G.I. Joe, a Real American Hero #105
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIssue #105, titled 'Hidden Aces,' is the concluding chapter of a sprawling dual-front story arc that was among the most ambitious Larry Hama constructed during the series' later run — simultaneously resolving a four-color Cold War jungle campaign in Sierra Gordo involving the Oktober Guard and opening a psychological thriller inside a Borovian gulag as Snake-Eyes, locked in an Arashikage ninja trance, operates as an unstoppable killing machine. The issue marks the in-continuity debut of two G.I. Joe team members — Hot Seat and Stretcher — as well as the Raider vehicle and the Locust helicopter, making it a genuine first-appearance issue in the middle of the run rather than an event number. It also deepens the series' most emotionally complex throughline: the triangulated loyalty of Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow, and Scarlett, here given a painful new wrinkle when Scarlett awakens from her coma only to learn Storm Shadow manipulated the entire mission to spare Snake-Eyes the grief of her potential death.
In "Hidden Aces," the G.I. Joe team and their allies from the Oktober Guard race toward Punta Del Mucosa, pursued by Darklon’s forces, when unexpected reinforcements arrive in the form of Wild Bill, Hot Seat, and Stretcher. As the Tucaros choose to remain and defend their rainforest, Scarlett searches for Snake-Eyes—only to learn he’s on a secret rescue mission orchestrated by Storm Shadow, while Stormy and Stalker are captured by General Crowther’s men. Written by Larry Hama and illustrated by Mark D. Bright with inks by Randy Emberlin and Romeo Tanghal, the issue’s cover by Lee Weeks captures the tension of a mission gone deep.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 13 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
CGC 9.4 ▾ $45–$199 2 listings
Raw — NM ▾ $18–$19.95 2 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $6–$24.9 17 listings
More listings for this title
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue sits squarely within the dense, multi-arc storytelling period Larry Hama maintained throughout 1990, when he was balancing two geographically separate storylines in the same monthly book — a craft discipline that distinguished the Marvel G.I. Joe run from nearly every other licensed-property comic of its era. The creative team of scripter Hama, pencilers Mark D. Bright and Lee Weeks, inker Randy Emberlin, colorist Bob Sharen, and letterer Rick Parker was the stable house unit editor Bobbie Chase had assembled for this stretch of the series, with Tom DeFalco serving as Marvel's editor-in-chief over the line. Lee Weeks contributed both pencils and inks on certain sections, reflecting the split-penciler approach the book used when maintaining monthly deadlines across multi-location narratives.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Story title: 'Hidden Aces'; cover-dated October 1990, store date September 30, 1990 (Marvel Comics, Vol. 1 #105).
- First comic appearances of G.I. Joe characters Hot Seat and Stretcher, per the Joepedia wiki's 'Items of note' section.
- First comic appearances of the Raider vehicle and the Locust helicopter, also confirmed in the same 'Items of note' entry.
- Written by Larry Hama; penciled by Mark D. Bright and Lee Weeks; inked by Randy Emberlin, Romeo Tanghal, and Lee Weeks; colored by Bob Sharen; lettered by Rick Parker; edited by Bobbie Chase.
- Dual-thread plot: Darklon and the Iron Grenadiers pursue G.I. Joe and the Oktober Guard through a deforested Sierra Gordo rain forest, while a brainwashed-trance Snake-Eyes infiltrates a Borovian gulag to rescue CIA agent George Strawhacker.
- Major Bludd appears as an assassin hired by the clandestine government faction known as the Jugglers to eliminate Snake-Eyes — escalating the rogue-government subplot that runs through this story arc.
- Storm Shadow and Stalker are held captive by General Crowther (a Juggler) in the torch of the Statue of Liberty, a setting the following issue #106 further develops.
- Scarlett recovers from her coma in this issue and learns from Hawk that Snake-Eyes was sent into Borovia by Storm Shadow as a psychological intervention — a story beat that fuels Scarlett's anger toward Storm Shadow carried into subsequent issues.
Cast · 24 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Kickstarter Compendium #3 (2024)
Key issues in G.I. Joe, a Real American Hero
Variants (2)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.