Duke issue 3

At M.A.R.S. headquarters, the company has begun relocating after being compromised by Duke's infiltration. Destro initially believed their interloper would be killed while being pursued by the authorities; since that didn't happen, he must now be dealt with permanently. Luckily for them, Dr. Burkhart's tracking device works both ways and they know exactly where Duke is being held. Destro assigns this task to Major Bludd, who is happy to undertake any assignment as long as Destro keeps paying him.

In the Pit, Rock 'n Roll and Stalker confer with Colonel Hawk, who tells them that a prison transport will arrive in two hours to transport Duke to a new facility. Stalker and Rock 'n Roll both express their concerns to Hawk about locking up such a decorated soldier, especially given how fervently Duke fought them. In the cells below, the Baroness continues trying to persuade Duke and Clutch to help her escape. Duke reveals he knows who she is — Anastasia Cisarovna, daughter of Eastern European aristocrats who got bored and joined up with an off-the-books intelligence agency before turning to terrorism for unknown reasons. Duke calls her misguided, which she throws back in his face; she quit "the system", the very system that betrayed Duke despite his loyalties. When she asks what would get an American hero like him locked up in the Pit, Duke simply echoes Hawk's statement that it's "classified."

Above ground, Stalker meets the transport car, only to find that both its occupants have been murdered. A fleet of helicopters fly overhead, piloted by Major Bludd and his Blood Hounds. Bludd orders his Hounds to kill everyone in the Pit. Rock 'n Roll lets Clutch and Duke out of their cells to evacuate. Baroness begs them not to leave her behind before an explosion knocks down Rock 'n Roll and Clutch. As Blood Hounds storm the cell block, Duke reluctantly frees the Baroness. She tells him to help his friends while she looks for an exit. As Duke helps Clutch clear rubble off Rock 'n Roll, he is attacked by Major Bludd. Bludd reveals that he was the one who killed Burkhart and demands the device from Duke. Duke feigns ignorance, but Bludd is insistent: Duke has a high bounty on his head and Bludd has no problem going the extra distance to finish a job. Duke defiantly tells him he'll die before telling him anything. Bludd aims his gun at Duke's head, but is shot in the back of the head himself by the Baroness. She then takes aim at Duke. There is a huge bounty on his head...

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

United States military	M.A.R.S. Industries	Others
Rock 'n Roll (4) Stalker (5) Hawk (6) Duke (7) Frosting (11)	Mercer (1) Destro (2) Major Bludd (3) Blood Hounds (12)	Baroness (8) Clutch (9) Starscream (10)

Quotes

"If you keep paying me the right money, I’m good for whatever, mate."

—Major Bludd

Clutch: "My bro here was made in America by America."
Baroness: "Exactly. A machine built on an assembly line like every other soldier so they can put you out in the field, chew you up, and spit you out! Why is an American hero such as yourself in the Pit? What did you see that made you turn on your people so much that they would lock you up with me?"
Duke: "That's... classified."

Notes

Continuity notes

Duke flashes back briefly to Frosting's death at the hands of Starscream in Transformers #2.
Bludd confirms that he killed Dr. Burkhart back in issue #1, hinted at by her mentioning that the man who attacked her was from Australia.

G.I. Joe references

As with other characters, Major Bludd's design is based on that of his Classified Series figure. This includes his mechanical arm, a detail from his original toy's sculpting but has rarely been used in previous Joe fiction.
- The one element not seen in this iteration's appearance is his iconic eyepatch, but it's safe to assume he'll be getting that soon.
In turn, the outfits worn by the Major's Blood Hounds are inspired by Bludd's classic design.
The backstory of the Baroness detailed in this issue takes cues from her original backstory as the daughter of European aristocrats-turned-terrorist. Some of her dialogue also hints towards the "student radical" interpretation that Larry Hama originally envisioned for the character which has largely gone unused.
- While past iterations have given her the surname "DeCobray", the "Cisarovna" used here was first introduced in the pages of Devil's Due's G.I. Joe: America's Elite #22 as a retcon to be her real last name, and has subsequently been used in the G.I. Joe: Renegades cartoon and the G.I. Joe: Classified novels.

Real-world references

Clutch misquotes the song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones.

Errors

How does the transport car still drive up to the Pit if both the officers in it are dead?
The back cover remains the same as previous issues: "The contents of this booklet is confidential. This unauthorized disclosure of information within is prohibited."

Covers

Cover A: Duke and Baroness, by Tom Reilly.
Cover B: Duke surveys a battlefield, by Declan Shalvey.
Cover C (1:10 Copy Incentive): Connecting cover by Tyler Boss and Jason Wordie.
Cover D (1:25 Copy Incentive): Baroness on explosion, by Priscilla Petraites and Frank Martin.
Cover E (1:50 Copy Incentive): Major Bludd, by Karl Kerschel.