The One Acceptable DIC Offering: Operation Dragonfire
By Destro Designs – Viper Den Studios
We all know the DIC episodes of the G.I. Joe IP are atrocious and an affront to the senses of all G.I. Joe fans. It’s as craptacular as anything to hit the airwaves on a dial TV. From the opening entrance song, to the music, to the plots, to the horrendous voice acting, it fucking sucked.
But.
They slid into the frame two-plus years after the movie ended, and there were some unanswered questions. There were also a lot of new figures that had been released.
The plot of the miniseries revolved around Cobra trying to harness some ancient power that would destroy all their enemies.
But at its core, it was about power.
It was about who controlled what and who was calling the shots for Cobra. Also, it was about sub-teams and a glorious introduction to the Alley Viper, despite the character being a whiny little weasel who connives his way into trying to curry favor from Cobra Commander.
The Baroness, ever faithful to Cobra Commander, tries to return him to his old bipedal self. Currently, the Commander is a slithering serpent, kept as a pet for Serpentor. The Commander is set free and then hunted down by Gnawgahyde and the Baroness. The Baroness uses an ancient powerful mask, along with the crystal resonators, to return Cobra Commander to form. Copperhead supplies the Commander with what we now know as his Battle Armor, and it looks awesome. He instantly turns Serpentor into an iguana, which is hysterical.
The Commander then uses this same power to reverse a snake’s predator qualities into a technology for his troops, making them invisible to radar and thermal imaging. And thus, Python Patrol was born. He converts troops, vehicles, and even Copperhead himself, as he is tapped to be the new leader of the Python Patrol after a brief power struggle with that traitorous scumbag, Scoop.
Scoop, who was never trusted by Low-Light, showed up as a Crimson Guard undercover, and the rest is history.
But Low-Light shows up in a Marauders uniform, and it does look cool. Others are kicking around as the Sarge leads the charge against Cobra in this one.
Other notable appearances, besides the sub-teams, include the Alley Viper, Battle Armor Cobra Commander, and Stalker V2 in his kayak, which is amazing. Backblast, Downtown, and Long Range are kicking around. Never mind gold-headed Destro banging Zarana and dumping her into his built-in girl-be-gone trap door overlooking the Cobra grounds.
Listen, the animation sucks compared to Sunbow. The music is shit. The voices, besides the Sarge, are trash. It just has that wannabe, second-rate, D-movie horseshit vibe that DIC brings so well. But it’s got some cool-ass moments that put a bow on some things and show us some cool characters. It’s worth a watch.
But no matter what happens in the end, fuck Scoop. He’s a liar and a traitor, and Low-Light was right. He’ll always be that way.
