Image Comics’ G.I. JOE #25 Review: Night Force Turns Joe Against Joe in a Landmark Energon Universe Clash
G.I. JOE #25 launches “Night Force” with the kind of internal conflict the Energon Universe has been building toward for years, as Joshua Williamson, Tom Reilly, Andrea Milana, Lee Loughridge, and Rus Wooton turn a landmark issue into a tense collision of loyalty, secrecy, military strategy, and competing ideas about what G.I. Joe is supposed to be.
Twenty-five issues into the current G.I. JOE series, the biggest threat to the team may no longer be Cobra.
It may be G.I. Joe itself.
G.I. JOE #25, published by Image Comics as part of Skybound and Hasbro’s Energon Universe, begins “Night Force” Part 1 of 5 and puts the franchise’s internal divisions directly under the spotlight. The official issue credits list Joshua Williamson as writer, Tom Reilly and Andrea Milana as artists, Lee Loughridge as colorist, and Rus Wooton as letterer.
The setup is deceptively simple: Colonel Hawk wanted two teams. One operates where the world can see it. The other handles the missions that demand secrecy, deniability, and harder choices.
Eventually, those two philosophies were going to collide.
In G.I. JOE #25, they finally do.
Image Comics has positioned the issue as an extra-sized landmark chapter kicking off what it calls the biggest G.I. Joe story yet in the Energon Universe. The official listing confirms a 40-page issue arriving August 19, 2026, priced at $4.99.
And based on the complete review copy, that milestone status feels earned.
Night Force Finally Steps Out of the Shadows
One of the best things Joshua Williamson has done throughout this run is resist the temptation to rush every recognizable G.I. Joe element onto the page immediately.
Characters have been introduced deliberately.
Relationships have developed.
Secrets have remained secrets.
Questions about Hawk’s leadership have been allowed to simmer rather than being resolved in a single confrontation.
Night Force benefits enormously from that patience.
Our earlier first look at G.I. JOE #25 highlighted the central conflict before release: Duke’s increasingly visible G.I. Joe team and the covert Night Force unit represent two approaches to fighting the same rapidly changing war. That foundation becomes significantly more interesting once the issue puts actual people behind those philosophies.
This is not simply “good team versus evil team.”
Both sides believe they are protecting something.
Both sides have reasons to distrust the other.
Both sides have received orders.
And nobody has all the information.
That makes the confrontation considerably more compelling than a standard superhero misunderstanding.
Joshua Williamson Makes the Conflict Personal
Williamson understands that G.I. Joe versus Night Force only matters if readers care about the people underneath the uniforms.
That is where issue #25 succeeds.
The disagreement is not abstract.
Duke has spent the series building relationships with his team and attempting to understand a world where Cobra, Energon, giant robots, and increasingly impossible threats have changed the rules of military engagement.
Night Force comes from another direction.
Its operatives understand secrecy, black operations, chain of command, and missions where success may require decisions the public-facing team would never accept.
The resulting friction feels inevitable rather than manufactured.
Even characters who respect one another suddenly find themselves forced to decide whether friendship matters more than orders.
That tension gives the issue its real energy.
There are guns, vehicles, combat, and high-tech threats throughout the chapter, but Williamson’s strongest weapon is distrust.
This Story Has Been Building Longer Than It First Appears
One of the most satisfying things about G.I. JOE #25 is realizing how many seemingly separate threads have been pointing toward this moment.
The issue’s own Straight Shooters back matter explicitly says the G.I. Joe versus Night Force confrontation has been building for years and traces part of that setup back to the 2024 Energon Universe Special. Williamson also emphasizes that the creative team plans far ahead so major story beats can reward readers who have stayed with the series.
That long-form approach shows.
Characters introduced many issues ago matter again.
Past missions matter.
Hawk’s decisions matter.
The relationships between Duke, Baroness, Lady Jaye, Flint, and the wider roster matter.
Even elements that once looked like isolated pieces of world-building begin feeling like parts of a larger mechanism.
For readers who have been following the series since the beginning, there is a genuine sense of payoff here.
For readers looking to catch up before diving in, the previous Comic Book Addicts G.I. JOE #25 Night Force coverage provides a useful starting point without replacing the experience of reading the issue itself.
Baroness Becomes the Fuse
Baroness has always been one of the most interesting pieces on the Energon Universe chessboard because loyalty has never been simple for her.
Issue #25 takes full advantage of that.
Rather than treating Baroness as a traditional villain who can be dropped neatly onto one side of the battlefield, Williamson uses her uncertainty to make the entire conflict more volatile.
She has information.
Other people have assumptions.
Those assumptions do not necessarily line up with what she knows.
That is dangerous.
The issue gives her sequences that feel closer to espionage thriller material than conventional military superheroics, and Andrea Milana’s artwork is particularly effective whenever the book moves into those darker spaces.
Baroness feels dangerous even when she is not controlling the room.
Perhaps more importantly, she feels vulnerable without losing the characteristics that make her Baroness.
That is a difficult balance, and this chapter handles it well.
Duke Is Being Forced Into Leadership the Hard Way
Duke’s journey remains one of the strongest anchors of the current series.
He did not arrive here with every answer.
He has been lied to, manipulated, attacked, betrayed, challenged, and forced to reconsider what he thought he understood about the world.
Issue #25 continues that trajectory by putting him in a position where leadership means something more difficult than winning a battle.
Who does he trust?
Which orders deserve obedience?
What happens when the person giving those orders may be part of the problem?
And how far should a soldier go before loyalty becomes complicity?
Williamson wisely does not turn Duke into someone who suddenly knows exactly what to do.
His uncertainty makes him more believable.
He is learning what leadership costs while already being expected to lead.
Night Force Feels Like a Real Team, Not a Gimmick
Flint, Lady Jaye, Roadblock, Beach Head, Shooter, and the larger Night Force operation provide a different military energy from Duke’s team.
They are not introduced simply because “Night Force” is a recognizable G.I. Joe name.
They have a function.
The back matter explains that Flint and Lady Jaye have been assembling the special unit throughout the series, adding heavy hitters such as Roadblock, Beach Head, and Shooter specifically to provide a force capable of acting against G.I. Joe if circumstances demanded it.
Now those circumstances have arrived.
That makes Night Force feel less like a surprise addition and more like a contingency plan finally being activated.
The difference is important.
They are not random reinforcements.
They were built for this.
Tom Reilly Brings Military Precision to the Battlefield
Tom Reilly has become one of the defining visual architects of this era of G.I. Joe, and his work in issue #25 reinforces why.
His characters move like soldiers.
Weapons have physical weight.
Vehicles occupy real space.
Teams communicate through posture and positioning even before the dialogue tells you what they are doing.
The opening combat material is particularly strong because Reilly can make a large battlefield look chaotic without making the storytelling chaotic.
You understand where everyone is.
You understand what the immediate objective is.
You understand why Night Force operates differently.
That clarity allows the action to move quickly without becoming visually exhausting.
The earlier first-look coverage from Comic Book Club Live helped put attention on the issue before release, but the complete chapter demonstrates just how important Reilly’s ability to stage military action is to the overall story.
Andrea Milana Gives the Espionage Material a Different Pulse
The combination of Tom Reilly and Andrea Milana is one of the issue’s strongest creative choices.
Rather than forcing one visual rhythm across the entire 40-page chapter, the two artists complement the different sides of the story.
Reilly excels at military structure, teams, equipment, and battlefield movement.
Milana brings a sharper, more dangerous edge to the espionage-heavy sequences.
That contrast becomes useful because G.I. JOE #25 is fundamentally about two worlds colliding.
The public operation.
The covert operation.
The battlefield.
The shadows.
The issue looks different when the nature of the mission changes, but never so different that it stops feeling like the same comic.
That is an impressive balancing act.
Lee Loughridge Makes Night Force Feel Different Before Anyone Says a Word
Lee Loughridge’s colors do substantial storytelling work.
Daylight military sequences lean into dusty oranges, muted earth tones, and harsh battlefield light. Covert sequences move toward colder blues, shadow-heavy interiors, and restrained palettes.
Then warning reds and more aggressive color choices begin cutting into scenes as loyalties and plans destabilize.
The result gives Night Force a visual identity separate from Duke’s operation without requiring an entirely different design language.
You can often tell which side of the conflict you are entering from the atmosphere alone.
That is exactly what strong coloring should accomplish.
Rus Wooton Keeps an Extra-Sized Issue Moving
A 40-page G.I. Joe issue with multiple teams, command structures, secret operations, combat sequences, arguments, flashbacks, and changing locations could become extremely dense.
Rus Wooton’s lettering helps prevent that.
Dialogue remains readable even when pages become crowded with equipment or action. Captions provide necessary orientation without dominating the artwork, and sound effects complement the violence rather than obscuring it.
That matters in a book built around rapid transitions.
One scene may be tactical.
The next may be conversational.
The next may explode.
Wooton helps maintain the pace through all three.
G.I. JOE #25 Rewards Readers Who Have Been Paying Attention
There is a larger point to make about this issue.
The Energon Universe works best when continuity creates consequences rather than homework.
G.I. JOE #25 demonstrates the difference.
Previous events matter, but Williamson does not spend the entire issue delivering exposition about old stories.
Instead, earlier choices shape the behavior of the characters.
A relationship formed ten issues ago changes how someone reacts now.
An old mission changes how another character interprets an order.
A secret that once seemed contained becomes dangerous.
The book’s back matter even identifies returning elements that have been seeded much earlier in the series, reinforcing how deliberately the creative team has been constructing the larger story.
That is rewarding serialized storytelling.
The Joe-versus-Joe Conflict Is More Interesting Than Another Cobra Attack
Cobra remains central to the world of G.I. Joe.
But making Cobra the direct threat in every arc would eventually flatten the series.
Turning the pressure inward is much more interesting.
G.I. Joe is supposed to represent extraordinary people working together against extraordinary threats.
What happens when those people cannot agree on who the threat actually is?
What happens when one group believes another has been compromised?
What happens when secret orders contradict personal experience?
What happens when soldiers are asked to treat friends as targets?
Those questions give “Night Force” immediate dramatic weight.
The ongoing debate among longtime readers can already be seen in G.I. Joe fan discussion surrounding the Night Force conflict, and issue #25 gives fans plenty more to argue about once everyone has read it.
The Extra Pages Actually Matter
Milestone issues sometimes advertise themselves as “extra-sized” and then use much of that space for backup material that feels disconnected from the main story.
That is not the case here.
G.I. JOE #25 uses its larger page count to establish a multi-front conflict.
There is enough room to show Night Force in action.
Enough room for Duke’s situation to develop.
Enough room for Baroness to become central.
Enough room to revisit prior events.
Enough room for the larger conspiracy to feel dangerous.
And enough room to end with the unmistakable feeling that Part One has merely positioned the pieces.
Williamson himself describes the chapter in the back matter as heavy on setup before the conflict accelerates dramatically in the following issue.
That setup never feels wasted because the tension continues increasing.
The Variant Program Gives Collectors Plenty to Chase
A landmark G.I. Joe issue was never going to arrive with only one cover.
Image Comics lists a substantial variant program that includes artwork from Tom Reilly, Jerome Opeña, Miki Okazaki, Fadime Yildirim, Michele Rubini, Annalisa Leoni, Jonboy Meyers, Andrea Milana, and Andres Juarez.
The review copy’s back cover gallery likewise presents the full assortment, including foil and blank-sketch options.
One collector-oriented option is the Fadime Yildirim incentive cover available through Third Eye Comics, which gives fans looking beyond the standard cover another version to track down.
For collectors who enjoy landmark issues, character-focused variants, or Energon Universe covers, #25 offers plenty of choices.
G.I. JOE #25 Review Verdict
G.I. JOE #25 is an excellent beginning to “Night Force” and one of the most important chapters of Joshua Williamson’s run so far.
The issue succeeds because the conflict feels earned.
Night Force does not suddenly appear because the title needed a new opponent.
Duke does not suddenly distrust leadership because the plot requires drama.
Baroness does not become important because the book needs a recognizable character in the middle.
These pieces have been moving for a long time.
Now they are colliding.
Tom Reilly and Andrea Milana give the issue two complementary visual personalities, Lee Loughridge creates atmosphere through sharply controlled color, and Rus Wooton keeps a complicated, extra-sized chapter readable and fast.
More importantly, Williamson understands that G.I. Joe fighting G.I. Joe is only interesting when neither side can be dismissed as obviously wrong.
That is what turns the opening of “Night Force” from a gimmick into a genuine conflict.
Final Score: 9.5/10
G.I. JOE #25 is a tense, confident, extra-sized launch for “Night Force” that rewards long-term readers while setting the stage for a potentially defining Energon Universe conflict.
The military action is strong.
The espionage is stronger.
But the real hook is trust.
Who deserves it?
Who has lost it?
And what happens when soldiers on both sides believe they are the ones protecting G.I. Joe?
That question should make G.I. JOE #26 very difficult to wait for.
Why You Should Pick Up G.I. JOE #25
If you have been following Joshua Williamson’s G.I. Joe since the beginning, this is not an issue to skip.
Several long-running threads begin paying off, Night Force finally moves into the center of the story, and relationships that once seemed stable are placed under serious pressure.
Newer readers may want some familiarity with the current status quo, but the central hook is easy to understand: two G.I. Joe teams, two methods, one increasingly dangerous disagreement.
That is an extremely strong foundation for a five-part story.
The official Image Comics G.I. JOE #25 page confirms that the issue arrives August 19, 2026, with a $4.99 cover price, 40 pages, and a Teen rating.
Final Thoughts
Twenty-five issues is the perfect time for a series to prove that all of its moving pieces have actually been going somewhere.
G.I. JOE #25 does exactly that.
What begins as a clash between two military teams quickly becomes something more interesting: a referendum on command, trust, secrecy, and what happens when people trained to follow orders no longer agree on who deserves to give them.
Williamson has spent enough time developing these characters that the conflict feels personal before the first major confrontation even begins.
Reilly and Milana make the competing sides visually distinct without breaking the identity of the series.
Loughridge gives the story atmosphere.
Wooton keeps everything moving.
And by the final pages, “Night Force” feels less like the start of another arc and more like the moment the entire G.I. Joe status quo begins cracking open.
Skybound has said this story has been building for years.
After reading #25, you can see the architecture.
Now comes the collision.
Join the Discussion
Are you siding with Duke’s G.I. Joe team or Night Force after reading issue #25, and who do you trust the least as this conflict begins?
Follow Comic Book Addicts for more comic book news, reviews, previews, and collector updates:
Website: https://comicbookaddicts.com/
New Comics: https://comicbookaddicts.com/new-comics/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comicbookaddicts/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheComicBookAddicts/
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thecomicbookaddicts
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/comicbookaddt
X/Twitter: https://x.com/comicbookaddt
