IDW reviews – G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #293

High Stakes’ third chapter finds Cobra opening its casino and a team of Joes going undercover to see what’s really under the table.

Larry Hama always writes fun covert operations. This one is no different as Scarlet, Helix, Jinx, Dawn and Throwdown navigate a surprisingly competent Cobra detection mechanism.

In 293 issues Hama hasn’t made many mistakes, but it feels like he regrets killing off Snake Eyes. Throwdown is basically Snake Eyes in visual right down to the scarred face and shredded vocal cords. And Dawn has all of his memories. Now, Dr. Mindbender is still working on his plan to clone a Cobra version of Snake Eyes. This is the avenue Hama could realistically take — within the established Joe continuity — of bringing the original Snake Eyes back.

Yes, death being final shouldn’t allow for resurrections, but Hama has everything in place to make it happen.

Mindbender is also working on creating a new Serpentor. The IDW series has seven more issues left before Skybound takes over the license.

Bringing back main characters like Snake Eyes and Serpentor is a huge deal and might be rushed if the story wraps with IDW’s final Real American Hero. Hopefully, Skybound already has an agreement in place with Hama to continue his Real American Hero saga after issue 300.

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Revanche’s sleeper BATS are also prominently featured. The Revanche angle has rarely been exciting as it’s just the Joes battling slightly more formidable robots with little stakes on either side.

SL Gallant returning for the home stretch is a nice touch and his consistent art makes for a smooth and easy to follow story. Gallant never tries to do anything too flashy, but his storytelling instincts are always on point.

J. Brown’s color work is a strong complement with a fitting tone that’s never too bold or washed out.

As High Stakes keeps playing out, Hama is setting up a solid conclusion to the IDW run. With enough time left for some big reveals and action scenes it continues to make for an enjoyable final run.

 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Photo Credit: IDW

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