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bravo
06-18-2007, 02:50 PM
OK what if cobra never came back, would dsetro and The Iron Grenadiers try to run out the joes or would a new enemy.
cobras run down
Cobra Commander - The leader and founder of Cobra. His disfigured face is always obscured either by a hood with only his eyes visible or by a high tech battle helmet with various security features integrated into it. He is regarded as the most dangerous man on Earth, because he can draw followers to him. He is hatred personified, a madman with the drive of a fanatic. Only Baroness and Destro have seen his face. He was temporarily deposed by Serpentor.
Serpentor - The Cobra Emperor, created through a breakthrough in cloning research by Dr. Mindbender from the DNA extracted from the remains of the most ruthless and effective military leaders in history, including Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Attila the Hun, Alexander the Great, Hannibal, and Genghis Khan, as well as Sgt. Slaughter. (In the comics, Storm Shadow is the 10th and only live source of DNA, instead of Sgt. Slaughter.) In addition to his genetic disposition to greatness, an early experiment also gave him access to the brain patterns of G.I. Joe HALO jumper Ripcord, allowing him to use their strategies against them. He was seemingly killed by Zartan, only to be revived later by a secret cabal of scientists known as "The Coil".
Destro or James McCullen Destro XXIV - A Scotsman who always wears a metal mask (in the cartoon the mouth of his mask moves, explained by a form of nanotech/liquid metal in later comics). He has often tried to take over leadership of Cobra. Destro is an arms dealer and his number one client is Cobra. He is the hereditary leader of M.A.R.S. (Military Armaments Research Syndicate) and uses his personal army, the Iron Grenadiers, to start conflicts in order to sell weapons to all of the combatants' parties. Destro has a warped sense of honor and a grudging respect for his G.I. Joe foes.
The Baroness or Baroness Anastasia DeCobray - The daughter of European aristocrats, she serves as Cobra's Director of Intelligence, and is romantically involved with Destro.
Dr. Mindbender - A mad scientist of startling intellect. He has several mind-control devices. He is also quite accomplished with genetic manipulation. He is responsible for the creation of Serpentor, the Cobra B.A.T. as well as responsible for perfecting the Brainwave Scanner. Though he is quite muscular, Mindbender is somewhat cowardly, preferring to avoid physical confrontations. Dr. Mindbender has a long history of circus performances. He started his career in the late 1800s making a living creating crazy new contraptions for the Wild West Circus. Upon Sitting Bull's death, Mindbender vowed revenge and left the circus for Barnum and Bailey. Here, he honed his mind-control skills and met one of Cobra's Viper Scouts. Interested in what they had to say, Mindbender passed a series of trials to join Cobras forces. Among these were fighting them all at once and stealing the Holy Grail.
Tomax - Along with his mirror twin brother Xamot, he is the leader of the Crimson Guard and the respectable corporate face of Cobra. When not engaged in dangerous field missions, he and Xamot are in shirt and tie, managing Cobra's business affairs. Tomax and his twin brother share an empathic connection. While this is often useful, as it allows them to communicate wordlessly and finish each others sentences, it is also a liability, as they feel each other's pain during fights.
Xamot - Mirror twin brother of Tomax and leader of the Crimson Guard. Xamot looks identical to Tomax except for the fact Xamot has a scar on the right side of his face. Also, one twin has the Cobra insignia on the right side of his body, and the other has it on the left. The twins run a corporation called Extensive Enterprises and are known more for their skills in the boardroom than on the battlefield.
Storm Shadow or Thomas "Tommy" Arashikage - A ninja who trained in martial arts and military service alongside G.I. Joe operatives Snake-Eyes and Stalker. He brought Snake-Eyes into his clan; the two are sword brothers. He joined Cobra with the intention of finding the man who killed his uncle, the leader of his clan. It was later revealed that Zartan and Firefly were in fact responsible, but Storm Shadow was never able to avenge his master's death. He eventually was brainwashed and began working for Cobra in earnest.
Zartan - The leader of the Dreadnoks, as well as a master spy and assassin. He is a master of disguise, able to be anyone anytime he wishes. Thanks to genetic experimentation, Zartan is also capable of changing his skin color to blend in with his background. This special ability is disrupted by sunlight.
Dreadnoks - Led by Zartan, his siblings and daughter, the Dreadnoks are gang of bikers who pull jobs for Cobra when finesse is not required and brute force is needed. Zartan used them for backup and brought them with him when he joined Cobra
The Cobra organization had its beginnings when the man who would become Cobra Commander settled in a town called Springfield. Bringing his hate of the government whom he blames as among the causes of his misfortunes, he recruited other people who were in the same situation as he was. Springfield was a perfect place to start the organization as the town itself had fallen on hard times and the population was disillusioned. Soon, the organization was growing with the entry of like-minded individuals from all over the country. Much of Cobra’s early funding came from pyramid schemes initiated by Cobra Commander.

As explained in G.I. Joe #10, the precursor to COBRA was a Amway-like company called Arbco. When the government courts rule that Arbco is an illegal pyramid scheme, its founder, who later becomes Cobra Commander, swears revenge on the government by forming a terrorist organization called Cobra, an anagram of Arbco. This brief quote from the comic gives an insight into the motivation for the creation of Cobra:

"I'm not going to be ground under the wheels of big government!... I'm going to create an underground organization that will bypass government restrictions, and garner power through terrorism and extortion!... I won't stop until my organization coils around the whole world like a giant cobra!"-- Cobra Commander, circa. 1978

In a very short time, it became more like a military organization. Motivated by greed and power, the group soon expanded all over the country, operating in secret. Soon, they were engaging in terrorism to achieve their objectives. By the time the US government recognized Cobra as a threat, the evil organization had already gained footholds around the world.

Cobra soon developed into a highly powerful and wealthy private army and terrorist organization. Many of its members (especially those in the elite Crimson Guard units) lead normal lives to outside eyes, supporting Cobra covertly. Cobra seemed to attract members on the promise of fast financial rewards and power for those willing to be ruthless enough. It also seems to have an ideological basis of creating a world of order and strength (its 'model community' of Springfield was one example of the Cobra ideal).

Cobra would eventually achieve a temporary legitimacy by the artificial creation of Cobra Island - which was recognized (to the dismay of the Joe Team) as an independent nation by the international community. This allowed Cobra to have diplomatic facilities in the United States via the Cobra consulate.

Cobra made a lot of their money by selling arms to third world nations, this started during Serpentor's tenure. This led to a clash with Destro's MARS organization (who provided Cobra with much of its arms). Terrordromes are a particularly popular product amongst Cobra clients who are often local dictators in poor nations. Cobra precipitate conflicts in such nations in order to sell arms to opposing sides.

For a comic series predominantly aimed at children, Cobra was a relatively realistic depiction of a highly successful terrorist organization. With its strong symbolic imagery, charismatic and ruthless leader and fanatical hierarchy, it is obvious the fictional group was based on terrorist and fascist organizations (as well as SPECTRE of James Bond fame and the similar Marvel Universe organization, HYDRA).

Larry Hama depicted Cobra troops as being motivated by money, power and a sense of brotherhood. However, they are not fanatical to the point where they would fight to the last man and to the last breath. If all is lost, they would willingly surrender or run away had they the chance, something their leaders rarely let them do. The brutal training depicted in the file cards of the troopers are very much characteristic of ritualistic hazing.

The only instance that has shown Cobra as a suicidal fanatical organization was in issue #8 where the troopers willingly let themselves blow up on a boat after their loss.

ok do you think destro would try to run out the joes or do you think the coil would comeback, or do you think a new enemy. is in line,?
decision board is open....

lehsreh
06-18-2007, 03:07 PM
[COLOR=Red]if cobra commander hadnt came back then sepentor would now be the leader and the joes may be on the losing end.[/COLOR]

bravo
06-18-2007, 04:19 PM
[QUOTE=lehsreh][COLOR=Red]if cobra commander hadnt came back then sepentor would now be the leader and the joes may be on the losing end.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]
what make you think sepentor would run out the joes. hes no better then c.c.
now if c.c. didnt come back then sepentor would still be on ice.
right now it still looks better for destro and Iron Grenadiers .

lehsreh
06-18-2007, 04:46 PM
[COLOR=Red]only because if CC hadnt come back he would have had the whole cobra army as well as the noks and maybe even destro on his side. since CC wouldnt have been around destro would have had to have someone to sell to, so sepentor would have been it. he was close to beating out G.I. Joe and cobra at the same time, so without CC, and with the full force of all of cobra i think he would have won a major battle over G.I. Joe. putting them on the run, fighting more as freedom fighters.[/COLOR]

bravo
06-18-2007, 04:52 PM
good point. but what if there was a new enemy.
do you think thay will be better to beat the joes or would it same the same.

Lava Boss
06-18-2007, 07:14 PM
Money and power absolutely, but I don't recall a sense of brotherhood amongst the Cobra troops. In fact Big Boa's file card says "They aren't motivated by patriotism, unit loyalty, honor, or sense of duty."

Of course that's referring to the lowest ranks troopers or vipers (the Vipers attract "the greedy, envious and cruel". not qualities that mesh with legit brotherhood).

Also note Cobra Commander's 1991 filecard

"This guy's in it for the money and power and if anybody is interested in these things, he can pick up an assault rifle and get in line behind him."

Anyway, it's odd how many fan story creators ignore both of those Hama written lines.


Back more on subject...I think in 1988 Destro's army should've gotten the majority of "enemy" toys...they should've pushed the Iron Grenadiers as the bold major foe overtaking a fractured, in-fighting Cobra in terms of being a threat to the world. Like the commercial "DESTRO'S BACK! HE'S OUT TO CONQUER THE WORLD ON HIS OWN!!!"

I was disappointed when the IG's ended and by 1992...the line had rebooted, Destro and C.C. were where they started...the toy's "storyline" dwindled. Some fans preferred it that way...nothing every changing...like Storm Shadow remaining a Cobra. Kinda dull...Hasbro was smart to shake things up...even when some ideas flopped (Cobra La), the efffort was their to keep the line and the saga fresh.

lehsreh
06-18-2007, 07:54 PM
[QUOTE=bravo]good point. but what if there was a new enemy.
do you think thay will be better to beat the joes or would it same the same.[/QUOTE]

[COLOR=Red]yeah, there would have to have been anew enemy. maybe from a foreign power. maybe from the us itself, maybe a joe traitor who took some other joes who werent pleased with him. maybe scar from extreme. i know most people hate them, thats ok, i hate snake eyes so i know how it feels when some one likes something that most hate, but cobra la would have been cool in my book, if they were done right, without the serpentor storyline. their one enemy i think could have taken the joes. oh by the way, i guess you can tell from all the post i do on your threads that i like the ideas you come up with.[/COLOR]

Jay
06-18-2007, 10:40 PM
[QUOTE=lehsreh][COLOR=Red]if cobra commander hadnt came back then sepentor would now be the leader and the joes may be on the losing end.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]
Uh. Serpy died at Zartan's arrow long before Cobra Commander came back. Fred would've still been in charge of Cobra.

Urban Saboteur
06-19-2007, 05:32 AM
In all fairness it was proved Serpentor was no better than Cobra Commander. I think if Cobra Commander wasn't around..
I'd of liked to have seen Destro and the Iron Grenadiers get a stronger marketing and story push. I dont think we seen enough of them. Consider Destro wouldn't have to go to an arms dealer? Nope because he already is the arms dealer..
Consider he'd need money.. nope.. destro has that from arms trades and his Iron Grenadiers creating new marketing opportunities where there wasnt any previously.

If cobra had to exist.. I'd of not brought back Serpentor.. killed off Cobra Commander sent Baroness to stay with Destro.. and undoubtedly let Cobra be run by Overlord. He's a dictator and would be good at organizing the new cobra forces.

I wouldn't have Zartan as the leader, he's always been the leader of the subgroup the drednoks. As part of a new era.. I'd have it that way.. Overlord running cobra and Destro with the I.G subgroup.
GI joe would be fighting on two fronts continuously.. which is hard for any time to continue.
Rich

lehsreh
06-19-2007, 07:50 AM
[QUOTE=Jay]Uh. Serpy died at Zartan's arrow long before Cobra Commander came back. Fred would've still been in charge of Cobra.[/QUOTE]
[COLOR=Red]
he did, but he was brought back in DD by the coil. i know many people dont like DD, heck im not crazy about it, but theres tons of thing i hated about marvel too. snake eyes being a demi god, killing off some great characters. if im abiding by marvels run, then im also going by DD, action force and what influenced me the most, the cartoons. so he came back, and if CC wasnt there, it would have been totally different. who knows, maybe mind binder would have came to power.[/COLOR]

bravo
06-19-2007, 03:53 PM
[QUOTE=Jay]Uh. Serpy died at Zartan's arrow long before Cobra Commander came back. Fred would've still been in charge of Cobra.[/QUOTE]
ok but zartan then would led a new cobra then, can yo see him a a new enemy,or desrto still in the run?