G.I. Joe vol. 5 issue 2

Before departing on the mission to Inner Mongolia to help the Chinese government dispose of the Dreadnoks that have taken control of the region, Roadblock contacts a shadowy figure over a secure line to inform him of the op. The unknown man warns Roadblock not to let the Chinese acquire any of the advanced weapons the Dreadnoks have used to accomplish their goal, reminding him that his loyalty must be to America first.

In Greece, Lady Jaye and Gung-Ho attend a meeting of the anarchist movement they have been sent to investigate. Gung-Ho puts little stock in the young punks' big mouths, but Jaye senses real danger, especially when the group leader reveals to the crowd the "symbol of their rebellion"... the Cobra insignia!

Once on the ground in Inner Mongolia, Roadblock's team awaits the arrival of their local contacts. As they wait, Rock 'n Roll remarks how fortunate they are to have Quick Kick with them instead of Snake Eyes, since he can speak Chinese—a remark to which Quick Kick takes some offense, angrily insisting that he is present because he's better than Snake Eyes, not because of his heritage. Roadblock quiets them down, whereupon their guides Ying and Yong arrive to guide them to the Dreadnoks' headquarters, so they can ambush them as they sleep.

Aboard Lemuria, Grand Slam continues his efforts to perfect the Dire Wraith detector, but even new attempt meets with failure, reading Doc Senior as one of the aliens. Doc proposes taking a break, which Skywarp takes as a cue to enter the lab, insisting that they use the downtime to finally fix his teleportation systems. Doc agrees to lend a hand, and the pair set to work.

Scarlett receives Jaye and Gung-Ho's message, advising them that they did the right thing calling it in, even if Gung-Ho remains unconvinced. After ordering them to monitor the situation, Scarlett ends the communication and informs Dial Tone she will be turning off her own comms for about half an hour. Grabbing a tray of Shipwreck's disgusting food, Scarlett heads into the bowels of the ship, towards a high security cell only she is aware of, containing a secret prisoner that only she knows about... the Baroness, formerly of the defeated Cobra! Affronted at the way she has been treated, illegally held without trial, the Baroness smacks the tray out of Scarlett's hands, insisting when asked that she knows nothing about what Jaye and Gung-Ho have discovered in Greece. Unable to get anything out of her, Scarlett leaves her for another day.

Ying and Yong lead the Joes to the huge, ornate mansion the Dreadnoks have co-opted as their own... but as soon as the team steps inside, the lights snap on, and the entire Dreadnok force reveals itself, standing ready to meet them. "Ying and Yong" are, in fact, Zarana and Zandar, Dreadnok masters of disguise, who have lured them into a trap! At Crystal Ball's instruction, the Dreadnoks immediately attack: Road Pig goes straight for Roadblock, determined to settle an old score; Zanzibar dodges fire from Cover Girl; and Crusher clocks Rock 'n Roll as the Joe struggles to land a hit with his Cybertronian energy weapon. Quick Kick engages Crusher outmaneuvering the brawny Dreadnok with frightening ease, even swigging a beer as he does so, purely to prove he can fight just as well while intoxicated. Doc, meanwhile, defends the fallen Rock 'n Roll against a hail of knives fired by Ripper by using a portable energy shield. All the while, Crystal Ball pontificates that the Joes are blind to the threat posed by "the horrors down below." Though his warnings naturally don't faze the Joes, there are others who have been swayed to Crystal Ball's side by his promises of protection against this lurking danger... others who now emerge from the shadows at his command to join the Dreadnoks in attacking the Joes. Suddenly, the Joes find themselves facing adversaries against whom they cannot fight back: innocent civilians who have fallen under Crystal Ball's mind control!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

G.I. Joe

Others

Doc (8)
Grand Slam (11)
Doc Senior (12)
Skywarp (13)
Scarlett (14)
Dial Tone (15)

Burn Out (19)
Ripper (20)
Torch (21)
Road Pig (22)
Crusher (23)
Buzzer (24)

Quotes

"Jaye... do I look weird?"
"It's weird that you keep asking me that."
"It just feels so tight in my chest."
"Because you're actually wearing a shirt for a change."

—Gung-Ho and Lady Jaye

"Spoiled, bored kids that should have enlisted instead of coming baristas."

—Gung-Ho's thoughts on the Grecian anarchists

"Give me something useful and I'll make your stay here in Chez G.I. Joe more comfortable."
"I'd rather eat this disgusting slop off the floor."
"Good. Because that's all you're getting until tomorrow."

—Scarlett and the Baroness

Notes

Continuity notes

The Baroness was last seen in the final issue of G.I. Joe vol. 4, slinking around and trying to destabilize Tomax's leadership of Cobra. As it turns out, she's really having to lie in the bed she made: Revolutionaries #1 establishes that it was the failure of Tomax's operations in Galibi, which came about partially due to the Baroness's efforts, that ultimately led to the collapse of Cobra. The Baroness's capture has occurred somewhere off-panel in the two years that have passed in-universe since then.
Zandar and Zarana previously appeared in IDW Joe continuity in G.I. Joe vol. 3 #8-10. They were operating on their own in that story, but were noted to be affiliated with the Dreadnoks, even though they did not appear as part of the group during the Dreadnok storyline in Special Missions #5-7.
Road Pig is holding a grudge against Roadblock after the Joe served him a pretty humiliating defeat in their sole previous meeting in Special Missions #7—Roadblock shot the shaft of Road Pig's cinderblock-hammer as he was raising it above his head, breaking it and causing the block to fall on the Dreadnok's head, knocking him out.
Crystal Ball has done little in IDW Joe continuity beyond hover around menacingly, but the Infestation 2 tie-in issues did establish he had some genuine mystical know-how. In fact, those issues also featured humans being mind-controlled by a hive intellect which Crystal Ball was allied with...

G.I. Joe references

Zandar and Zarana's British accents are pointed out, which were a feature of their characters in the original G.I. Joe cartoon. In fact, all the Dreadnoks were British in the cartoon for some reason, despite their conceptual origins as an Australian biker gang; they've been presented as thoroughly Australian in IDW continuity, though Zandar and Zarana's debut separately to the others makes their Britishness a bit more reasonable.

Other trivia

Back matter for this issue includes Milonogiannis's character design sheets for Rock 'n Roll and Quick Kick.

Covers (4)

Regular cover: Roadpig versus Roadblock, with Crystal Ball looming overhead, by Aaron Conley and Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Subscription cover A: Agent Helix and Snake Eyes by Giannis Milonogiannis; one of a series of black-and-white "Artist's Edition" covers on IDW's January titles.
Subscription cover B: Our heroes, by Nelson Dániel
Retailer incentive cover Our heroes again, by Corey Lewis