G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vs. The Six Million Dollar Man

by Ryan Ferrier, S L Gallant (Illustrator)

The greatest American heroes go face-to-face with the most dangerous living weapon... Steve Austin! It's a showdown between '70s icons-kung-fu grip vs. bionic eye!

Hacked by COBRA, the Six Million Dollar Man has the JOEs in his sights as the fate of world peace hangs by a thread and Cobra Commander holds the global infrastructure in his venomous clutches! Do the JOEs stand a chance against the bionic man, or is he simply better, faster, stronger?

Genres: Graphic Novels

96 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2018

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crossing over the Six Million Dollar Man with G.I. Joe should be a natural fit. The issue is Steve Austin is brainwashed and working for Cobra for the whole thing. So he's just mopping the floor with the good guys and we never get to see them team up. The best part about it were these action figure covers where we get G.I. Joe scaled Six Million Dollar Man figures.

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an easy formula action comic. Growing up as a fan of the 6 Million Dollar Man and sum what GI JOE. In fairness I was only a fan of Snake Eyes from the JOEs. So having him kick butt in this comic as well is a personal bonus for me. Just a point of note Snake Eyes and steve do not fight in this comic.

The main difference in the comic version of Steve Austin in the comic version is in more robot than human, and hackable. Which COBRA has managed.

This is an all action 2 pronged attack from COBRA forcing the JOEs to initiate a 2 pronged counter attack. Exciting and action packed. Great artwork and ok story, but the action is the main selling point and it delivers.

[Alan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no defense for reading this poorly executed crossover. I could try to defend it based off of what a sucker I am for crossovers, and a nostalgia for 80s toys and television shows., but...

Nope not even that works. A slow day at work, so I tried to look busy while reading digital floppies. The summation is:

1) poor art
2) mediocre story
3) zero character work
4) the best part, the semi-surprise, was telegraphed way too early.

Yeah, the typical good guys meet, try to bash each other's heads in for whatever reason, and eventually team-up to beat the bad guys.

[T.J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this for $5 and enjoyed it for what it was - a short, self-contained adventure featuring a cast of the most popular Joes and Cobras (no Destro though). I love that Cobra Commander comes across as diabolical, not a buffoon. He's a lot less cartoonish than characters like Tomax and Xamot, who I really don't believe would be a match for Scarlett and Stalker in a fistfight. But beware - most of the dialogue is terrible no matter which team you side with. Thank goodness Snake Eyes is silent.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

70s nostalgia at its ...almost best

Being a child of the late 70s and early 80, this hit a lot of nostalgia buttons. Was it spectacular? No. It just triggered a bunch of memories of Saturday morning cartoons and Saturday afternoon TV.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a G.I. Joe story with Steve Austin as a guest star, and arguably derivative of The Raid, yet still pretty engaging with a few fun twists. The ending falls a little flat, but it doesn't hurt the entertainment value of the rest. (B+)

[Rex Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this variation of G.I. Joe, Cobra has captured and brainwashed the Six Million Dollar Man into their service. They then take over a small country, rich in resources, and begin to play havoc. The Joes are sent in to stop them. Violence ensues, a secret weapon is deployed, and I’m sure you can guess the end. Light, fun, and all your favorite Joes in a big bundle.

The only bone I have to pick is that they writer didn’t go far enough. This is obvious a one-shot deal, so kill a few characters. Whack a Joe or two. In a self-contained story it’s perfectly acceptable, makes it even more interesting. Another quibble is that the writer seems to make the same mistake everyone but Larry Hama does when writing Snake Eyes. Being a ninja is about stealth, misdirection, and silent action. It doesn’t mean you’re invulnerable and can run at four guys with automatic rifle while wielding a sword and still beat them - as happens in this comic. Snake Eyes has never been above using a gun once he’s been spotted.

I have to give this author credit for not only bringing in the Six Million Dollar Man, but reintroducing the character of Mike Power, the Atomic man. He was a member of the original G. I. Joe action figure line from the 1970s and essentially a 6 Million Dollar Man ripoff, but he's used excellently here.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

"G.I. Joe A Real American Hero vs. The Six Million Dollar Man" by Ryan Ferrier (writer), S.L. Gallant (artist (penciller)), Brian Shearer (inker), James Brown (colorists), Robbie Robbins (letterer), John Cassiday (collection cover artist) (IDW Publishing in conjunction with Dynamite Entertainment (G.I. Joe comic book license owner being Hasbro, IDW the publisher then licensed by Hasbro to publisher G.I. Joe comic books), 2018; originally released in single issue format as "G.I. Joe A Real American Hero vs. The Six Million Dollar Man: Fall of Man" #1-4 (February 2018 to May 2018). Thoughts: I haven't read a G.I. Joe comic book in probably twenty years. However, I found that I really enjoyed this mini-series as primarily a G.I. Joe story/adventure guest-starring Steve Austin (a Steve Austin brainwashed to be a tool of Cobra!). That being the set-up, it works well. There is lots of action and the G.I. Joe characters are handled well, from what I can tell. This is *not* a particularly authentic-to-his-own-source-material Steve Austin, but in this case that's okay as right from the start thanks to the art style and the story it's clear that this is a "G.I. Joe universe version" of Steve Austin. I gave this four out of five stars on GoodReads.

[Alex Klimkewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Six Million Dollar Man was before my time. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero was my prime time. This comic is a weird mishmash. I had no idea who Mike Power, Atomic Man was, but after looking him up I dug the references and the battle between rival techno-supermen. There was also a Snake Eyes vs. Storm Shadow battle in this comic. Other than that, it was average Joe fare.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t remember the G.I. Joe adventure team or $6 million man, so for me I just wanted to see a good story even though I can appreciate an homage to the classic 70s heroes. It was a good story but not quite enough to make it four stars. Just a little too corny at times although that was probably appropriate considering the characters.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and enjoyable. G.I. Joe and Steve Austin vs Cobra!!

[Devin Copes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read, crossing over two elements from my childhood.