The movie presented some amazing animation, but the storyline was pushing it. The figures proved to be so horrifically unpopular that according to some reliable reports I've heard, Golobulus was regularly referred to, and not in a flattering way, as the "G.I. Joe Plant Spike" by Hasbro personnel. I remember seeing Cobra-La three-packs being clearanced for $2.00 at one point.
Unfortunately, the massive unpopularity of the concept resulted in two items being killed off that were intended for release in 1988. One of these was a vehicle called the Insecticycle. I saw drawings of it at the 1993 G.I. Joe Convention. If you picture a vehicle that's equal parts motorcycle, armadillo, and cockroach, you've about got it.
The other item, sadly, was Pythona. She would've been the main female figure in 1988.
As far as I'm concerned, the biggest blunder Hasbro made with Cobra-La was this -- the three-pack should've included Golobulus, Nemesis Enforcer, and Pythona, who was clearly the most prominent and dynamic Cobra-La character, while the Cobra-La Royal Guard should've been individually carded as an army-builder.
I think some people have tried to army-build the Royal Guard a bit. I have, I think, five or six of them myself. And I am very pleased that the modern line has given us, first of all, a Nemesis Enforcer that looks like the one in the movie, and despite a too-slender build relative to the original figures, at least is of a proper size. And of course I am truly delighted that the Club finally brought us Pythona, even in the modern format, although traditional would've been better, but I'm sure that was impossible. (Hey, at least we got Big Lob in the traditional).
I believe that the movie is a little better respected these days, and certainly I believe that many if not most of the fans out there would agree that Big Lob and especially Pythona deserved their figures, and Nemesis Enforcer deserved a better one. And we did finally get them.
