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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) More at IMDbPro »

Not until the last scene. It is also not a mask, but his actual face

Yes it is. There isn't anything blatant, like General Hawk talking to Optimus or Megatron and the Decepticons aiding Cobra, but the novelization reveals that the nanomites used to destroy the Eifel Tower, create the Nano Warriors/Vipers, and give Zartan his morphing abilities, were actually developed by Sector Seven during their study of Megatron and the AllSpark, M.A.R.S. merely put them into mass production and marketed worldwide. Cobra Commander also uses these nanomites to build Destro's mask.

Originally, Brig. General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy (still played by Dennis Quaid) was going to be in charge of NEST in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which would evolve into G.I. Joe once the Decepticon threat was eliminated, but this was changed in later drafts. A second idea (which was inexplicably dropped right before shooting began for ROTF) involved Major William "Wild Bill" Lennox talking to Gen. Hawk on the phone after the battle in Shanghai and Duke saying something along the lines of "At least they're not robots that turn into cars," when Heavy Duty shows him and Ripcord the very Iron Man-esque accelerator suits.

The fact that this film shares its universe with the Transformers films creates what would at first glance appear to be a rather large problem:

In the climax of Revenge of the Fallen, Devastator smashes the top of the Great Pyramid at Giza, so the Sun Harvester can convert Earth's sun into Energon to help further the Decpticons' conquest of the universe. In this film, all three pyramids are noticably intact. However, it should be kept in mind that Revenge of the Fallen takes place in 2009, while this film takes place in 2019. It is entirely possibly that the Great Pyramid was repaired during the ten years between the two, especially if the Autobots helped out.

As an aside, there are a suspiciously familiar black GMC Topkick (Ironhide's alt-mode), a Hummer H2 with a Search and Rescue paint job and equipment (Ratchet), and a silver Chevy Corvette Stingray (Sideswipe) in the background when Duke and Ripcord are first brought to the Pit, and the Joes have a fleet of the attack buggies Sector Seven used in Transformers sitting in one of their hangers.

Rated PG-13 for strong sequences of action violence and mayhem throughout.

Following the critical evisceration of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, this movie was not generally screened for critics. Expectations were low.

The critical response has been generally negative, with 61% of critics giving a negative review on Rotten Tomatoes and a metascore of 32. Criticisms focused on the movie's poor plot, although several of the movie's action sequences were well-received.

It was not just ice, but also metal debris from the base which was mixed in. Combined with the force of the explosion, the ice was able to temporarily sink.

In the original Real American Hero series, Tommy "Storm Shadow" Arashikage started out as a member of Cobra's inner circle, but he was really there to avenge the death of his uncle, the Hard Master. When the killer turned out to be Zartan, Storm Shadow (along with his other uncle, the Soft Master, who initially thought Storm Shadow himself was the murderer) failed in his attempt to kill him, and had to flee. He eventually met up with Scarlett and Snake Eyes, who convinced him to join G.I. Joe.

In the film, we learn that Storm Shadow actually did kill the Hard Master because he was jealous of the attention he gave Snake Eyes, and Snake Eyes swore an oath of silence until the Hard Master's death was avenged. It is implied that he eventually sought refuge with Laird McCullen, but this is not certain. In a further departure from the RAH/G1 (Generation 1, the designation Hasbro uses for the original Transformers franchise and its related media) continuities, Snake Eyes kills Storm Shadow instead of helping him redeem himself.

However we can't rule out any surprises for the eventual sequels, though even a ninja would have slim chances of surviving being stabbed and falling into the Arctic Ocean like that.