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. 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. In the opening credits of the G.I. Joe cartoon series, they are billed as "a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world".

Contents

1 Characters 2 Troops 3 Bases 4 Mercenaries 5 Cobra-la

Characters

Though the members of the COBRA Organization are all fighting against G.I. Joe, there are many internal power struggles.

• Baroness or Baroness Anastasia DeCobray - A mysterious woman who operates independently, but often allies herself with Destro.
• Cobra Commander - The leader of COBRA who is also the founder of the organization. His face is always obscured by a mask or a veil. Only Baroness and Destro have seen his face. He was temporarily deposed by Serpentor.
• Cesspool - A shady business man who was transformed into a psychopath after falling into a vat of chemicals and lead the Cobra Eco-Warriors.
• Copperhead - A COBRA boat pilot who is known for operating his "Water Mocassin" boat across some swamp. He is presumbly from the Florida Everglades.
• Destro or James McCullen Destro - A man who always wears a metal mask (even though in the cartoon the mouth of his mask moves). He often operates independently and frequently attempts to wrest control of COBRA from Cobra Commander. Destro is an arms dealer and his number one client is Cobra. Destro has a warped sense of honor and a grudging respect for his G.I. Joe foes.
• Dr. Mindbender - A mad scientist of startling intellect. He has several mind-control devices. He is also quite accomplished with genetic manipulation.
• Fred VII - A former soldier in the Crimson Guard who temporarily impersonated Cobra Commander when he was believed to be dead.
• Scrap Iron - An anti-armor specialist who is known for carrying a portable anti-armor missile launcher on his shoulder.
• 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 and Genghis Khan. In addition to his genetic disposition to greatness, an early experiment also gave him access to the brain patterns of G.I. Joe troop Ripcord, allowing him to use their strategies against them. He was eventually killed by Zartan.
• Storm Shadow or Tommy Arashikage - A ninja who trained in martial arts and military service alongside Snake Eyes. He joined COBRA with the intention of murdering Cobra Commander, who he believed had been responsible for the death of his master. 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. Tamox 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.
• Dr. Venom - A COBRA scientist who played an important role in the first year of the comic book.
• Wild Weasel - An ace pilot who wears a red flight suit and helmet and flies a COBRA ground-attack jet called the "Rattler". He once engaged in an aerial duel with his G.I. Joe counterpart Ace which ended in a draw.
• 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.

Troops

There are several different elite fighting units within COBRA, each of which is trained in different types of combat. During the many power struggles within the COBRA organization, they are usually leveraged against each other. In the animated series, COBRA troops were usually portrayed as ineffectual bumblers.

From Hasbro's perspective, each new type of troop was an opportunity to release another collectible action figure, as each of the teams had different costumes. The original COBRA soldier uniform was a basic navy blue uniform with black gloves and boots; a large COBRA insignia, of varying colors depending on rank, was emblazoned on the chest, and the soldier's identity was concealed by a black cloth scarf worn over the mouth and nose. Later COBRA uniforms became more elaborate and fanciful; for example, Vipers wore a smooth silver face mask similar to that sometimes used by Cobra Commander.

• Battle Android Troopers or B.A.T.S - Mindless robot soldiers, designed by Dr. Mindbender, who march into combat in a relentless and suicidal manner.
• Cobra Troopers - COBRA's original infantry troops who wear a blue uniform featuring a large COBRA insignia on the front torso. The same uniform is worn by Cobra Officers who act as junior field leaders.
• Crimson Guard - COBRA's elite troopers led by twin brothers Tomax and Xamot. They wear a red uniform that is distinctly smart and which features a large COBRA insignia on the front torso. They also function as bodyguards for the leader of COBRA.
• Crimson Strike Team - Cobra Vipers that beef up the Crimson Guard's ranks, led by the Baroness.
• Eco-Warriors - Led by Cesspool. Aimed to destroy the environment.
• Eels - COBRA's frogmen. Some of these were subjected to genetic enhancements and became the more elite Morays.
• Iron Grenadiers - Destro's personal army. They were originally the guards for his castle, but he later branched out and they fought as an independent army.
• Snow Serpents - COBRA's arctic climate soldiers.
• Sonic Fighters - Led by Major Bludd, the Sonic Fighters used sound-powered weapons.
• Star Brigade - COBRA's outer space unit.
• Strato-Vipers - COBRA's elite pilots who operate COBRA's "Night Raven" attack jets.
• Tele-Vipers - COBRA troopers who carry communications equipment and are responsible for establishing, maintaining and disrupting communication lines.
• Python Patrol - This patrol specialized in stealth. In the cartoon, they were the counterparts to Sgt. Slaughter's Marauders. The special 'pythonization' process that gave their outfits the interesting scale pattern makes them invisible by radar.
• Vipers - COBRA's regular infantry troops.

Bases

• Castle Destro - Desto's fortress in Scotland. Training ground for the Iron Grenadiers.
• Cobra Embassy - A highrise in New York City used by COBRA as an embassy and base of operations after Cobra Island was declared a sovereign nation.
• Cobra Island - The primary base of COBRA operations.
• Springfield - A small anonymous town in middle America, which COBRA secretly operated as a base. Many covert operations were held there, including the creation of Serpentor.

Mercenaries

• Dreadnoks - A team of Australian mercenaries who are frequently contracted for various jobs by Cobra Commander.
• Firefly - A terrorist and saboteur who works for COBRA but demands immediate payment of fees into his Swiss bank accounts. Later exposed as a lost ninja master.
• Kwinn - An Inuit mercenary who only appeared in the first year of the comic book. An mercenary with a strong code of honor, he had previously worked for the CIA, Mossad, MI-6, and the KGB, and worked with COBRA in Sierra Gordo. He would later renounce his life as a mercenary, only to be betrayed and killed by Dr. Venom, who the Inuit would later get his revenge on posthumously.
• Major Bludd or Sebastian Bludd - An Australian mercenary with extensive combat experience who worked for COBRA from time to time. He is proficient in the use of every infantry weapon and writes bad poetry. Major Bludd's biggest assignment for COBRA was the assassination of General Flagg, the original leader of the G.I. Joe team.
• Zartan - The leader of the Dreadnoks. Through an unexplained ability, he is able to camouflage his appearance. His disguises are disrupted by contact with sunlight.

Cobra-la

In the G.I. Joe Movie, it is revealed that the operations of the COBRA Organization are controlled by a 40,000 year-old underground civilization called Cobra-la, whose snake-like inhabitants were driven underground by the advent of humankind. Though they control most of the COBRA operatives through mind-controlling chemicals, Cobra Commander is actually of their race. Cobra-la make extensive use of biotechnology, such as body armor made out of crustacean carapaces, and motion detection systems using spider-webs. The movie was not well received, and the Cobra-la story arc was all but abandoned in future plotlines.