Ok , Why does Cobra do what it does…

Why doesn’t Cobra set its sights on a smaller country, with its resources from Mars and the endless amount of Cobra troops and the poverty of such countries it would be almost a shot less take over?
Once they have a confirmed base of operation, Say Africa or South America, they continue with their plans on world domination but, use its money to reorganize its nation.
To not really have a “home” per say and keep trying to hit hard and hope for the best tactic it has been doing is not working. They get defeated and go back to lick their wounds and ask Brain to come up with another plan to take over the world.
As for the Commander, He is a leader of a ARMY. One that is not determined by votes, but by Power. HE needs to be “BAD A”. Not the guy who runs hides and has the irritating crackle of a voice.
In my head, I imagine Cobra, having themselves a small country that no one really cares about. They either took it over with force or rebuilding it confidence and money. Once Cobra has a country, then it has real Power. It can then make alliances with other countries and even have a seat at the UN. They will always have this Country. Their military is strong enough to keep it. And they can then begin the invasion of surrounding countries by force or diplomatic ways.
What made me think about this, is Cobra work force. They recruit from anywhere. But to have a population of their own nation and to use its wealth to fix the country these people now become loyal to Cobra, and not just for greed but for the safety of their families.
I love GI Joe, but at times, I think do they really need to be so “ awesome” since Cobra is run by a coward Idiot who rather spend countless dollars on futile attempts at killing a bull with a fly bite. People often said a hero is only as good as it villain. If you have crappy villains then where is the fear it of the hero actually losing.
NOW imagine a COBRA where Cobra Commander is a soldier, a tough General who leads his men with respect. He doesn’t have to be all kitty cat nice.. But a tough guy where no one wants to mess with him. Smart and tough.. Now Cobra has a base of operations, A nation. Where now deep within its borders hidden under a satellite evading canopy is where its main forces are being held. Where Dr Mindbender is conducting experiments on people.. ( Now one of the things, He NEVER experiments on Cobra citizens or Troops. Only on captured enemies.) one of the point when Cobra Invades. Captives are experimented. IF they surrender then they become Cobra citizens… You can have those die hards who now fight to the bitter end. But for the most part you have Presidents and diplomats caving and joining the ranks. This happen till their territories begin to breach on land that is of ”value” to the United States.
Now GI JOE, gets involved and begin to form a offensive on the border of the nations about to be taken over. They are pushed back by the sheer number of cobra troops. With Technology far exceeding that of todays military standards.
Cobra commander leads his battles from his camp alongside his men. The people he leaves in charged and Cobra Capital are all loyal to him.
Now with this kind of power and loyalty. Cobra has now become a much more vibrate and dangerous foe. Because even if Cobra gets Defeated at certain spots, It always has it Nation. it is never truly over. Cobra Commander. Probably has Clones of him ready to step up if he is to be killed.

Just my random though for the day... love to hear you guys thoughts..

K1

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I always thought that after Cobra Island got nice and established, Cuba would be a good followup target. There's a lot of room to grow in the Caribbean, but with Cuba, the US would likely just sit back and see what happened instead of getting involved. Lesser of two evils and all that. From there, some of the other less stable Latin American countries.

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I agree I liked the whole Idea behind Cobra Island... but down to even the management of Cobra.. Stop making CC a clown.. I have been reading the Sword of truth series by Terry Goodkind. THe main bad guy from the old world JaJang.. He was a mean guy tough leader... I imagine CC should be more like that..

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You're basically describing Serpentor. A military genius with a ruthless thirst for conquest. TO me, part of what makes CC likeable is his classic buffoonery.

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Ugh. I've always hated Sunbow Cobra Commander. He really should be much more menacing than that.

Serpentor sucks too, because he's Serpentor.

IMO.

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Actually, that's kind of how Cobra Commander's ORIGINAL depiction, the one from his file card reads. Sunbow just neutered the character, and people have forgotten.

http://www.yojoe.com/images/resize/w/MA ... ubble2.jpg

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I hadn't forgotten. He was also a badass in the comics, for a while. I'm just saying, Kronin is describing Serpentor.

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Raptor Answers:

Q - Why doesn’t Cobra set its sights on a smaller country, with its resources from Mars and the endless amount of Cobra troops and the poverty of such countries it would be almost a shot less take over?
Once they have a confirmed base of operation, Say Africa or South America, they continue with their plans on world domination but, use its money to reorganize its nation.
To not really have a “home” per say and keep trying to hit hard and hope for the best tactic it has been doing is not working. They get defeated and go back to lick their wounds and ask Brain to come up with another plan to take over the world.

A - Cobra is a terrorist organization that occasionally morphs into a criminal organization. They are dedicated to overthrowing the western and eastern governments that Cobra feels are ruining the world, and replacing them with functional Despotism that would allow the world to function less chaotically. They have no desire to overthrow the small countries of the 3rd world.

While they have had a lot of arms sales dealings (also MARS) with such countries, the ethos of Cobra was never to take control away from the less powerful nations. In fact, by selling advanced weaponry, training and advisers they help promote an anti western agenda. Cobra exists to challenge the world order and that means attacking them where they live. If cobra were to concentrate as a visible country that would represent a real target to attack, the Combined might of the American Military would stomp them flat in minutes. Instead, in creating Cobra Island, they created a location that would always be in the eyes of the media, and could not be acted upon without notice by the American public.

Q - As for the Commander, He is a leader of a ARMY. One that is not determined by votes, but by Power. HE needs to be “BAD A”. Not the guy who runs hides and has the irritating crackle of a voice.
In my head, I imagine Cobra, having themselves a small country that no one really cares about. They either took it over with force or rebuilding it confidence and money. Once Cobra has a country, then it has real Power. It can then make alliances with other countries and even have a seat at the UN. They will always have this Country. Their military is strong enough to keep it. And they can then begin the invasion of surrounding countries by force or diplomatic ways.

A - The commander has carefully crafted his eccentricities to make him seem unpredictable, and inspire fear from his underlings. What you might see as cowardice, others might see as a practcal reaction to the tide turning against them. It's the philosophy of Mao's asymmetrical warfare in a nut shell - Cause trouble and run before you get caught.

As stated before, having a fixed geographic location that is far from the eyes of the public leaves Cobra wide open to being crushed by America's conventional forces.

Q - What made me think about this, is Cobra work force. They recruit from anywhere. But to have a population of their own nation and to use its wealth to fix the country these people now become loyal to Cobra, and not just for greed but for the safety of their families.

A - This was indeed the purpose of Cobra Island, Broca Beach and the original Springfield. They serve the same purposes, but were protectively within the US, and therefore somewhat safe from carpet bombing and able to use the infrastructure of the US against them.

Q - I love GI Joe, but at times, I think do they really need to be so “ awesome” since Cobra is run by a coward Idiot who rather spend countless dollars on futile attempts at killing a bull with a fly bite. People often said a hero is only as good as it villain. If you have crappy villains then where is the fear it of the hero actually losing.

A - remember that all the stories that you are hearing are from the perspective of the Joes. Cobra is very effective in other areas and having an impact, ultimately attempting to undermine the United States Government. . You hear about the failures but rarely of the successes. Real Estate and Piramid schemes, influence fo foreign governments, financing schemes and military victories happen for cobra - if they didn't cobra wouldn't be able to afford any of the people or vehicles that they have. And look at America now, Low political approval ratings, record numbers of people that are ruled by greed and selfishness - They may lose a lot of battles, but who says that Cobra isn't wining the war.

Q - NOW imagine a COBRA where Cobra Commander is a soldier, a tough General who leads his men with respect. He doesn’t have to be all kitty cat nice.. But a tough guy where no one wants to mess with him. Smart and tough.. Now Cobra has a base of operations, A nation. Where now deep within its borders hidden under a satellite evading canopy is where its main forces are being held. Where Dr Mindbender is conducting experiments on people.. ( Now one of the things, He NEVER experiments on Cobra citizens or Troops. Only on captured enemies.) one of the point when Cobra Invades. Captives are experimented. IF they surrender then they become Cobra citizens… You can have those die hards who now fight to the bitter end. But for the most part you have Presidents and diplomats caving and joining the ranks. This happen till their territories begin to breach on land that is of ”value” to the United States.

A - Cobra would have to build it's own infrastructure to accomplish anything, and then that infrastructure would be bombed back to the stone age with drone strikes. The war against a nation can be won, the war against the concept of a terrorist enemy that lives among you can never be won.

Q - Now GI JOE, gets involved and begin to form a offensive on the border of the nations about to be taken over. They are pushed back by the sheer number of cobra troops. With Technology far exceeding that of todays military standards.
Cobra commander leads his battles from his camp alongside his men. The people he leaves in charged and Cobra Capital are all loyal to him.
Now with this kind of power and loyalty. Cobra has now become a much more vibrate and dangerous foe. Because even if Cobra gets Defeated at certain spots, It always has it Nation. it is never truly over. Cobra Commander. Probably has Clones of him ready to step up if he is to be killed.

A - While your plan is interesting, it plays too poorly to the strengths of western societies who have been attacking small African and Asian countries since the time of Gallions. Cobra's aim is to destroy these societies, and to do so from within is the best way to accomplish this. A war in a small nation somewhere in Africa isn't as effective as being integrated into the fabric of America itself.

- R

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this is from some of my posts in a speculative GI Joe 3 forum at the club's site.

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Marvel's Cobra Commander was never a military genius, not tactically, anyway. We are shown that a few times. When he personally leads assaults, he usually gets his butt handed to him...nearly dies in the PIT.

He was a shrewd manipulator, ruthless businessman and unscrupulous "terrorist".
Then he got hold of a thesaurus and became a little silly at times.

my Cobra works a bit different then than a typical military, or even than a typical terrorist group...

They have Cobra Island, that they established as the nation of Cobra. They have avoided taking and holding an established landmass with an established population due to the issues that always come from dealing with indigenous people. Take modern day Africa or the Middle East as prime examples. Europeans carved them up into nations and local peoples who had their own nations have been pissed off and fighting about it ever sense... So no locals on the bottom of the ocean, blam cobra makes an island, has it's own land and nation.

Now from there it uses Cobras three main business arms are where they wind up reaching out to and controlling nations.
1. M.A.R.S is their weapons manufacturing division and have no issues what so ever selling to any nation that wants what they have. They even provide training and education to military members of those nations. Through this they are able to implant the ideals of the Cobra way into officers and enlisted alike. The frequent military coups in the third world mean at even given time a Cobra sympathetic government could be established due solely to learned ideology.
2. Extensive Enterprises mega corporation, goes out of it's way to buy out other corporations. they are continually adding tech companies, computer start ups and numerous other businesses to the cobra business family. Their goal is to buy the world.
3. Broca Banking and Insurance, what it implies. They hold the cash, establish lines of credit on all levels personal, business and even national. They compete with the banks of the western powers while at the same time leaning in to buy up their assets. Cobra seldom takes a hit, since they are more creative with their resources. Economic crashes like the one in Spain would not happen in a cobra set up. They would simply collect on their loan, acquire the assets their borrowers built and turn it into something useful for Cobra. What was supposed to be a luxury countryside town in Spain, would be come a campus for a Cobra run international university, as opposed to sitting empty and slowly rotting.

So from that, they do not have to field to many main line military actions. When Cobra does fight it goes full on asymmetrical warfare. They hit hard fast and quite, then disappear. No indicator as to who did it. No proof. No one yelling "Cobra".

My Cobra Commander is an idealist. He hates the world that has been made by Europeans. he hates America running around waving it's big stick. He believe all of us are equal and he believes he is the only man capable of getting us to a point of equality. He'd prefer that that be with everyone having a nice comfortable life, but he is perfectly prepared to even us all out by taking everything away from everyone if it comes to that.

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You know establishing an offshore island is very popular with certain libertarians and billionaires for just this reason. Mostly they want to set up tax havens, but the idea of a fresh start is appealing.

Growing up in the 70s, I always thought Cobra was modeled on the anti-American/Western terrorist groups of the 60s and 70s. The Soviets supported lots of those types of groups, and Cobra was just one of them. Which explains their Soviet/Russian equipment etc. However, CC realized (perhaps because of his business experience) that communism could never work, especially as the Soviets practiced it. So he decided he'd infiltrate the West, and take it over from the top. Which is why he dedicated so much to the CG program, and a large reason why Cobra survived the collapse of the Soviets, when so many other communist movements have failed. I think CC wants to establish a Chinese style system in the West. Where the Cobra elites run things and make all the profits, while the citizens do all the heavy lifting.

I always loved that Cobra (or Arbco) was a thinly disguised version of Amway. It makes sense to me that Amway could lead to international terrorism.

Thanks guys for the reply it has defiantly made me think in a different direction.

As for Cobra Commander being described as Serpentor. I would say yes. But be Cobra Commander. Not Serpentor.

Also, i see a lot of valid points made to the reasoning behind Cobras methods. Being a terrorist organization, I see the point for not having a "home" base per say.. that would give your enemies a place to attack. ANd I have nothing wrong with Retreat, But retreating so you can fight another day as oppose to the portrayal of CC in the cartoons is totally different. I am at a small disadvantage, cause though i have read G joe comics i am not nearly a completest on them all. Well in the old cartoon he is a buffoon.
Now that i have read some of your comments, the latest Joe cartoon, I remember Cobra Commander being a little more tough than i remember him being. I guess for my own personal taste, i like to see him actually go toe to toe with Duke or when Destro is stepping out of line, he lures him into his office and gives him a beat down.



This i like.. IT makes sense. But i still think, if your main purpose is to destroy the America, have your self a country, the benefit of having a country is the United Nations. IF you are able to please the UN then you wont be having any invasion on your soil. WHile the whole time, having your Terrorist cells through out the world. You can do so much more damage to a nation through economics than warfare. World War 2 Destroyed Japan, They are rebuilt with new technology. Destroy a nation from within, currency and government crumbles. takes years to recover.

But, regardless.. I after my youth of watching Cobra get their butts handed to them regularly and Though I always rooted for the good guys, I was disappointed to see Serpentor lose so easily.

Thanks again Guys, this is fun...

K1

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