Welcome back to G.I. JoeVersity, an (almost) weekly feature where we report on all the goings-on in the exciting world of G.I. Joe, including every new issues of IDW’s G.I. Joe family of titles, as well as the latest action figure releases and movie news!
This week, we’re pleased to welcome back once again the always fantastic Chuck Dixon, writer of both “G.I. Joe” and the newly retitled “Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow.”
Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow #13
Chuck Dixon (w) – Robert Atkins (a)
“Serpent’s Shadow,” part 1! SNAKE EYES returns to Japan to re-join the Arashikage clan to team with STORM SHADOW. Their target: the new COBRA COMMANDER! Will the most dangerous JOE turn his back on his loyalties and his friends just to bring down the new COBRA leader? Only HE knows! And G.I. JOE master penciller Robert Atkins is back on art!
Chuck Dixon: To lay out Snake Eyes’ plans betrays the whole raison d’être of this book. What Snake Eyes is up to is revealed by his actions and not before then. But this story will test Joe fans as to how much they know about Snake Eyes and how much they can trust him.
Fair enough. And what about Storm Shadow’s?
CD: That’s easy. Storm Shadow is on a classic samurai quest for revenge on those who killed his master. He’s also more than a little ticked off at being played for a fool. He’s out to bring Cobra down. And that part of his plan falls in line with what Snake Eyes is looking to accomplish.
I can’t quite remember, but is this the first time we’ve gotten a glimpse into Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow’s past together in the IDW-continuity? I mean, you’ve established they’ve got history, sure, but this is actually seeing them together, training and learning the ways of the Arashikage, which I really enjoyed. I’m assuming we’ll see more?
CD: We will see more and this is the first exploration of their relationship in the IDW world of Joe.
They both look relatively young in the flashbacks, which is a little bit of a departure from the classic, shared military backstory, and much closer to what we saw in G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra and Renegades. Roughly how old are they here?
CD: We take them from around ten years old up to their mid-teen years before Snake Eyes leaves the tutelage of the Hard Master.
Was the decision to make them younger based on anything beyond how awesome that scene was in Rise of Cobra where two 10 year olds beat the stuffing out of each other for 5 minutes? Because, really, that’s plenty right there (love that part!).
CD: For Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow to be true ninja they had to start young, to my mind. No one really dictated that I approach the material this way. But I thought that part of the movie was a great approach to the subject. And it makes the bond and rivalry deeper.
With the title change, I’m really looking forward to seeing what you do with Storm Shadow, and finding out some more about him. So far, your version’s all badass businessman, and seems to be absent some of that zen nobility that other incarnations have had. Minus Brainwave Scanners and high-tech hypnotics, it really looks like your guy is colder than cold, right?
CD: He’s certainly focused. But he’s more of a man of the world than previously shown. The guy digs power and the rewards it can bring. This places him in contrast to Snake Eyes who is a pure stoic. I think of Storm Shadow like an evil James Bond. He’s good at everything, likes the ladies and is prideful to a fault.
Finally, anything to say about Paramount pushing G.I. Joe: Retaliation back to next year?
Continued belowCD: Oh yeah.
I think it was a smart move to shift the movie to March. It’s a better fit there rather than try and duke it out in a superhero summer.
Yeah, I’m disappointed, but now that the sting’s worn off a little, the move makes more sense.
Thanks as always, Chuck!
