Editing Cobra Commander (section)

===Sunbow===
In the first season of the original 1980s ''[[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1985 TV series)|G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero]]'' animated series, Cobra Commander is the leader of Cobra, described in the show's opening [[theme song|theme]] as "A ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world". His face is always covered, either by a featureless chrome mask concealing his entire face or by a [[hood (headgear)|hood]] with eye-hole cutouts. He wears a blue military uniform, occasionally sporting a cape and carrying a [[scepter]], depending on the occasion. His distinctively shrill, raspy voice was provided by [[Christopher Collins|Chris Latta]].<ref name="Joe Roll Call">{{cite web | url = http://www.joeheadquarters.com/rollcall_cobra.shtml | title = Roll Call | work = G.I. Joe Roll Call | publisher = Joe Headquarters | access-date = 2008-06-13 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080606084015/http://www.joeheadquarters.com/rollcall_cobra.shtml | archive-date = 2008-06-06 | url-status = dead}}</ref> He had a knack for concocting creative schemes for world domination – including cloned [[dinosaur]]s, giant [[amoeba]]s, miniaturized troops stowed away inside [[Christmas]] presents, and using a super-laser to gleefully carve a picture of his face on the moon – plans which his immediate subordinates, particularly Destro, often blasted as ridiculous. The writers later commented that they only found Cobra Commander's personality when they stopped writing him as an [[Adolf Hitler]]-type and started writing him more in the vein of [[Yosemite Sam]].{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}

Season 2 opened with the 5-episode mini-series ''Arise, Serpentor, Arise!'' in which Doctor Mindbender, disillusioned with Cobra Commander, decides to literally create a new leader to replace him. Acting as an operation to create a super-soldier, Cobra agents are sent around the world to collect [[DNA]] samples retrieved from the tombs of history's most notorious conquerors and military leaders to genetically craft Cobra Commander's successor. Fortunately for the Commander, G.I. Joe interferes with the gene collection to deny the critical inclusion of [[Sun Tzu]]'s DNA, and it is instead replaced with [[Sgt. Slaughter (G.I. Joe)|Sgt. Slaughter]]'s. During the first attempt to create the ruler, Cobra Commander contaminates the DNA mixture with a mutated virus, causing a rampaging monster. The second attempt is successful due to Scrap-Iron stopping Cobra Commander from sabotaging the experiment again, thus giving birth to [[Serpentor]], who immediately assumes charge of Cobra and deposes the erstwhile Commander to the status of "lackey". Serpentor soon orders an attack on Washington, D.C., with the Commander in handcuffs. Cobra Commander convinces Dr. Mindbender to free him, as he knows how to use a weapon, and rescues the high command from certain disaster. He saves himself by convincing Serpentor that he truly needs him as a scapegoat.

Thereafter, Cobra Commander seems to be employed as Cobra's primary field commander, while Serpentor leads mostly from the Terrordrome. Serpentor even allows Cobra Commander to be the organization's second-in-command, a decision tolerated by the rest of the Cobra High Command. Cobra Commander spends much of Season 2 trying to reclaim his former glory from under Serpentor's domineering shadow, assembling his own secret society called The Coil to that end.

''[[G.I. Joe: The Movie]]'' explains Cobra Commander's origin in full, while yet contradicting background information previously established in the animated series. Cobra Commander was a [[scientist]] and nobleman from the ancient, pre-human society of [[Cobra-La]], now hidden in the [[Himalayas]]. Although humanoid in appearance, he has pale blue skin, no hair, and eyes with snake-like pupils. He was disfigured by volatile spores in a laboratory accident, mutating an array of eight additional eyes upon his visage, thus explaining why he wears a mask. Despite this deformity, his ambition was recognized by Cobra-La's ruler, Golobulus, and he was chosen to venture from their isolated Himalayan kingdom to establish an army for the razing of human civilization and reemergence of Cobra-La: that army is Cobra.<ref name="Hidalgo 2009 75"/><ref name="The Movie">{{cite video |date=April 20, 1987 |title=G.I. Joe: The Movie |medium=Motion picture |publisher=De Laurentiis Entertainment Group}}</ref> This origin stands in contrast to the episode "Twenty Questions", where the Commander told an interviewing journalist that he was responsible for spearheading a mutiny at his military academy in his youth. In other episodes, aforementioned reactions to off-screen unmaskings or glimpses of the Commander's features are not in keeping with the inhumanly blue-skinned, reptile-man portrayed in the film.

In light of Cobra's constant failures, Golobulus decides to put the Commander on trial, via a [[kangaroo court]],<ref>{{Citation |title=Cobra Commander gets turned into a snake then gets changed back |url=https://www.bitchute.com/video/H5NqXyrWlK1g/ |language=en |access-date=2022-04-01}}</ref> and punishes him by forcing his further exposure to the spores; their effect begins to devolve him into a snake.<ref>{{Citation|title=Trial of Cobra Commander| date=18 April 2009 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT_KSx3hRCc| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/nT_KSx3hRCc| archive-date=2021-10-28|language=en|access-date=2021-02-21}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He escapes with Joe member [[Roadblock (G.I. Joe)|Roadblock]], but Cobra Commander's "humanity" slips away as his body transforms.<ref>{{Citation|title=GI Joe The Movie 1987 clip 5| date=25 December 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA657NRFcpg| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/PA657NRFcpg| archive-date=2021-10-28|language=en|access-date=2021-02-23}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He literally loses his human form, ultimately becoming mentally unresponsive and transforming into an oversized snake, as he repeatedly hisses "I was once a man!"<ref>{{Citation |title=Cobra Commander every "I was once a man!" |url=https://www.bitchute.com/video/U2vmp6ZPhLOB/ |language=en |access-date=2022-03-10}}</ref> During the Joe assault on Cobra-La, he is last seen coming to [[Lt. Falcon]]'s rescue during the final battle and foils Serpentor's attack, allowing G.I. Joe to defeat Cobra-La and save the world.<ref name="The Movie"/>

A third season following the events of the movie was planned. In the storyline of Season 3, the Coil would become a criminal organization led by Tomax and Xamot and serve as the Joes' new enemy. For the first half of the season, Cobra Commander would be a secret character shifting alliances between G.I. Joe and the Coil, in order to destroy them both and rebuild Cobra, and in the second half, reveal himself in mutated form. The season was never produced, as the [[Sunbow Entertainment|Sunbow]] series was abruptly canceled by Hasbro.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.joeheadquarters.com/interviews_dixon.shtml|title=Interview with story editor/ writer Buzz Dixon|website=The Ultimate G.I. Joe Cartoon Website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404092712/http://www.joeheadquarters.com/interviews_dixon.shtml|archive-date=2016-04-04}}</ref>