Media Monday.

Anyone who has followed my G.I.Joe retrospective (All None of you) would know that I failed to make a post last Monday. I apologize for this. I have been feeling under the weather. The cold  that I've been on the verge of getting for the last couple of weeks has lead to a very unbalanced sleep schedule. To be perfectly honest I have also been a little down. Well, not down exactly. I'm not depressed, or anything. I've just been a little out of it recently. Having said that I am attempting to get back on track. So let's get to today's post on Episodes 16-20 of G.I.Joe.

G.I.Joe Episode 16
Synthoid Conspiracy Part 1

Episode 16 is the beginning of a two parter. which is a first so far in the series.

We begin at sea during a Joe war game. Below the boats Cobra Commander and Destro are watching and waiting.

We see that four high ranking officers are watching the war games. These men include the head of the Pentagon budget committee. It is established that they are all strong supporters of G.I.Joe. They are accompanied a assistant who may not be what he seems.

As the war games begin a group of Joes, including Duke, Wild Bill, Ace, and Scarlett, take to the air.

Cobra Commander moves his submarine under the command carrier and begins his plan. It is at this point that we learn Cobra Commander's plan. He has created synthetic replicas of the officers. These "Synthoids" are completely obedient to Cobra Commander. With the help of Zartan, in the role of the assistant, Cobra Commander will replace the officers and destroy G.I.Joe. After a bit of good old fashioned humiliation.

Back top side the Joes are commencing with the war games. They are attempting to destroy three large ships. They fire their missiles but miss.

The Dreadnoks, who had been hiding in the ships, attack the Joes while Zartan renders the officers unconscious. During the attack Duke's plane is shot down. He is forced to eject and lands in the sea. Deep Six and Torpedo are sent to rescue him.

As Duke is saved Cobra continues it's attack. The attack, though fierce, is really just a distraction. Cobra exchanges the officers with the Synthoids and then retreat.

The Synthoids take no time in cutting the Joes down. As the Joes are sent away we learn that Cobra Commander is planning of replacing one of the Joes with a Synthoid. We also see Cobra Commander and Zartan showing how easily they can destroy the Synthoids. This is demonstrated by creating a Destro Synthoid, much to Destro's chagrin, and then remotely dissolving it.

In an odd turn of events Cobra's plan seems to be working. The Synthoids are whittling away at the Joes. We see them slashing G.I.Joe’s budget and undermining their worth.

The effects of the lowered funds is felt almost immediately. the Joes are unable to fix their vehicles, fuel their jets, and are running low on ammo. This is followed by a cute scene of Duke interacting with Junkyard. The dog is apparently very fond of the Joe leader.

Duke calls one of the Officers to complain about the budget issues but is brushed off. As that is happening Cobra attacks Joe HQ. With the Joe fleet grounded they enter a ground to air battle with Cobra.

During the battle Duke is captured and replaced with a Synthoid. This Synthoid isn't quite as convincing as the others. He looks exactly like Duke but calls Scarlett by the wrong name. To make matters worse Junkyard seems to be able to tell that he isn't the real Duke. The dog growls and snarls at the Synthoid Duke. Forcing Mutt to pull him away.

With the replacement in place Cobra retreats having accomplished their goal. When Duke arrives at the Cobra base Cobra Commander takes no time in gloating. He shows Duke his Synthoid replacement.

At Joe HQ one of the Synthoid Officers arrives and starts to tear into the Joes. He disbands the Joes on the spot.

Junkyard, sensing he is not what he appears to be, attacks the General. Mutt pulls him off before he can do any damage but the General orders his men to kill the animal.

Mutt, as you can imagine, isn't about to let that happen. He and the dog make a run for it. The General orders his men to shoot the deserter, but the men refuse. The General attempts to do it himself but Quick Kick intervenes. The episode ends with Rock N Roll chasing Mutt and Junkyard into a deadened.

This was a fantastic episode. The story was solid, the voice acting top notch, the animation smooth, and it was filled with nice character moments. Normally I would give this a high recommendation but I have to reserve judgment until I see the second part. But if it is anywhere near as good as this is, then this will be a no brainer.

Quote of the Episode.

We have two great quotes for this episode.

First from Cobra Commander.

"Oh, ah, sorry about that."

Just the idea of Cobra Commander apologizing is enough to bring a smile to my face but the way he says it. The inflection in his voice, I just found it to be so true to his character.

And from Zartan.

"You were expecting maybe, Spider Man?"

Awesome Moment of the Episode.

During the first Cobra attack we get a scene of Ship Wreck manning a Gatling laser gun. A Gatling laser gun is awesome in an of itself but when it's being manned by Ship Wreck what more could you want?

At the end of the episode Junkyard, Mutt's dog, attacks the fake general. This in and of itself isn't all that weird, it had been established that Junkyard can tell a Synthoid from a real person, but what happens next was a little surprising. After the attack the General orders his men to capture and destroy the animal. Sometimes I am surprised by the violence, actual and implied, in this series.

G.I. Joe Episode 17
Synthoid Conspiracy Part 2

We pick up right were the last episode left off. Mutt and Junkyard are caught in a dead-end with Rock N Roll right behind them. With a gate to their back it appears that Mutt and Junkyard are caught. Until Rock N Roll make an opening for the two to escape.

The Synthoid General sends his men after the two ordering them to be returned dead or alive. He arrests Quick Kick and quiets the other Joes by threatening them with the same treatment. Outside the Joe HQ Mutt and Junkyard are met by Destro who asks if Mutt would trust him. When Mutt scoffs at the idea Destro gases the pair.

At the Cobra base Cobra Commander is still gloating to Duke. He orders Duke to be imprisoned. While being dragged by two crimson Guardsmen Duke escapes. He makes it outside the base but is spotted by Cobra troops who give chase.

From there we move to the Pentagon. The Synthoid General has taken Scarlett as his personal secretary. Talk about heaping insult upon injury. But you can't keep a good Joe down. Scarlett contacts the other Joes and sets up a secret meeting. Unbeknownst to her Duke, Synthoid Duke to be exact, informs the Synthoid officers about the meeting who in turn inform Cobra Commander. Breaker is able to track the communiqué and locates the Cobra base, although he doesn't know that yet.

Speaking of the Cobra base, Mutt and Junkyard wake up outside of it.

At the secret Joe meeting Scarlett has assumed control. She informs the attending Joes that the ones who could not be there will agree to whatever they decide. It is agreed upon that they will steal fuel, weapons, and free Quick Kick. Then head to their HQ. Once there they will take their Sky Strikers and head to the area Breaker found.

While making their plans Synthoid Duke informs the fake officers to set a trap at Joe HQ.

The Joes plan goes well until they reach their HQ. They find that it has been emptied but isn't deserted. They are greeted by Destro. The Joes circle him unsure of his purpose there. Destro informs the Joes that their leaders have been replaced by Synthoids, who were in place to dismantle the Joe team. Synthoid Duke tries to devalue his statements by asking why Destro would help them. Destro explains he was offended by Zartan and Cobra Commander creating a Synthoid of him and cannot let that go unpunished.

While they talk the Synthoid General arrives and orders the Joes to surrender. Destro uses an energy shield to allow the Joes to make their escape.

Outside the Cobra base Duke, the real one, is still being chased by Cobra. He is trapped with his back against a tree and some hungry crocodiles at his front. Duke is able to get past the crocs but ends up with a Cobra gun pointed at him. It appears that his escape has ended when Mutt and Junkyard arrive.

Mutt and Junkyard are informed about the Synthoids as the three head back to the Cobra base.

The other Joes have landed on Destro's ship  for refueling. While there Destro informs the Joes that one of them is a Synthoid and gives them the exact location of the Cobra base. with that Destro grows tired of the Joes and sends them off.

Duke, Mutt, and Junkyard, meanwhile, attack the Cobra base. They separate and Mutt frees the real officers, once Junkyard verifies their identities.

The Sky Strikers arrive at the Cobra base but are under heavy fire. A few of the Sky Strikers are shot down over the base while the other's are unable to get any closer.

Scarlett and Synthoid Duke are in one of the Sky Strikers that gets shot down. Scarlett tricks Synthoid Duke into ejecting first and thinking she has died.

While the other Joes, that had been shot down, fight the Cobra forces, Synthoid Duke heads into the Cobra base and is found out by Scarlett. This leads to a fight between the two. The fight is broken up by the real Duke who shows up and engages the fake Duke in a fight.

Mutt, Junkyard, and the real officers arrive and hold both Dukes at gun point. Junkyard identifies the real Duke sending the fake Duke running.

When the Synthoid Duke arrives at the control room Cobra Commander confuses him with the real Duke. To make sure he is a Synthoid, Cobra Commander uses the remote destruction device. But Cobra Commander, being the idiot that he is, has the device set on the highest setting. This causes all of the Synthoids to dissolve. Cobra Commander and Zartan are able to escape during the battle.

The episode ends with the Joes being reinstated.

After the fantastic first episode I was worried that the second episode would fall flat. It didn't. This was just as good as I hoped it would be. Having seen both parts I can't recommend this enough. This two parter is the best of the G.I.Joe series so far. Give it a shot.

Quote of the Episode.

From Mutt.

"Ahh. Put it this way Destro, I'd likelier trust a rabid weasel."

Awesome Moment of the Episode.

Destro, while helping the Joes escape from forces lead by the Synthoid Generals, unleashes a very cool defensive technology. A squadron of unmanned air drones land around the Joes and their jets and form a protective force field.

The "Wait. What?" Moment of the Episode.

After the disbanding of G.I.Joe Scarlett is transferred to the Pentagon, as a secretary.

G.I.Joe Episode 18
The Phantom Brigade.

Episode 18 begins with Major Bludd leading an assault on a military base in the Carpathian mountains. The attack goes well until G.I.Joe arrives. This causes the Cobra pilots to retreat, against Major Bludd's orders. As such the ground troops are captured and the battle is lost.

At the Cobra HQ Cobra Commander is reprimanding Major Bludd. He is upset with his forces and is looking for an alternative. As such he has sent the Baroness out to find a local Gypsy Queen.

When the Baroness arrives with the woman she makes her reservations known. Gypsy magic, according to the Baroness, is unpredictable. Cobra Commander dismisses her complaints and orders the Gypsy Queen to summon three ghost for him. She uses three items, a coin, a ring, and a locket to summon the ghosts. Each item is precious to one of the ghost, the coin belongs a Roman centurion, the ring to a female Mongol warrior, and the locket to an American WWI pilot.

Cobra Commander spares no time in using his new Phantom Brigade. The three ghosts are sent to the military base and resume the previous attack. The power of the ghosts is too much for the Joes to deal with. The Mongol woman freezes their tanks, the pilot fires bullets that creates huge flames, and the centurion manipulates gravity.

Cobra Commander is so impressed with the abilities of his Phantom Brigade that he toys with the idea of disposing of his normal forces. He even tells the Baroness that he may not have a need for her anymore.

At first the Joes believe the ghosts to be a new kind of weapon. Or to be more exact a number of new weapons. That is until the Baroness, upset with Cobra Commanders threat, reveals the truth.

As that is happening Wild Bill makes contact with the pilot. It is here that we learn that the pilot does not know he is dead. We see him come to terms with his death. It is actually a pretty deep scene. The pilot agrees to work with the Joes and sways the other two ghosts as well.

This leads to the Joes and Ghosts attacking Cobra together. The ghosts confront Cobra Commander but he runs away in fear with the three items. He runs past Duke and Gung Ho but is stopped by a skeleton. The skeleton forces Cobra Commander to hand over the items and tells him that one day he will pass and they will be waiting for him.

The Joes are stunned by this and are unable to capture Cobra Commander. The Joes bury the items thereby allowing the ghost to pass over. The last shot of the episode is of the pilot with a woman, the woman who had given him the locket I assume, flying away.

This was a very good episode. It was well written and actually rather dark. I wouldn't have thought that G.I.Joe could deal with death in such a subtle way. The voice acting on the ghosts was spot on. It was also nice to see Wild Bill get more screen time. I can't recommend this episode enough. Give it a shot.

Quote of the Episode.

From Quick Kick to the Roman Centurion Ghost.

"Let me guess. Great Cesar's ghost, right?"

Awesome Moment of the Episode.

Wild Bill, in a helicopter, chasing after a ghost biplane. I don't think I need to elaborate on this one.

The "Wait. What?" Moment of the Episode.

Apparently ghost are real in the Joe universe. Not only that but these ghost can interact with living people. Meaning that haunting are also real. That is a hell of a thing.

G.I.Joe Episode 19.
Lights! Camera! Cobra!

Episode 19 starts off in the middle of a battle between G.I.Joe and Cobra but something doesn't seem right. It turns out that this battle is actually a scene from a G.I.Joe movie. The director of the film is unhappy with how things are going. He feels the movie is not realistic enough. He tells his producer that he wants real G.I.Joe advisers and real G.I.Joe equipment to go along with the Cobra equipment he has borrowed from the government.

When Cobra Commander finds out a piece of his equipment, a Cobra Fire Bat outfitted with a $14 million tracking device, is being used he orders Zartan to get it back. It turns out the tracking device will allow the Joes to locate the secret Cobra HQ.

Back in Hollywood a group of Joes, made up of Recondo, Dusty, Mutt, Barbeque, Shipwreck, and Cover Girl, are met by the movie’s producer and taken to the a set in the desert.

Shipwreck, who was hoping for a little shore leave, tricks the director into sending him to Hollywood. Cover girl decides to follow him to make sure he doesn't get into trouble.

On the set Recondo and Dusty are approached by Zartan, who is pretending to be an actor playing Zartan, and goaded into a race. Zartan leads the two Joes into an ambush. This results in Recondo and Dusty falling off a cliff in the middle of the desert.

In the city Cover Girl finds Shipwreck in a pool hall. She arrives just as a huge fight breaks out. Unbeknownst to the Joes one of the Dreadnoks, Torch, is at the bar. He calls the cops, for some reason, and all three end up behind bars.

At the set Zartan and the Dreadnoks are sabotaging the movie as a distraction. A battle breaks out between Mutt, Barbecue and the Zartan led Dreadnoks. The director is overjoyed at the prospect of having a real battle on film but soon learns that his cameras have been destroyed.

Shipwreck and Cover Girl call the producer to bail them out much to his annoyance. Shipwreck, Cover girl, and Barbeque, borrow the movie's Cobra equipment, which the director had planned to use, to look for Recondo and Dusty. It doesn't take long before Shipwreck locates the two Joes and rescues them.

Meanwhile Zartan, who has been informed by Cobra Commander that Torch has been arrested, is sent after the Cobra fire bat again. The vehicle, which is stored at the studio, is under the protection of Mutt and Junkyard.

When Shipwreck arrives, to tell Mutt that Dusty and Recondo are safe, he finds Mutt and Junkyard lying on the ground unconscious. This leads to a fight between Shipwreck and Zartan with his Dreadnoks. Shipwreck holds his own for a while but ends up knocked out and in the Fire Bat as it flies to the Cobra HQ.

This leads to a fun scene where Shipwreck, confronted by all of Cobra, tells them they are his prisoner. They disagree.

The Joes, with Shipwreck captured and Dusty in the hospital, realize what the Fire Bat was capable of. As they talk the producer arrives and confronts the Joes over all of the damage. This leads to Cover Girl coming up with a plan.

At the Cobra HQ Cobra Commander and Destro are forcing Shipwreck to play a life and death game. The game is interrupted by a call from Cover Girl. She tells Cobra Commander that they have Torch and if Cobra Commander doesn't return Shipwreck they will get the location of the base from him by any means necessary. Frightened by this prospect Cobra Commander agrees. Of course the whole thing is a trick, Torch is actually Recondo in disguise.

The real Torch is still in the local jail. That is, until Zartan and the other Dreadnoks break him out. Zartan asks Torch why he was not in a maximum security lock up, Torch says he isn't sure why but that he had been in Joe custody for a while. During which time Cover Girl studied his face.

Zartan immediately realizes what that means and tries to contact Cobra Commander but fails. Cobra Commander and a large force of Cobra troops are already on their way to Hollywood to make the exchange.

when Cobra Commander arrives, with Shipwreck, he demands Torch to be handed over. Cover Girl continues with the charade but the plan goes array. A battle breaks out (god a say that a lot) between the Cobra forces and recently arrived Joe sky Strikers. The battle destroys a large portion of the studio but the director is able to film it this time. The battle ends with the Joes victorious and Cobra Commander once again escaping.

We them move to the Joes attending the movie's premier. On the Red Carpet the Director thanks his parents instead of the Joes. This leads to Shipwreck losing his temper and going after the director. The episode ends with the other Joes holding Shipwreck back.

So was this a good episode? Well it had Shipwreck, Mutt, and Junkyard, so FUCK yeah it was a good episode. Any episode with Shipwreck is good by default but this one was actually a funny little send-up of Hollywood. It was well written and had good action. Definitely worth a watch.

Quote of the Episode.

From Shipwreck to a coyote.

"Meep. Meep."

Awesome Moment of the Episode.

Shipwreck takes Zartan and two Dreadnoks on in a fight. He ends up unconscious but puts up a hell of a fight.

The "Wait. What?" Moment of the Episode.

At the premier for the movie we see Dusty, Recondo, Barbeque, Mutt, Shipwreck, and Cover Girl in black tie. For some reason Cover Girl is in a tuxedo. I just found that odd.

G.I.Joe Episode 20.
Cobra's Candidate.

Episode 20 opens in an undisclosed city during a mayoral campaign. We quickly see that the local street gangs are against one of the candidates, a man named Robert Harper. We see them rip up his posters, strong arm his supporters, and disturb his rallies.

Things are so bad that the President has sent a small unit of Joes to deal with the situation. The unit is made up of Scarlett, Lady Jaye, Snake Eyes, Spirit, and Zap (who is not named in this episode). They are also accompanied by Freedom and Timber, because when you are fighting gangs you may need an eagle and a wolf.

The Joes arrive just in time to confront three of the gang members at the rally. The gang bangers run with the Joes hot on their tails. Before the Joes can catch the bangers the Dreadnoks show up. They capture Snake Eyes, Spirit, and Zap leaving Lady Jaye and Scarlett on their own. Oh Timber and Freedom are also captured.

Lady Jaye and Scarlett, having no clue as to where their fellow Joes have been taken go back to Harper to make sure he is safe. They escort him to a building that is secretly owned by Tomax and Xamot. It is here that we learn just what Cobra has planned. The gangs are being used to make Harper look good. Now that the Joe's have been seen helping him he is a lock to win the election. With the mayor in their pocket Cobra will be able to do whatever they like.

The only problem being that Lady Jaye and Scarlett, who climbed up the outside of the building because of a hunch, now know the plan. Tomax and Xamot notice the two Joes and attack them. Scarlett and Lady Jaye are able to escape and now have a plan of their own.

Meanwhile the Dreadnoks, and the three gang leaders, have the other Joes and their animal partners locked up underground. Storm Shadow arrives with orders from Cobra Commander. This leads to the gang leaders, the Dreadnoks, and Storm Shadow all leaving. Thus the Joes are left to be guarded by a group of Crimson Guardsmen.

In the city Scarlett and Lady Jaye meet a young boy who can lead them to one of the gang leaders. The boy is the younger brother of Pilar Vasquez the female gang leader. He agrees to take the two Joes to meet her.

When they arrive Pilar dismisses their information and a fight breaks out. Pilar, armed with Scarlett's crossbow, is on the verge of finishing the fight when Wild Bill arrives, in a helicoptor. Now that they are vastly out gunned the gang turns tail and runs. Leading to Scarlett voicing her annoyance at having to pull her punches when dealing with them.

The Joes, being held underground, attack the crimson Guardsmen and in doing so alert the other Joes to their location. Scarlett, Lady Jaye, and Quick Kick arrive to free their friends. The fight is quick but fierce leading to most of the Crimson Guardsmen fleeing. One, who Spirit choked out, is left and reveals the next part of Cobra's plan.

With that it's a race to Harper's rally at the pier. Cobra plan's on blowing up the entire wharf. To do this a boat carrying Zartan and Firefly has docked at the pier. As with the previous rallies Pilar and the other gang leaders make a scene. Pilar is upset when her little brother arrives and attempts to join in. The other two gang leaders make fun of him and he runs off upset.

As the Joes arrive the first of the Cobra bombs goes off in an abandoned building. Well the building is almost abandoned. There is just one person in it, Pilar's little brother. The boy yells for his sister but when she tries to help him the Dreadnoks stop her. Now realizing that Cobra is evil the gang Bangers leave. The Dreadnoks outnumbered retreat.

As the Joes run to save the boy the Dreadnoks and Harper escape on the Cobra boat. This exposes Harper's dealings with Cobra, which means he is no longer of any use. As such Zartan and Firefly throw him off the boat to be arrested.

Back on the pier Pilar and Scarlett are able to save the boy as the fire department arrives. As the episode ends we see that Harper got just two votes. One from Tomax and the other from Xamot.

This was a fun episode. It was nice to see Scarlett and Lady Jaye work together and kick butt. I was a little let down that Spirit had so little to do but that's just due to my love for the character. This is another recommended episode. Give it a shot.

Quote of the Episode.

From Scarlett talking about Freedom.

"The bird has the word."

Awesome Moment of the Episode.

When the captured Joes make a run for it, Snake Eyes ends up tussling with Pilar. The two of them find themselves on subway tracks with a train baring down on them. Snake Eyes does the only thing he can. He grabs Pilar jumps 15 feet into air and flips to safety, while carrying her.

The "Wait. What?" Moment of the Episode.

This should probably be quote of the episode but it seems like it should go in this section. One of the Dreadnoks, Torch I believe, uses the word "Bollocks" which is UK slang for testicles. 

It may have taken me two weeks to get through these episodes but it shouldn't have there wasn't a bad one in the bunch. All in all this series is stacking up to be better than I remember. I love that.

Know Your Joe.

Today we will be taking a look at Mutt the Joe's resident dog handler, and when you talk about Mutt you have to talk about Junkyard his faithful dog. The team of Mutt and Junkyard first appeared in 1984. They became a mainstay of the first series and appeared in the comics and following series. Sadly the duo have yet to appear in the more recent Joe outings. Mutt was originally voiced by Bill Morey and then Dale Wilson with the vocal effects of Junkyard being handled by Frank Welker. So far there have been 8 versions of the character released. All of which included Junkyard.

Cobra's Most Wanted.

We've all experienced it. A crush. That one sided infatuation. Sometimes that crush isn't on someone we know. Sometimes it isn't even on someone real. Many people will tell you their first crush was a cartoon character. At least most men. I am no different. For some it was Jessica Rabbit, for others it was Cheetara, for me it was the Baroness. To this day vaguely Eastern European women with black hair and glasses catch my eye. But enough about me. The Baroness is a true mainstay of the Joe universe. She debuted in 1982 and was even in the first issue of the G.I.Joe comic. She has appeared in every Joe series and in the first live action movie, by a very miscast Sienna Miller. I would have gone with Monica Bellucci. The character has been voiced by Morgan Lofting, Teryl Rothery, Amy Birnbaum, Kayzie Rogers, Grey Delisle, and Tatyana Yassukovich. So far there have been 16 versions of the character released.