Cobra Commander revealed (SPOILERS)

[blockaderunner]

Would this have really been so hard if even a fan can do it??

Found this nice little pic from a convention

How much you want to bet that the woman is his sister who owes him a favor?

Long as she ain't MY sister, I don't care!

She's wearing a mask you know. What if she has some kinda growth or something?

 

[Unicron]

One of my guilty pleasures is that I like Conbra-La, the concept, and that the movie rocked.

I like the concept as well, even though I agree it could have been executed better. The idea of Cobra being a secret front for Cobra-La makes more sense to me than CC being a car salesman turned terrorist. Incidentally, I also like his metal face mask better than the hood.

 

[Meredith]

Robot Chicken does the best cobra commander:

http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episodeID=9253f91310e058ad4d800017126b4067

 

[hyzmarca]

I think that Cobra-La would have worked better if it was called something else, and if it wasn't connected to Cobra. The used car salesman origin for Cobra Commander isn't much better, but I think that Cobra works better as a ruthless terrorist organization than it does as an ancient conspiracy.

 

[God Magnus]

Seriously, though, I loved the Movie. It went all-out into weirdsville--in that respect like Transformers: The Movie (you know, the real one). It wasn't as successful in execution as that movie--nor quite as courageous, for that matter, as Duke lives when Optimus Prime dies--but both take the WTFotron straight to 11.

I love the flick. It's fun and wacky. And I have to say it has one of the nicest updates of a TV theme song and opening sequence of any movie I've seen since. The whole battle at the Statue of Liberty is just wonderfully done.

What I also love is how similar the plots for both movies are. Both involve "new recruits" and a greater element being added to the Joe conflict. They also have big bads who are partly big balls.

 

[Norrin Radd]

I think that Cobra-La would have worked better if it was called something else, and if it wasn't connected to Cobra. The used car salesman origin for Cobra Commander isn't much better, but I think that Cobra works better as a ruthless terrorist organization than it does as an ancient conspiracy.

I disagree actually. The car salesman angle actually makes him even more terrifying to me...a virtual "nobody" is able to create a global terrorist organization through sheer cunning, perserverance, intelligence, and ruthlessness. It brings to mind the chilling possibility that if a "used car salesman" could do this, anybody could do this. Plus, it explores some of the roots of domestic and international terrorism...an overwhelming sense of powerlessness and bitterness in the common person can lead to extreme acts of sickness.

 

[Janus VI]

The idea of Cobra being a secret front for Cobra-La makes more sense to me than CC being a car salesman turned terrorist. Incidentally, I also like his metal face mask better than the hood.

The idea behind CC Comic book origins I think work much better. His character was defined by the growing dissillusionment felt in the 70's by the Vietnam war and Government actions. I always interpreted him as Everyman gone down the wrong path and being irrevocably corrupt.


Uggh and I hate to make this ananlogy but saying CC was a car salesman turned terrorist is like saying Barrack Obama was a community organizer turned President.....there's a few more points to be added in to complete the story.

That face mask was pretty sweet though!

 

[darkwing_duck1]

Originally Posted by Myasishchev
Seriously, though, I loved the Movie. It went all-out into weirdsville--in that respect like Transformers: The Movie (you know, the real one). It wasn't as successful in execution as that movie--nor quite as courageous, for that matter, as Duke lives when Optimus Prime dies--but both take the WTFotron straight to 11.

Duke lived BECAUSE Prime died. They didn't want to go through the firestorm again so they rewrote and revoiced it so he lived.

 

[Norrin Radd]

Originally Posted by Myasishchev
Seriously, though, I loved the Movie. It went all-out into weirdsville--in that respect like Transformers: The Movie (you know, the real one). It wasn't as successful in execution as that movie--nor quite as courageous, for that matter, as Duke lives when Optimus Prime dies--but both take the WTFotron straight to 11.

Duke lived BECAUSE Prime died. They didn't want to go through the firestorm again so they rewrote and revoiced it so he lived.

Yeah, as if anyone really would have cared. Duke doesn't equal Prime.

 

[Captain Craig]

I think that Cobra-La would have worked better if it was called something else, and if it wasn't connected to Cobra. The used car salesman origin for Cobra Commander isn't much better, but I think that Cobra works better as a ruthless terrorist organization than it does as an ancient conspiracy.

Seriously, there was an alternate origin where CC had been a prior used car salesman?!

 

[Capt_Piett]

Agreed Vonstadt; if a fan can make a convincing Cobra Commander costume true to the comics; why couldn't a director with millions in the budget do it? If the Hooded Commander was too offensive to his taste; what was wrong with Mask Commander?

Just a dumb visual; like Deadpool in the Wolverine movie, at least from what we've seen so far.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Buzz Dixon, editor for the second season of Sunbow produced GI JOE cartoons, once revealed that he had plans for the origins of Cobra to be different than Cobra-La. Cobra Commander took over the organization and corrupted its origin goals. In a proposed episode, the real philisophical founder of Cobra would escape and both GI JOE and Cobra would be after him.

But what happened was Hasbro created Serpentor, whom they informed the toon producers was "Cobra Commander's boss" and "he'd been there all along". Dixon told them that didn't work, so he had to make Serpentor fit into the universe; he pitched two ideas, one was that Cobra was the front for a larger secret organization, and the other was that Serpentor was created from DNA of historical figures. Hasbro chose both ideas. "Cobra-La" was just a place holder name, but Hasbro liked that, too.

So the proposed backstory of Cobra as a political movement of sorts had to be discarded.

And Hasbro was more hands off on the comic, but did insist on the inclusion of some characters/toys.

 

[Plecostomus]

I think that Cobra-La would have worked better if it was called something else, and if it wasn't connected to Cobra. The used car salesman origin for Cobra Commander isn't much better, but I think that Cobra works better as a ruthless terrorist organization than it does as an ancient conspiracy.

Seriously, there was an alternate origin where CC had been a prior used car salesman?!

The comics.

Frankly if some nobody in the middle east can whip people into a frenzy to the point where they are blowing up sky-scrapers and attacking Government buildings in the USA and masterminding terrorist attacks around the world then a used car salesman isn't that much of a stretch.

Frankly if you own a used-car-lot you already know how to contact people to get stuff... Cars... parts... repairmen... You know where to order stuff how to organize people...

It's not that much of a stretch that this business-savvy-but-down-on-the-world dude decides to buy an ex-military vehicle and pimp it... hire some thugs... His buddy at the Electronics Factory catches wind and smuggles out a few prototypes.... Word spreads about this dude and his manifesto... more followers join money comes in... and it builds from there.


*shrug* Its plausible provided the system fails to notice what's going on until the terror-org has built up a large force. Kind of like how we let home-grown nutcases build up huge arms stashes THEN raid them.

 

[Janus VI]

Buzz Dixon, editor for the second season of Sunbow produced GI JOE cartoons, once revealed that he had plans for the origins of Cobra to be different than Cobra-La. Cobra Commander took over the organization and corrupted its origin goals. In a proposed episode, the real philisophical founder of Cobra would escape and both GI JOE and Cobra would be after him.

I believe the title to that episode was to be the "the world's most dangerous man" or somethng close to it.

and as far as Serpentor goes; I can't decide which storyline I enjoyed further–Zartan takeing him out with an arow and ending the Cobra Civil war, or CC turning him into an Iguana that runs off never to be seen again.

I think I'll go with the Cobra Civil War Story- much better than Operation Dragonfire. lol

 

[Admiral2]

How much you want to bet that the woman is his sister who owes him a favor?

Long as she ain't MY sister, I don't care!

She's wearing a mask you know. What if she has some kinda growth or something?

Well then she'll just have to keep the mask on, won't she?

 

[Unicron]

The idea behind CC Comic book origins I think work much better. His character was defined by the growing dissillusionment felt in the 70's by the Vietnam war and Government actions. I always interpreted him as Everyman gone down the wrong path and being irrevocably corrupt.

Out of curiosity, having never read the comics, how did they handle CC's personality? That's one area the cartoon could have done better, since he was mostly a one-dimensional villain who usually failed. Characters like Destro and the twins were more cunning and less arrogant, and thus more capable of achieving victory.

 

[SeerSGB]

I think that Cobra-La would have worked better if it was called something else, and if it wasn't connected to Cobra. The used car salesman origin for Cobra Commander isn't much better, but I think that Cobra works better as a ruthless terrorist organization than it does as an ancient conspiracy.

Seriously, there was an alternate origin where CC had been a prior used car salesman?!

The comics.

Frankly if some nobody in the middle east can whip people into a frenzy to the point where they are blowing up sky-scrapers and attacking Government buildings in the USA and masterminding terrorist attacks around the world then a used car salesman isn't that much of a stretch.

Frankly if you own a used-car-lot you already know how to contact people to get stuff... Cars... parts... repairmen... You know where to order stuff how to organize people...

It's not that much of a stretch that this business-savvy-but-down-on-the-world dude decides to buy an ex-military vehicle and pimp it... hire some thugs... His buddy at the Electronics Factory catches wind and smuggles out a few prototypes.... Word spreads about this dude and his manifesto... more followers join money comes in... and it builds from there.


*shrug* Its plausible provided the system fails to notice what's going on until the terror-org has built up a large force. Kind of like how we let home-grown nutcases build up huge arms stashes THEN raid them.

That's what I also liked about the used car salesmen origin: The fact that it was the guy with nothing left to lose, so he's going to set the world on fire to watch it burn.

 

[Admiral2]

The idea behind CC Comic book origins I think work much better. His character was defined by the growing dissillusionment felt in the 70's by the Vietnam war and Government actions. I always interpreted him as Everyman gone down the wrong path and being irrevocably corrupt.

Out of curiosity, having never read the comics, how did they handle CC's personality? That's one area the cartoon could have done better, since he was mostly a one-dimensional villain who usually failed. Characters like Destro and the twins were more cunning and less arrogant, and thus more capable of achieving victory.

Nice thing about the comics. In the cartoon, its like the Harlem Globetrotters vs. their shill team. The fix was in. GIJOE would always win, and since its a series of half hour shows for kids, COBRA's plots in general could never be all that complex, and that could only work if the grand chief looked like a buffoon (Thanks in part to Chris Latta's great voice performance).

There was no such fix in the comics, so CC had to actually look like he knew what he was doing, whether COBRA won or not, and they often did win. The only reason Cobra Island exists is because Cobra created it, then got it recognized as a country and kept the Joes from pushing them off it beforehand. And even though Cobra often lost ad hoc battles, the schemes that kept the organization going - pyramid schemes, arms sales, political intrigue - for the most part went on unchecked. All this is mainly CC's doing. In the comics, Destro, Zartan and the Twins were competitors as often as they were Cobra officers. Only the Baroness was fiercely loyal.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

There was no such fix in the comics, so CC had to actually look like he knew what he was doing, whether COBRA won or not, and they often did win. The only reason Cobra Island exists is because Cobra created it, then got it recognized as a country and kept the Joes from pushing them off it beforehand.

Actually a handful of Joes kicked Cobra's asses, it was only the last minute legal recognition that allowed Cobra to own the island. So, Cobra's fighting bought just enough time...barely.

And even though Cobra often lost ad hoc battles, the schemes that kept the organization going - pyramid schemes, arms sales, political intrigue - for the most part went on unchecked. All this is mainly CC's doing.

True, the comic book Cobra Commander was a crafty CEO and a decent strategist. Tactically speaking, on the actual battlefield, he wasn't much more competent than cartoon counterpart. In the first battle of Cobra island he takes to the field himself and gets trashed. Most of his personally led missions were flops. His attack on an airfield was a minor disaster. He was buried alive in the ruins of the Pit. His later attack on the Pit II was a failure (he claimed it was a test for new radar jammers...).

In the comics, Destro, Zartan and the Twins were competitors as often as they were Cobra officers. Only the Baroness was fiercely loyal.

No, actually she and Major Bludd tried to have C.C. assassinated using the Commander's own son, Billy, as the gunman. She later wholly quit Cobra to live with Destro, only to brainwashed back into Cobra service (when the comic got worse).

The Twins' loyalties were more ambiguous. After Cobra Commander was presumed dead, they served Serpentor, even in the Cobra Civil War, but the Cobra Commander Serpentor fought was an imposter...which they surely knew (because Serpentor did). Later, they were spared from the purge when the real Commander returned.

Major Bludd was not like the cartoon version at all. In the comics he was mostly a hitman. In the toons he was little more than a named field officer.

I know far too much about GI JOE.

 

[Myasishchev]

Seriously, though, I loved the Movie. It went all-out into weirdsville--in that respect like Transformers: The Movie (you know, the real one). It wasn't as successful in execution as that movie--nor quite as courageous, for that matter, as Duke lives when Optimus Prime dies--but both take the WTFotron straight to 11.

I love the flick. It's fun and wacky. And I have to say it has one of the nicest updates of a TV theme song and opening sequence of any movie I've seen since. The whole battle at the Statue of Liberty is just wonderfully done.

What I also love is how similar the plots for both movies are. Both involve "new recruits" and a greater element being added to the Joe conflict. They also have big bads who are partly big balls.

I love the part where Lieutenant Falcon opens the Matrix of Leadership.

Duke lived BECAUSE Prime died. They didn't want to go through the firestorm again so they rewrote and revoiced it so he lived.

Really? Oh well, what might've been.

As for CC being a used car salesman, you could just as easily say that Hitler was a failed artist, Stalin was a passionate seminary student, and bin Laden was a bored construction worker.