G.I. Joe (Marvel) #55
G.I. Joe (Marvel) #55
I always read the comic as a kid and I can remember going to Heck's Department Store with my aunt and uncle. I remember seeing this issue hanging on the end rack with a few other comics at the end of the toy isle. Instantly I picked it up. You have to go with a child-like thought pattern here, you see 3 of the most mysterious characters you have seen to that point taking off their masks. To me it was outstanding. I probably read that comic a good 100 times as a kid was and still is one of my favorite issues of the Marvel run.

While you never actually get to see any of the characters faces, you come so close, and its one of those things where you can visualize what they look like just from what few bits you can make out. In that is why it holds a special place for me. I think that most of the images of Cobra Commander running around looking like a beatnik and Destro a 70'sish mobster are burnt into our brains for some reason or another.

I guess If I have to sum this all up I will say that appearances can be deceiving. We have never really seen the good Commander's face, only in shadow. Though we do know his pony tail is a signature style of his. Not only does Destro's cartoon voice make him sound like everyone's favorite Bond but his fake beard made him look the part. Lastly Snake Eyes.....you so ugly, ain't nobody wanna see your face anyhow.
 

As he tries to calm down the Commander and still think of a plan to get out of what could be their tomb, the idea of an escape tunnel dawns on him. It must be how the Joes got out of the downed Pit. After finding equipment to aid their escape and dressing in an almost Sean Connery-like garb, Destro and the Commander set off to make an escape back to base only to get pulled over by the law. While it didn't turn out like either of them planned, Destro could do nothing but tag along as the Commander found out that his son may still be alive.


I started out with the Big Brawler Tiger Force head. He had that great beard that Destro had stuck onto his face in haste. At the time I was going to use the head in conjuction with the new sculpt Wild Bill's hat but when I was dismembering a Headman for his pony tail(that went to Cobra Commander) I thought his had would be perfect.

After a little cutting and gluing he looked fine (now is the point when I realize I forgot to sculpt on his glasses).

All of the other parts seemed to slowly fall into place, while I was never a big fan of the 91 Grunt's torso I found it very useful in the making of the jacket. The same goes for the Lifeline arms, the elastic cuffs is what made them come to be. However the legs are another story, they were a last minute substitute for Headman's as I lost them. Yeah, I actually lost them.

 
 

Our dear Commander, along with the help of the noble Destro, has devised a way to get out of the trouble they have gotten themselves into when the Pit had collapsed due to an explosion. While Cobra Commander opted for digging Destro had a better plan to conserve some energy. When they find an escape tunnel it looks like all is saved, leading them to a tunnel boring device. Upon their escape they only thing left to do is to cloak themselves in disguise. By some chance of fate they are pulled over by a cop who recognized Cobra Commanders partially uncovered face and it reminds him of a boy... Billy, the Commander's long thought dead son!


The hardest of the three (Snake Eyes being a breeze).

I started out with an odd torso (not sure of its origins) which was a perfect match from the comic. A Short Fuse head soon followed (since the torso was post and not ball jointed). I had the mustache and shades sculpted and was ready for the beret. I wont go into the horrid details but Short Fuse ended up missing half his head and the torso was warped beyond repair.

Then began my quest for a new torso and head, thanks to our very own Kamakura I received the comic pack Flagg. his torso and waist were perfect, just needed a sash and a bit of work with my clay gun to care of that.(my first being headman but I didn't have is torso or waist at the time.). Still I was out a head, and after much debate I settled on using the melon of Flagg himself. It wasn't perfect and the jaw line was a little too Vince McMahon for ol' CC but it would have to do.

My final act was getting the coat and boots right and I had seen several people use a Star Wars coat that would be perfect. I'm more than grateful for Sidewinder hooking me up with it. While it did cause me a few problems with the paint it done very well and got the result I was looking for. The boots were easy as well, I thought about using Crystal Ball's legs but then I thought "Why not make my own?".

Sculpting the cuffs on the boots was actually a breeze once I dug out my clay gun and used it with some Super Sculpey.

 
 

While Snake Eyes has always been a man of mystery, he is even more so now. While trying to infiltrate Cobra in one of the most round about ways possible, he cloaks himself as Flint in hopes that if he was captured he would be worth something to Cobra. Sure enough they capture him and away to the brain wave scanner he is taken. Upon closer inspection, Dr. Mindbinder realizes that its not Flint he is trying to extract info from but Snake Eyes!!!!


Oddly enough in this issue Snake Eyes was barely Snake Eyes. He was in a Flint get up. At first I wanted to just make the only part of him you saw which was the back of his head and just have the figure pictured backwards, but I came up with a much lamer idea: Customize when they drape a cloth over his head to cover his face in their quick escape.

I wanted to make a Flint body that was remotely correct with the comic and I did have a scared up Freefall head under the mask but I ended up taking it out. So since the mask was already formed and just sat on the torso on its own I went with it. Now here is the kicker and the reason I only have one pic. The mask crumbled, so I'm left with a headless Snake Eyes as Flint body.

 

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