G.I. Joe #1 – written by Joshua Williamson, with art by Tom Reilly – introduces the newly-unified Cobra organization, formed in the previous Cobra Commander and Destro miniseries.

Cobra Commander and Destro have formed an uneasy alliance in the new Joe continuity, with the Commander supplying Energon harvested from the Dreadnok swamps for Destro’s MARS Industries to create weapons out of – effectively tying together aspects of franchise lore and setting the stage for a dramatic new era. Most excitingly, Destro’s newest weapon is an Energon-powered laser gun, which is able to completely decimate an enemy target with one blast.

The 80’s G.I. Joe Cartoon's 'Non-Lethal' Weapons Are Finally Deadly Serious

G.I. Joe #1 – Written By Joshua Williamson; Art By Tom Reilly; Color By Jordie Bellaire; Lettering By Rus Wooton

While the laser rifle is shown to be positively devastating in G.I. Joe #1, longtime fans of the franchise will likely smile at the new weapon. When the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy-line got its own cartoon in the 1980s, the guns used by both G.I. Joe and Cobra were revealed to be laser weapons, thus toning down the violence of the military-themed toy-line. Characters never died on-screen and were rarely seriously hurt, with the cartoon even going so far as to make sure pilots always parachuted out of their planes before they exploded.

The Energon Universe is under no such restrictions, however, so the new laser rifle developed by Destro and MARS can show off the devastating power of the Transformers’ valuable power source. “Energon at the pull of the trigger,” Destro describes the new laser weapon as Cobra Commander uses the gun to blow giant, melted holes into a target dummy. “Imagine every member of our forces armed with one,” Destro proclaims, and readers get to see this in action as Mercer and his Cobra Vipers rain hell on the Joes with their new laser guns in the climactic battle.

Cobra's New Energon-Powered Laser Guns Make Them An Even More Dangerous Foe For G.I. Joe

G.I. Joe #2 – Releases December 18, 2024 From Skybound Entertainment

By taking the old laser guns from the original ’80’s cartoon and making them dangerous weapons in the new continuity, the Energon Universe era of G.I. Joe continues to find new ways to comment on classic franchise lore. In addition to elements like the oncoming war between Cobra-La and Cybertron, it also ties G.I. Joe even more closely together with the Transformers franchise, merging the two Hasbro toy-lines together in ways that should be incredibly exciting for long-time fans. The new G.I. Joe series looks to the future by paying homage to the past, resulting in another winning Energon Universe installment.

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Starscream's New Design Can Only Exist in a World Where Transformers & G.I. Joe Have Combined Their Official Lore

Starscream is now attached to a HISS tank, and the preview for Transformers #14 shows how the Decepticon got his "legs" in the new Energon lore.

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G.I. Joe #1 is on sale now from Skybound Entertainment.

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."