G.I. Joe vol. 3: Dreadnok War

The prequel miniseries were fine.  The first volume was okay.  The second volume was a big step in the right direction as it offered more character, promising setups, and payoffs on previous setups than we’d seen from this side of the Energon Universe yet.  That boded well for what was set to kick off in this volume, which was billed as an action-packed epic that combined “Mad Max:  Fury Road” with “Midnight Run.  What results from this war is definitely fun, with some nice surprises, even if you may have to stop yourself from thinking too hard about how it all comes together.

While Cobra’s power is tied to Energon, they’ve exhausted the amount they can mine from the swamp where it was originally found.  Fortunately there are other deposits strewn throughout the globe that they can use, with an odd one noted to be found in the Chihuahuan Desert.  Cobra Commander decides to investigate that one himself with Ripper and a platoon of loyal soldiers.  As they’re doing this, G.I. Joe has started their own efforts to track Energon deposits and they’ve noticed the one in that desert as well.  

Duke is called in to investigate and what he finds is betrayal!  It turns out that Ripper has had enough of working under Cobra Commander and has called in his old Dreadnok family to help take the arrogant leader out and get some payback for how their first encounter with him went.  Seeing his chance to bring in someone who knows Cobra inside and out, and may have an idea about what certain robots are doing on Earth, Duke intercedes and saves the Commander.  Now the both of them are on the run from an army of maniacal, ridiculously violent, monstrosity-driving, grape soda-loving yahoos.

It’s a recipe for a good time and writer Joshua Williamson wastes none of it getting to what we all want to see:  Big action sequences showing Duke and Cobra Commander fighting past their mutual animosity to survive the Dreadnok onslaught.  That leads to some really impressive scenes  early on, including a bravura two-page spread from returning artist Tom Reilly showing the two independently leaping from vehicle to vehicle before commandeering a new one.  There’s also the expected introduction of new characters from the “G.I. Joe” universe which is handled quite well between the grindhouse horror one brings to the story and the expected surprise brought by the introduction of that particular Dreadnok (you already know who I’m talking about, and if you don’t you’ll know him when you see him).  It all culminates in an electric showdown between both sides that leaves them both changed and several developments that beg to be followed up on in vol. 4.

The problem with all this is that getting to that end requires you to forgive some occasionally ropey plotting.  Mainly involving Destro as his whole plan initially hinges on Cobra Commander being unable to resist checking out the big shiny thing on the map.  That he then uses the ensuing chaos to usurp command of Cobra isn’t surprising, even though the fact that he turns out to be really bad at it is.  To the point where you really wonder why he instigated all of this in the first place if he didn’t have the necessary preparations in place.  While there’s nothing quite as bad as this in the main plot, you have to appreciate how (collectively) the Dreadnoks are like Bond Villains in that they’d rather speechify or play with their prey rather than kill them right away.  With the expected results.

“Dreadnok War” isn’t the entire volume, however.  The final issue introduces us to Roadblock who’s retired from the armed forces and enjoying life as he runs his own food truck.  The problem is that there are some familiar bad guys who want to recruit him and they’re not willing to take no for an answer.  It’s a good introduction to the character that establishes his fearsome strength and badass credentials at the expense of a couple of jerks who deserve it.  We also get a nice epilogue to the main story in this issue which establishes that even if Cobra now has more strength and knowledge, all is not right in their house.

Art-wise, vol. 3 is a big step up from the previous one thanks to Reilly’s return.  He’s got a clean, direct style that suits the action well – remember that double-page spread I talked about earlier?  That’s great, since there’s so much of it, but the quieter parts also come off well too.  Particularly the bit where Duke and Cobra Commander actually get a moment to talk and exchange ideas instead of threats.  Marco Fodera returns for the final issue (again) and delivers work that’s more solid than what I remember he delivered previously.  Maybe he should stick around to keep rounding out these volumes.

I can forgive the plot hiccups in “Dreadnok War” because the main story is a lot of fun and tees up enough change and interesting developments to make me want to see where the story is going to go from here.  I mean, I’ve got a general idea since I read the monthly solicitations but I don’t know the “how” regarding Duke’s future with the Autobots or the whole business with General Hawk is going to play out next time.  As long as it’s as fun and crazy as what we got in this volume, that’s not going to be a problem.