We all know green shirts are Cobra specialist fodder. Can’t have pics of Storm Shadow standing over bloody bodies of Bazooka, Lady Jay, Tripwire, and Nunchuck. But pics of him standing over bloody green shirts is okay. I questioned the green shirts in the original cartoon but I guess it was just easy drawing them in the big action scenes. Steel Corps and Green Shirts will join my generic 60th concoctions as just fun space fillers in shots. I already made some grunts out of the discounted Classified figs with the extra accessories from 60th packs. It also kind of fun to create mods.
I have no idea how my post is in a grey box.
oh well.
Thwipp!
@canprime I would take a set with Kwinn, Scarface, and Dr. Venom.
Kwinn, Venom and Scarface would be amazing, in a set or as individual releases. It would actually be cool to release Scarface as an individual figure, with the option of a generic/unscarred head for a basic “comic book deco” Cobra. Kwinn, of course, needs two releases: winter gear and “casual khaki shorts” versions.
I'm not sure which version of Kwinn I'd prefer, but I'd even be open to a gently updated, 'classified' version of all three of them.
I saw some of you talking about how you perceived Cobra Commander, or even Cobra as an organization. But let me ask you this. In your own head Canon, who is the true leader of Cobra?
For me, it's Serpentor. He is the Emperor, and ruler behind the scenes, and Cobra Commander is the second in Command, but the Head and Leader of Cobra as far as the public knows. Kind of like Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine.
And they are just men. Not Cobra-La, as far as my head canon goes. I don't mind the Cobra-La story. it happened when I was a kid, and I was fine with it. But I like to think of my Cobra terrorist organization as Human. Humans who may even do some mad science and create some odd soldiers or creatures. But they are just Human Beings, and not an ancient serpentine or reptilian civilization/race.
How about you? Who is the true ruler of Cobra to you? Serpentor? Golobulus? Cobra Commander? Or someone else?
@supercamel-1982 Cobra Commander, and that's it for me. I did have Serpentor when I was a kid but I dunno... I was never really into him as a character and the only part I really liked with him in the comics was when Zartan shot him in the face.
And I dunno, in my head Cobra is a weird mix of cult, mercenaries, terrorist organization, multi-level marketing, militia groups, and corporate cutthroats, looking to destabilize governments and get rich while doing it. And the Commander is at the center of it, a ruthless psychopath and charismatic leader, attracting those with flexible morals and radical ideals. The power is in his voice and ability to sway people to his way of thinking, but he also has surrounded himself with some who think he's not going far enough, and others who think they could do it better. On my custom filecard for CC though, I did throw in a reference to Cobra La, saying he patterned his organization after ancient myths of a forgotten race of serpentine people who ruled the world through domination etc.
@ru1977 I imagine they'll get to a Kwinn eventually. Whether as a single release, or in a 2/3-pack who knows.
I think they might be shying away from anything more than a 2-pack though. Just for figures mind you, not vehicle/diorama type packs. They might have gotten a bit gun shy after the Viper 3-pack sat for so long and got clearanced out.
Scarface is one I am surprised they haven't banged out yet since it would be an easy re-do of the trooper. I guess he isn't high on the team's list of figures to do ahead of so many others.
Dr. Venom would be nice, but I'm not sure I am looking to get him ahead of so many other characters.
@supercamel-1982 I look at the CC/Serpentor dynamic as the opposite of what you posted. I think of Serpentor as the attempted coup by those who created him and CC worked it to his advantage so that he is still the head of Cobra and Serpentor is the figure head.
Sort of what they did in the cartoon, but with CC actually being the power and not just another lackey in waiting.
@ru1977 I imagine they'll get to a Kwinn eventually. Whether as a single release, or in a 2/3-pack who knows.
I think they might be shying away from anything more than a 2-pack though. Just for figures mind you, not vehicle/diorama type packs. They might have gotten a bit gun shy after the Viper 3-pack sat for so long and got clearanced out.
Yeah, you're right. But a set of two would be fine, or individually would be great too. Either way. Kwinn feels more likely to me than Dr. Venom at least. Looking at the second figure they did around the time of Retaliation, I think, it's amazing how much he resembles one of my best friends. Right down to the shorts.
Scarface is one I am surprised they haven't banged out yet since it would be an easy re-do of the trooper. I guess he isn't high on the team's list of figures to do ahead of so many others.
You're right, and they love repainting those guys. or even do a Scrap Iron body with the Cobra symbol on the chest to spice it up a bit. but maybe there's a rights issue? When hasbro did him before, he was something like 'scarred officer'. Call him whatever, but lets do this.
Dr. Venom would be nice, but I'm not sure I am looking to get him ahead of so many other characters.
He's actually really low on my list as well, but I'd take him. I'd also be interested in Billy but I have no idea how I'd want that figure to look.
Re: the Cobra hierarchy, I definitely saw the whole Serpentor thing in my head-canon pretty much the same as in the comics: an attempted coup that worked for a while but ultimately the Commander is the true head of the Cobra snake, and he is a human being. And yeah I see Cobra as a pyramid scheme-turned-cult where the Commander has essentially bamboozled his followers with false promises of “greatness” to come from his own twisted and narcissistic idea of a new world order (except for the cabal that directly surrounds him, who are mostly cynical, selfish mercenaries who will do and say whatever as long as it profits them). I’m actually astounded how much the actual modern political world mimics how I have always seen Cobra, except in the real world it appears that the bad guys win and there are no “good guys”. Not the way I had hoped life would imitate art.
Noticed the sold out listing for Once a Man Cobra Commander has returned on Pulse. I wonder if there will be a restock again this year.
This is something I think I've typed a few times but then would delete because, honestly, nobody really cares. So I'm not actually sure if I've posted any of this before. If I'm repeating myself, just keep scrolling.
Serpentor
I've considered head-canoning him into a general for the team with secret aspirations for leadership, but I'm always turned off by how over the top garish his costume is.
Cobra Commander
Destro
Baroness
Tomax & Xamot
Major Bludd
@fletch I love how you explain Destro's mask. For some reason I've NEVER considered the physics of it despite him easiliy being my favorite Cobra.
From a meta storyline perspective it's interesting how Cobra really has no unifying ideology - CC might be the only true believer. You've got profiteers (Destro, the twins), revenge seekers (Baroness), folks who see it as a playground for their weird ideas (Mindbender), guys just in it for the paycheck (Firefly, Major Bludd, whom I keep thinking of as a precursor to Joe Abercrombie's Nicomo Cosca lately), and the occasional lost soul like Storm Shadow. They've got better financing and firepower but nobody's truly fully invested.
On the actual action figure front, Pulse has been so wonky lately about shipping - last few shipments have given me the alert a few weeks in advance and then the box just... shows up one day. Wouldn't mind seeing the latest couple of figures drop out of the sky this week.
I saw some of you talking about how you perceived Cobra Commander, or even Cobra as an organization. But let me ask you this. In your own head Canon, who is the true leader of Cobra?
This is an interesting question to posit and think about it and here's how I work it out in my head - Serpentor is a nutjob who definitely believes in some messianic Serpent god that will eventually return - and he whips up a devoted following of conspiracy nutjobs who are attracted to doomsday cults. Cobra Commander finds this useful so he has Serpentor convinced that they - he and his factions - are in service to the same master and he points Serpentor in the direction he wants and lets that group do what they do to whip up discord and chaos. Serpentor serves a purpose in Cobra's overall agenda, but is not in control of much of the actual direction of the group at large.
But the rank and file in Cobra are more military and less culty and don't go in for Serpentor's nonsense.
It's kind of similar to Zartan and the Dreadnoks - they aren't soldiers, they are their own group of wild mercenaries who like to behave lawlessly and alignment with Cobra allows them to do that with more protection than going it alone.
The problem I have with some of these back stories you guys come up with is it gets me excited for characters I wasn't as into before, and now I want those figures.
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