#1 - "The Line"

Credits

Writer - John Ney Reiber / Art - Jae Lee / Colors - June Chung / Letters - Benjamin Lee

Story

Winter, 1938. In the Fera Islands, the mercenary Major Bludd leads an assault against a small seaside town. Smashing their way into a temple, Bludd finds his master's objective -- a glowing object inside a statue. When Bludd touches it, the building shakes violently! The wall crumbles, revealing the face of Megatron, who informs Bludd that he has found ultimate power... by awakening the Decepticons!

Summer, 1939. A number of soldiers are being gathered together in Arlington County, VA, for the formation of a new elite squad, called "G.I. Joe". At the briefing, a general informs the team that the war brewing in Europe for the last two years have gotten dire; the last intel mission in Western Europe resulted in only two survivors out of a team of twelve. Those two agents, Scarlett and Jaye, then show scenes of devastation throughout Europe. The conquerers are a new group, whose flag emblem consists of a stylized cobra. The United States is not up for a second World War; G.I. Joe's mission is to stop Cobra before they cross the Atlantic.

As Duke begins to brief the troops, Snake-Eyes suddenly notices something up in the ceiling -- some sort of metallic bird! Duke tries to shoot it, but the creature fires a beam of light that slices his pistol and pierces his hand, then flies off...

Laserbeak eventually returns to the Fera Islands, where it reaches the Terrordome, headquarters of Cobra. Soundwave is told about the American's assault plans, and Destro wonders if Cobra should pull back their forces from Europe and defend the island. Cobra Commander dismisses this idea, noting that no one knows where the Terrordome is, and that even if someone were to arrive, they'd be instantly crushed.

As the Joes make preparations for a night drop at the Shetland Islands of Scotland, Grunt wonders about the lack of intel for the mission. In response, Scarlett shows him a chunk of metal from the hull of the USS Hama: there's a map gouged on it, showing the Fera Islands, the Cobra insignia, and some angular sigil they don't recognize.

Later, the Joes are flying low to the drop zone when they glide past an enemy battleship; despite the danger it poses, they dare not break radio silence. Nearby, Starscream, Megatron, and Soundwave easily mince through the British RAF, allowing Cobra's troops to easily take the island even as they seize London's energy supplies...

Eventually, the Joes drop onto the Fera Islands unchallenged. As Duke worries about the team's lack of training, a sniper starts firing at them! As two Joes fall, Snake-Eyes identifies the sniper, a cloaked soldier named Stormshadow, and jumps forward to engage him. While Snake-Eyes battles his "brother," the Joes retreat into the ruins -- and find a gigantic metal head embedded in the stones...

Notes and Comments

• The USS Hama is a reference to Larry Hama, the Marvel Comics writer and editor most reknown for his near-eternal stint (almost 150 issues) as the writer for Marvel's G.I. Joe comic book.