COBRA COMMANDER (v1)
ENEMY LEADER (straight-armed)
Series: One (1982)
Cobra Commander was first available as a mail-in offer in 1982. The
mail-in figure was the last straight-arm figure.
In late 1982, the figure was also available packaged with the
Sears exclusive Cobra Missile Command Headquarters.
Images
Accessories
Cobra Commander came with a black venom laser pistol.
Packaging Information
Filecard Information
File Name: (CLASSIFIED)
Grade: Commander-in-Chief
Birthplace: (CLASSIFIED)
Primary Specialty: Intelligence
Secondary Specialty: Ordinance (Experimental Weaponry)
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. Probably the most dangerous man alive!"
Variations
When Cobra Commander was re-released in 1983, the straight-arms were replaced with arms that could swivel at the bicep. Also, the date stamp on the figure was changed from "1982" to "82-83". While the changes are substantial enough for some to consider this a new version, it is still technically just a variation. Because of this, we have chosen to list this figure as version 1.5, rather than version 2.
A variation exists specifically with the straight-arm version of
Cobra Commander. The earliest Cobra Commander's had a poorly painted Cobra
logo - with very little detail. The second straight-arm version has a sharp, crisp logo with clearly defined inner stripes on the Cobra - pictured below. The first edition is much harder to find.
The logo variant is sometimes referred to as the "Mickey Mouse" variant. The logo variant was available mail-in in 1982 and some were also available in the Cobra Missile Command Headquarters set.
The filecards that came with the first mail-in Cobra Commander have a rough cardboard backing, while the filecards that came with the Cobra Commanders from Hasbro Direct have a glossy red backing - like all filecards from Hasbro Direct. Filecards included with the Sears exclusive Cobra Missile Command Headquarters also had the red backing.
Featured In
Cobra Commander was featured in several of the various media of GI Joe through the years, including Trading Cards, Comic Books, Cartoons and Commercials.
Body Construction
When the figure was released in 1982, except for the arms, the body construction was original. The only parts from previous molds were his arms, which were originally used on Cobra Officer (1982).
The back of Cobra Commander's torso is interesting to note, as it has a groove in the back where his laser pistol could snap in and be carried.
Note that the figure's head only turns left and right - it does not allow the head to look up and down. The heads only turned left and right until the the swivel ball head that was introduced in 1985 (Series Four).
The molds of the torso, waist, and legs of this Cobra Commander were re-used in 1984 for Cobra Commander (v2) (1984).
International Releases
Cobra Commander was released in Canada with a dual-language filecard and was also available packaged with the Sears exclusive Cobra Missile Command Headquarters.
Versions of Cobra Commander
"The Doctor" represents Cobra Commander before adopting the title in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. "Old Snake" represents a future version of Cobra Commander from Sunbow's The Transformers animated series.
Reference Information
The below information contains information about references to various collector's guides, Hasbro references, original retail prices, and other reference material related to Cobra Commander (v1).|
Original Retail: 50ยข plus 5 Flag Points Product Number: Asst. 6200 Lee's Guide: n/a The Ultimate Guide: Pg. 12 (1st Ed.), Pg. 17 (2nd Ed.) |
Desimone Guide: #16 Tomart's Guide: #GI5023 (first edition emblem), #GI5024 (regular emblem), #GI5069d (with cobra hq) RAHC/Rank & File: n/a Action Figure Archive Guide: n/a |
|
|
|
|
|
|