WARNING! Spoilers ahead for G.I. Joe #5

Cobra Commander has some new weapons in G.I. Joe , and he’s taken them from Transformers technology. The Real American Heroes have their work cut out for them in the new Energon Universe continuity, but they wind up finding a way to use the Commander’s new weapons against the forces of Cobra.

G.I. Joe #5 – written by Joshua Williamson, with art by Tom Reilly – finds the Joe team captured by the forces of Cobra. Things are looking dire for the team, until an undercover Clutch arrives in a souped-up HISS tank to save the day.

Powered by Energon, the HISS tank proves to be devastating. “We built the HISS too strong,” Destro notes, as the forces of Cobra are annihilated by Clutch operating the famous Cobra tank. The HISS tank is able to fire Cobra’s Energon-based lasers, which makes it nearly unstoppable on the battlefield.

Cobra Commander’s New Weapons Harness the Power of Energon in G.I. Joe

G.I. Joe #5 – Written By Joshua Williamson; Art By Tom Reilly; Color By Jordie Bellaire; Lettering By Rus Wooton

Cobra Commander was able to form his Cobra army thanks to his mastery of both Energon and Transformers tech; the Commander learned the secrets of the Transformers after experimenting on a captive Megatron for years in the hidden society of Cobra-La. He left Cobra-La to find more stores of Energon, which he acquired from the Dreadnoks after defeating them in their Energon-rich Louisiana swamp environs. With an unending store of the Transformers’ valuable powerf source at his disposal, the Commander was able to form an alliance with weapons makers Destro and Tomax & Xamot Paoli to create deadly new weapons.

One example of Cobra’s late Rock N’Roll sadly found out in G.I. Joe #1. The HISS tank makes use of the same Energon-based lasers to even more deadly effect, as Clutch is able to wipe out what looks to be an entire battalion of Cobra troops.

Readers also get a better idea of how one devastating new weapon works in the new issue. Cobra Commander acquired all the pieces needed to assemble what he describes as the “Brainwave Bomb,” a weapon that will emit powerful psychic energy that turns anyone within the blast radius into the Commander’s willing slaves. The Commander expounds on these plans in G.I. Joe #5, where it is revealed the Brainwave Bomb will also instantly kill anyone within a mile of wherever it’s detonated.

Cobra Commander's Transformers-Based Weapons Are The Highlight Of The Energon Continuity

A Natural Nexus Point For The Two Franchises

The Commander then reveals he plans to detonate his Brainwave Bomb in the heart of Washington, D.C. Although the Joe team successfully manages to fight off Cobra and escape being imprisoned, their rescue winds up having the adverse effect of distracting everyone long enough for Cobra Commander to transport his bomb to the U.S. capital. Cobra Commander’s frequent use of Transformers tech throughout all his appearances in the Energon Universe has shown just how enmeshed the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises are in Skybound’s new shared continuity.

Cobra Commander has become almost entirely reliant on Energon to keep his new army going.

The Commander seems to be slowly Megatron has officially returned to take control of the Decepticons, fans will have to wonder what happens when he discovers his former captor is now making use of his species’ valuable fuel source for his own nefarious ends.

The Bonds Between Transformers & G.I. Joe Lore Continue To Strengthen As The Energon Universe Expands

And The Continuity Is Still Just Getting Warped Up

Considering that the G.I. Joe team was formed in the Energon Universe to deal with the threat of the Transformers, it sounds like the traditional crossover team-ups like the Joe team and the Autobots or Cobra and the Decepticons will be far more complicated in the new continuity. Megatron has every reason to seek revenge on Cobra Commander given their history, and Codename: G.I. Joe has no idea that the Autobots would actually be on their side, as their main concern is protecting humans from the Decepticons. These complications are part of what makes the Energon Universe so compelling.

While things are looking dire in G.I. Joe, there is a last-minute wrench thrown into Cobra Commander’s plans. Duke sneaks away from the rest of the Joe team to confront the Commander head-on, as the two mortal enemies meet for the very first time in the Energon Universe, setting up an epic confrontation between the two as G.I. Joe’s first storyline concludes next month, giving fans even more of a reason to stay plugged in to the franchise and keep reading the shared continuity with the Transformers.

G.I. Joe #5 is available now from Skybound Entertainment.

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  G.I. Joe

  G.I. Joe is a long-running franchise centered around a line of action figures produced by Hasbro, which has expanded into a wide array of media including comic books, animated series, and films. The franchise is known for its depiction of an elite military unit, G.I. Joe, fighting against the terrorist organization Cobra. Over the decades, G.I. Joe has become a significant cultural icon, particularly in the United States, with its slogan "A Real American Hero."
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  Transformers (2023)

  Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies—the Decepticons. As these titanic forces renew their war on Earth, one thing is immediately clear: the planet will never be the same. New alliances are struck. Battle lines are redrawn. And humanity’s only hope of survival is Optimus Prime.