Twenty Questions could also be called “Shipwreck Chews the Scenery”, and he does it so well. This is a great Shipwreck-centric episode and illustrates why he is such a great character and so popular with the head writers. His melodramatic death scene during the G.I. Joe war games at the beginning is genuinely funny. And for the first time in the series, we see Cover-Girl worrying after him and being one of the chief motivators in the rescue operation. At one point, she even asks “but where’s the sailor boy himself?”. For more on their, perhaps brief, pseudo romantic relationship, see an upcoming article.

The first of many episodes to be written by Buzz Dixon, Twenty Questions is a great middle-tier adventure. Dixon would write several of the best episodes, but that record would also elevate him to script editor for the following season and his ideas for G.I. Joe’s direction would bleed into the toyline. Subsequently all aspects of G.I. Joe in 1986 would come to be dominated by the Cobra Emperor, Serpenter idea. Dixon doesn’t seem to like Cobra Commander, but any agenda to turn the character into a buffoon had already been initiated by other writers and is not really evident here. But I digress! Dixon brings some great ideas to the first season, although Twenty Questions has a couple of questionable moments…

We meet Hector Ramirez for possibly the first time (definitely the first time in G.I. Joe). The reporter appears to be inspired by Geraldo Rivera and is just as pushy and obnoxious. Ramirez would become one of the few crossover characters between Sunbow’s shows, appearing in Jem, Transformers and Inhumanoids. Here, he has dark hair and is joined by a director / producer who is uncannily reminiscent of Michael Moore, though must have predated him by a decade or more. Together with a camera man, they force their way into the Joe headquarters in an effort to prove that Cobra doesn’t exist and it’s all a conspiracy. This showcases Neil Ross’ talent as a voice actor, as he handles both Shipwreck and Ramirez perfectly in the same scene. He later does an incredible job providing both Dusty and Shipwreck’s voices in the Traitor (another Buzz Dixon episode, and his best).

Shipwreck takes exception to Michael Moore’s accusations and flies the civilians into danger to show them the truth. We all know Shipwreck is going to face “certain death”, as Cover-Girl puts it, when Duke finds out, but we are all rooting for him to break the rules and show these media nincompoops the truth. I love that Shipwreck is so unconventional and anti-establishment despite having joined the Joes for the greater good. It makes him stand out among the rest as more compelling and unpredictable character.

Oh look! Award winning documentary maker, Michael Moore, is really a Cobra in disguise. It’s Za…… WTF?! It’s the Baroness?! Are you kidding me?

I guess that explains why Michael Moore was covering his boobs with that folder the whole time.

Cobra’s male master of disguise is busy searching for a burning bush.

The plot is perhaps purposefully convoluted as two separate Cobra plots are woven together. Cobra is trying to turn the media and the public against G.I. Joe and erode government support. But at the same time, Cobra is also trying to steal chemical weapons from some army base in the Rockies. After watching the whole episode you realize that Zartan nearly killed the Baroness when he spotted Shipwreck’s Dragonfly helicopter overhead. By sheer good fortune, Shipwreck and the filmmakers survive the crash. So, how does the Baroness feel about all this? When she reveals herself, she does not even mention it.

And how the hell can the Dragonfly suddenly become a four-seater?!

Maybe the real reason the Baroness doesn’t complain about nearly being blown out of the sky by “friendly fire”, is that she feels like an idiot for goading Shipwreck too far and getting herself into this mess. In fact, she is basically responsible for both Cobra operations failing. Way to go, Baroness! Maybe Zartan would have done Cobra a favor by shooting the copter and killing them after all.

One of the nice little touches of satire, that is a common feature of Buzz Dixon scripts, is the lady doing the announcing over the speaker at the Cobra base. “Tonight’s movie is the amusement park of terror. It’s mayhem on the merry-go-round and revenge on the roller coaster as the bad guys try to beat the good guys on the Ferris wheel.”

There are a couple of things about this episode that are a little uncomfortable. First, Cobra wants chemical weapons. Specifically, they want “explosive gas” although they end up with laughing and itching gas as well. Something I like about Cobra in the cartoon is they are just cartoon bad guys and although they blow things up, they don’t seem to target civilians or use cowardly bombing campaigns. No, they use fictional super weapons and try to negotiate the world’s surrender. It’s fanciful, its escapist, its fun. So chemical weapons seem a little too real for my liking and it makes a distasteful connection between Cobra and real world terrorism.

The other thing is the scene where Shipwreck pisses off Cobra Commander by making a lame joke about his face. Cobra Commander is particularly annoyed with Shipwreck since he expects better from an enlisted man. While this line is funny, Cobra Commander’s response is followed by ordering the Baroness to drive the drill end of their Cobra mole machine into Shipwreck and the prisoners. I don’t know, but there’s something about Cobra Commander trying to tear his prisoners to pieces in front of him with a giant drill that feels a little too extreme. I like the safe edges that the G.I. Joe cartoon has and neither of these instances feel appropriate for the show to me.

That’s messed up, Cobra Commander!

Despite this, the story is a lot of fun as it shows off areas of the Joe headquarters that are seldom seen and allows a brief glimpse into their daily routines. We get to see Cobra Commander grant an interview to Hector Ramirez and bore the TV journalist stiff.

Cobra Commander: “Then, after leading a mutiny at my military academy…”

Ramirez even makes out with Duke!

Well… Sort of.

The animation isn’t consistent, but generally is very good, with nice little touches like Spirit feeding his eagle, Freedom, by mouth. A shot that has no relevance to the story other than going an extra mile and keeping this show a class above most of its contemporaries.

Overall, the story has a lot of humor (it stars Shipwreck) and though it lacks anything profound, is highly enjoyable. A strong 3 out of 5.

Twenty Questions ***
Starring: Shipwreck, Baroness, Zartan and the Dreadnoks
Also Featuring: Cobra Commander, Hector Ramirez, Cover-Girl, Spirit, Gung Ho, Alpine, Ace, Ripcord; countless non-speaking cameos from Snake-Eyes (of course), Quick-Kick, Airborne, Barbecue, Blowtorch etc…
Vehicles: Pretty much everything on the Joe side, Rattlers, Ferrets, Mini Mole Machines
Joe Commander on Duty: Flint (until Duke shows up)