Alongside Skeletor and Megatron, Cobra Commander was one of the major 80s villain icons for a generation of children. Cobra Commander was all bark with very little bite happy to let his subordinates get battered by G.I. Joe while constantly dealing with various coup de etat attempts from his lieutenants. It took us some time to get Cobra Commander back in the Real American hero days, but Hasbro got the Classified Series version of the head snake to us fairly early.
I was taking my time getting to Cobra Commander as he’s the last Classified Series figure for 2020 and I wanted to savor what looks to be a pretty stellar take on ‘ol snake face.
Package: Cobra gets the snazzy red accent colors, which is a smart choice for Cobra with their predominantly blue attire. The artwork is fun, capturing him watching the world burn. I like the inclusion of Cobra Hiss Tanks and Night Ravens to show off his vast army.
His bio, as always, is very cool: The leader of Cobra is the most treacherous and despicable criminal the world has ever known. Cobra Commander has channeled his boundless ambitions into building a worldwide criminal organization with one goal: global domination at any cost. Highly intelligent and dangerously unstable. Wields a strange form of charm that can twist intentions and morals, making his poisonous words seem plausible and relatable and masking the true motives behind his treachery.
Cobra Commander ranks 1 in light weapons and 4 in leader, psyops and coercion.
Likeness: Cobra Commander’s classic outfit was effective, but simple. Of course with new additions to the line like Major Blood, Destro, Storm Shadow, Firefly and Zartan, the head honcho didn’t look nearly as visually interesting. Over the RAH era, Hasbro experimented with some wackier designs, but took a more traditional approach for his Classified Series makeover.
The design is busy, but it makes sense for Cobra Commander in the sense he should look like the boss. His bandolier with the plating and Cobra insignia is a nice start and the clasp for his lapel gives a royal tone to the attire. The top portion and tails of his jacket features scales for that snake motif.
Hasbro sculptors incorporate the snake in subtle and obvious fashion, which seems very much like an on brand decision from Cobra Commander. The gauntlets and high boots also look nice. I like the costume design as it echoes the classic Crimson Guard with the lining and buttons.
From the package design, I can see how the helmet with the curled bottom portion subtly channels a snake about to engulf its prey. Losing some of that paneling takes away from that visual slightly, but it still works for me.
Paint: The package art features CC in a lighter outfit with gold accents in a more classic Cobra color scheme. This default version tones the brighter colors down with a more subdued darker blue and silver instead of gold. I’m torn as I think the dark blue/gold makes for a better combination, but the silver is a nice substitute.
Most of the paintwork is precise considering the smaller detailed elements. The silver does pop nicely with the gold buttons, red Cobra logos and black portions. The chrome of Cobra Commander’s mask stands out from the rest of the silver and has a quality reflective feel to it in how it captures the light.
If you wanted different options, Hasbro released a lighter blue version more in line with the cartoon colors and a black and red attire Supreme Commander variant.
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Scale: Cobra Commander is typically portrayed as average height while being shorter than both Zartan and Destro. I wish he were just a tad shorter as Destro isn’t towering over him as much as I’d like.
Articulation: Cobra Commander’s articulation is pretty good like all Classified Series figures. He could do with just a little more back and forth movement in his torso.
For Cobra Commander, I don’t need him going into these major battles fighting Snake Eyes and Duke so much as leading the troops into action from a distance. This figure can strike more than enough dynamic poses to be highly effective.
Cobra Commander has:
- head
- neck
- shoulders (butterfly)
- elbow (double-jointed)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- mid-torso
- torso
- waist
- hips (ball-jointed)
- drop down hips
- knees (double-jointed)
- ankles
Accessories: Fitting for this more regal version of CC, his weapons have more of an ornate, flashy style.
His dagger is very cool with a gold hilt and the blade has its own grip in case Cobra Commander wants to vary his fighting style.
The blade has some decorative elements and is jagged to make the stab wounds even more pronounced. It’s a great weapon for Cobra Commander.
He also has a revolver style blaster. It is also amazingly detailed with a snake inching up to the barrel, a scaled grip and a small bayonet at the tip.
I do wish Hasbro threw on a little gold paint at the handle but otherwise this is easily my favorite of the smaller guns in the line so far.
Finally he’s got a right pointing hand and a left fist. I like having alternate hand sculpts instead of just getting a set of fists. This increases the display options.
Worth It? Cobra Commander clocks in around $20 if you can actually find him. Hasbro has cranked out a few variants to get its money’s worth out of the mold already, but it’s hard to blame them for the work put in to this figure. I got him as part of that NTWRK fiasco for $15 so I’m thrilled to get him for that price despite the hoops to actually get him in hand.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Cobra Commander’s designs in the RAH era typically meant he took a backseat visually to the more flashy members of his inner circle. This updated attire helps give him the presence fitting the Cobra Commander.
Where to Get It? Cobra Commander is part of Wave 2, which has been just as impossible to actually see in stores as the first two waves. The good news is you can still get him for a reasonable rate at Amazon or Entertainment Earth.
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