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Two Roads to Yo Joe: Joshua Williamson’s Energon-Era G.I. Joe vs. Larry Hama’s A Real American Hero

September 10, 2025
Frank Zanca

If you love G.I. Joe – these past couple of years have been a buffet of epic goodness. On one side you’ve got Joshua Williamson’s sleek, interconnected, high-stakes relaunch inside the “Energon Universe” (shared along with Transformers and Void Rivals). On the other side you have, Larry Hama—yes, the architect of G.I. Joe lore since 1982—keeps the classic continuity rolling with G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (ARAH) #301 and onward, picking up exactly where he left off at IDW.

Both lines are better than just good. However, both scratch different itches. Both have their pros and cons depending on whether you’re a lapsed fan, a diehard, or a brand-new reader. Here’s a deep dive into what each is doing and the best place to jump in.

The Publishing Reality: Two Joes, Two Missions

• Williamson’s Joe (Energon Universe): Kicked off with the Duke (Dec. 2023) and Cobra Commander (Jan. 2024) miniseries before launching the ongoing G.I. Joe in November 2024 with artist Tom Reilly. It’s a unified, modern canon that somewhat crosses over with Transformers.
• Hama’s ARAH: Skybound continued the decades-long Hama saga with legacy numbering intact, starting at #301 (Nov. 15, 2023) and marching through 2024–2025 with artist Chris Mooneyham (among others). This is the same timeline from 1982, uninterrupted in spirit and voice—separate from the Energon Universe.

What Williamson’s G.I. Joe Does (Mostly) Great

1) On-Ramp Clarity + Modern Momentum

The Duke miniseries is a textbook jumping-on story: Conrad “Duke” Hauser survives a Decepticon encounter with Starscream and gets stonewalled by his superiors. He goes AWOL to uncover the truth about the giant robot that took out his team—laying the groundwork for the G.I. Joe initiative in a world where alien robots now exist. It’s clean, kinetic, and easy to follow even if you haven’t read a Joe comic in years. The ongoing G.I. Joe #1 then synthesizes the limited series and rips forward with tight, character-driven action.

2) Elegant Visual Identity

I have not been a fan of Tom Reilly’s loose art, and the colorist’s wash style, but the story and action have been good enough for me to look past my personal tastes in art.

3) Villains With Teeth (and New Toys)

Williamson’s Cobra Commander remixes the character as a ruthless schemer obsessed with Energon, while also threading in the once-controversial Cobra-La mythos. The series alsointroduces the Valkyries, a new Cobra special-ops squad, marking a confident push for world domination.

4) Real “Shared Universe” Payoff

Because this universe lives beside Transformers, you get tasty cross-pollination. 2025 showcased Beach Head entering the Energon Universe in G.I. Joe #7 and Wreck-Gar turning up across the line. And recently Hound has appeared in the new arc, whose existence is being kept secret by Clutch.

What Hama’s ARAH Still Does Better Than Anyone

1) Voice & Military Speech

Hama’s knowledge of military jargon, code names, and small-unit banter remains unparalleled. Even when plots get wild, the character voices make sense—grizzled, sardonic, lived-in. His #301 restart hit like a homecoming, immediately promising big stakes and paying off decades of relationships.

2) Continuity as a Feature

ARAH treats 40+ years of storytelling as a tactical asset. In 2024’s issues, the Springfield flashpoint escalates, SerpentorKhan schemes, and the techno-ninjas ratchet up the danger— Old conflicts are full display. Though I had read and loved the initial run in the ‘80s, I was not a fan of this title at first. The existence of Cobra zombies and the initial battle on Cobra Island was a turn-off for me. I have since gone back to it and it has sucked me in once again. I’m still not sure how I feel about Cobra Commander with a beret and mustache, but we will touch on that later.

3) Big, Pulpy Military Action

Hama still balances his soldiers themes with cloak-and-dagger subplots. #305 and #310 are representative: betrayals, bio-tech surprises, and battlefield chaos, all flowing through that unmistakable ARAH cadence. This year (2025), Skyboundcelebrated the tradition of silent storytelling with SILENT MISSIONS one-shots, nodding to the timeless “Silent Interlude.” Still one of my favorite issues of all time.

4) A Loyal Fanbase—and It Shows

ARAH #301 promptly sold out in the first week. The audience for Hama’s writing said, “Hell, yeah, take my money, please!”

The Catch:

• New-Reader Barrier. If you’re a fresh reader to G.I. Joe, the sheer weight of the cast of characters and long, cumbersome history can feel like being dropped into a hot LZ without a map.
• Occasional Familiarity. Tech-ninjas, clones, Springfield, Cobra’s revolving doomsday plans—if you’re familiar with these plot points, then you will be able to pick it up generally easily.
• Visual Consistency. Mooneyham’s art pairs well with Hama’s tone, and the Kubert covers stand out on the shelves, but stylistic shifts across issues can be noticeable if you’re an on-going reader.

Theme & Tone: They’re Unique Feel

Williamson’s Energon-Era Joe is a conspiracy-thriller with sci-fi escalation. It starts with a soldier who saw the impossible (a robot transforming jet) and follows the institutional fallout. The villains are sharp, nasty, and energized by alien power sources. The Baroness being a member of the Joe’s, definitely changes the dynamic while readers anticipate her eventual turn.

Hama’s ARAH is a military melodrama with spycraft roots. The Springfield campaign feels like a forever war where yesterday’s intel can still save lives, and the human cost reflects a long-running soap where identities, loyalties, and scars matter as much as bullets. I wish they had kept the undercover arc going for a bit longer. Their cover was blown pretty quickly.

Character Work: Who Shines Where?

• Duke: Williamson characterizes him as resourceful, stubborn, and deeply human as he pushes against secrecy to discover something bigger than himself. This series humanizes him and his relationship with Clutch really shines.
• Cobra Commander: In the Energon Universe he’s icier, less buffoonish, and more frighteningly pragmatic; the Cobra-La thread adds weird-fiction menace that won’t be for everyone. However, I also saw him as not quite human, and I like the robotic hand and the fact that we probably will never see his face. In ARAH, he remains the slippery monarch of menace that remains more of the traditional character, steering Springfield toward eventual destruction.
• Destro: Both writers treat Destro similarly. Constantly at odds with Cobra Commander and always having his own agenda in play. However, in ARAH, his relationship with Baroness has developed.
• Scarlett: Kelly Thompson’s Scarlett mini (a sister book to Williamson’s) leans hard into infiltration and Arashikageintrigue. For me, this book by Thompson is unreadable and shows that she has very little knowledge of the character. It’s surprising that it’s the same writer behind Absolute Wonder Woman. On the other hand, Hama’s Scarlett remains the consummate pro—steadfast, tactical, emotionally grounded in long-standing relationships (Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Dawn).
• The Team(s): Williamson’s cast is curated and introduced with “this arc’s mission” clarity—clean dossiers, distinct voices, and the build-up of the Joe’s conflict with Cobra as they are new to one another. Hama’s platoon is sprawling and lived-in, with codenames from the past continuing to surface, but the continued run can overwhelm new readers.I’m still not a fan of Storm Shadow being a member of the Joe’s. The conflict between him and Snake Eyes was always a highlight in every story.

Best Jump-On Spots

• Want the cleanest modern entry?
o Duke #1–5 → Cobra Commander #1–5 → G.I. Joe(2024) #1–2. That flow teaches the new rules, defines both sides, and sets up the Valkyries and Duke’s influence on the future Joe’s.
• Crave classic ARAH with a fresh start line?
o G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #301 (Nov. 2023) as a “new era” flag-plant, then right into the 2024 Springfield escalation around #305 and #310. You’ll get betrayal beats, tech-horror reveals, and vintage Hama pacing. You will also get a very pissed-off Destro that was a definite highlight to the arc.
• Curious add-ons worth sampling:
o Cobra Commander: The setup of the Dreadnoks, Cobra-La, and even Megatron. How Cobra Commander gets his greedy hands on his supply of Energon is also introduced here. Definitely a must-read.
o 2025’s SILENT MISSIONS one-shots for a formalist ARAH flex that nods to “Silent Interlude.” Some were good and several seemed very forced.

So… Which One’s “Better” ?

If you’re a lapsed fan or brand-new to Joe, Williamson’s line is the friendliest: high clarity, strong “first contact” stakes, cross-title cohesion. It captures the fantasy of elite soldiers in a world that just got way bigger—and it isn’t afraid to rework several relationships and plot points. It definitely is building its own canon. The 2024 launch landed big with critics and sales chatter. It remains on most fans top 10 of the week whenever it drops.

If you’re here for the core DNA of G.I. Joe, nobody writes it like Larry Hama. ARAH in 2024–2025 is comfort food cooked by the original chef—rich with continuity, tactical patter, and relationship history that other franchises would kill to have. The Springfield conflicts and Revanche threads are pure ARAH energy, and when the bullets fly, it feels like the original G.I. Joethat you grew up with.

The lines complement each other, but they are so entirely different that you can read both and never have any confusion oftheir individual continuity. Williamson supplies forward-looking reinvention and shared-universe scale; Hamasupplies legacy weight and authentic voice. 

Final Shots

G.I. Joe in 2024–2025 isn’t a single book—it’s two philosophies sharing a brand:

• Rebooted, cinematic, and interconnected (Williamson),where Energon-powered geopolitics make Cobra scarier and the Joes feel like a nascent, scrappy response force. You’ll get new black-ops units, new tech, and the thrill of watching a modern canon assemble in real time. This is the beginning of the conflict between the Joe’s and Cobra. The Joe team is not a well-oiled machine yet. Williams creates a new character in Risk and the recent addition of Hound (Transformer) is about to shake everything up.
• Legacy-driven, character-anchored, and battle-hardened (Hama), where the weight of yesterday makes every ambush sting and every extraction feel earned. You’ll get betrayals, Springfield skirmishes, and a veteran writer who knows exactly how each Joe talks, fights, and bleeds. When you read this title, it is unmistakable that the characters have long histories with one another.

Neither road is wrong. They even make each other better: Hama’s book reminds you of what Joe is, and Williamson’s line explores what Joe can be in a bigger, wilder universe.

That’s the mission brief. Choose your squad, gear up, and YoJoe!

About Author

Frank Zanca

…began working in local television at the age of 22 when he became a Promotional Producer for Channel 9, the Orlando ABC affiliate. During this time he wrote and produced thirty-second spots for the newscast and syndicated shows such as Geraldo and Sally Jesse Raphael. Later he worked as a Production Assistant on NBC’s Gonzo Games and Dick Clark’s Sea World Summer Spectacular. Frank created and wrote his first comic book, which was distributed internationally under the name of Shadow Raven. For a number of years, Frank worked in Sales and then moved into Marketing where he became CFO and later President of two Independent marketing firms that were later sold for several million dollars. Recently Frank helped design Shadow Raven: the Combat Card Game, which was distributed internationally and has written the Shadow Raven novel (to be released next year). Frank is currently producing Shadow Raven: Fading Thoughts, a thirty-minute pilot, which is designed to become a feature film or television series.

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