World War III Part 8 of 12 -- War Without End
	Short Summary Duke and Agent Delta sneak into Cobra controlled New York City, Cobra takes control of several nuclear bases, Spirit, Wild Bill & Gung-Ho continue their fight against The Plague troops, Storm Shadow hunts for Destro, Cobra Commander launches a nuclear bomb and then threatens the world with more nuclear attacks.
	Notes of Interest The return of Billy, Cobra Commander's son. First appearance of GI Joe team members Bombstrike, Taurus, Thunderwing, Skystriker, Starduster, Skymate
Major Players The Joe Team: Agent Delta(Rourke), General Colton, General Rey, Airborne, Cover Girl, Duke, Firewall, Gung-Ho, Shipwreck, Spirit, Stalker, Sparks, Storm Shadow, Wild Bill Additional Joe Appearances: Firewall, Ace, Slip Stream, Hawk, GI Jane, Dogfight, Ghostrider, Skymate, Starduster, Skystriker, Bombstrike, Heavy Duty, Taurus, Steeler, Grand Slam, Claymore, Tripwire, Jinx, Budo, Kamakura Cobra: Cobra Commander, Alexander Destro, Mistress Armada, Tomax, Iron Grenadier General, Red Shadow's Dena Eden, Major Bludd, Cobra Mortal The Plague: Blackout, Gallows, Grim Skull, Guillotine, Incision (Aleph), Interrogator, Minutia, Vanguard (Lt. Nick Bailey), Vector, Velocity Additional Characters: Dennis & Clive (deceased), Sam, Vice President, Speaker of the House, Dusan (Issue AE #22)
Creative Team Writer: Mark Powers, Line Artists: Mike Bear/Pat Quinn, Color Artist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu, Letterer: Crank!, Military Advisor: Phil Kost, Editor (Cannon Fodder): Mike O'Sullivan, Cover: Mike Bear and Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Long Summary In New York City, several Cobra Vipers find military scuba gear. They determine that several GI Joe's are on the island, they call for a red alert. In the subway tunnels, Duke and Agent Delta (Rourke) make there way to Rockefeller Center, along the way Duke refers to his past with his father on the different protest rallies. The entire city of New York is completely controlled by Cobra Vipers and BATS. In Suffolk England, Clive runs into the control room of a nuclear planet. There his co-worker Dennis pulls a gun on Clive and prevents him from burning the control manual. Dennis kills Clive just as several Crimson Guardsmen arrive to take control of the facility. Dennis is on Cobra's payroll and on his way to glory. In Priest Lake, ID, Sparks is woken up by General Colton. Sparks has received no communication from any Joe team members. US communication has been compromised since Cobra took control of Fort Meade. High above the Czech Republic, Storm Shadow parachutes out of a plane that is flown by Ace and Slip Stream. In Malta, Spirit, Gung-Ho and Wild Bill have remained behind to continue the fight against The Plague. They are cornered and the only way out is to charge directly into the well positioned Plague troops. As they make this final charge, Vanguard and Velocity fire shoulder rockets at them. The Joes duck into a door just as the rockets completely destroy the building. A little later Interrogator, Incision and Guillotine unsuccessfully look through the rumble to find the bodies. In the Empty Quarter, General Rey is interviewing a Cobra soldier named Sam. He wants information but before Sam can talk a nuclear blast goes off in the distance. Literally, World War III has officially been started by Cobra Commander. On the television, Cobra Commander announces that he has taken control of several nuclear facilities on several continents and has just released one nuclear bomb in the uninhabited area known as the Empty Quarter. He then says "We can and will deploy these weapons where we want, when we want and if the world powers do not accede to my authority… I will begin choosing populated targets." Cobra Commander finishes his telecast as Tomax brings him the world wide progress report. He is not concerned with the response of the nations, but he is concerned about the GI Joe team which is currently spread out through out the world. He has access to all of there locations. At Fort Bragg, The Speaker of the House and the Vice President are talking about what response the US should have to Cobra's overwhelming attack. Basically, the come to the decision to leave all military decisions to the commander's in the field. On the USS Flagg in the North Atlantic, Shipwreck and Cover Girl are dropped off just as Airborne leads a group of Joe fighter planes to attack the nuclear facility in England and give air support to the French. In London, Alexander Destro receives reports of the status of his Iron Grenadier Army, which is: Moscow has fallen, Paris is about to fall and they have intercepted the Joe air force that has penetrated the French airspace. Using their invisible technology, the Grenadier air force catches the Joe team off guard. In Prague, Dela Eden is interrogating Dusan an old friend of the Baroness; who helped her find her son (Issue AE #22). As she tortures him Storm Shadow walks into the room and says "This is as far as you're going." At the Cobra controlled Fort Meade, Major Bludd is walking the grounds, when a whispered voice calls him into an alley. Around the world the Joe team members continue to battle against Cobra: Kazakhstan - Claymore, Tripwire, Steeler, Grand Slam fight off Cobra soldiers. Istanbul, Turkey - Bombstrike, Taurus and Heavy Duty are in close combat with Cobra Vipers People's Republic of China - Kamakura, Jinx and Budo fight Cobra Mortal and several Ireland - Starduster and Skymate protect a building. Back at Fort Meade, Tomax asks Cobra Commander how he plans to bring the conflict to an end. The Commander's response is "do you truly believe our enemies have given up? No…I seek perpetual war." They are interrupted by a Crimson Guardsmen who says they have just captured a prisoner and he claims to be your son. Summary by Josh Eggebeen
Number 32, February 2008