Z Force successfully confront the Mamba Men terror army in Natanga. At the same time, SAS Force stumbles upon Ironblood's Austrian HQ during a training exercise.
A group of Joes are captured by Cobra and are sent to,and escape from, Springfield.
The Joes are sent to Sierra Gordo for the first time.
Q Force field trials of a new sub (The Sealion) are undermined by a Red Shadow terror raid; Z Force recovers a lost spy satellite in Malaysia; SAS Force finds and destroys a Red Shadow base in Canada.
Ironblood continues to launch terror operations in Africa and South America and is almost captured whilst in Africa.
Cobra attacks Washington D.C. and soon thereafter, G.I. Joe HQ.
SAS Force endures a Red Shadow invasion of Scotland. Z Force holds off an invasion of a Pacific Ocean atoll. A Space Force pilot is forced to go rogue in order to uncover a Red Shadow base on the Moon.
A promising young Z-Force recruit (Anton Nobokov) is captured by Ironblood and subjected to bionic surgery becoming "Red Jackal".
Ironblood successfully clones a mysterious bipedal sea creature to form an almost unstoppable army dubbed "The Kraken".
Cobra Crimson Guards
Ironblood's use of snake imagery in Natanga (he was responsible for the Mamba Men) is interesting: the similarities with Cobra Command can't be ignored.
Ironblood suffered a number of major setbacks during this period. The loss of a lunar base, the failed attempt to take over Scotland and the failure to establish a Pacific base would have major impacts on Red Shadow funds. The Kraken project would have also eaten into the Baron's reserves.
Meanwhile Cobra's stable foothold in the US town of Springfield and numerous income streams from semi-legitimate operations appears to sustain the organisation despite setbacks comparable to those of the Red Shadows.
There are a number of incidents of Cobra operatives committing suicide in a similar manner to Red Shadows however on the whole Cobra operatives seem much more willing to cut and run in the face of defeat. Perhaps this contributes to the organisationsresilience.
The capture of Nobokov is significant since it indicates that Ironblood had dealings with the M.A.R.S. Corporation.This arms manufacturer is known to have no qualms about who it deals with, owned by the Destro family it has reportedly "profited through blood and torture since the time of the crusades". It is also said that "in the thirties Castle Destro was bedecked with swastikas and the imperial eagle". Nowadays the eagle has become the serpent. It seems likely that this organisation supplied both Ironblood and Cobra Command during this period. The surgeons who created Red Jackal must have had links with M.A.R.S and Jackal went on to use recognised M.A.R.S equipment.