Cobra Commander

Cobra Commander is a male character who features in G.I. Joe.

Biography

Origin

Cobra Commander

It was said that he personally led uprisings in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other trouble spots around the world. In addition, he was responsible for kidnapping scientists, businessmen and military leaders in order to steal top level secrets from them.

Marvel Comics

While struggling to keep his business afloat, he learned that a car crash had taken the life of his older brother, Dan, who had been driving drunk. Embittered by this tragedy, Cobra Commander became obsessed with vindicating his brother's death. He took specific interest in the surviving son of the family killed in the accident with Dan. That man was the soldier better known as Snake Eyes. Cobra Commander managed to track Snake Eyes to Japan, where he was training to become a member of the Arashikage ninja clan. The Commander hired a mercenary called Firefly to kill him, but Firefly soon realized he was no match for his target, instead referring Cobra Commander to another assassin, Zartan, who infiltrated the clan and shot at Snake Eyes with an arrow stolen earlier from another ninja, Storm Shadow. However, it was not Snake Eyes who was hit, but the clan's leader and Storm Shadow's uncle, Hard Master. Storm Shadow was blamed for the murder and fled in search of the killer. Cobra Commander returned to his domestic life, but after his wife gave birth to a son, Billy, she found out about what had happened in Japan. He took the child and left his wife, becoming increasingly paranoid and blaming all his problems on "the system". He traveled across America with Billy, seeking out people who shared his desire to topple big business and the government, using the money he had earned from pyramid schemes to attract followers. He then moved to the town of Springfield, where the businesses were struggling and the population had become disillusioned with existing policy. He applied his influence to corrupt the township and eventually took control of it. Within the town, he established a clandestine terrorist group called Cobra. For reasons and in ways unknown, Billy left his father and joined the anti-Cobra underground organization. Storm Shadow's search for his uncle's killer eventually led him to Cobra, which Storm Shadow joined, pledging loyalty to Cobra Commander as his personal bodyguard.

For a long time, Cobra remained a clandestine organization, slowly building up its forces and resources. Cobra Commander finally initiated a bold plan by kidnapping renowned nuclear physicist Dr. Adele Burkhart. The U.S. government responded by sending in the G.I. Joe Team to rescue her. Scarlett and Snake Eyes managed to infiltrate the base where the Commander was holding Burkhart hostage. Burkhart tried to sacrifice herself to save the Joes. Scarlett injured the Commander, but he managed to escape. Irked at the Joes' interference, Cobra Commander initiated a plan to let a sophisticated battle robot be captured by the Joes. The robot was meant to be transported to the Joes' headquarters, "The Pit", where it will activate by itself, attempt to escape, and beam the Pit's coordinates back to him. The Joes caught wind of this plan and it failed. Hoping to get a piece of G.I. Joe technology, the Commander initiates a plan to capture the M.O.B.A.T. during an Armed Forces Day parade. Even without ammo, the Joes proved resourceful enough and his command post was exposed. General Flagg almost had him but he was able to use a hostage and make good his escape. He also proved his ability to manipulate those not directly under his control as he let the Joes and the Oktober Guard fight over a spy plane, before having them surrounded and taking the prize away. Despite his flair for a theatrical appearance, he is not a fool to deliberately put himself in danger as the G.I. Joe member named Clutch took hostage a robotic doppelganger instead. Cobra Commander initiated a plan to use Cobra agent, US State Department official Brian Hassel, to assassinate the Al-Alwai Ambassador, thereby souring diplomatic relations between the Gulf nation and America. The plot was foiled by G.I. Joe. In Springfield, Cobra Commander oversaw Dr. Venom's use of the Brainwave Scanner on a captured Snake Eyes. However, he was sceptical of Venom's claims about the machine.

Devil's Due

After his brother's death, the future Commander sought out the surviving son of the family killed by Dan. He found the soldier (Snake Eyes) at a bar, where the Commander saved him from an oncoming truck and the two became friends. They traveled from state to state, acting as vigilantes. One night, Cobra Commander took Snake Eyes to the house of a corrupt Judge who he blamed for the hardships they had both experienced: years before, the judge had presided over a case involving Cobra Commander's brother Dan, who ran a veteran's hospital. The hospital had been burned down by a patient, but the judge ruled that it was insurance fraud; Dan lost everything and turned to drinking, which led to the crash that took his life and the lives of Snake Eyes' family. Realizing where his anger had taken him, Snake Eyes refused to kill the man and walked away. Cobra Commander killed the judge himself and vowed revenge against Snake Eyes for having turned on him.

Years after the G.I. Joe Team has disbanded, Kamakura finds evidence that Cobra Commander has returned to the United States. Snake Eyes forwards this information to Duke, who uses it to have the G.I. Joe Team reinstated. Cobra Commander calls together the members of his organization, to let them know about his plan to take over the United States with nano-mites. Destro is the last to arrive, but after hearing the Commander's plan, he turns the tables on Cobra Commander, and takes control of Cobra. Cobra Commander eventually regains control with the help of Storm Shadow, and creates plans to get revenge on both Destro and Hawk. Later, Storm Shadow breaks free of Cobra's mind control, and contacts Billy for help. Billy recruits Snake Eyes and Kamakura to assist him in rescuing Storm Shadow, but not before Cobra Commander brainwashes him again. A battle between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow ends in a stalemate, leaving Storm Shadow in the control of Cobra Commander.

A distress call from T'Jbang leads the Joes to Tibet, where Cobra Commander and Storm Shadow are hiding with the Red Ninja clan. Snake Eyes defeats their leader Sei Tin, and becomes the new master of the Red Ninja clan. The Joes are then sent on a mission to Cobra Island, where Cobra Commander has returned to power. Meanwhile, Destro is double-crossed by the president of Sierra Gordo, and makes a deal with Duke to deliver Cobra Commander. Destro is traded for Cobra Commander, but not before the Commander shoots Hawk in the back, and in turn is shot from behind by the Baroness. Cobra Commander is freed by the Dreadnoks, and revealed to have been Zartan in disguise. Cobra Commander takes back complete control of Cobra, and sends a unit to destroy The Pit, as Cobra discovers a weather control weapon named the Tempest, and moves it to their new Monolith Base in Badhikstan. Cobra uses the Tempest to unleash the Deathangel Virus on the county of Badhi, as G.I. Joe attacks Cobra's new stronghold. Cobra Commander escapes, but not before shooting Dr. Mindbender, who dies helping G.I. Joe to disable the Tempest. The Red Shadows organization then steps forward, targeting members of both G.I. Joe and Cobra. They are defeated by G.I. Joe, and the team is then deactivated by order of the President, given that Cobra as an organization has fractured, although Cobra Commander remains at large.

IDW

Xamot attempts to set up Cobra Commander to be killed and Chuckles to be blamed, only to learn the Commander knew about this and has outmaneuvered him, giving Chuckles the chance to kill him. Ironically, Chuckles does kill the Commander instead, shooting him through the head. A competition erupted in Cobra to find who will be the replacement, directed by the Cobra Council.

The contest turned out to be who could kill the most Joes: Cobra agents Baroness, Dr. Vargas, Major Bludd, Oda Satori, Tomax, Krake, and Raja Khallikhan were all in the running. Baroness, however, did not believe the Council would make her the Commander as she's a woman - not that this stops her killing Joes. In the end, Krake came to win the competition, largely by revealing that he had killed and replaced one of his rivals with Zartan, doubling his kill score and showing the initiative to break the rules to win.

The first action Krake takes as Commander is to openly invade the Southeast Asian nation of Nanzhao and steal its gold reserves. During the invasion, he destroys heroin poppy fields, so it initially looks to the world like Cobra is overthrowing a brutal regime and fighting the drug trade; it also drives up the price of heroin, a drug Cobra deals in.[64] The Cobra Council are then slaughtered by Krake's agents, giving him full command of Cobra.

Overview

Personality and attributes

The objective of the Cobra Commander was to attain absolute power and gain total control of the world which included its people, its wealth as well as all its resources. He was noted for being totally ruthless and completely devoid of any conscience. The Cobra Commander was dedicated to dominating the world and was able to use a variety of means to achieve this goal that included terrorism, social tyranny and economic slavery. The Cobra Commander was said to be hatred and evil personified who was a man without scruples as well as considered the most dangerous man alive.

Cobra Commander did not delude himself by justifying his actions as matters of principles or glory. He knows he does it for control and power. He is ruthless, hatred-personified, and totally obsessed. A meticulous person, he likes to personally oversee vital projects himself, even engaging in military combat himself on occasion.

His battle plans for world conquest often relied on revolution and chaos.

He was noted for being a fanatical leader who ruled his subordinates with an iron fist. The Commander demanded completely loyalty and allegiance from his followers.

It was said that no Cobra Viper or even officer had ever seen his face though all were familiar with the nasty sound of his voice as he often screeched the Cobra battle cry to the Viper Legions or issued dire threats.

Unlike figures such as Napoleon, the Cobra Commander was said to not be hampered by any need to pretend to be pursing a noble and just cause. Instead, he simply engaged in any act that ultimately provided him money and power.

Powers and abilities

He could operate any Cobra vehicle within the arsenal of the organisation though he was especially fond of the Rat and Parasite that he named himself.

Cobra Commander was known to sometimes wear a special suit of body armour that combined a flexible bullet-proof polymer fabrics with beryllium steel plate components. The suit was air-conditioned, solvent-resistant and ray shielded thus protecting the Cobra leader in the heat of battle. In addition, it was equipped with an integrated commo-system along with internal read-outs for environmental quality and a miniaturised computer display. Each of these suits was expensive and cost as much as a et fighter with the plate parts able to withstand a direct hit from heavy machine-guns and the flexible parts could stop a .357 magnum round. It was believed that the helmet had an anti-tamper device with a direct hook to a half-pound of plastic explosive to prevent anyone from seeing the Cobra Commander's face.

He was the supreme commander of the Cobra Legions where he operated as a contraband arms merchant, international terrorist and real estate swindler. This allowed him access to legions of Cobra Vipers, a small air force and a navy amongst his forces.

The Commander was known to keep track of his most remote Vipers with a radio-controlled buzz-bomb that was a flying surveillance weapon which was equipped with wide-scan view monitors and thermal image enhancements.

Notes

• Cobra Commander was created by Hasbro and featured in the setting of the G.I. Joe universe.
• Writers Chuck Dixon and Mike Costa have said that while the previous Commander allowed his subordinates to "pursue their own goals so long as they kick back to him" and was content to "profit invisibly", Krake "wants to be known and wants to be powerful, and wants to rule the world in the most supervillainy sense... With his leadership, Cobra shifts from a sneaky, shadowy cabal to an actual military presence.
• In ToyFare Q&A: Larry Hama (1998), the character was created by Marvel Comics writer Larry Hama, who envisioned the character as "being in love with the sound of his own voice", and drew inspiration from famous conservative pundit William F. Buckley.

In other media

Television

• In G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Cobra Commander appeared in the 1985 Sunbow animated television series where he was voiced by actor Chris Latta.
• In Transformers, a character resembling Cobra Commander though not named as such appeared in the animated television series where he appeared in the episode "Only Human" and was voiced by actor Chris Latta. This version was simply referred to as Old Snake where he was an arms dealer.
• In G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Cobra Commander appeared in the 1989 DiC animated television series where he was once again voiced by actor Chris Latta but credited as Christopher Collins.
• In G.I. Joe: Renegades, Cobra Commander appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Charlie Adler. This version was re-invented as a businessman named Adam DeCobray who was the CEO of Cobra Industries that was a multinational conglomerate that served as a front for the terrorist Cobra organization. Cobra Commander receives a giant cobra from Doctor Mindbender that he calls Serpentor. During one of Destro's negotiations with Adam DeCobray, Destro's plot to have Doctor Mindbender captured by G.I. Joe is found out causing Cobra Commander to show his true form to Destro. He ends up unleashing Serpentor on Destro, taking control of M.A.R.S. Industries, and placing a metal mask on Destro that only Cobra Commander can remove.
• In G.I. Joe: Resolute, Cobra Commander appeared in the setting of the anime-influenced animated television series where he was voiced by actor Charlie Adler. Cobra Commander's latest plot unraveled when sent his agent, Firefly, to Manhattan in New York City. There, the mercenary fired a specialized missile through a window and it flew into the United Nations HQ. The rocket stuck into the large wall in front of the council during a meeting of theirs. It then activated a hologram of Cobra Commander, sitting in his throne and broadcasting from his base in Springfield. He formally presented himself and referred to his organization as one that the UN tended to dismiss as mere criminals. He told them that he had always believed money brings power, but found that to be an error that has caused him a lot of pain. He then offered them a proposition: to give him complete control of their nations, or he would annihilate them one by one. Drawing his sword to demonstrate his menacing demeanor to the crowd, he knew that they wouldn't take his words seriously and would try to mobilize against him, so he shows his point by showing footage of his super weapon destroying Moscow and all 10,382,754 of its citizens, sparking fear in the eyes of the council members. He then firmly told them that they had twenty-four hours to relinquish all power to him. The sinister hologram then faded, leaving the UN councilors shaken and unsure of what to do. It was later revealed that Cobra Commander himself was responsible for the murder of Major Bludd, having cut his heart in half right in front of his troops. This was because the major attempted to double-cross the commander, and his brutal death served as an example for the rest of the troops. Assembling all of his forces into his large throne room in Springfield, where the cutting of the heart had taken place, Cobra Commander pointed out that he was no longer the coward of a man he once was and revealed he had used that persona to motivate intelligence, and effectively single out traitors. He then declared that he would personally kill anyone who believed he could be overthrown, cutting them up with his sword.

Films

• In G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Cobra Commander appeared in the setting of the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Rexford G. "Rex" Lewis was the younger brother of Ana Lewis where he was once a military science officer alongside Duke, his friend and mentor. When an enemy East African location is destroyed prematurely by an air strike, Rex is presumed dead. However, just prior to the explosion, Rex witnessed McCullen's experimental research on nanomites, conducted by Doctor Mindbender. Surviving the incident, scarred & requiring a special mask to breathe, Rex learns from Mindbender and perfects the nanomites. He uses his own sister as a test subject in creating the Neo-Vipers, making her the Cobra agent known as the Baroness. Rex holds a grudge against Duke for leaving him to die. When Duke is captured, Rex reveals himself, as he attempts to inject Duke with the nanomites, the Baroness overcomes her programming and saves Duke, while Rex escapes with a badly burned McCullen. Rex uses specially made nanomites to heal McCullen's face, which also encases it in a living, silver-like metal. Dubbing him "Destro", Rex puts on a new breathing mask and tells McCullen to call him Commander. Although he is arrested and placed in a high security prison aboard the USS Flagg, Cobra Commander's master plan has only begun, with Zartan disguised as the President of the United States.
• In G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Cobra Commander appeared in the setting of the live-action sequel where he was portrayed by Australian actor Luke Bracey and voiced by actor Robert Baker. Cobra Commander has been transferred from the FLAGG to another high-security prison in Germany alongside Destro, where he is being force-fed a paralyzing drug whilst floating in a water chamber. He was soon broken out by Storm Shadow and Firefly, but Destro was left behind and Storm Shadow was injured as the base is destroyed. After sending Storm Shadow off to the Himalayas to heal, Cobra Commander retreated to his own base of operations, where he met with Zartan who was still disguised as the U.S. President. They then revealed the existence of a superweapon named Project Zeus that used kinetic bombardment to drop large metallic rods that would fall at such speeds that they caused immense destruction on impact. With it, he intended to target several prominent cities with Cobra Commander demonstrating the magnitude of the weapon's power in front of the world's leaders by destroying London. The Joes were ultimately able to stop Cobra Commander before he unleashed the full power of Zeus, but the terrorist leader escaped after the deaths of Zartan and Firefly.

Appearances

• G.I. Joe:

External Links

• G.I. Joe Wiki Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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