Cobra Commander

Villains Beginning With 'C'

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1st appeared G.I. JOE # 1 (1982-),
G.I. Joe franchise (1964-)

The following text appeared on the Character Dossier Card which came with the original Cobra Commander action figure:

Absolute power! Total control of the world... its people, wealth and resources - that's the objective of Cobra Commander. This fanatical leader rules with an iron fist. He demands total loyalty and allegiance. His main battle plan, for world control, relies on revolution and chaos. He personally led uprisings in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other trouble spots. Responsible for kidnapping scientists, businessmen and military leaders, then forcing them to reveal their top level secrets.

Cobra Commander is hatred and evil personified. Corrupt. A man without scruples.

In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, a bitter man, warped by personal tragedy and his failed business, drove off into America, blaming all his miseries on big business and big government. He had become paranoid to the extreme and decided that if the system was against him, he would create his own system. Traveling the country, he lived in various towns, moving from one motel to another, finding people just like him who blamed their lives' failures on everyone but themselves. He got them involved in pyramid schemes, selling cleaning products and magazines. Using the profits from his shady businesses, he gained followers who agreed with everything he said. Soon, he wasn't just their boss, he was their leader. Finally he was a success, and he was in control. His power only served to feed his ego, making him believe he was as great as his followers thought he was. He had finally found a town that seemed to be made for him: Springfield. Springfield had been a nice little town, but its businesses were failing and its people were becoming disillusioned. The townpeople listened to this man's lies and he soon became the most powerful person in town. Soon, he corrupted the entire town and became their savior. In that small town somewhere in America, a secret organization was founded, its goal to wrap around the entire world like a giant Cobra. The organization became known as Cobra Command, and the man who founded it became known only as Cobra Commander.

By 1982, Cobra was an international organization. Cobra Commander recruited the terrorist known as the Baroness, who served as his lieutenant. Cobra agents spread through the Third World, using terrorism to subvert foreign governments. One of the G.I. Joe team's earliest missions was to free an American ambassador from Cobra agents working in the middle east. The little South American nation of Sierra Gordo was another of Cobra's earliest victims. Unstable governments became Cobra's playground. While G.I. Joe had once been an anti-terrorist organization, it almost exclusively fought Cobra as time went on. The two groups became bitter enemies. The Joes fought Cobra Commander's schemes to assassinate foreign ambassadors and subvert the government of the United States. Cobra used the confusion of the Cold War to its advantage, fighting not only America's G.I. Joe team, but also the Soviets' October Guard.

SUMMARY

ARCH RIVAL :	G.I. Joe.
STRENGTHS :	Most dictators and would-be Napoleon types are hampered by the need to pretend that they are pursuing a noble and just cause. Cobra Commander doesn't have that problem. This guy's in it for the money and the power, and if anybody else is interested in these things, they can pick up an assault rifle and get in line behind him.
WEAKNESSES :	None.
WEAPONS :	Military weapons (includes futureistic weapons).
QUOTE :	"I shall be waiting to reward your genius, or to have you beheaded for terminal stupidity! I have spoken. "