COMICS-G.I. Joe : Jungle Trap
Intro/What the Heck??!!
Call it a conspiracy or a weird conicedence. About a week ago, Cartoon Network
started showing old G.I. Joe episodes. Around that same time, I also
changed this website's homepage graphic, to include Storm Shadow. Then, a few days later,
none other than Roadblock checks in on the eStragand.com
Message/Bitch Board. Sounds like an omen inspiring
me to do something G.I. Joe-related. Actually, I was waiting for a redhead with
a crossbow to go down on me... but I'll take my inspiration where I can get it.
I know what yer' thinkin: There's a million nerdy G.I. Joe tribute/episode guides out there...
so why the hell should I care about YOUR sporadic reviews. Yer' probably also
thinkin: Why the hell are YOU, a 28-year old loser, trying to mix in this G.I.Joe kiddie
stuff on your already crappy website? The short answer is: I'm not exactly known
for being mature, so read on and maybe you'll find out.
The long-winded answer is: 'cuz G.I. Joe was my favorite comic/toy in my wee lad days.
I bought every comic that came out, every month, from age 8 to age 20. The sole purpose
of getting my paper route in fourth grade was so I could buy G.I. Joe stuff. I had massive
shitloads of G.I.Joe junk, including the large pieces of furniture
known as the USS Flagg, and the Defiant space shuttle. Always felt that if
anyone was allowed to have an opinion on G.I. Joe, it'd be me. Plus, I
had enough Flag Points to demand stock in Hasbro. The cartoons were okay, but
I was a bigger fan of the comic. Maybe someday I'll do an article about all the
nifty shit I learned in the comics. But for now, allow me to be nerd-stolgic
and ramble on about one of my favorite topics...
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| "Get them, you fools!"
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Would you Please Shut The Hell Up and Get Things Started?!!
Okay, this episode is called "Jungle Trap" and is from the 1985 season.
It was written by Paul Dini. A guy who would go on to greater success as
an acclaimed writer of Warner Bros' "Batman: The Animated Series".
I'm guessing this was originally shown on a Tuesday or Thursday... because I
don't remember seeing this until late in the season, sometime in December of 1985.
Tuesday and Thursdays in the Fall were
football practice days, and it drove me crazy that I had to miss G.I.Joe.
Duke, Scarlett, Rock n' Roll and Recondo are in India to meet a Dr. Shakur.
Shakur's invented a new machine called the Vulcan Device, that can harness the power of molten lava.
Of course, the invention has also brought him to Cobra's attention. The Joes meet Dr. Shakur
on a sidewalk cafe, while a disguised Zartan looks on. Duke breaks the unofficial
rule of the Joe team, and introduces himself as "First Sgt. Hauser", completely
ignoring the security concept of the "code-name" schtick. The Joes begin to escort
Shakur out of the city, but Zartan springs a Cobra ambush. Shakur is captured and whisked
away, while the Dreadnoks and a column of HISS tanks corner the Joes in a stairway.
Suddenly, Snake-Eyes drops off a roof and takes out the Dreadnoks. Scarlett fires a
thermal arrow and causes the HISS tanks to fire blindly. The errant HISS shot punches a
hole in a nearby wall, allowing the Joes to escape.
Recondo's been talking to the natives and has an idea where Cobra's taken Shakur.
He leads the team back to the APC, where he shows a slideshow of jungle maps.
There's an old temple in the middle of the jungle. It's three days on foot, but
quicker by chopper. With Wild Bill and Ripcord joining in, the team sets off
in three Dragonfly choppers to reach the temple. In a weird quirk,
Duke, Rock n' Roll, Wild Bill
and Ripcord are paired off into two standard two-seater Dragonflys. Recondo,
Snake-Eyes and Scarlett are shown in a three-seater.
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| "..and then I'll have you make me
a SSSSlurpee!"
|
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| Recondo and his rhino friend
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| Snake-Eyes and one o'
them Duke boys
|
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| Don't blink, or you'll
miss ..Copperhead!
|
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Meanwhile, Cobra Commander's brainwashed Dr. Shakur to build his Vulcan Device.
He even uses one of the old standby "Cobra Brainwasher Headbands", which had been
floating around the cartoon in various forms, since the first mini-series.
Cobra Commander wants to terrorize the cities of the world with molten lava.
The Vulcan Device is a large gun.... but all the proposed scenarios of the
Vulcan Device show lava errupting from beneath the target's surface. I guess the
device doesn't shoot lava... maybe it just targets the city? You have to fill in
the blanks, here. The Commander's obligatory cackling session is cut short
by an alert- three Dragonflys are en route!
A squadron of Cobra FANG choppers attack the oncoming Joes. Wild Bill punctuates
EVERYTHING with "Yeeeee-hooooo!". (love to hear Bill on the pot, sometime. Or
maybe when he's knockin' boots). A few FANGs are destroyed (complete with
the obligatory pilot parachute escape scenes), but two of the Dragonflys are
shot down. Wild Bill and Ripcord's chopper escapes, but Duke and the others crash
into the jungle.
The Joes survive and decide that they're a day's walk from the Cobra temple.
It's Recondo's wet dream, as he takes the point and leads the crew through
the various jungle hazards that have been planted by Cobra.
They survive Malaysian tiger gates, pitfalls,
alligators, tripwires and even a rhino. A final automated Cobra trap
releases a pack of striped hyenas. The Joes make it to a river, but Duke gets
caught by a snare. Conveinently, the river has several vines available,
enabling the other four Joes to swing over. Duke is about to get munched by the advancing
hyenas, until Snake-Eyes swings back and beats the crap out of the mongrels.
Duke had ordered Snake-Eyes to leave him, but quickly forgives
everybody's favorite mute, lovable ninja commando.
Out of nowhere, Copperhead floats down the river on his
Water Moccasin (Cobra's swampboat), with a platoon of Cobra
troopers. The Joes quickly subdue them and take their uniforms.
They sneak into the Cobra temple, using Snake-Eyes as their prisoner.
Not a single Cobra guard notices Scarlett's red hair and nice rack...
but I always suspected Cobra flunkies were just in it for the money.
The Joes break into the main Cobra hall, free Dr. Shakur and fight off the
remaining Cobras. Cobra had planned to
attack Los Angeles and Rock n' Roll is miffed that his
hometown has a bullseye on it. The ceiling collapses at one point allowing the
sunlight to shine in, and Zartan runs
like...like..well, like a scalded dog, King!!! (tm Jim Ross) The Vulcan Device
then overloads and causes molten lava to flood the Cobra temple.
The Joes escape in their captured Water Moccasin, while Cobra Commander makes his
getaway. The Joes meet up with the WHALE Hovercraft, driven by Cutter, Wild Bill
and Ripcord. The three new arrivals are thrilled to see their lost buddies and swap
stories as they float off into the sunset.
Overview/Dumb Comments
The show followed the early G.I.Joe formula: Cobra kidnaps a scientist and
forces him/her to construct a descructive cannon/machine/formula. An interesting
element is that this episode could have been made in 1984. Aside from a quick cameo
by a Crimson Guardsman, the entire cast is composed of 1984 or 'Wave 3' characters and
vehicles. Copperhead also makes a rare speaking appearance, while another
rarity is Rock n' Roll's large part. Ripcord was another seldom used
character, but he's little more than background dressing in this story.
It must have been intimdating for writers to do G.I.Joe. At this point, they
had almost 60 characters to pick from. Well, the Smurfs had 101 characters...
but they weren't all named. A major difference between the 1985 season and
1986 is how the earlier season shuffled the cast quite often (picking from
four years' worth of characters), while
the later season focused on the newer Joes.
Recondo takes center stage and gets a chance
to show his specialty. This show was most likley written to stress that point and
to help sell a few Recondo figures. Some kids might have thought that Recondo was
worthless, or just some guy with a neat hat.
It seems somewhat strange that
four highly-trained military specialists are clueless in a jungle, but that's
one of the disbeliefs you have to suspend. After all, it's a frickin CARTOON!
The animation is lackadasicial in the early scenes especially in the stairway
portion. The characters, and the Dreadnoks in particular, appear to float down the steps.
No effort was put into articulaton and giving the appearance of walking. The FANGS
are rather simplified, along with Zartan's
swamp skier.
The rest of the animation is adequate. The close-ups of Recondo are well detailed, and the
same can be said for Copperhead. Another animation highlight would be
a close-up of Dr. Shakur, where his eyes water as he's forced to do Cobra's
bidding.
Before I wrote this article, I looked around the 'net and saw that this
episode is not a favorite of the fans. It kept me interested and I really enjoyed
the lack of "new"/1985 characters. The plot's very simple and the humor
is kept to a minimum. While Scarlett shows concern for Duke's downed helicopter,
the two aren't seen as a real couple, as they are in other episodes.
Always okay with me, because I was
supporter of the comic book's Snake-Eyes/Scarlett relationship and, even at age 11, hated
how the cartoon had Duke as Scarlett's main dude. Overall, I liked this
episode and hope I don't tape over it. This is the first time I've watched a
G.I.Joe cartoon in years, and I was pleased with this thingie.
Reminder: G.I. Joe is seen on Cartoon Network at 1am, EST. For some
bizarre reasons, this translates into "2am, Mountain Time". Rumor is that
this is a six-week test run. So if you've ever had even the slightest interest for
these cartoons, tune in. If nobody responds, then don't cry when
Cartoon Network adds ANOTHER showing of Scooby-Doo in this timeslot.
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