Differing Perceptions!
 

My recent aquistition of a "Pimp Daddy Destro" has really refueled my interest in GI Joe. Even with the crappy 25th figures! The funny thing was I was chatting with someone about my review of PDD, and we were talking about his style and my perception of him. We seemed to be on the same page until it came to his voice. I said I imagined his voice as something between Richard Simmons and Carson Kressly (From Queer Eye for the Straight Guy)...Flamboyant, Hollywood-esque and giving the perception he is gay (I came to this by the fact that my perception of him is as a socialite and hanging with Hollywood Jet setters) I imagine his mannerisms like the animated version of "Cruella Deville" from Disney's "101 Dalmations". Wildly marching around, swinging his arms, being loud in not only his voice, but his mannerisms! That when I realized our common perception of him matched as far as clothing, job and background, but not as far as personality was concerned!

My Friend was seeing him as having a voice of Issac HAyes and the demeanor of Lawerence Fisburne in "Deep Cover". Moody, Broody and deadly serious!

This got me to thinking...one of the reasons why I hated the Cartoon was it's portrayal of Cobra Commander. Whiney, sniveling, weak. High pitched unrealistic voice and behavior. How could a guy like that build the ultimate terrorist Organization? Then it got me to thinking....could someone with a voice of Richard Simmons and dressing like Liberace be taken serious? How could someone who could be perceived as weak due to his mannerisms create an empire of vice. Was I making the wrong assumption about how to portray this character?

The I thought....Why not? The first "Gay" villan! (Well, he's not gay, but he acts in what has been typically used as stereotypical "Gay" behavior....loud, boisterous, flamboyant, etc...) He is Dangerous because he can sit there and be telling you "Babe, we're fine....we're still friends......(with his wrist bent at 90 degrees reminding you of Nathan Lane in "the BirdCage") " then in a flash of silver reach out and cut your throat with a straight razorhe had in his palm...and never quit smiling! Then sit back and drink Merlot as you bleed out on his zebraskin couch.

I like this character, because I've created what I think "The Joker" was supposed to be like in "Batman"...unpredictable and lethal, but never geting away from his Jocular demeanor!

A lot of people pass on PDD because of his outlandish and unrealistic attire. He doesn't "fit" in their JoeVerse..I can understand that! I saw intergrating him into the JoeVerse as a Challenge...and what I've come up with give me a Character that can inject comedy into a scene, but can also interact with Destro and have a Family loyalty issue going on.....there is a dynamic there that will challenge what we see as stereotypical!

You'll see more of him in "Enemy of My Enemy 3!'...coming soon! ;)



Let me throw out a few question you can answer if you want...you don't have to answer all of them...answer ones that hit you personally.....or just comment on what others have said...

1. ) Is there a character that "speaks to" you?

2. ) Is there a character you have felt "challenged" to add to your JoeVerse and came up with what you think is a valid way to intergrate him?

3. ) Could you see a character that has passive, flamboyant behavior one minute and lethal the next as being legit?

Frank, in answer to your third question....yes, absolutely. The ones you least expect to kill are the most dangerous because they cause you to let your guard down. It's like the quiet dog that looks disinterested that suddenly turns and bites without warning. Look at someone like Ted Bundy...a charming and flirtatious killer.

I'll disagree with you there! Chris Latta is the man!

GIJoe CGI movies and Sigma 6 have been making it a practice to still mimic his voice work.

Cobra Commander in the cartoon was insane, selfish, and greedy. Latta's high pitched, snake like voice was perfect and to me, one of the most enduring aspects of Cobra Commander's character. When I read the comics, I hear that voice.

Terrorism as a means of global domination is pretty cowardly on the whole, so I have no problems with Cobra Commander being protrayed as spineless. I don't think there's anything about him that is brave, cartoon or comic, otherwise, he wouldn't be doing what he's doing. He wouldn't be Cobra Commander.

the one character that spoke to me as a kid was Duke, his leadership skills in the cartoon and comics just made him stand out in my mind and Duke has remained my favorite character

the one character i've had trouble integrating has been serpentor simply because in my joeverse Cobra Commander isn't a coward or weak and is the supreme cobra leader so having someone who is supposed to be the cobra emperor isn't easy

the one character i see like that is Zandar and not because of the pink scarf, i just see him being kind of out there when he speaks and people don't take him serious but when it comes to business he gets deadly serious

so those are my answers :D

I have always felt challenged to actually put Duke in my joe verse.
He's a leader and everything buy, c'mon dude. the guy is probably over 70 by now!!! When they first created the joes duke was always looking bout in his 20's.

And you have to think,

Bleach blond hair,
never changes his age,
always looks the same. (Botox)

So if theres anyone in the joe verse who should sound like Carson it would be Duke!!!

In terms of Destro, it's hard to get past the cartoon and even the CGI movies. Personally, I see his voice like Avery Brooks. That'd be Benjamin Sisko of Deep Space 9 (Or "A Man Called Hawk").

In terms of Cobra Commander, I feel that the guy went thru a lot of changes throughout the cartoon. From fairly competent duder who wanted to take over the world to a lackey and buffoon to a snake, then a half human. His voice changed over time to. I'm not the biggest fan of the cartoon anymore, but his voice has stuck with me. The personality on the other hand... He is NOT anything like the cartoon in my Joeverse.

For #2, there have been a lot of characters that I can't seem to integrate into my Joeverse. With the exception of Falcon, my Joeverse is based on nu skulpts so if someone like Ice Cream Soldier wasn't remade, then he's not part of verse. Someone like Quick Kick and Doc are dead (as per the comic). But when Hasbro brought in someone like Sgt Hacker, I had no real place for him. I didn't care for the figure, y'know? Red Spot and Widescope have a hard time in verse. Course, I just gave Red Spot away. But Widescope? You'd think there'd be a spot in my verse for a SWAT/Security type of guy, but the reality is, there isn't. I can't use him on normal military missions due to his paint scheme. Someone like Footloose and Crosshair are far more versatile. And versatility is what I need in my 'verse.

As for Destro, I always read him using the voice of Robert Carlyle (Begbie from Trainspotting).

1. ) Is there a character that "speaks to" you?

Cobra Commander. Forget how he was portrayed in the cartoon, although I did dig the voice casting by Chris Latta, I hated his personality. He retreated in every episode. Cobra never won, it was hard to imagine how this guy became the leader of a terrorist organization such as Cobra. Now, CC in the comics, he was ruthless. He oozed charisma. He had a presence, one that allowed you to believe that this was the man that convinced an entire town and later third world countries that he was the answer to the future. The man had a silver tongue, forked as it may have been, but he was able to infiltrate the white house for over a year. It's that kind of genius and ruthlessness that spoke volumes to me when I was younger.

2. ) Is there a character you have felt "challenged" to add to your JoeVerse and came up with what you think is a valid way to intergrate him?

One word: Serpentor. I never bought into the whole creating a clone from the greatest warriors of time and downloading current events and cobra loyalty from Mindbender. I thought what a bunch of crap. But, I do have a Serpentor in my JoeVerse. He was an elite viper, the highest mission completion ratio and most skilled cobra warrior. He had turned down opportunity to enter the CG's on multiple occasions because he loved frontline combat so much. He caught word of a virtual reality combat trainer that Mindbender had developed and submitted himself to be the first human volunteer for it. The VR Trainer immersed himself into different time periods so he could participate in different types of battles. During the sessions, he wore a VR suit that continually pumped nutrients into his system and also kept his adrenalin levels jacked to the max (think of the Heavy Water suit) and the continual strain upon his mind caused it to snap, he no longer could separate the past from present, himself from the leaders he would emulate in training sessions. So he believed himself to be an amalgam of the world's greatest leaders, and using his nutrient suit, fashioned it into a snakelike armor and became the ultimate Cobra soldier, Serpentor.

3. ) Could you see a character that has passive, flamboyant behavior one minute and lethal the next as being legit?

Chuckles. I see Chuckles as this happy go lucky loud and obnoxious character when he interacts with others, but when push comes to shove, he is the most deadly operative the Joes have to offer.

so in other words its like on God of War? you die and then you find a way to get back in the living world.