G.I. Joe #8: Back for Bludd

G.I. Joe #8 picks up with the regular story after the last issue served as more-or-less a one-shot, setting up future players in this world. It’s worth noting that the events of the Free Comic Book Day Energon Universe 2025 Special are essential reading prior to this issue. While this is a peculiar choice, considering that the Energon Universe has done such a great job making its series being able to exist independently, chances are that the Special will be featured as part of this series when it gets collected in Trade Paperback or Hardcover.

But, back to G.I. Joe #8, this issue picks up with the team training to be a more cohesive unit after their last mission didn’t go as smoothly as Duke would have liked. While Duke has been the focal point for the heroes throughout the series thus far, G.I. Joe #8 shifts that focus over to Baroness, a character that was introduced in the Duke series prior to G.I Joe #1. Thankfully, this shift in focus is well-executed, showcasing Joshua Williamson’s ability to keep the story character focused even with more characters present than you can count on both hands.

Baroness is a fairly complicated character, with first time readers really only knowing that she was not always on the side of the heroes, but has now taken up arms with the Joes. This backstory is more so mentioned within the Duke series, so Williamson and Milana opt to focus on other aspects of the character’s history that were not revealed. This leads Baroness to take a couple of days off, only to find that Duke has asked Cover Girl to watch over her. The dynamic between the two is a lot of fun, especially with their histories being very different from one another.

While not heavily featured, G.I. Joe #8 does delve into what’s happening with Cobra, who are now on the hunt for another Transformer that they can dissect and turn into greater weapons. This sets up another looming threat for the Joes, especially considering the Transformer that 99% of the team is unaware of, but is hanging out in their base. Meanwhile, G.I Joe #6 also set up that some of the villains from the Cobra Commander series were looking to come back for revenge. Overall, this is a lot of buildup for what promises to be an explosive showdown.