G.I. Joe 1 (2008)

## [Source]

***G.I. Joe #1*** is the first regular issue of IDW Publishing's *G.I. Joe* series, following on from the prologue story "One Word" published in *G.I. Joe #0*. The issue was released on January 14, 2009, written by Chuck Dixon with art by Robert Atkins.

## Publisher's summary

*A new beginning and a new world of threats for the fighting men and women of the elite military force known as G.I. Joe! Freedom’s last hope and the first-to-fight in battle with a hidden enemy and a secret war that’s already won. The world’s terror underworld whispers of Cobra. Who or what is Cobra and what can the Joes do to stop an enemy they can’t identify or find. Think you know Joe? Think again.*

## Plot

In the Gulf of Mexico, the cargo container ship *Badeaux Strait* is bound for Panama from Port Said. Onboard, members of the crew sift through the manifest looking for luxury items that they can steal. They uncover a mystery crate that releases a number of machines that proceeds to massacre the crew. Radio contact with the *Badeaux Strait* is lost, and the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon is activated.

A week later in the Nevada desert, G.I. Joe members Duke and Beach Head complete a morning run and enter The Pit via the concealed entrance on the surface. Upon returning, Duke is met by Dial Tone who informs him that he is wanted in the Think Tank. Scarlett is overseeing a team consisting of Shipwreck, Torpedo, and Deep Six who are investigating the wreck of the *Badeaux Strait*. They discover the cargo container that the crew found, and Hawk orders them to salvage it. When Duke arrives, he is ordered to work with Scarlett to discover more about Cobra, due his team's mission in Turkey and a spike in mentions of "Cobra."

On the Crimean Riviera, Nico Mandirobilis is on the phone. He arranged shipment of Cobra arms aboard both the *Benin Pearl* and *Badeaux Strait*, and argues he cannot be blamed for the loss of weapons. During the conversation, an assassin is transported into Nico's home and proceeds to kill his bodyguards. Nico only survives because the assassin disintegrates before killing him. Nico flees his home, watched by Snake Eyes. Snake Eyes investigates the mansion, and collects materials and evidence including the assassin's weapon and sends them to Scarlett at The Pit.

Dusty, Airtight, and Frostbite are investigating the salvage from the *Badeaux Strait* and need Scarlett's okay to continue. They want to open the cargo, while Duke is of the opinion that it should be destroyed. Scarlett signs off on opening the cargo under strict security protocols. The Joes are unaware that the cargo is relaying images back to a home base.

## Appearances

**By type**

Characters

* Beach Head (As "Beachhead")
* Deep Six (First appearance)
* Destro (Voice only)
* Dial Tone (First appearance)
* Duke
* Dusty (First appearance)
* Frostbite (First appearance)
* Hawk
* Jorgito (First appearance)
* Nico Mandirobilis (First appearance)
* Scarlett (First appearance)
* Shipwreck (First appearance)
* Snake Eyes (First appearance)
* Torpedo
* Vari (First appearance)
* Zartan (First appearance)

Events

* Massacre on the Badeaux Strait (First appearance)
* Mission to the wreck of the Badeaux Strait (First appearance)
* Painted Horse (Mentioned only)

Locations

	+ Black Sea (First appearance)
	+ Crimea (First appearance)
		- Crimean Riviera (First appearance)
			* Nico Mandirobilis' villa (First appearance)
		- Yalta (First appearance)
	+ Gulf of Mexico (First appearance)
	+ Panama (First mentioned)
	+ Port Said (First mentioned)
	+ Slovakia (First mentioned) (As "Slovak")
	+ Turkey (Mentioned only)
		- Istanbul (Mentioned only)
	+ United States of America
		- Nevada (First appearance)
			* The Pit (First appearance)
				+ Think Tank (First appearance)

Organizations and titles

* G.I. Joe
* General (First appearance)
* United States Coast Guard (First mentioned) (As "Coasties")
* Zogc Militia (Indirect mention only)

Sentient species

Vehicles and vessels

* *Badeaux Strait* (First appearance)
* *Benin Pearl* (Indirect mention only)
* Desert Fox (First appearance)
* H.A.V.O.C. (First appearance)
* M.O.B.A.T. (First appearance)
* R.A.M. (First appearance)
* Sky Hawk (First appearance)
* Tomahawk (First appearance)
* V.A.M.P. (First appearance)
* Wolverine (First appearance)

Weapons and technology

* Firearm
* Semtex (First mentioned)
* Spider-bot (First appearance)

Miscellanea

## Quotes

"*Look, I'm a lifer. I know that. I like it. But you ever get the idea we're up against morons? Like that last mission in Turkey? Them cats was way under our skill profile, Duke.*"
"*They nearly blew us to hell, bro.*"
"*Amateurs.*"
—Beach Head tempts fate**[src]**
## Trivia

### G.I. Joe references

* First appearances of **Airtight**, **Deep Six**, **Dial Tone**, **Dusty**, **Frostbite**, **Scarlett**, **Shipwreck**, and **Snake Eyes**.
* Although unnamed in this issue, the assassin will eventually be revealed to be **Zartan**.
* The two page spread of The Pit includes classic G.I. Joe vehicles including A.W.E. Strikers, a Desert Fox, a H.A.V.O.C., a M.O.B.A.T., a R.A.M., a Sky Hawk, two Tomahawks, and a Wolverine.
* Several Joes are being led on a training run by a drill instructor, a probable reference to Sgt. Slaughter.
* The version of Dial Tone introduced here is female. The original version of the character was male, but later versions have been female.

### Real world references

* The longitude and latitude coordinates given for the position of the *Badeaux Strait* is "24' North, 90' West," which corresponds to the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. However, why a ship bound for Panama from Port Said would be in the Gulf of Mexico in the first place is not explained.
* Vari runs down the corridor of the *Badeaux Strait* yelling "Pavouk! Ocel pavouk!" which translated from Czech means "Spider! Steel spider!," an apt description for the spider-bots that will be revealed in the following issue.
* Beach Head and Duke are an E-6 and E-7 respectively, referring to their military paygrades. E-6 is a Staff Sergeant, and E-7 is a Sergeant First Class.
* Beach Head mentions "section eight," a military term for being discharged from the military for being mentally unfit.
* The wreck of the *Badeaux Strait* is within the "twelve mile limit," meaning it sank inside the territorial waters of a country bordering the Gulf of Mexico. With Shipwreck's comment about "Coasties" being along to investigate, the inference is that the vessel sunk within the United States of America's territorial waters.
* Scarlett knows the evidence from Nico's mansion is from Snake Eyes because he signs it by using two dice each showing the number 1: a reference to the term "snake eyes" used in gambling.
* Scarlett asks for the "Wikipedia entry" when talking to Dusty, Airtight, and Frostbite about the salvaged cargo.
* Weapons
	+ Nico Mandirobilis' guards are shown to be armed with Heckler & Koch MP5s and M1911 pistol.
	+ Snake Eyes carries a katana.

### Errors

* The massacre aboard the *Badeaux Strait* and the activation of its Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon occurred one week before the scenes set in The Pit. Shipwreck mentions that the ship bottomed less than twelve hours ago, meaning that the *Badeaux Strait* was adrift for a week broadcasting a distress signal before anyone investigated.
* The images on the monitors in the last panel is supposed to represent the point of view from the mysterious cargo. However, several of the images are from angles that the box should not be able to capture, as they are all copies of panels from previous pages.

## Cover gallery

Cover A. Art by Dave JohnsonCover B. Art by Robert Atkins, colors by Bob PerdozaCover C. Art by Gabriele Dell'OttoRetailer Incentive Cover A. Art by Dave JohnsonRetailer Incentive Cover B. Art by Gabrielle Dell'OttoDynamic Forces Retailer Exclusive Cover. Art by Mel Rubi, colors by Inlight StudioNew Dimensions Retailer Exclusive Cover. Art by Ron Frenz, colors by Rich YanizeskiGraham Crackers Retailer Exclusive Cover. Art by Robert Atkins, colors by Andrew Crossley
## Notes and references

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 ***G.I. Joe 1***
2. ↑ Credit in ***G.I. Joe 1*** was given to "Joe Clayton". The error was noted and corrected in *G.I. Joe 3*
3. ↑  *G.I. Joe #1* on Comic Vine
4. ↑ *G.I. Joe #0*: "One Word"
5. ↑ *G.I. Joe #2*