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Games - Cobra Organization


The Cobra Organization (officially called Cobra Command) is the fictional nemesis of the G.I. Joe
team, and part of a line of action figures sold by Hasbro
, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
. Though the G.I. Joe toys had been produced since the 1960s, Cobra was introduced when the G.I. Joe line was relaunched in the early 1980s. This relaunch was accompanied by a Marvel comic, written by Larry Hama
, and an animated television series for children. Comic writer Josh Blaylock once compared them to the Legion of Doom. It must be stressed that the portrayal of Cobra and its personnel are different in tone and realism in the animated series, compared to the comic. The animated series chose for Cobra to be an ineffectual bunch of buffoons with a rather odd fantasy background (see Cobra-La, below) compared to the comic which was more hard-edged in tone and portrayed them as a pretty efficient 'real world' political and military machine.

This brief quote from the comics 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

For a comic series predominantly aimed at children, Cobra was a relatively realistic depiction of a highly successful terrorist organisation. With its strong symbolic imagery, charismatic and ruthless leader and fanatical hierarchy, it is obvious the fictional group was based on fascist organisations (as well as S.P.E.C.T.R.E. of James Bond fame). In the comics, Cobra was started by a disillusioned American businessman, beginning as a pyramid scheme and gradually developing into a highly powerful and wealthy private army and terrorist organisation. 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 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 organisation. Terror-Dromes 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.

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

Prominent Members

Though the members of the Cobra Organization are all fighting against G.I. Joe, there are many internal power struggles.
  • 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.
  • Big Boa - A former amateur boxer and street fighter, Big Boa serves as Cobra's head trainer. Vicious, ruthless and tough, Big Boa trains all recruits, molding them into Vipers. He is very loyal to Cobra Commander.
  • Cobra Commander
    - The leader and founder of Cobra. His 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.
  • Cesspool - A shady businessman who was transformed into a psychopath after falling into a vat of chemicals. He leads Cobra's chemical weapons division.
  • Copperhead - A Cobra boat pilot who is known for operating his "Water Mocassin" boat across some swamp. He is presumbly from the Florida Everglades and serves as Cobra's Naval Commander.
  • Destro
    or James McCullen Destro XXIV - A Scotsman who always wears a metal mask (even though in the cartoon the mouth of his mask moves). 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 the combatant parties. Destro has a warped sense of honor and a grudging respect for his G.I. Joe foes.
  • Dr. Knox - Dr. Cassandra Knox originally worked for COBRA, improving on the B.A.T design. After her prototype was destroyed, she began to work for Destro. Dr. Knox replaced Dr. Mindbender after his defection to The Coil.
  • 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 responsilbe for perfecting the Brainwave Scanner. Mindbender is somewhat cowardly, preferring to avoid physical confrontations.
  • Fred VII - A former soldier in the Crimson Guard
    who temporarily impersonated Cobra Commander when he was believed to be dead. He was killed when the real Cobra Commander made his triumphant return.
  • Overkill
    - A cyborg monstrosity created from the remains of a terminally wounded Cobra S.A.W.-Viper named Robert Skelton. He serves as a general for the B.A.T. armies.
  • Scrap Iron - An anti-armor specialist known for his highly advanced and destructive weapons systems, as well as his demands for perfection and tactical mind. He has often worked as a product designer for Destro.
  • Scalpel - The leader of the Medi-Viper corps. He earned his degree from a school that advertised in a magazine and is known for his high patient survival rate, but lack of bedside manner. He works for Cobra because he cannot legally practice medicine anywhere else.
  • Serpentor
    - Created through a breakthrough in cloning research by Dr. Mindbender from the DNA extracted from the unearthed remains of the most ruthless and effective military leaders in history, including Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Attila the Hun, Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Genghis Khan, and Sgt. Slaughter
    (Storm Shadow in the comic). 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 eventually killed by Zartan
    .
  • 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 the leader of his clan, his uncle. It was later revealed that Zartan was 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.
  • 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 some dangerous field mission, he and Xamot are in shirt and tie and 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 liablity, 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 are known more for their skills in the boardroom then on the battlefield.
  • Dr. Venom - A Cobra scientist who played an important role in the first two years of the comic book. He was killed in action, and eventually replaced by Dr. Mindbender.
  • Wild Weasel - An ace pilot who has never been seen outside of his flightsuit, and suffers from an eerie hissing speech impediment caused by an injury. Wild Weasel is arrogant to a fault, favoring the Cobra Rattler. The pilots of G.I.-Joe hate him as a person, but respect him as a pilot.
  • Slice - A Cobra ninja believed to have been involved with the same clan as Storm Shadow
    and Snake-Eyes
    . Slice developed his own patented style of sword place based on the movements and attacks of scorpions. He frequently works with the Cobra ninja Dice.
  • Dice - A cobra ninja that was actually kicked out'' of the Night Creepers for his lack of morals, Dice specializes in particulary brutal martial arts attacks and holds. He is the frequent partner of the Cobra ninja Slice.
  • Crocmaster - Cobra's reptile trainer and animal security supervisor. A former crocodile wrestler and security-installation expert, he is responsible for breeding and training the particularly large and aggressive crocodiles that guard the perimeter of Cobra Island.
  • Raptor - An accountant and falconer who went to work for Cobra after being caught poaching on their property. Raptor works in both Cobra's various business fronts and as a part of their operations to breed and train birds for attack purposes. (Raptor actually dresses in a giant falcon costume and is widely ridiculed as one of the more cartoonish looking characters).
  • Crystal Ball - Cobra's own hypnotist and sometimes interrogator. (The character is widely believed to have been created by or in honor of author Stephen King, who's son was a big fan of G.I. Joe. King is even purported to have written the file card on the back of the character's toy package.)

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Cobra Organization ]


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