Right you are Frank. There would be no "Joe Civil War." But the idea of ego-manicial mad-men having a schism, yeah, that could happen. It is plausible.

I agree with Otter's point as well. Cobra gives you more freedom to go out there with your ideas. But I do like the Joes more. I asked my sons, as they seem to favor Cobra oftentimes as well. Their reply: "Dad, they are just so cool!"

There would be no need for an elite force of Joes if there wasn't an uber-evil group like Cobra rolling around. If there was no Cobra, regular forces could handle most contingencies. So I like the idea of Cobra because it results in a "need" for a force like the Joes. And having to BE better PUSHES them to be better.