After the attack, Hawk is made the leader of G.I. Joe, a special unit assembled for the purpose of taking down this terrorist organization, identifying itself as Cobra. G.I. Joe learns the truth about Cobra from both Mercer, a Cobra defector, and Wheeljack and Bumblebee, two alien robots who avoided being found when their ship was discovered by Cobra. With the help of an encrypted signal sent by Optimus Prime, the Joes discover the location of Cobra's hidden island base. As the Joes prepare for an assault on the island, Hawk receives orders to subdue the two alien robots that had allied with them, and take them to Area 51 for study, while the Cobra base is nuked. When Wheeljack warns Hawk about the catastrophic reaction of a nuclear explosion with the Energon Cobra was stockpiling, Hawk defies his orders and goes with his original invasion plan.