G.I. Retro - The Vines of Evil

In this episode of G.I. Retro, I break down Part 2 of the Revenge of Cobra -The Vines of Evil! Flint, Mutt, and Roadblock fight for their lives in the Pit of Chaos, Cobra unleashes the full power of the Weather Dominator on Washington D.C., Shipwreck makes his debut, but for a price, and wait...Is that Wolverine and Cyclops sitting in a Cobra bar?! The Hair or Hood debate rages on and the Revenge of Cobra is far from over.
Who was YOUR Episode MVP?
Who was YOUR Foul-Up of the Week?
What was your favorite But Did You Die? moment?
Hair or Hood? Drop your answer below!
Cameo or Crazy? 
What moments or hidden highlights did I miss?
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🐦 Twitter: @GIRetroShow
📧 Email: James@giretro.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:00

What are they directed consequences for you if you do not obey my orders? The London Destro.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Yo Joe and welcome everyone back to GI Retro. We've got a lot to get to today, so let's go ahead and jump into the episode. We are revisiting part two of the Revenge of Cobra, The Vines of Evil. Originally aired September 11th, 1984, and it picks up right where we left off. We got that great cliffhanger with the creeper vines uh growing and encircling Flint. Remember, it was Flint, Mutt, and Junkyard, and Roadblock that crashed into the pit of chaos, courtesy of Cobra's weather dominator. So Flint trying to find his other comrades. He first meets up with Roadblock as they both are fighting off these creeper vines. And that's where we get sort of a solution from an unexpected source. Mutt using his head, using the remaining thruster power of the Sky Strikers to kill off or at least hold back a good portion of these creeper vines. So they make their way over there. And this is sort of like their, sort of like their version of the campfire, keeping the wolves at bay here while they're trying to figure out how to escape. Because the creeper vines just keep coming. As long as they're, you know, watered by the rainstorm, there's no real stopping them. So Flint takes the lead here out of the, you know, spare parts and scraps from the crash site, builds this makeshift helicopter, gets it to somehow take off, and they are trying to make their escape as the thruster fuel of the Sky Striker runs out. The vines encroach upon them as they're lifting off, and they ensnare Roadblock, who, like Snake Eyes in the Mass Device miniseries, maybe not quite as dramatic here, but the vines are holding on to Roadblock and preventing this helicopter from fully taking off. And Roadblock makes the noble sacrifice, letting himself fall into the vines so Mutt, Junkyard, and Flint can make their escape from the pit.

SPEAKER_03 2:13

You'll never make it with me on board. I'll fake my way out.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

So Roadblock sacrifices himself for the greater good. Flint, Mutt, and Junkyard able to make their escape, but that DIY helicopter doesn't last long at all. It crash lands. Two Cobra troopers take notice, but they are able to create a diversion courtesy of Junkyard. Really had a strong episode, did Junkyard? Uh, and Flint and Mutt able to take out the troopers, take their clothes as a disguise, and their mission will continue. From there, I want to jump over to the Cobra Temple and the new and improved Cobra arena of sport. You remember the arena of sport from the Mass Device? Well, here in this episode, it's looking less Roman gladiatorial in terms of the Colosseum, but more so almost like out of Tron. But Duke and Snake Eyes are in the arena of sport, being compelled to fight one another in gladiatorial contests. They have, you know, futuristic gladiatorial weapons, Duke with the laser sword, Snake Eyes with the, you know, the trident and net combination that it's straight out of Spartacus and sort of out of like Star Trek as well, like when Kirk and Spock were forced to fight one another. Uh, but I digress. It's while they're having to combat one another, they overhear that Cobra's plan their next target will be Washington, D.C. So they're able to resist the programming, they work together, they take out one of those big power conduits and then use a communicator to get a message back to G.I. Joe HQ. I believe it was using Joe code Ultra. So they get the message back, and the Joes are clued in that DC is the next target. Duke and Snake Eyes then free themselves. They're trying to make their escape, but Cobra unleashes just a swarm of troopers, and it leads to this just really great fight scene. Really cool to see how many that Duke and Snake Eyes could hold off, but gotta love the sort of the finishing move from both you know bands of troopers to subdue Duke and Snake Eyes, just the extreme pummeling them into submission. They're still captured. And I want to keep it with Cobra here because we get some of the best interactions in the entire episode between Cobra Commander, Destro, and Zartan. They're talking about their plans to use the weather dominator. Cobra Commander wants to go full out, full power with it. Destro trying to discourage him, not leave them vulnerable. And we get Zartan sort of trying to kiss up to Cobra Commander. Anyway, we get this great exchange.

SPEAKER_04 4:51

I protest, I protest most strongly, my dear Cobra Commander. Using the full power of the laser core on Washington could leave us vulnerable to counterattack.

SPEAKER_02 5:04

Nonsense! There is no possible way for G.I. Joe to resist the weather dominator.

SPEAKER_05 5:10

I will not have my opinions questioned by a penny as he quick change artist. What would you have me do with Washington Destro? Pepper it with spitballs?

SPEAKER_00 5:22

I talked about the tension between Cobra Commander and Destro all throughout the Mass Device. I talked about last episode, Destro's disdain for Zartan and the fact that he's a mercenary. And we get both in this awesome exchange. And I just love the Cobra Commander attack them with what? Spitballs line? Like that was that was great. And it continues on. We get my favorite moment from the episode is also between these three. As Destro is lowering the weather dominator, Zartan gets hit with some rays of sunlight. And all I can say about Destro here is that he is a generational next level hater for this. Best moment of the episode is this.

SPEAKER_05 6:09

Oh, don't salt Destro. I'll throw in a tornado before the final lightning strike. A brilliant plan leader. Naturally, I made it, didn't I?

SPEAKER_04 6:25

No, not sunlight.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

Destro is so well remembered, both for you know his great quotes that he has, but also that signature villainous laugh of his. And boy, an absolute full broadside of that laugh in that scene. I think it went on like 10 to 15 seconds. It just kept going and going and going. I mean, it went on so long. It was like something out of family guy. But again, favorite moment of the episode. Had to watch it several times. It's just, it's so great. And yeah, it was it was awesome. All I can say is that Destro, you are a next level generational hater. But from Destro laughing at Zartan, let's jump over to the Joe's side. Again, they have gotten word that Cobra's next attack will come at Washington, D.C. So the Joe's a little bit more on the ball than they were in the Mass Device miniseries. That's something that's sort of more apparent here in the early going of The Revenge of Cobra. And I really like that it's it's Doc that gets sort of a standout moment here. He comes up with the plan for these energy mirrors that will absorb and reflect back the power of the weather dominator. So it's Doc's plan, incredibly elaborate. Some would say maybe needlessly elaborate, but G.I. Joe already, we're in just the second episode of this miniseries, has a way to deal with Cobra's weapon. And I and I really liked that. And I like that it was it was Doc getting to sort of showcase his G.I. Joe know-how here. But Cobra preparing to attack DC, GI Joe rolling out with those energy mirrors to hopefully save the day and defeat the weather dominator. So let's go ahead and get into that attack on DC. Cobra Commander was talking about, you know, wanting to launch, you know, the full destructive power of the weather dominator. Destro was cautioning him against that. So Cobra Commander said, Oh, well, I'll throw in a tornado. And he throws in a tornado. And we see you know GI Joe trying to, you know, fly these helicopters through this tornado. We see troops trying to run through it. And then they start throwing just gigantic hailstones at G.I. Joe, destroying a lot of these energy mirrors. And it's, you know, it's a it's a cool sort of scene watching, you know, G.I. Joe trying to get in place, trying to get their plan in place to hopefully stop this weather dominator. I mean, we see these hailstones destroying, you know, parts of the Capitol and the White House and everything like that. But, you know, as I was thinking about, you know, our little show awards that we do here, uh, this is when I, you know, as I as I rewatched it, I was like, God, we got we got helicopters flying through a tornado. We got people on foot going through a tornado. So uh, and then these hailstones smashing these mirrors, just shards of glass going everywhere. And maybe you already know where I'm going. But this scene is our but did you die moment of the week.

SPEAKER_05 9:53

Did you die?

SPEAKER_00 9:55

I got shot.

SPEAKER_05 9:56

But did you die?

SPEAKER_00 9:59

This one maybe doesn't have the most sort of like just singular moment that I wanted to hone in on here for the DYD, but just this entire scene in the in the lead up to using these energy mirrors. Again, the dragonflies going through the tornado while they've got this heavy payload of the mirrors running on foot through the tornado. I that the helicopters alone would would qualify, you know, flying into the eye of this storm, but then the hailstones and everything going into it. So yeah, maybe, maybe not as just sort of singular pointing out to like, you know, one of the viper gliders getting exploded, and then they just land harmlessly in the tree line. But even in spite of not having just a singular frame to point out here, GI Joe trying to get in place in the midst of this crazy apocalyptic storm. That is our but did you die moment of the week. And let's let's keep it with DC in this in this battle because it's looking rough for G.I. Joe, but they do manage to get some of their energy mirrors in place. Cobra Commander insisting again using just this all-out lightning barrage. Destro doesn't want to do it. He warns him again. Uh, but if Cobra Commander says, hey, there will be dire consequences for you if you don't obey me. So Destro acquiesces and it backfires in a spectacular way. So Doc's energy mirror plan worked to great effect, or at least so it would appear right now. Cobra's weather dominator destroyed, scattered to the wind, scattered over different parts of the globe. Destro leaping to safety. He was almost, he was this close to being our DYD for this week. But I'll tell you what this scene did lead to, and that is our fallop of the week.

SPEAKER_03 12:14

You're here because you're the Destro Spray Fallout.

SPEAKER_00 12:17

I knew coming into this series, I knew with this segment, it was only a matter of time, I suppose, before the dubious honors of Fallop of the Week went to our beloved Cobra Commander. Destro warned him multiple times throughout the episode, right to the very end, trying to dissuade Cobra Commander from his plan. But the overconfidence, the arrogance of Cobra Commander came back to bite him spectacularly here. The weather dominator destroyed Cobra's plot, at least for the moment, fully foiled and out of control. So, Cobra Commander, for your refusal to listen, for your arrogance, you are the fallop of the week. Cobra Commander's fallop leads to the destruction of the weather dominator. You'd think, great, GI Joe, you've saved the day. It's all wrapped up, but not so fast because the weather dominator, when it was destroyed, we're told, actually started a chain reaction. So the entire world is still under threat from these crazy weather systems that it started. So now G.I. Joe is going to have to scour the globe for the three missing pieces of the destroyed weather dominator. So the hunt is on, and G.I. Joe and the rest of the world is not out of the woods yet. From the weather dominator being destroyed and scattered. Now let's jump back to our Joes that are missing in action. First, we get Roadblock still in the pit of chaos with those creeper vines, but thanks to the storm subsiding, they all die out, and Roadblock drops a few more rhymes for us.

SPEAKER_03 13:58

Hello, Sunshine. What is new? Goodbye, snake vines. You are through. Alright. Now let's get out of this hole and start roll.

SPEAKER_00 14:12

The weather dominator may be out of commission, but Roadblock is still rhyming up a storm. I love it. Now let's jump back to Flint, Mutt, and Junkyard. They're in the middle of nowhere, but definitely behind enemy lines, and they are in this town on the outskirts of civilization, but they come upon a local watering hole known as Cobra Cafe. And I love the Cobra Cafe scenes. One of my favorites from this episode. I just love that Cobra Cafe exists. I love the vibe, the old-timey Western aesthetic. Super nice touch with the Cobra Trooper as the piano player was just awesome. And it's full of unsavory characters. I mean, it is like the Moss Ice Lee Cantina, a hive of scum and villainy. And they're seeing through the Flint and Mutt Cobra Trooper disguises pretty quickly here, edging closer to the table. And this is a great scene for Flint. I love the lines that he's sort of shooting off to the side to Mutt to get ready, and also shooting back at the goons themselves as they approach, playing it very Bogart here, getting him to lean closer. Flint flips the table and the bar brawl is on. The melee ensues. It's a great fight. Flint really holds his own here. So do Mutt and Junkyard. The three of them able to subdue all the bad guys. They are standing tall. But amidst all the chaos is one man just sitting there reading Cobra news, having a coffee, one of the all-time fan favorites of the series making his debut. At last, it's Shipwreck.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

You uh don't live around here, do you? Don't be so nervous. I'm not with Cobra. Then who are you with? I'm with myself and anybody who can pay my price. The name's Shipwreck. Why would that interest us? Because you're not exactly number one on Cobra's sweetheart parade. Now, you want to pay my fee and get out of here? Or hang around and pray for urban renewal.

SPEAKER_00 16:23

It's the little things sometimes in the show that really get me. I love Shipwreck sitting there just reading a literal Cobra newspaper, sipping his coffee amidst all this chaos, just totally cool, calm, and collected. And at last, one of the all-time fan favorites from this show has entered the fray. And, you know, I mentioned how Cafe Cobra sort of gave off this Moss Isley energy. Well, Shipwreck definitely giving off Han Solo energy if this is Moss Isley, you know, introducing himself in this roguish fur hire manner, sort of a counterpoint to Zartan being a mercenary as well, because Shipwreck, not officially with the GI Joe team yet. Thankfully, Junkyard gives a seal of approval that he's okay. And Flint and Mutt are going to try and make their escape with Shipwreck aboard this sandboat or sand skiff. Wind powered, of course, to avoid any cobra detection. It's looking like smooth sailing until that sandstorm hits and Mutt is thrown overboard right in the middle of it. And that's our cliffhanger ending the Vines of Evil. But I want to jump back because I teased it at the start of the show. I asked the question are the X-Men hiding in this episode of G.I. Joe a real American hero? And as I was talking about that cast of unsavory characters in the bar, they're doing this pan over. And as I'm watching it, I couldn't help but think that a couple characters looked somewhat familiar to me. I hit pause, I freezed frame, and yeah, I got more and more convinced the more I rewound and watched it. That looks like Wolverine and Cyclops to me. And as the scene continued on, you get a front shot. That looks like Cyclops visor. That looks like Logan's hair. The more I watched, the more convinced I became. And if you're skeptical, I hear you. Let me give you just a little bit of context to support my argument. G.I. Joe, Real American Hero, was co-produced with Sunbow by Marvel Productions. Of course, the G.I. Joe comic book being made by Marvel as well. This came out in late 1984. The popularity of the X-Men was definitely on the rise here. Cyclops was the face of the franchise for them, and Wolverine's popularity was growing rapidly as well. I think by this time he had had a couple of solo miniseries already, maybe his own ongoing title at this point. So definitely two major stars in the Marvel Comics continuity. And yeah, Marvel Productions being involved, I think that this was an Easter egg. Do I think this was actually meant to be Wolverine and Cyclops in the flesh? No, of course not. But do I think that this was intentionally done by Marvel Productions as a wink and a nod, both to the audience that would catch it and to the animators and to anybody within Marvel that would notice? Yes, I do. I the more I watch this, the more 100% I think this was intentional. So there you have it. In my opinion, a little Easter egg cameo appearance from the X-Men in G.I. Joe, a real American hero. Or maybe you just think I'm a conspiracy theorist wearing my tinfoil hat. But let me just point this out to you because I don't think it made the cut in the previous episodes. But in the Mass Device miniseries, speaking of tinfoil hats, Duke trying to recover his memories at one point is hooked up to an apparatus that looks just like Professor X's cerebro. So there is some precedent for this within the animated series. I'm standing by it. The more I re-watched it, the more I believe that was 100% intentional. We can leave the X-Men behind for now, but I do want to hear from you about what you think. But speaking of hearing from you, I want to talk about last week's debate question the is it hair or is it a hood on Zartan? Number one, I love that this is a question within the G.I. Joe community and one that elicits such a response, so much passion from all of you. It is great. And I want to highlight a few of the comments that stood out to me, whether it was on YouTube or a social media. So the first one I want to shout out here comes from Oz Money. And he says, Since everyone is talking about hoods, you forgot to mention that this episode was the debut of Cobra Commander's iconic hooded look. And as far as Zartan, it was hair to me as a child, but upon further investigation, it's definitely a hood. Well, thank you for weighing in Oz Money. And you're right, I neglected to mention last episode that that was the first time we seen the animated series Hooded Cobra Commander, one of his most iconic looks. I got too caught up in the hair versus hood debate with Zartan that I forgot to mention Cobra Commander bringing out that new look. And as far as the change from yeah, hair as a kid to hood, I've definitely seen a lot of that. You know, if you grew up just watching the cartoon, but then you see the art from the figure or in the comic books, obviously to be a hood that maybe you could see it differently in the cartoon now. For me, I can't see it any differently. I think, again, to reinforce my point from last week, I think in every other media it's a hood, but in this cartoon, it's hair. All right, the next comment comes from Michael Gene Fleming, and he puts a real fine point on it here. I think the hood everywhere but sunbow, where it is hair, is the best answer. But I think the absolute best answer is to steal from the old suave shampoo commercials. If you can't tell, why should we? Well said. Michael Gene Fleming. I agree. All right, this comes from Dark Saint, and I want to sort of try and represent both sides of the debate here. Dark Saint says, it's a hood that the animation studio misinterpreted as hair. It confused me as a kid, but after I understood that animators are not perfect and under tremendous schedule crunches, I accepted that it was both. And Dark Saint highlighting something here that I want to also point out. Yes, I believe the intention 100% was for it to also be a hood in the animated series, but I don't think that's what happened. Intention or not, looking at the animation, that's hair to me. It's glorious 80s rocker biker hair on Zartan. I think it was a beautiful, a beautiful mistake that happened with the animators' misinterpretation because I think Zartan having that kind of hair is super cool. So thank you for weighing in Dark Saint. Uh, all right, the last one comes to us from Matthew Duvall. He says, regarding Zartan, the real question is human or not? Sort of talking about Zartan's powers, you know, the ability to disguise himself so perfectly, his skin changing colors and everything like that. So asking the question, human or not, perhaps Zartan is a mutant, further tying back in to the X-Men cameo. No, I'm just kidding, but it it begs the question. Thank you to everyone for weighing in. Please continue to keep weighing in. If you didn't get your voice heard, is it hair or is it a hood on Zartan? In the Sunbow animated series, I will forever say it's hair. Whether that is what the production studios intended, the animators they made their decision and they turned it into hair. And that's that's just what I believe. But let me know. Leaving the hair versus hood debate behind for now, I want to transition into a new recurring or at least somewhat reoccurring segment when I feel like Hasbro missed an opportunity to capitalize on some things that should have been toys. And lo and behold, in the Vines of Evil, I noticed a few that stood out to me. First and foremost, even though it appears at the end of the episode, I think the most like slam dunk would have been Shipwreck's sandboat/slash sandskiff. I really can't believe that that wasn't a toy. So much so as that, you know, retroactively, if I could get into my time machine, I think it'd be pretty cool if Shipwreck just came with that. I think, I think that would be it would have been an awesome sort of, again, playing off that being the antithesis or the other side of the coin to Zartan coming with the swamp skier. I think Shipwreck coming with that sandboat would have been awesome. Uh, and I would, I just would have loved that as a kid. I would love that now. So I and I know I know the customs are all out there and everything like that, but that definitely jumped out to me as something like, oh wow, why didn't they do that? And then I love play sets. I talked about it last week. I'm gonna talk about it again. The Cobra Arena of Sport. You don't have to do the full Cobra Temple, although that would be amazing. The Cobra Arena of Sport, in particular from this miniseries, I think would have worked phenomenally well as a play set. I mentioned earlier it looked like sort of out of tron. It was more sort of futuristic than the one from the Mass Device miniseries, which was like the Roman Coliseum, awesome in its own right. But I think this playset would really, you know, you could do the stickers that would make it look like what we had going on here. You could have like the little um clamps to put around Joe's feet. It could come with those weapons that they used. I think that would have been an awesome play set to have, is the arena of sport. And then finally, maybe it wouldn't have worked with the original run of the toys. It'd be maybe too similar to sort of the action pack helicopter that they would do. But I think as a modern San Diego Comic-Con exclusive at some point in the future, do the makeshift the DIY helicopter that Flint, Roadblock, Mutt, and Junkyard use to get out of the pit of chaos. I think that would be an awesome set to offer as a Comic-Con exclusive. You know, the packaging could have the vines of evil sort of twisting around the front of the packaging or as you fold it out. I think that would be awesome. I would, I would love that as a Comic-Con exclusive. So I really like playing Fantasy Toy Maker with you all. So I'll keep bringing Should Have Been a Toy back when the opportunity presents itself. And plus, it's a chance to see some of the great customs that are being made in the community. Really impressive work all the way around. But now it is time. We have to crown the MVP for this episode, the Vines of Evil. And we had some strong contenders, and I kept thinking about it. It's like this is a really well-balanced episode. A lot of contributions throughout the episode, some minor hero moments. You know, I'm thinking about like Duke and Snake Eyes and the arena of sport, getting that message back to the GI Joe HQ, junkyard being so, you know, perfect with the diversion carrying the boots, uh, and just all the way around, some really good character moments. I mean, heck, Destro laughing was vaulted him into the conversation because it was just so entertaining. But the real contenders, I want to start with, is roadblock. You know, he made the sacrifice in the pit of chaos so that Flint and Mutt and Junkyard could get away in the helicopter, some more great rhymes, lines, character work being done by Roadblock in this episode. But ultimately, I didn't give it to him because it just felt like it wasn't quite geared enough towards him, and he didn't sort of lift it in the way that, you know, was enough for me to give him MVP. But I love Roadblock, and I feel like his time is coming very soon. And then we had Doc, who I loved Doc getting some time in the sun in this episode. The fact that he came up with the plan that ultimately destroyed Cobra's weather dominator. He also had a funny asbestos underwear line. So Doc really had a strong episode. And I think had the plan that destroyed the weather dominator not created that chain reaction that now they have to go and find all the pieces, I think Doc would have a very strong case to be taking home the honors. But ultimately, it's not going to Doc. It's going to the character that I feel like really the episode was geared towards most. It felt like narratively, this was his episode. This was ultimately mostly his adventure. And that is Flint. He had some awesome moments, you know, in the pit of chaos, fighting the vines with roadblock, taking charge in creating that DIY helicopter to escape, disguising himself as a Cobra Trooper. I talked about how cool he was in the fight in the cafe Cobra. And just all the way around, this felt like it was Flint's episode. So by a razor-thin margin, I'm going to give this week's MVP to everyone's favorite warrant officer, Flint. And yes, my favorite G.I. Joe character on the Joe side. So maybe I'm a little biased. I'm willing to hear out other arguments for who should have been episode MVP. But this week, I am crowning Flint with his first ever hardware here at GI Retro.

SPEAKER_01 29:26

Could you hear what the man said? Would you please speak up? It's noisy in here.

SPEAKER_00 29:31

But sound off with your own picks for MVP, DYD, Fallop. What did you think about that X-Men cameo? Am I crazy? Am I seeing things? And keep weighing in about Zartan. Is it hair or is it a hood? I will see you next time as the revenge of Cobra continues with the Palace of Doom. But until then, if you didn't know, now you know. Take it away, Flint.

SPEAKER_01 29:53

And knowing is half the battle.