World War III Part 11 of 12 -- Scorched Earth
	Short Summary With the Joe team split up into four teams their goal is to save the world from Cobra. One team in Antarctica & another in Brazil are successful in disarming nuclear bombs. Destro, Baroness & Sparks are successful in disabling the M.A.R.S. hardware Cobra has been using to wreck havoc all over the world. Colton leads a successful retaking of Fort Meade. But Cobra Commander is not giving up yet.
	Notes of Interest Incision of the Plague force is killed by Storm Shadow.
Major Players The Joe Team: Airborne, Agent Delta(Rourke), General Colton, GI Jane, Barrel Roll, Cover Girl, Dogfight, Duke, Falcon, Flint, Firewall, Gung-Ho, Hawk, Roadblock, Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, Stalker, Sparks, Spirit, Storm Shadow, Shipwreck, Vorona, Wild Bill Cobra: Cobra Commander,Tomax The Plague: Blackout, Gallows, Grim Skull, Guillotine, Incision (Aleph), Interrogator, Minutia, Vector, Velocity Additional Characters: Baroness, Destro October Guard: Red Star, Sgt. Misha, Big Bear
Creative Team Writer: Mark Powers, Pencilers: Mike Bear/Pat Quinn/Mike Shoykey, Color Art: Jean-Francois Beaulieu, Letterer: Crank!, Military Advisor: Phil Kost, Editor (Counterintelligence): Mike O'Sullivan, Cover: Mike Bear
Long Summary In a flashback, Agent Delta is talking over the phone to General Flagg about how hard it is on him to stay undercover. In the present in Antarctica, Agent Delta, Duke, Flint, Roadblock, Cover Girl and Shipwreck are fighting with a group of snow serpents. Several members of the Plague force are there also. Lt. Nick Bailey aka Vanguard, Bayonet, Velocity, Infrared and Body Bags are all setting up for a surprise attack. As two Cobra snowmobiles arrive they see they have captured two Joes. The Joes get the drop them, but Velocity comes flying in to break up there pattern. Roadblock and Flint come around the corner to flank the Plague soldiers. Agent Delta and Shipwreck disguised as Snow Serpents enter the base. In the Amazon River Basin, Brazil, Stalker leads Gung-Ho, Storm Shadow, Snake-Eyes & Wild Bill against a group of Jungle vipers. Blackout of the Plague force has Stalker in his scope ready to fire when Snake-Eyes knocks him out. Storm Shadow fights Munitia and Incision both by himself. Vector gets a small hit on Stalker and a major one on Wild Bill before Gung-Ho smashed his head against a tree. Storm Shadow kills Incision as the Cobras get a signal to evacuate. The Nuclear bomb has started its countdown. Inside the base in Antarctica, Agent Delta literally runs into Vanguard. He hesitates and Vanguard knocks him over as he escapes. But he has found the nuclear bomb. At Fort Meade, General Colton, GI Jane, Spirit and Scarlett with Hawk left behind in the vehicle sneak into Fort Meade through a back entrance. In Yorkshire, England, Barrel Roll, Firewall and the Baroness are watching Destro and Sparks argue. They are trying to figure out how to deactivate the M.A.R.S. satellites that have given Cobra its huge military advantage. The Baroness steps in and enters a code that works. All around the world M.A.R.S. equipment starts malfunctioning. Airbourne and Dogfight in Germany are able to see, track and shoot down the Cobra airplanes. In St. Petersburg, Russia Vorona & Falcon with the October Guard are able to defeat the Cobra soldiers as there pulse rifles start failing. At an undisclosed location Cobra Commander and Tomax are watching his Cobra forces be defeated. He gives the signal to release the nuclear bombs. Simultaneously, in Antarctica and Brazil the Joe team disables the bombs. In Fort Meade, Colton, Spirit and GI Jane protect Scarlett as she follows Sparks directions to gain access to Fort Meade's NSA security communications. As the last Cobra is taken care of Spirit reminds Colton that they need to take care of the deceased Billy, Cobra Commander's son, one of their own. In England, Destro goes to reclaim his family company M.A.R.S. with the help of the Baroness and something she calls Athena. At Cobra Commander's secret mobile location, Tomax asks him why he would want to set off those bombs, his answer is "Once I was nothing. An object of scorn and failure. Today I was God. My dear Tomax only God decrees when this conflict ends." Summary by Josh Eggebeen
Number 35, May 2008