G.I. Dave’s Cartoon Realism: Silly or Gritty? “In the Presence of Mine Enemies”

By @G_I_DAVE

Hello fellow fans and friends! G.I.DAVE here, and we are going to analyze one of the G.I. Joe cartoon episodes to see if it’s silly, or realistic. This one has ALWAYS been a personal fav, highlighting the famous move Major Pearson pulled with the Satellite killer missile from an F15, the dogfight combat, and the CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) aspect of opposing Pilots that need to survive a hostile environment.

I am a “Comic guy” through and through, but of course I never missed an episode of the cartoon. I enjoyed it as a kid, never liked the lasers, but the more “realistic” episodes I thoroughly enjoyed, THIS, is one of them.

I just re-watched that classic Sunbow ep “In the Presence of Mine Enemies” (S2E29). To prepareto do this write up.

I hope you enjoy, and as always, tell me where I’m wrong, tell me where I’m right, or, tell me your favorite flavor of Crayon!

This was always one of my more favorite Toon episodes, because I’m an aviation Junky since birth, and this episode actually had some GREAT STUFF in it.

Here is a run down for ya!
Slipstream is on a mission in his Conquest X-30, to grab some Cobra satellite telemetry off a cobra submarine’s transmission dish, programs it into a missile “on the fly” and fires the missile straight up into orbit, and blasts the satellite to Smids. That part’s straight-up based on real history, man — back in ’85 an F-15A Eagle flown by Major Doug Pearson pulled a CRAZY 3.8G zoom climb (BALLS OF TITANIUM), went vertical at Mach 1.22(BALLS OF BERYLLIUM), and at around 38,000 feet launched the ASM-135 ASAT. It was a two-stage bird with a kinetic Miniature Homing Vehicle that just rammed the Solwind P78-1 satellite at like 15,000 mph closing speed. No explosive warhead, pure kinetic kill at 350 miles altitude (upper low orbit). First and only time a fighter jet ever took out a satellite. HOW BADDASS IS THAT??

Slipstream “Records” a coded message on an 80s cassette tape. It is the ULTRA COOL “Clear” tape that hit the scene right around the same time. He pops out the cassette from a player built into the conquest, ( LOL, was Van Halen 1984 in there or what?!?) and put it in his breast pocket.
Timely as hell for ’86 animation. Slipstream gets jumped by a “sub launched” Firebat and a flight of Night Ravens in a full-on dogfight. Slipstream uses some ACM (Air Combat Maneuvering) and makes quick work of the rocket powered Firebat.

There is an animation error, where the AVAC is shown as a BAT, but the AVAC from the Sub Launched firebat survives, but we never hear from him again. Slipstream is jinking hard, pops his “Drag chute” (some planes ARE equipped with a chute for additional stopping power, but the X-30 prints do not mention it) and knocks out one Raven with it, squeezes off some missiles to blast another night raven, but the last Night raven of that air wing, gets the jump on him, and RAKES him with cannon fire from ass to canopy. Slipstream grabs his O2 mask (Odd, he would be able to breath at this low altitude, but still a neat addition), but before he bails out, he is able to squeeze off an AIM-12 “Light Sparrow”, Sparrows were radar guided, we have to assume this is a special mod with dual guidance heat-seeking that locks onto the surviving Night Raven’s engine exhaust — DIRECT HIT! And cooks the turbine sending her down. Slipstream ejects before his conquest comes apart, and gets to the ground safely. He lands near this female Cobra Strato-Viper named Raven who just wrecked her own jet coming in.

She would have been able to save the craft, but the runway was scattered with random cobra equipment, and you see her struggling to land the, now single engine Night raven.. ripping off her langing gear, and the Night Raven bellies in, sliding in a JP5 trail of fuel and fire.

This is where the episode turns, and reminds me (even in the title) of the popular movie “Enemy Mine” from 1985 (VERY popular at the time) with Dennis Quiad and Luis Gossett Jr. It’s a really cool movie, and if you haven’t seen it, it IS worth a watch. The movie HAD to have some impact on the writing of this episode, but I could be wrong.
The two enemy pilots square off at first, as they should, Both Slipstream and Raven are shot down and crash in hostile, unknown territory (Africa-area island/base maybe?). They face immediate threats as the submarine launches cannisters that Contain a full platoon size unit of BATs, and they do NOT give a SHIT who they hit, they are just a walking “scorched earth” unit of androids that seem to be programmed to eliminate anyone. Slipstream and the female pilot (now nicknamed “Raven”) have to use the environment, to improvise, and prioritize survival and evasion. Real-life equivalent is that U.S. military aviators undergo mandatory SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) training. Our pilots are HIGHLY skilled when they are on the ground. We recognize the “Asset”, the amount of resources put into these men and women, and we will pivot ALL resources in an area to recover that pilot(s) as quickly as possible.

The way Raven speaks, and even talks about her nervous system being surgically enhanced really tells me the Raven pilots are a SERIOUS force to be considered. But the U.S., and many other countries understand how much training goes into a pilot, and will use all available assets to recover that pilot. This is not the case with the Night Raven pilot. Are they surgically enhanced to skip the years of training and experience? Is that why they are “disposable” (see )? Raven was really convinced she was going to be recovered, and her loyalty to Cobra is pure DEDICATION, or brainwashing..YOU PICK.

Slipstream and Raven find an underground passage, and use it to evade the BATs, and fall in some “slime” (Slipstream even gives the obligatory “I’ve been slimed”), but when he asks Raven, she lies and says she has no idea what it is.

When Raven calls the BATs for help, once again they indiscriminately fire at both of them, and she finally understands she isn’t safe with them, and teams up with slipstream, possibly from her injured leg from the fall or crash. At one point a BAT grabs Raven by the neck, slipstream bashes it with a chair in true Hollywood fashion, and gets back handed by the BAT, Which he splashes some hydrochloric Acid on its head, and it faceplants, letting them get away. At one point, Slipstream is knocked down, and Raven Steals the coded message cassette from his pocket. You gotta hand it to her..she is dedicated.

There are odd melted holes in the walls, and the entire base, as Slipstream finds out, was “Evacuated”, hence all the cobra gear left on the runway. They encounter the “Bio Annihilator” a large green monster with BIG freakin teef, and tentacles, and IT now indiscriminately attacks everything, including most of the BATs. Normally some of the ‘toon “made up” stuff is really cheesy, but this Bio-Annhilator is actually Dope as hell. It truly IS an annihilator, chomping bats, and melting holes as it moves. This WOULD be a viscous weapon if unleashed on a city. It seems conventional weapons are ineffective, at least small arms.

Eluding the Bio-Annhilator they find a control room to radio for help. Slipstream gets through to Dial tone, gives his last coordinates. Dial tone affirms they are sending a Tomahawk for extraction.

And here is one of the core points of the episode, Raven uses the same radio to contact Cobra for extraction, But Mindbender appears on the screen, and just as you expect, he completely blows her off as expendable garbage. The Dialogue from Mindbender here, is top tier devious, and they did a good job showing the disbelief in Raven as she realizes her Loyalty to Cobra was all for nothing. All of her training, dedication, and even thinking “I’m a Cobra STRATOVIPER, I’m way too important for them to just leave me here..” is SMASHED right in front of you.

This is Mindbender at his most wicked. To look at one of his own troops and tell them they were never part of the team, just a cog to be used by the machine and thrown away…It makes me wonder if this is him covering his own ass from a failed experiment, or these are orders or “standard Operating Procedures” from Cobra High command. Either way, if this message were to get seen by ALL cobra troops, this would have smashed the organization’s core loyalty. Mindbender played a dangerous game, and if the Joe’s recorded that message, it would be the most powerful tool to deplete Cobra forces and Moral. Mindbender tells Raven she was just a JOKE, and everyone was watching her try to survive as “entertainment”.

Raven FINALLY comes full circle and helps Slipstream set a self destruct sequence on the island, but needs the coded tape to activate the sequence. She gives slipstream the tape and they set the self destruct, and pop smoke to get to the surface, while being chased by the beast, and BATs.
Raven and Slipstream now work together to get to the surface and see the Tomahawk already enroute to extract, with Lifeline operating the recovery loop.

The island explodes in a ferocious series of apocalyptic explosions, even seeing Raven’s crashed Night raven blown right off the island, and the Bio-Annhilator falls into the pits of Hades.
On the ride home, Slipstream is asked if he brought a prisoner, and he looks at Raven. This was a nice touch, and she rips her Cobra patch off, that same symbol she was so proud, and loyal to, and she tosses it out of the Tomahawk into the drink, and slipstream says “Nooo..I think we have a recruit!”

This episode is SO grounded in realism from the moment it starts. The Televipers talking tech, communicating with the Satellite, and Slipstream Using a “Satellite killer” -A REAL weapon we had at the time, and he even uses the Televiper’s signal and Telemetry from the satellite to home in and strike it.

I really enjoyed the whole plot, and as a comic guy, I even enjoyed the Bio-Annhilator. This whole episode feels like “Enemy mine” and “The island of Dr. moreau” had a baby, and covered it in G.I.JOE.
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‘m not sure Who wrote this one, I would assume it was Buzz or Chuck, because of its realism, but I don’t know it all…and that’s the fun part. Writing out something like this to stir the imagination, and even learn something back from the community.
Thank you for your time, and I hope you enjoyed

the ramblings of a baffoon!!
YOOO JOE!!!!