See description for notes on video. Wether it be due to lab accidents, degenerative spores, magic rituals, and more, here's all of Cobra Commander's many changes throughout the original G.I. Joe continuity. Christopher Collins was an incredible voice actor, and I thank him for bringing us this fantastic character, along with many others.
@@JLvatron But he has human eyes when wearing the hood in the original series, as opposed to the blue reptillian eyes he has in the movie. I'll say it again, inconsistant.
The last one was the BEST one! I always loved how Cobra Commander was in that episode of Transformers! And the way Cobra Commander said, "They simply don't make terrorists the way they used to!" is truly legendary!
R.I.P. Chris Latta what a GREAT VOICE TALENT. All the Cobra Commander wanted to do was rule the world and he was constantly being usurped by his subordinates.
When I saw the GI Joe movie in 1987 and Cobra Commander was slowly transformed into a snake, it messed me up. He was an absolute villain, but he didn't deserve that fate. When the new episodes came out a year or two later, and he got his revenge on Supentor by devolving him into a lizard, I absolutely relished the shift in power. Cobra Commander was far more interesting than Supentor.
@@altarush thing is, he didn’t WANT to. He felt that Cobra was his. And I mean… can you blame him? He helped make the organization it was basically his by right
I like the fact that for the DIC series, they used the same design as the 2nd Cobra Commander(Fred VII) from the Marvel comics continuity. That's pretty cool.
Chris Latta aka Collins was one of the greatest VAs of his time. Right up there with Peter Cullen and Frank Welker. And not only was he the VA for Cobra Commander, but the original Starscream too in Transformers G1.
Cobra Commander was voiced by the same voice actor as Starscream from the Transformers. Did you know that both Starscream and Cobra Commander originated as scientists in their respective cartoons?
@@garyfrombrooklyn I have seen conflicting reports that they recorded that final scene twice, first with the actual "COBRA!!!" and Old Snake laughing maniacally and then the version we see in the episode. The animation tends to bear this theory out.
it’s not the only connection either: the female military officer in the series is the daughter of Lady Jaye and Flint putting the show firmly in their future
@@bostonrailfan2427 That's right - Marissa Fairborne was Flint and Lady Jaye's daughter - Flint even shows up in on episode too. Like Cobra Commander he is never called that, but it's his voice and everything! The canonical year is 2006.
One of the things that was Confusing about the Movie was that they killed off Duke, But then they changed their minds, So they Re-Edited the film and made it look like he had lived.
It was because of the Transformers movie. They didn't want a repeat of kids flipping out the way they did when Optimus Prime died, so they re-edited so Duke lived...
@@alecaquino4306 I cried for the Commander. He need also to get his revenge on those who created Serpentor, abandoned him at his trial/ sacrifice and Golobulus.
Who didn't get... excited during that Transformers episode thinking ''That's Cobra Commander!'', and then roar at the the end when he said ''COBRA!'' ? 🤘🏼😈🤘🏼
I've always wondered how he went from the armored uniform we saw in the 2nd cartoon series to being homeless on the street back in his original mask from the 1st pilot episode.
My theory is that Cobra was destroyed and he disappeared during it's destruction and now he secretly finances Wars and other things just to undermine the government as Revenge plus he is working with other terrorists so I'm thinking he's still making quite a bit of money for all we know he actually has an apartment
12 Bodies and he still looks fabulous! Cobra Commander will always be in my top 80s villians for all time! Thank you Chriss Latta for giving us another icon to enjoy besides Starscream!
I, myself, always preferred the faceless helmet look and my thoughts was he needed to don the blue fabric mask from time to time either because, 1) the helmet was not easy to swap in and out when he's disguised himself as someone, whereas the fabric mask can be on his person to whip out anytime, and 2) maybe the helmet needed maintenance from time to time, or they just had to rebuff the mirror surface to be shiny again.
Thanks man! Quite fitting indeed, this is literally the only incarnation of the character where that happened, makes him even more unique in a way. Just uh, don't ask why his skin appears to be normal human skin when he has a hood on, ha.
"I designed the Cobra Temple to guarantee us secrecy and security" So you designed it to look like a giant snake? I don't know. It seems like you're calling attention to yourself, but what do I know? lol.
funny how an animation error accidentally made sense: when he removes his helmet to don the hood his skin on his head is blue-ish gray, matching the later animated movie skin coloring
He may have failed, a lot but Cobra Commander is one of the greatest well known arch nemesis ever. Altho the silver mask is cool, I think I prefer the hood.
From his eyeholes in 10 & 11, it seemed like CC continued to regenerate from snake man to fully human again. I was glad, as what was done to him in CobraLa was a travesty...for a bad guy, anyway!
I’m kinda partial to Cobra Commander’s The hooded look. It totally reminds me of the masked villains from the old black and white serials of the 1940s and I’m sure that’s what the artist who worked on GIJoe we’re going for.
Chris Latta had the most unique and memorable voices from GI Joe and Transformers behind Peter Cullen and Frank Welker(all 3 done voicework in both shows)but since I was always much more of a Transformers fan whenever I hear cobra commander speak I instantly think Starscream.
As indicated by that last one, 1980's GiJoe AND TFG1 ARE both in the same universe after all. I always thought so. That is why when I watch the two I switch DVDs so frequently, sometimes to the point of losing track of where I am. Still good exercise though
The actor of Cobra Commader himself in the first movie actually made the decision not to use the cartoon voice. He said he thought that just copying the talent of a voice actor who died young of illness and internal issues was just wrong and cheap. So he gave him a deeper voice to show a definitive "I'm not copying" contrast, but had snake sounds added in reminiscent of hisses and rattles so that it would still fit the character.
I remember seeing that Transformers episode where Cobra Commander appeared. And after watching Rise of the Beast, it does make me wonder if a potential Transformers/GI Joe Crossover was inspired because of that episode.
People always call Cobra Commander post Operation Dragonfire "Battle Armor Cobra Commander" Does this come from the action figure because that is CLEARLY a diving suit. Cobra Commander spent most of the mini-series complaining about not having a uniform until Copperhead found one in the Water Moccasin. What kind of uniform would be stored on a boat that clearly has a diving helmet on it...? Even as a kid, I always wondered why he kept the diving suit for the whole Dic series. Like, you were only wearing that because you had nothing else and no access to any of your bases and were on the run. Why would you not change back to something more practical and comfortable once you were firmly back in your old position and only break out that diving gear for water missions?
Yeah, the packaging of the figure says "Cobra Commander with battle armor". It kind of looks like a diving suit, but by all accounts, it's said to be battle armor. The in-show reason he doesn't go back to one of his old suits is that Serpentor had them turned into Halloween costumes, and gave them away, with the real world reason most likely being that they just wanted to create a new look to sell more action figures.
That suit does have a bit of a life-support vibe to it, which fits CC's recovering back into at least humanoid and sapient form, as well as glorious rise back to power~
it’s because of the action figure and comics and in the comics, it’s not even him wearing it: it’s an imposter who took control and ran Cobra for a while until overthrown by Cobra Commander
Some comments here say his Cobra-La eyes are not in continuity. Sure it's inconsistent, but not at all impossible to explain. Here goes, by timeline: - 0:27 shows his Cobra-La accident eyes. And blue skin. - 1:18 shows his hood with human looking eyes & skin. Alot of time had passed, so countless possibilities including contact lenses, skin makeup, or even a permanent skin coloration treatment, since Cobra Commander had to appear (eyely) human. Remember, Cobra had abundant technological and medical resources and advances. 1:45 shows him re-spored. These spores were already canoned as fast-acting. Looks like they changed his skin and eyes back. Not a big stretch, this is science fiction.
Me also might have found a way to become fully human again after Operation Dragonfly. Cobra could mutate people to have gills, mutated Serpentor tomporarily into a lizard, so Cobra could also undo Cobra commanders mutation.
I like Cobra La but all things even Marvel Comics origin of Cobra from a Pyramid Scheme gone off the rails is probably the most awesome thing I have ever read in fiction
I always loved Cobra Commander even though he was the villain to me as a kid I thought of him as quite unique and if I remember correctly in the comics it stated that cobra commander isn't just one man but a whole cabal, as in if the current cobra commander dies then another one who pretty much pops out of no where and sounds and acts like the original. But then they did the whole he was actually a snake man this whole time. RIP Chris Latta you were always our Cobra Commander... COOOOBBBRRRRRAAAAAAA!!!
I don't believe that's true. Or if it is, it's new lore. In the old comic, the one and original CC was thought to be dead and a crimson guardsmen named Fred VII took his place for a while u til he returned...and killed the ioster.
You guys notice when they created Serpentor on GI Joe Cobra Commander became more like Starsream... It's like they did it on purpose. The characters of Cobra Commander and Starscream became identical
I wish I had an answer, but I have absolutely NO idea why that appears like that. Even in DIC where they establish he's become a green snake man, we can still see he has a regular flesh tone behind his helmet & later hood when he puts those on. It's like how Optimus Primes trailer just disappears when transforms in the G1 cartoon, it's just one of those unexplainable things that just happen.
the easiest answer is usally the right one. Cobra Commander's alien origin was written after his debut. They didint write Cobra Commander as a member of Cobra La until AFTER the concept of the movie was created. Even when Serpentor was first being created, he was given two origin stories. Hasbro couldn't pick between 'clone of humanity's worst' and the cobra la, so they chose both. He was written as a human, like everyone else in cobra, because the weird shit didint come along until hasbro tried to mess with success.
Number 2 was iconic and still the best Cobra Commander look. I don't remember 12. Interesting you didn't include the 2 different live action movie looks.
I've been a battle helmet fan - I like to think we all knew he had defenses in that faceplate before he ever used them such as the gas and electroshock
Okay I love Gi joe- but can we all agree that the Cobra-la shit was just beyond insane and made little to no sense whatsoever!! Like dead-ass!!! I still have no idea what weed they we’re smoking when they came up with that idea but goddamn I want some 😂😂😂
I thought so, too. Snake people in the Himalayas? How did they survive since they need to regulate their body temperatures unless there is an abundant of hydrothermal water like Yellowstone?
As a kid, the movie (and the focus on Flint & Sgt Slaughter) killed my interest in GI Joe, and seeing what came after with the DIC version I'm happy I never saw them. I'll never understand how Snake-Eyes could be such a big part of the mini-series and then barely used at all in the main series. A popular character that they don't have to pay voice talent to use would seem to be a production's dream.
It's sad to think they nailed it with the first look, all the others just don't really do it for me, just nothing outdoes the face plate and helmet for instilling the feeling of this is the BBEG of the GIJoe universe
It's weird how, despite Cobra Commander is supposed to be a conqueror and terrorist, I still can't help but feel sorry when he deevolves into an actual cobra.
I have a theory, during the dragonfire saga, Cobra Commander continued to use the Dragon fire power when not using it to create combined reptile and vehicle equipment and regained his full human form.
QUESTION: What is that "DIC" show we see? It looks like they had many of the original voice actors for that show. And it seems to acknowledge the plot of G.I. Joe: The Movie, and then pick up off of it. It seems very well written.
After the movie, there was a planned Season 3 to be made by Sunbow as usual. However, many issues arose, and after a year or two, the studio was switched from Sunbow to DIC, and a follow up sequel series was created. It picks up some time after G.I. Joe the movie, about two years after it. It's not as well produced or written as the Sunbow show was, but it's stand out was Cobra Commander. He was still the devious villain we all knew, just now he was a bit of a comedy character, an angry, hissing man who acted like be was better than everyone. And he was genuinely funny! There where other fun bits and characters in the show as well.
@@michaelzoran You can find it on Amazon just by simply searching "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Series 2" DVD. Also, a RU-vid channel named "Reuben Abrahms" has uploaded seemingly every episode of the DIC G.I. Joe series, so you can actually find it here on RU-vid!
Hasbro released "Once a Man" Cobra Commander as a San Diego Comic Con exclusive because they believed the character wasnt popular enough for a full release. i think they were very wrong. Now i could see them releasing Old Snake, Fred, or Cobra Citizen Cobra Commander as an exclusive because less people are interested in that figure.
OMG the Cobra Commander is, by far, the funniest character in all of animation. @ 4:22 the way he says, "Python Patrol" feels like it should lead into a hentai scene. I hope someone edits the original into a parody of some kind as it leads into the "Pythonizing technique" (que porn music).
