G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #1

Credits

Story - Josh Blaylock / Pencils - Mike S. Miller / Inks - Armando Durruthy / Letters - Dreamer Design / Colors - Lynx Studio, Hi Fi Colour Design

Story

Somewhere in the United States, a squadron of uniformed terrorists are cutting their way into a crashed alien spacecraft hidden in a cavern. While the soldiers survey the interior, Cobra Commander and the Baroness muse about the giant mechanoids lying around them. One briefly awakens, then falls dormant again, but it's enough -- Cobra Commander orders his men to transport all of the alien robots back to their base, and the cavern sealed. The world will hear of Cobra soon enough...

An indeterminate time later, Colonel Abernathy is leading a platoon of soldiers on guard duty at an international conference in Washington D.C. His boredom is interrupted by an urgent comm call -- foreign aircraft are rapidly advancing on their position! As he issues a code red, the ground shakes as three Cobra HISS tanks roll out of several semi trucks and begin firing laser weapons.

While the soldiers are firing ineffectually at the bizarre tanks, three foreign craft fly by overhead. They're being pursued by a half-dozen Air Force jets, but the enemy craft are extremely fast and resist all weapons locks. The jets begin attacking manually, but one A-10 makes an impossible 90-degree incline, transforms into a giant robot, and smashes one of the jets with a single roundhouse punch.

Back on the ground, the HISS tanks have advanced to the front of the summit building. As the world's media watches, the vehicles transform into massive Battle Android Troopers, and begin to demolish the building. Overhead, an SR-71 Blackbird detaches a flight pod, then transforms into another giant robot who joins the assault. Watching from inside the flight pod is Cobra Commander, with a captive Megatron by his side...

As the assault continues, Cobra engineers at a remote control station report problems with the red HISS robot refusing to obey commands. The SR-71 robot called Starscream fires on the soldiers, vaporizing a missile tank and badly scarring one soldier's face. Then, without explaination, Cobra's forces immediately retreat, leaving only chaos and confusion behind.

Inside the Pentagon, General Flagg, Colonel Abernathy, and two other soldiers are reviewing news footage of the attack. Flagg tells Abernathy that the government is forming an elite team -- code-named G.I. Joe -- to stop Cobra's robot menace. He then introduces Abernathy to intelligence expert Sergeant Alison Burnett and tactical strategist Dashielle Faireborn, then gives the Colonel the duty of leading this new task force...

Notes and Comments

• When Megatron briefly awakens during Cobra's foray into the Ark, he mutters "I still function," a line he used from Transformers: The Movie.
• The Cobra HISS tanks are hidden in tractor-trailers from "Arbco Industries". This is a tribute to Larry Hama's stint from Marvel Comics' G.I. Joe comic-book series, where Cobra's dummy companies featured names that were anagrams of the word "cobra".
• Future members of G.I. Joe present at the assault include Stalker, Snake-Eyes, Cover Girl, and Ace.
• The Cobra members clearly identified in the assault are the Baroness, Major Bludd, and Cobra Commander.
• The Transformers clearly identified in the assault are Skywarp, Starscream, Ironhide, Ratchet, and Optimus Prime. Megatron is also present, but as a captive at Cobra Commander's side.
• Clayton Abernathy, Alison Burnett and Dashielle Faireborn are better known to G.I. Joe fans as Hawk, Lady Jaye and Flint, respectively.