Cobra Commander
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cobra Commander is a fictional character from the GI Joe franchise. He appears in the animated series, comic books, toyline and movie. The comics generally portray him as a ruthless terrorist leader while the animated series takes a more comedic approach, as was common with villains in children's television of the 1980s. The character was created by Marvel Comics writer Larry Hama and was loosely based on controversial conservative political figure G. Gordon Liddy and the James Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
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[edit] Animated Series
[edit] A Real American Hero
In the first season of the original 1980s animated series, Cobra Commander is the leader of COBRA, described in the show's opening theme as "A ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world." His face is always covered, either by a featureless chrome mask concealing his entire face or by a hood with eyehole cutouts. He wears a blue military COBRA uniform, occasionally sporting a cape and carrying a scepter, depending on the occasion.
Although only Cobra Commander's eyes are ever openly exposed, it is clear from this partial view that he is a brown-eyed Caucasian. His reason for wearing the mask was not expressly divulged, but in one episode, Destro interrupts his unmasked privacy during a meal, prompting the Commander to wryly muse, "It takes a strong stomach to watch me eat, eh, Destro?" implying that he may have some unsightly deformity. This is later confirmed in G.I. Joe: The Movie, where his face is shown to have been horribly disfigured as the result of a laboratory mishap involving "genetic altering spores."
Cobra Commander frequently led assaults himself, but was a coward at heart and proved the first to turn tail in retreat whenever the tide of battle shifted unfavorably. Impatient and frequently hysterical, he was prone to fits of rage when things went badly, often launching into extended rants. He was also greedy and egotistical, often mistreating his own troops to the point of mutiny, and on multiple occasions saw his plans foiled by his own arrogance. While he had a knack for concocting creative schemes for world domination — including cloned dinosaurs, giant amoebas, and miniaturized troops stowed away inside Christmas presents (his immediate subordinates, particularly Destro, often remarked on the ridiculous nature of such plans) — he was less of an evil genius and more of a psychotic egomaniac. The writers later commented that they only found Cobra Commander's personality when they stopped writing him as an Adolf Hitler-type and started writing him more in the vein of Yosemite Sam.
Season 2 opened with the 5-episode mini-series Arise, Serpentor, Arise! in which the COBRA organization decides that, after Cobra Commander had repeatedly failed to bring them victory, they should literally build a new leader. COBRA's scientists combine DNA samples retrieved from the tombs of history's most notorious despots to genetically craft Cobra Commander's successor, Serpentor, who immediately assumes charge of COBRA and deposes the erstwhile Commander to the status of "lackey."
Fortunately for the Commander, GI Joe managed to interfere with the gene collection to deny Serpentor the critical inclusion of Sun Tzu's essence and with only little of Sgt. Slaughter's. The absence of that ancient military strategist's influence evidently makes Serpentor prone to impulsive foolhardiness that shows when he immediately orders a full attack on Washington DC, which turns into a complete fiasco at the hands of GI Joe's reprisals. At the end of the episode arc, Cobra Commander manages to regain some degree of control over the organization when, in a rare moment of competence, he appears at the last minute wielding a flamethrower to single-handedly save the COBRA high command from capture at the hands of the Joes. Serpentor thereafter tolerated the Commander's presence as second in standing, weighing his value as a scapegoat for failed missions, Cobra Commander was therefore forced to take a more active role as field commander, while Serpentor himself rarely left his Terrordrome. Cobra Commander spent most of Season 2 trying to reclaim his former glory from under Serpentor's domineering shadow — to that end assembling his own secret society called The Coil.
[edit] G.I. Joe: The Movie
G.I. Joe: The Movie explained Cobra Commander's origin in full, but it contradicted material seen in the animated series. Cobra Commander is revealed to be a former scientist and nobleman from the ancient, pre-human society of Cobra-La. Although humanoid in appearance, he has pale blue skin, no hair, and eyes with cat-like pupils. The nobleman was disfigured in a laboratory accident while studying a strange plant which sprayed his face with mutative spores, causing him to grow an asymmetrical array of eyes over his face, thus explaining why he wears a mask. Despite this deformity, his ambition was recognized and he was selected by Cobra-La's ruler, Golobulus, to venture from their isolated Himalayan kingdom into the outside world, there instructed to establish an army for the razing of human civilization, allowing Cobra-La to retake the planet.
COBRA was this army, but in light of their constant failures, Golobulus decides to put the Commander on trial and punishes him by forcing his further exposure to the spores, whose effect begins to devolve him into a snake. Escaping with Joe member Roadblock, Cobra Commander's "humanity" begins to slip away as his body transforms, soon left mindlessly hissing that he was "once-ssss a man..." In the end, seeking vengeance for his deteriorating condition, he tries to lead a Joe offensive into Cobra-La but ultimately becomes mentally unresponsive as his continuing metamorphosis fully changes him into an oversized snake. He briefly slithers to Lt. Falcon's rescue during the final battle, foiling Serpentor's attack, allowing Falcon to defeat Golobulus and save the world.
Many fans excoriated this revision of COBRA's history, arguing that it carried the G.I. Joe series too far into the realm of science fiction, also noting that the origin presented for Cobra Commander ran contrary to background information previously hinted at in the cartoon: In the episode Twenty Questions, the Commander told an interviewing journalist that he was responsible for spearheading a mutiny at his military academy in his youth — although admittedly, this may be interpreted as a media-friendly euphemism or an outright lie; in other episodes, aforementioned reactions to off-screen unmaskings or glimpses of the Commander's features are not in keeping with the inhumanly blue-skinned figure portrayed in the movie, which critical fans consider inauthentic to character continuity.
[edit] DIC Series
After the movie, Cobra Commander is seen as a cobra and made a pet by Serpentor. However Baroness steals him and restores him partly to a semi-human form, as she had been rejected by Destro in favor of Zarana, and was seeking revenge.
Back in human form, his attempt to overthrow Serpentor is nearly foiled when his newly created Ptyhon Patrol are scared to attack, but with the help of Low-Light (in disguise as a Viper) , Serpentor is captured. Gnawhyde provides his Iguana for use in the pythonizing ray and it is unclear if Serpentor (now a iguana) is dead or a pet. He tries to get the Dragon Fire energy but G.I.Joe has foiled his plans again.
Through that, he took over Cobra once again with Destro rejoining as his 2nd in command alongside Baroness and later Major Bludd. He also joins forces with Eco Terrorist Cesspool, who he immediately plans to double cross. The Commander is still as hysterical as before, but seems far more in control of his organisation with Serpentor no longer around, and other enemies like Dr. Mindbender and the Crimson Twins gone. He also spends much of his time trying to regain his lost fortunes, and states numerous times that Cobra is more or less broke, his subordinates also make reference to this, as he apparently doesn't pay them much, if anything at all. In the first season he wears a new Battle armor, and in the Second Season he regains his hood and blue miltiary uniform.
His personality and creative schemes are now far more dangerous than the last time, schemes like creating a fake General Hawk to make the Joe lax (A is for Android) or creating a ozone creme that he forces the masses to buy to protect themselves. So far, he is seen far braver than the previous seasons, and now Destro has renewed loyalty to him they attempt to defeat the Joes once and for all. With his leadership Cobra almost defeats the Joes several times (Victory at Volcania I & II, D-Day at Alcatraz I & II, Long Live Rock N Roll I & II) and is even captured once (Shadow of a Doubt) but escapes with the help of Storm Shadow (who is now a GI Joe). At the end of the series Cobra and GI Joe are still waging war and he is still attempting to gain his first real animated victory.
[edit] Transformers
The evil of Cobra Commander has not been limited to menacing only the G.I. Joes; he has also had encounters with the Transformers.
The most notable appearance of the character in a Transformers story took place in the third season of the Transformers cartoon (1986), in the episode "Only Human". Set in the then-future year 2006, a trenchcoated figure — going by the name "Old Snake" — is approached by crime lord Victor Drath, who wishes to purchase synthoid technology, as seen in a few episodes of the G.I. Joe cartoon series. Old Snake transfers the minds of Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Arcee and Springer into synthoid bodies, leaving their robotic shells for Drath's use in criminal activities.
Although it is never explicitly stated, several details make it clear enough that "Old Snake" is actually an aged Cobra Commander: he is raspingly voiced by Chris Latta (with the voice of Cobra Commander), he wears the character's distinctive silver mask, and has visible traces of his blue uniform underneath his trenchcoat. He is identified in dialogue as the former leader of a terrorist organization that utilized synthoid technology, and, intriguingly, appears to be wearing the gauntlets of Serpentor (although Serpentor's are dark green while these are black) — this contrary to the series' production bible, which notes that Cobra Commander's bare fingers should be visible through torn gloves, and that his skin is scaley, like that of a real snake. (The animation of this Transformers episode is not stellar, so this costume detail may be simple misinterpretation.) Most tellingly of all, the episode concludes with Old Snake lamenting that "they simply don't make terrorists like they used to," raising his fists in skyward exaltation with the familiar "COBRA!" battle cry breaking prematurely into a hacking cough.
[edit] Sigma 6
In G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, Cobra Commander's profile has been modified, stating that he considers himself a warrior king. This rendition of the character possesses snake-like eyes as well as full battle armor. He wears a helmet that resembles a snake's head and covers his face with a hood. The snake staff he carries contains a number of hidden weapons systems.
This version of Cobra Commander displays far stricter control over his organization, having the loyalty of all his troops and being both feared and respected; he is no longer a coward or a hysterical madman, and while he mainly operates from behind the scenes, he has been shown to be highly proficient in combat.
[edit] Comic Books
[edit] American Comics
Not much is known of Cobra Commander's past, but in his early career he was a used car salesman. While struggling to keep his business afloat, he learned that a car crash had taken the life of his older brother, Dan, who had been driving drunk.
Embittered by this tragedy, Cobra Commander became obsessed with vindicating his brother's death. The other car involved in the accident was occupied by the family of Snake-Eyes, who he then searched for. He found Snake-Eyes at a bar, where the Commander saved him from an oncoming truck and the two became friends. They travelled from state to state, acting as vigilantes. One night, Cobra Commander took Snake-Eyes to the house of a corrupt Judge who he blamed for the hardships they had both experienced: years before, the judge had presided over a case involving Cobra Commander's brother Dan, who ran a veteran's hospital. The hospital had been burned down by a patient, but the judge ruled that it was insurance fraud; Dan lost everything and turned to drinking, which led to the crash that took his life and the lives of Snake-Eyes' family. Realizing where his anger had taken him, Snake-Eyes refused to kill the man and walked away. Cobra Commander killed the judge himself and vowed revenge against Snake-Eyes for having turned on him.
Cobra Commander managed to track Snake-Eyes to Japan, where he was training to become a member of the Arashikage ninja clan. The Commander hired a mercenary called Firefly to kill him, but Firefly soon realized he was no match for his target, instead referring Cobra Commander to another assassin, Zartan, who infiltrated the clan and shot at Snake-Eyes with an arrow stolen earlier from another ninja, Storm Shadow. However, it was not Snake-Eyes who was hit, but the clan's leader and Storm Shadow's uncle, Hard Master. Storm Shadow was blamed for the murder and fled in search of the killer.
Cobra Commander returned to his domestic life, but after his wife gave birth to a son, Billy, she found out about what had happened in Japan. He took the child and left his wife, becoming increasingly paranoid and blaming all his problems on "the system". He travelled across America with Billy, seeking out people who shared his desire to topple big business and the government, using money he had earned from pyramid schemes to attract followers.
He then moved to the town of Springfield, where the businesses were struggling and the population had become disillusioned with existing policy. He applied his influence to corrupt the township and eventually took control of it. Within the town, he established a clandestine terrorist group called COBRA. Billy, realizing that his father's actions had become insane, fled to join an anti-COBRA underground organization, but Cobra Commander cared little. Storm Shadow's search for his uncle's killer eventually led him to Cobra, which Storm Shadow joined, pledging loyalty to Cobra Commander as his personal bodyguard.
COBRA's agents spread throughout the world, overturning or subverting unstable third-world governments, and becoming an international threat. Eventually, COBRA became so large that Cobra Commander could no longer control it on his own and created a "High Command", which included Zartan, Baroness Anastasia DeCobray, the Scottish arms dealer James McCullen Destro, and Australian mercenary Major Sebastian Bludd. This dubious staffing led to frequent power-struggles within the organization, and ultimately the Baroness and Major Bludd contracted an anti-COBRA agent to assassinate Cobra Commander.
The hired killer turned out to be young Billy, but he was intercepted before he could effect his task. Cobra Commander had become such a rabid megalomaniac by this point that he had no qualms about torturing his own son, yet Billy refused to surrender any information identifying who had sponsored the hit. Such tenacity impressed Storm Shadow, now employed in COBRA's ranks, so he freed Billy and they both escaped to New York, where Storm Shadow trained Billy in ninjitsu. Billy was later involved in a fight between COBRA and a group of Ninja, in which a missile attack blew off his leg and left him in a coma.
It was during this time that both Cobra Commander and Destro were trapped underground, presumed dead, and were forced to work together to make their way back to COBRA. In the course of the storyline, Cobra Commander and Destro were both shown without their ubiquitous masks, although Destro wore a fake beard and wig to appear older. Cobra Commander was depicted as an average-looking WASP-ish American with a beatnik image evinced by a pony tail, beret, green-spectacled sunglasses and a slender mustache — a motif that resurfaced on subsequent occasions when he was seen without his mask.
After several failed world domination schemes and the creation of Serpentor by Dr. Mindbender, Cobra Commander learned of Billy's injury. He located him and promised to now try to be a better father, bringing Billy to the Crimson Guard soldier Fred VII, a mechanical genius who built Billy a new robotic leg. Upon seeing that Fred VII had also constructed a suit of battle-armor for Cobra Commander, who was once again plotting to take over the world, Billy walked out on his father. The incident left Cobra Commander to reflect on the folly of his ways: he decided he should quit the organization, but Fred VII was so angered to see his commander throwing away what he had dedicated his life toward that he shot Cobra Commander in the back, apparently killing him.
Unaware that he was being watched, Fred VII buried the body. It was exhumed by another Crimson Guardsman, Fred VIII, who discovered that Cobra Commander was not dead after all, and managed to revive him. Still thought dead by the rest of COBRA, the Commander began to form a new organization in secret. When Dr. Mindbender went to Cobra Commander's supposed grave to harvest DNA for the genetic creation of a new leader, he instead discovered the empty grave.
Cobra Commander eventually returned to control COBRA, this time even more maniacal than before, filled with rage at Billy for the attempted assassination, and at himself for having considered abandoning COBRA. He relinquished all traces of morality and humanity, and rebuilt a new command infrastructure by instituting a brainwashing program to compel allegiance from those around him, including Destro, The Baroness, Zartan, Storm Shadow and Billy.
Not long after, COBRA forces fell to a unified assault organized by the G.I. Joe leader, General Hawk. Cobra Commander managed to escape, becoming an international fugitive as the remnants of his organization retreated into hiding. He spent the next seven years sheltered in non-extradition countries, rebuilding his organization from the shadows.
By the time he had fully restored the terrorist group, however, he was usurped by Destro's illegitimate son, Alexander, who hoped to impress his father by eliminating his old rival and leading COBRA to victory. Alexander was defeated by the G.I. Joe team, and Cobra Commander was freed by Storm Shadow, retaking his organization soon after. He then proceeded to attack Destro, believing him responsible for Alexander's coup. Destro shortly cleared himself of such suspicions and offered to atone for Alexander's actions by serving COBRA again.
Cobra Commander quickly proved himself deadlier than ever, smuggling a nuclear warhead into the United States, and used a decoy ship as a means for Storm Shadow to infiltrate the G.I. Joe base and assassinate Hawk. Unfortunately, both plans ended in failure, with the Joes capturing the warhead and Snake Eyes arriving to stop Storm Shadow. (It is hinted that it was Storm Shadow himself who informed Snake Eyes of the assassination attempt.)
Not long after, Cobra Commander was betrayed by one of his own troops, the Dreadnok Zandar, who brought him to Cobra Island and presented him to his new leader, Serpentor. Serpentor's army, the COIL — which also included another Cobra traitor, Dr. Mindbender — struck out at the world. During their campaign, a group of Joes that included Snake-Eyes was captured and thrown in the same cell as Cobra Commander. The prisoners managed to escape along with Cobra Commander while G.I. Joe and COBRA attacked the island. The Commander came across Serpentor, who took him captive and ordered the Commander to remove his helmet. The Commander did so, handing it to Serpentor, but his face was still concealed by a balaclava worn beneath the helmet. Cobra Commander then activated an explosive in the helmet and landed a kick that sent Serpentor falling out a window to his seeming death.
Cobra Commander then contacted Storm Shadow, and together they sought out the Red Ninja Clan for protection. The two were tracked down by a G.I. Joe team but managed to escape while the Joes battled the Red Ninjas. Cobra Commander then made his way back to the U.S.
His rivalry with Destro soon resumed as each set in pursuit of the Tempest, a device that could seed clouds to cause rainfall, which had great potential as a weapon of mass destruction in providing a ready mechanism for the distribution of biological or chemical agents. Cobra Commander won out and was soon making plans to use the Tempest to unleash a killer virus codenamed "Deathangel". A test firing prompted the Pentagon to authorize a nuclear strike on Cobra Island, but the Commander had been alerted of this attack by a corrupt Pentagon official and moved his operations from the island. He summoned the numerous members of Serpentor's COIL to Cobra Island then watched contently as they were all killed when the bomb was dropped. Later, a G.I. Joe team led by General Phillip Rey (Hawk's temporary replacement) managed to track COBRA to their new base, where they defeated COBRA forces and destroyed the Tempest.
Although Cobra Commander was able to elude capture, he became a target of the Red Shadows, a secretive organization that sought to eliminate G.I. Joe and COBRA alike. A Red Shadow operative named Dela Eden tracked down the Commander and shot him. While some seemed happy with Cobra Commander's sudden disapearance, Hawk and Duke believed him alive and still dangerous. Hawk sent Spirit in search of the Commander, and after a long hunt, the tracker found his prey but was captured by Cobra Commander, and imprisoned. Duke went on his own search for the Commander but instead found a squad of B.A.T.s who took him captive. The androids were under the control of a former Crimson Guardsman who had a grudge against the Commander and wanted him dead, planning to launch a missile at his position. Duke managed to free himself and to stop the missile's launch, learning its target location from a computer screen: Washington DC.
In Washington, a group of presidential advisors ask to speak to the President, but he tells them to take it up with his Chief of Staff — Cobra Commander. Cobra Commander tells the men that he has taken the place of, and is impersonating the real Chief of Staff, and then kills the men, having his own operatives replace them. Cobra Commander then proceeds to tell the President that the abilities of the GI Joe team is lacking, and organizes his very own Elite Anti Terrorism team, Phoenix Guard, led by one time GI Joe commander General Rey. He then sent the team to destroy numerous Cobra cells around the world, a step ahead of the Joe teams own efforts. He then accompanied the President on a tour of the secret GI Joe base, the Rock, where Colton reveals to them that they have the Baroness secretly in custody. After the trip, Cobra Commander sends new orders to Phoenix Guard, sending them to the Rock, in order to prove which team is really "America's Elite."
[edit] UK Comics
In the UK Battle Action Force comic, Cobra Commander was originally known as Baron Ironblood, leader of the Red Shadows, a ruthless terrorist organization. The Red Shadows were comprised of legions of brainwashed fanatic soldiers armed with sophisticated, high-tech weapons. The group was declared the single greatest threat to world security by the UN, with Ironblood being labelled "World Enemy #1".
Ironblood betrayed the Shadows, leaking information about their bases and intentions to the UN. While the Shadows were wiped out, Ironblood went into hiding and constructed a new identity for himself, becoming Cobra Commander, soon creating his new organization, COBRA, in secret.
In the UK comics, Cobra Commander's personality is a hybrid of the U.S. comic and cartoon version: he is intelligent, a skilled scientist and a charismatic leader, but he is also hysterical and prone to fits of rage.
[edit] Other appearances
In the 1967 Hawkman cartoon, "Peril from Pluto" by George Kashdan, a character named Coba-Ra Commander is the main villain. Similarities include speech patterns, henchmen, aspirations of world domination, vaguely Middle Eastern/Oriental stylings, and a marked reliance on evil genius style technology. However, Coba-Ra Commander makes no attempt to hide his face, and does not use a snake motif.
An episode of Robot Chicken which parodied "Where Are They Now" TV specials depicted a reformed Cobra Commander working for Home Shopping Network. Cobra Commander also appeared with Skeletor, Mumm-Ra and Lex Luthor in a sketch about going to work and being caught in a traffic jam that included their heroic enemies — Flint, He-Man, Lion-O and Superman. Cobra Commander had a cameo in the PTV episode of Family Guy, where he had taken over the FCC. These appearances spoofed the character's cartoon portrayal (particularly the effeminate mannerisms), although the Family Guy episode had him dressed as in the comics version. Also, Cobra Commander made an appearance on the web series College University as being homosexual, where he was run over by Optimus Prime in vehicle mode during a karate tournament.
A prank phonecall by Brandon Dicamillo found on CKY Vol. 2 features his performing the voice of Destro asking a toy-store if they sell G.I. Joe Action Figures; when the store realizes it's a prank call, they hang up and Brandon (as Destro) reports, "Cobra Commander, I believe they hung up on us," followed by his immitation of Cobra Commander replying, "Destro, you IDIOT!"
Recently, a person (Hal Sparks) dressed as Cobra Commander made an appearance on the VH1 special I Love Toys in a segment called "Cobra Commander's Day Off", where he would commit evil deeds on the street such as stealing newspapers and vandalizing.
An edition of the webcomic Comedity featured Cobra Commander as part of a Snakes on a Plane parody. As Garth's plane to Japan is being overrun with snakes, he screams his outrage and starts attacking them, which incites Cobra Commander to jump from the back of the plane and denounce Garth as a "prejudiced bastard". [1]
One episode of the Something Awful feature The Flash Tub featured a political ad of Cobra Commander running for U.S. President.[2]
On G4's show Action Blast! during intervals is a segment called The Cobra Commander Show where Cobra Commander discusses his view on the world and other meaningless information.
[edit] Toyline
Cobra Commander's G.I. Joe File cards read partially as follows:
- COBRA COMMANDER
- Code Name: Enemy Leader
- File Name: (Classified)
- Primary Military Speciality: Intelligence
- Secondary Military Speciality: Ordnance (Experimental Weaponry)
- Birthplace: (Classified)
- Grade: Commander-in-Chief
- Absolute power! Total control of the world... its people, wealth and resources - that's the objective of COBRA Commander. This fanatical leader rules with an iron fist. He demands total loyalty and allegiance. His main battle plan, for world control, relies on revolution and chaos. He personally led uprisings in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other trouble spots. Responsible for kidnapping scientists, businessmen and military leaders, then forcing them to reveal their top level secrets.
- "COBRA Commander is hatred and evil personified. Corrupt. A man without scruples. Probably the most dangerous man alive!"
A later version included this description:
- Totally ruthless and utterly devoid of conscience, Cobra Commander wants nothing less than to completely dominate the world through terrorism, social tyranny and economic slavery. He is basically an ingenious hustler and junk-bond salesman, backed by legions of Cobra Vipers, a small air force and navy.
- "Most dictators and would-be Napolean types are hampered by the need to pretend that they are pursuing a noble and just cause. Cobra Commander doesn't have that problem. This guy's in it for the money and the power, and if anybody else is interested in these things, they can pick up an assault rifle and get in line behind him."
There are presently 19 different versions of Cobra Commander in 3 3/4" action figure form.
Version 1 - 1982
Blue Cobra uniform and chrome mask. Came with a laser pistol.
Version 2 - 1984
Dark-blue Cobra uniform with gold trim and a head featuring a hood. Came with a laser pistol. Hooded Cobra Commander was mainly a repaint of Version 1, but with a different piece for his head.
Version 3 - 1987
Had aquamarine and silver samurai-style 'battle armor'. Came with a pistol, backpack and mouthpiece.
Version 4 - 1991
Blue & black ninja-esque uniform with a golden helmet and red veil covering his face. Came with a submachine gun, glider and a launcher for the glider.
Version 5 - 1991
Blue Cobra uniform with yellow trimmings and cowl. Came with a rifle and a missile-launching backpack. The backpack had four buttons which caused him to say either "I'll get you!", "Vipers attack!" or "Cobra!" depending on which button was pressed. The fourth button produced a 'combat' sound effect.
Version 6 - 1993
Black Cobra uniform with silver trimmings and cowl. Came with four guns, a spring-loaded missile launcher, two missiles and a figure stand. Repaint of Version 5, but with a retooled back.
Version 7 - 1994
Aquamarine, blue and black "Star Brigade" armor which left the entire top of his head uncovered. Came with a rifle, helmet and a device which allowed him to 'crawl'.
Version 8 - 1997
Blue and silver futuristic armor which covered his face. Came with a pistol and figure stand. Repaint of Version 3.
Version 9 - 2000
Black Cobra uniform with silver trimmings and cowl. Came with a rifle, missile launcher, two missiles and a figure stand. Repaint of Version 5 without the backpack.
Version 10 - 2001
Silver and blue futuristic armor which covered his face. Came with an uzi, backpack and figure stand. Repaint of Version 3.
Version 11 - 2002
Blue & grey Cobra uniform with cowl. Came with three guns. Had a T-crotch instead of the usual "o-ring".
Version 12 - 2002
Black & red Cobra uniform with cowl. Came with three guns. Repaint of Version 11.
Version 13 - 2002
Blue & grey Cobra uniform with cowl. Came with a backpack, harpoon rifle, pistol and a golden staff in the shape of a snake. A retool of Version 11 with an o-ring.
Version 14 - 2003
Blue Cobra uniform with red trimmings and chrome faceplate. Came with two guns, a cape and a golden snake-staff.
Version 15 - 2003
Black Cobra uniform with red trimmings and cowl. Came with a backpack, harpoon rifle, pistol and a golden staff in the shape of a snake. Repaint of Version 13.
Version 16 - 2004
Black & silver Cobra uniform with red trimmings and chrome faceplate. Came with staff, cape and two guns. Repaint of Version 14.
Version 17 - 2004
Blue Cobra uniform with gold trimmings. Came with two guns. Retool of Version 6 with a new head piece.
Version 18 - 2005
Blue Cobra uniform with white trimmings and a new head with a ski-mask. Came with interchangeable helmet and mask. Retool of Version 13 with a new head.
Version 19 - 2004
Red Cobra uniform with gold trimmings. Came with a staff, cape and throne. Retool of Version 17.
There was also a 12-inch Cobra Commander released in 1992 with a removable cowl as part of the "Hall of Fame" subset. His face was revealed to be that of a normal looking Caucasian male in his 30s-40s with blue eyes and black hair, but his mouth is covered by a kind of scarf.
In 2002, when Hasbro renewed the G.I. Joe vs. Cobra toyline, 12-inch versions of the GvC characters were being made in addition to their 3" counterparts. A 2002 version of the figure came with a jumpsuit, a blue-colored torso, an armored vest and various weapons. His cowl was molded to his head this time. A repaint of this figure with a black outfit was released in 2003 as a Toys 'R' Us exclusive.
In 2004, a third 12-inch Cobra Commander figure based on the Battle Helmet version of the character was released as part of the Valor vs. Venom line. This version came with a royal uniform (including cape) and a removable helmet, although the faceplate was molded to his head.
[edit] External links
- Cobra Commander's page at the Yo Joe action figure archive
- Comprehensive biography of Cobra Commander (comic book version)
- 2004 Presidential Campaign Ad for Cobra Commander
- Another 2004 Campaign Ad for Cobra Commander
- Snake in the Transformer episode: ONLY HUMAN
| Toy Line | G.I. Joe | G.I. Joe Adventure Team | G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero | Action Force | Sgt. Savage and the Screaming Eagles | G.I. Joe Extreme | Hall of Fame | Masterpiece Edition | Timeless Collection | Classic Collection | G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 |
|---|---|
| Comics | List of G.I. Joe comics |
| Animated Series | Sunbow series | DiC series | G.I. Joe Extreme | Sigma 6 |
| G.I. Joe Characters | Duke | Snake-Eyes | Scarlett | Stalker | Hawk | Flint | Lady Jaye | Roadblock | Shipwreck | Cover Girl | List of G.I. Joe ARAH characters |
| G.I. Joe Villains | Cobra Commander | Destro | Baroness | Zartan | Storm Shadow | Dr. Mindbender | Serpentor | Firefly | Overkill |
| Movies | G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987) | Spy Troops (2003) | Valor vs. Venom (2004) |
| Factions | G.I. Joe | Cobra | Dreadnoks | Oktober Guard | Iron Grenadiers | Cobra-La | Arashikage | Phoenix Guard |
| Video Games | G.I. Joe | The Atlantis Factor |
