Random Happenstance

I've seen this in Bond films a ton of times--or maybe I've just watched the Man with the Golden Gun a hundred times--where the experienced spy, like Bond, is saddled with a pretty yet incompetent or inexperienced partner. This might be the first time that it occurs to me, that may be on purpose, and the rookie may be a sacrifice, meant to be seen! From 1979, G.I. Combat #216, "The Rookie Spy" Written by Evan Douglas, art by E.R. Cruz. 

This was another OSS story with the bald, pipe-smoking Control; moving spies around the board like chessmen. An agent dies in a bell tower, but had managed to hide information prior. Control sends pro Larry and rookie Janis to go get it, despite Larry's protests. Janis argues she must be competent or she wouldn't be there. Uh, yeah, sure...Control knows what he's doing, sending her to possibly get caught and pull attention from Larry so he can complete the mission. Maybe she's not good, though: Janis blows their cover at lunch, ordering water instead of wine. Larry is injured in the ensuing shoot-out, and has to hideout in a haystack while Janis has to complete the mission instead. Larry also reminds her to remember the signal...

Janis gets the info out of the bell tower, but was spotted, and forced to lead two soldiers back to Larry, where they gun down the haystack. Luckily, since Janis had given the signal, Larry knew something was up, and hid in a different haystack, and kills the Nazis. You did give the signal, didn't you; one ring all's cool, more if there was trouble? Um, no, those rings were just from when the Nazis shot at Janis. Well, sometimes lucky is good.

Lastly this issue, a third Haunted Tank story: I'm only scanning the above panel, since a variation thereof appears every story: "Jeb's talking to that ghost again." "He's crazy." "But he's kept us alive so far." "Yes." If you ever feel like you have the same conversations over and over again, there you go. "The Front is Where You Stand!" Written by Robert Kanigher, art by Sam Glanzman. I may have seen this one before in DC's war books: the Tank is completely out of ammo, but an infantry captain turns over his prisoners to them: 100 Nazis! They have to bluster their way through getting them to the stockade.