Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
GI Joe Origins #3
IDW Comics
Hama & Hawthorne
Origins just picked up a whole lot of steam as the Joe team charges into what seems to be their first confrontation. The issue is heavy on fast dialogue and plot growth, but is light on the action. This issue from first glance appears to just be positioning characters for the bigger battle but it is doing more than that in the storytelling. Through the dialogue we do learn a lot about the core characters. The villain is still left largely underdeveloped but I’m not sure he even matters for this series. This was a fun read even after multiple sittings.
The issue opens with Duke, Stalker, Scarlett and Snake Eyes meeting Breaker, Rock N Roll and Heavy Duty. Obviously we can’t learn about each and every one of their recruitments and frankly I don’t even think that it matters. It’s nice to have more Joes in the mix early on but does it makes sense to broaden out the team so early? I guess it depends on how they get used.
All except Hawk and Snake Eyes take a parachuting mission to find Chimera, the rogue for the arc. Snake Eyes, though bedridden, is sent on his own mission to retrieve a cold beverage for Hawk. The limitations for any interaction with Snake Eyes is tough, but with Hawk’s voice being so authoritative and sarcastic it works very well when the two of them “talk”.
The issue picks up steam as the Joes learn that Chimera has a hostage and Chimera learns of the Joes. In the process Chimera kills the communications system that the Joes were using which sends Hawk into a frantic spin at the end. It would seem Duke and his team are sitting ducks. Who will bail them out? How will Hawk help? The next issue looks to be a good one.
Amazingly, the issue has a lot of Snake Eyes in it. We actually seem to understand what makes him tick a little bit more. It’s still not clear how everyone seems to be aware he’s such a badass warrior but we start to see the beginnings of him coming out of his basket case syndrome. His interaction with the operator of the motel is laugh out loud funny.
We also get some real development from Duke and some fast character establishment for Rock N Roll. It’s not like they doing anything tremendous, but their regular dialogue and interaction with their teammates leaves an impression as to who they really are. It all is working very well in these setup issues.
The only real downer in the issue was the lack of villain plot or reasoning or even his basic scheme. Chimera has such a limited role in this issue and the whole arc it’s tough to see him as any threat. In some ways this is because we know the core Joes are going to survive, but it also seems like Chimera is just not that tough because we don’t have insight into his full evil capabilities. I’m not sure it really makes that much of a difference in an origins story for GI Joe, but it did leave me a little unsatisfied.
The art has its moments but none were better than when Snake Eyes is looking at something and it reflects off his glasses. If you are going to nail one thing in GI Joe its Snake Eyes and this issue does just that. The rest of the characters and settings are good but Snake Eyes is what steals the show in the art department.
This was a fun issue of Origins and it might be the best one to date. I’m looking forward to the next issue though and if you are wondering why, then you need to pick this issue up and look at the last page. I definitely recommend this issue.
3.5 out of 5 geek goggles
