RIP Snake Eyes A G.I. Joe A Real American Hero Obituary 1982 – 2015

Longtime G.I. Joe Team member Snake Eyes who punctuated innumerable battles with his silent but deadly approach was Killed In Action on April 22nd 2015.

Leaving behind a legacy that has touched and saved so many lives, his indomitable courage and fighting spirit will live on in the halls of the PIT, and the hearts and minds of the G.I. Joe Team forever. Snake Eyes was tempered on the anvil of life until he was as dangerous as a razor-edged sword. Although his sword may be forever sheathed, his life will always be remembered as that of a true American Hero.

Duke was quoted saying “You’re laying there, out of ammo listening to the Cobra H.I.S.S. Tanks rolling in, and you know you’re not getting out. Everybody you know, your family is half-way around the world, and you think you’re never going to see them again and today is your day. Then, over the machine gun noise and the smell of burning diesel fuel you faintly hear that sound of Arashikage Steel, you look up to see Snake Eyes, but it doesn’t seem real, because no one man alone could take down that kind of Armor with just his blade. That’s Snake Eyes!”

RIP Snake Eyes 1982 – 2015

It’s no real surprise that Snake Eyes was going to die or be KIA in some way. It’s been promoted in the IDW G.I. Joe solicitations and even stamped on the covers of IDW ARAH 212, 213 and 214. So the real spoilers are in how this story is laid out, and how he actually dies. If you do not wish to be spoiled, or hear our take on this event read no further.

To start off with, I fully realize that the IDW A Real American Hero run is meant to be full of the 80’s cheesiness that we all grew up with and enjoyed as children. The comic was always more grounded then the cartoon, but still always had the crazy Cobra elements that make G.I. Joe such a great story. Having said that, this current run of IDW ARAH is so out in left field it’s running into Cobra-La territory, and that is not what I want to read as a fan of old school G.I. Joe, and as an adult reader, and I know I am not alone in saying so.

If anybody has the right to kill of Snake Eyes it’s Larry Hama. His history and ownership of the G.I. Joe Brand is LEGENDARY. However I really think the story leading up to this event, and the way it took place, is the most poorly written and executed G.I. Joe A Real American Hero story line we have ever seen.

The way Snake Eyes dies is pointless, and way out of character. Snake Eyes is symbol of strength, honor and the anchor of the G.I. Joe Team. I think it was in bad taste that Snake Eyes met his end as a suicide bomber. Snake Eyes has been kicking major ass now for over 30+ years and has been in much more dangerous situations that could have seen him die with honor! I think he could have handled throwing a grenade back at Serpentor, or tossing it aside to blow up out of harms way. Snake Eyes is not a mindless drone. He had plenty of time to do something different. The story panels are laid out awful and it just did not have the effect they were going for, the big Hero that laid down his life for the rest of the G.I. Joe Team.

This brings us to another huge problem I have with this story. It’s one thing to kill off one of the biggest G.I. Joe characters of all time, but it’s another to let a character like Throwdown, a guy we hardly know even with his back story, showing up conveniently like he is everybody’s best friend on the G.I. Joe Team, suffering an injury to his face at the moment Snake Eyes dies, and thinks he can just pick up the Snake Eyes mask, and become the legend. The way the story panels were laid out makes it look like he is going to be some sort of replacement for Snake Eyes. I’m sorry this was like a slap in the face to the Snake Eyes Legacy, like it’s that easy to replace him with Fake Eyes. I don’t think the G.I. Joe Team would have found that tasteful in any continuity.

Issues that made the G.I. Joe Team look like idiots.

• The massive football field sized Alien Eyeball under the PIT?
• Serpentor being revived and given control of Cobra Technology and the Alien Eyeball while inside the PIT (What Could Possibly Go Wrong?)
• Giving Serpentor control of a huge death machine Robot also while inside the PIT (What Could Possibly Go Wrong?)
• Serpentor being given his Armor back while in stasis, also inside the PIT (What Could Possibly Go Wrong?)
• The huge Robots the whole plot was built around?
• Snake Eyes the Suicide Bomber NO!
• Fake Eyes….. Just NO!

The only way all of this could get even worse is when the IDW ARAH G.I. Joe Team eventually gets around to bringing the real Snake Eyes back from the dead. This can’t be what we want as G.I. Joe fans. I will remain a loyal reader of the IDW G.I. Joe comics and I look forward to how this all plays out in the future. At the end of the day it’s just a comic book, and you can’t take it to seriously. But killing off Snake Eyes the way they did was not cool for me, and I had to vent. I hope everybody takes the time to stop by and sound off to let us know how you feel.

See you after the jump!