Home  Comic Book Commercials G.I.Joe #1
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Issue #1: Operation: Lady Doomsday
Publication Date: June 1982
Writer: Larry Hama
Penciler: Herb Trimpe
Inker: Bob McLeod
Lettering: Jim Novak
Colorist: Glynis Wein |
SUMMARY
"We're soldiers . . . our job is to follow orders . . . to do the impossible - and make it look easy."
- Hawk (to the G.I.Joe team during a briefing)
During a news conference on a train, Cobra kidnaps Dr. Burkhart, a nuclear physicist who unwittingly helped design a nuclear weapon for the US government. After watching Cobra's operation on a monitor, General Flagg and General Austin select the G.I.Joe team for a rescue operation. Hawk briefs the Joes on their rescue mission and they successfully destroy an airfield and sabotage Cobra's communications station before their heavy artillery lands on the island and quickly plows through Cobra's defenses. During the battle, Stalker rescues Dr. Burkhart from a Cobra car, however, the woman is the Baroness in disguise. As the Joes invade Cobra's fort, the real Dr. Burkhart throws herself in front of Cobra Commander's gun in order to prevent him from shooting Snake Eyes and Scarlett. As the rest of the Joe team bursts into the room, Cobra Commander and the Baroness escape. But when the Joes learn that a bomb will destroy the fortress in a matter of minutes, they swiftly climb onboard a Cobra helicopter and fly to safety just as the base explodes.
| THE PERSONNEL |
| G.I.Joe: General Flagg, General Austin, Hawk, Clutch, Steeler, Grand Slam, Zap, Rock 'n' Roll, Stalker, Breaker, Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Flash, Short-Fuse |
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Cobra: the Baroness, Cobra Commander, Cobra agent |
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THE GEAR |
| G.I.Joe: VAMP, HAL, MOBAT, JUMP, RAM |
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THE
COMMERCIAL
[ issue01.zip - 2.28 mb - 30 seconds ]
Description
As a Cobra agent grabs a woman on a train, the camera pulls back to reveal two generals watching the scene on a large monitor, and one of the generals concludes that the G.I.Joe team is needed for the rescue. While a transport car races inside a glass tube, a hydraulic lift raises a VAMP to the ceiling of the Joes' base, which is underground, and drives away. Flash and Scarlett hit their targets during a training session and the camera focuses on a model fort on a table, which is surrounded by Flash, Stalker, Rock 'n' Roll and Clutch. Snake Eyes, Short-Fuze, Steeler and Rock 'n' Roll watch Hawk streak past them while driving a RAM inside the base and a MOBAT tank then plows through a stone wall, allowing Hawk, Scarlett and Snake Eyes to run forward and invade Cobra's fort. Flash and another member of the Joe team aim their laser rifles at the fort and Breaker disintegrates the wooden walls with a blast from a cannon. A Cobra agent races out of the stone castle in a car with the kidnapped woman, but a member of the Joe team streaks across the sky with a JUMP and reaches out for her hand. The camera pulls back and the cover of the first issue closes.
| THE PERSONNEL |
| G.I.Joe: Flash, Scarlett, Stalker, Clutch, Rock 'n' Roll, Snake Eyes, Hawk, Breaker |
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Cobra: Cobra agent |
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THE GEAR |
| G.I.Joe: VAMP, FLAK, MMS, RAM, MOBAT, JUMP |
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Lyrics
He'll fight for freedom
Wherever there's trouble
G.I.Joe is there
He never gives up
He'll stay till the fight's won
He's America's best
He's in control
He's a man who's tough and bold
He earns his name
The legend of G.I.Joe
G.I.Joe a real American hero
G.I.Joe is there
Tagline
The legend of G.I.Joe - new from Marvel Comics!
Notes
General Flagg and General Austin appear in the commercial (see the Screen Captures section: first row, center image), however, they would later be combined into one character in the first miniseries, "G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero."
The scene with Flash firing inside Joe headquarters was recycled for the opening sequence of the first miniseries.
After Scarlett's arrow strikes a target, the paper is ripped open and the camera zooms in to reveal a new scene, a transitional technique that was reused not only in several other comic book commercials but many of the toy advertisements as well.
Below is Marvel's original concept for the cover of G.I.Joe #1 (Collection Toys - October 1994).
Scenes from the commercial were reused in the animation segments for the G.I.Joe FLAK and RAM commercial.
Screen Captures
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