in a Joe book, but he sure put together a good image.

Inside we were treated with an epic Snake Eyes battle, which Robert handled masterfully. One of my favorite panels was the one with Snake Eyes leaning back to avoid Dice's chain. I said it before, but Vik's bravado was very reminiscent of Marvel CC (pre-"death" era) and just really fit with what I imagine the next CC should be. We also learn that he is somehow connected to the Arashikage clan and that Snake Eyes made a decision to leave the clan to become a soldier. Vik also hints at some kind of division within the clan. All in all a solid start to this issue.

Gears were switched outside to Iceberg and Alpine and Dixon continued with his strong writing. The banter between them was entertaining and you could see Iceberg using levity to try to keep Alpine's spirits up. Couldn't help but laugh at the 'race' comment.

The fight scene continued with Robert's incredible art. Each panel was visually satisfying and each panel flowed into the next. Not sure Snake Eyes purposely dove into the water or if the moment was carrying him and he chose to take Dice with him. Either way, it was a nice semi-cliff hanger as we went back to Iceberg and his decent from the mountain. The trouble bubbles caught up with them and he still used levity to deal with the tension. Can't say enough about the art. The detail in the snow scenes from the explosions to the breaking up of the trouble bubbles as they impacted the snow was superb.

Now this is where things started to go south for me. Dice's chain got shot out of the water somehow. Slice retrieved it to find Dice's arm at the end. Now while that was a moving image, there are two things here that I had a hard time with. First, Snake Eyes would had to have some serious strength to not only launch the chain out from under the water, but to cut off Dice's arm in the first place. It's not a big deal and I can dismiss it easy enough, but only the story is good enough to allow it, and unfortunately this is was just the beginning.

Snake Eyes got revenge for his fallen comrades by using the ploy to disorient Slice and allow him to sneak up behind and apply what appears to be a fatal blow. I was surprised at it, but it fit the story well enough. Snake Eyes definitely wanted a piece of both of them and he got it, literally in Dice's case. The next scene though I still cannot deal with. After all this build up and posturing of Khallikhan to be considered a viable threat and a front runner as CC, he was dispatched easily by someone who isn't even a soldier. This was too reminiscent of the badly handled Lady Jaye death in the DDPverse.

I know a lot of us were worried that Snake Eyes would be portrayed as a super soldier in the IDWverse as he is in the ARAHverse, but from what I've seen (and heard) that hasn't been the case. Snake Eyes has exceptional skill, yes, but as we saw last issue his body pays the price for it. I know some see this issue as a step towards that Wolverine-ish invulnerability we have seen before. Personally, that wasn't an issue for me. What was a serious issue (that could be over-shadowing the Snake Eyes issue) was Helix. Not only did she fight off a squad of Snow Serpents single-handedly, but it looks as though she infiltrated the base again and was able to find Khallikhan's quarters and kill him with ease. Then, as if that wasn't enough, she jumps in and pilots a freaking helicopter. Hello Sunbow cartoon, I have not missed you. This is a HUGE contrast to the ARAH title where Iceberg and crew also commandeer a COBRA helo, but by forcing the COBRA pilots to fly it, not jump in and fly it themselves. As if I needed any more reason to not care for Helix's character already! Give me a break.

The saving grace was Iceberg's escape from the COBRA pursuers, with Alpine having the smarts to cause an avalanche. Count me in as one that was more intrigued with the story revolving around these two than Snake Eyes' escape. So skiing behind a rock to avoid the avalanche is a stretch, but like I said earlier I can deal with it as long as the story is good.

Next we see the Joes already set up at Fort Baxter, where Scarlett and Fint just arrived at in the final pages of the main book, so the timeline here works for me. Helix was present at the PIT when Zartan was impersonating Hawk, but she was already set to leave with Snake Eyes' team so that is why she wasn't seen again. That also explains why they couldn't raise the PIT in the earlier issues. I didn't mind the interaction between Scarlett and Snake Eyes, but I was put off by the weird texting Snake Eyes did. Shortening words that don't really need to be.......hmmmmmmm. Sounds all too familiar. Seeing Mainframe lurking out her door though was creepy. Speaking of creepy, the final scene with Dice finding Khan's sword had me scratching my head. It will be interesting to see what significance this might have in the future.

Overall, this was a pretty good issue, but quite a step down from the ones before it. The whole Super Helix thing is totally bothering me, as is Khallikhan's apparent death. Dixon really sold me on thinking Vic could be CC. It seemed a perfect situation. Now he is gone, and at the hands of an X-Men. Ugh. I don't mind Slice being gone, but was hoping he and Dice would eventually become the proper antagonists to an eventual Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow pairing that we never got in the ARAHverse. The set up was done beautifully, with both of them being member of Arashikage, but it's kind of fizzled out now, unless Dice can recouperate with an artificial limb courtesy of COBRA and be the catalyst for a Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow confrontation. Here's hoping.

As for Helix, the poster before me said he was concerned about her killing Vikrim in easy fashion. If you recall, she is autistic and has absorbed SE's skills by sparring with him a few months ago. That's how she was able to 'carry' his talents within her DNA. Essentially, having two SEs in one building.

Helix is pretty much the guy from the movie "Limitless"; except she doesn't take drugs... It's interesting enough that I can live with it. However, what I'm perplexed by: a few months ago, Snake-Eyes couldn't stand up to one, simple Cobra trooper, and now he is "America's greatest weapon", according to the all-knowing Vic. What the deuce??? Make up your mind, IDW!!!