G.I. Retro - In The Cobra's Pit

In this episode of G.I. Retro, I break down Part 1 of the Revenge of Cobra - In the Cobra's Pit! A new miniseries, a parade of fan favorites, and one of the most hotly contested questions in G.I. Joe history: is it hair, or is it a hood?! The Weather Dominator is open for business and the Revenge of Cobra has begun.
Who was YOUR Episode MVP?
Who was YOUR Foul-Up of the Week?
What was YOUR favorite But Did You Die? moment?
Hair or Hood?
What moments or hidden highlights did I miss?
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📧 Email: James@giretro.com
#GIJoe #GIRetro #ARealAmericanHero #RevengeOfCobra #80sCartoons #Sunbow #YoJoe

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Great escapes require great risks, Cobra Commander. Hang on.

SPEAKER_00 0:06

A new miniseries begins, and a parade of fan favorites have entered the fray. Plus, I dare to ask the question: is it hair or is it a hood? It's the Revenge of Cobra, Episode 1. This is G.I. Retro. Now back to G.I. Joe. Yo, Joe, and welcome everyone back to GI Retro. And with the success of the Mass Device miniseries, of course, G.I. Joe would have to come back for more. And that's exactly what we got in September of 1984 with the Revenge of Cobra. We're jumping in in the Cobra's Pit, the first episode of the second miniseries in the Sumbo run of G.I. Joe, a real American hero. So excited to get to this because as I was talking about the end of the Mass Device, had so much fun revisiting that, and we hadn't even gotten to so many of the fan favorite characters that the animated series is really remembered for. That changes starting with this miniseries. And before I get into the plot, I want to talk about. We got a new intro. Mostly the same song, slight lyrical change, with instead of uh Cobra and Destro, it's Cobra the Enemy. I don't know how you all feel. I actually I like Cobra the Enemy a little bit more. I like I like sort of the wider net that that casts, but I want to talk about the new intro. I feel like they kicked the animation up another notch, the action sequencing within the intro. It's great. I think arguably it's the best intro in the whole animated run that we get of G.I. Joe Real American Hero. Unless you count the movie. We'll talk about that for another time. But with with the new intro, we get a preview to just how star-studded this cast of G.I. Joe is going to be now. I mean, we see the dreadnoughts right out of the shoot. Zartan, Rakondo, Storm Shadow, Firefly, Scrap Iron, Spirit, Lady J. We get so many, along with all the other characters that have been introduced, we and we get Roadblock. All these great characters showing up in the intro to go along with the great action sequencing around them. And I think my favorite bit is during the narrator breakdown about who G.I. Joe is. That's when we get to see Flint, and he's totally kicking butt in it. I loved it. So, new intro, maybe the best of the run of the animated series. From the rock and new intro, we are into the opening scene of the episode, which becomes this great battle sequence, but combine that with an absolute master class in marketing and salesmanship, because they are showcasing all the new characters, all the new vehicles that either were available or would soon be available on toy shelves. And it was it was great to see. I think the plot of this episode to me really became secondary to just everything that we were being treated to seeing for the very first time, be it the characters or the cool new vehicles that were coming up in the animated series here. So we got the Skyhawks right off the bat, new characters in this scene, uh, as GI Joe is escorting this laser core through the desert highway. Like I like I said, the plot almost, almost, you know, in very much so in the backseat to what is going on with these new characters and vehicles that we're seeing. So Mutt and Junkyard, roadblock. We get Flint showing up, flying one of the Skyhawks, and he had this great line to start out his debut.

SPEAKER_03 3:50

What's the situation on your side, Flint? So far, so good, but things can still get hairy between here and headquarters.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Remember, a cobra's a snake, and snake is sneak, spelled sideways.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Flint is my all-time favorite G.I. Joe, so this was really great to see him show up here and immediately set the tone for who he would be throughout this entire animated series. Uh, there's a lot of great one-liners from Flint. I'm sure we'll be highlighting a lot of them as we go along here at GI Retro. But so we see some new faces, some new vehicles from GI Joe. Uh, and to Flint's point, Cobra does show up, Cobra Commander showing off the Cobra Claws here, but then it becomes just sort of a roll call of some other great characters. We see Scrap Iron show up here, Firefly in the trouble bubble showing up. Firefly, my favorite Cobra character. So both Flint, Firefly, two of my all-time favorites showing up in the same scene, along with Scrap Iron. Again, lots of new faces. Absolutely star-studded scene here in the entire episode. As the action's going on, we get to see Lady J, another debut, and she shows out immediately. I love this. Look at the detail with Lady J's debut using the javelin, but using her feet to balance and steer the vamp all at the same time. I thought that was so cool. It's a great action scene. Duke and Snake Eyes, Scarlet still very much so present. Duke kicking a lot, Cobra Trooper Butt here, Snake Eyes helping out. They and the Laser Corps do get captured, but like I said, the plot so secondary to everything that they are just throwing at us. It and doing so in a in a really awesome way. We're getting so many great characters that both the series and the toy line are so well remembered for. I am just loving every bit of this so far. And to close out the scene, I mentioned we got Roadblock. We get Roadblock dropping his very first rhyme in the animated series. I love Roadblock's rhymes. I'm sure I'll be highlighting a lot of them as we go along throughout the series. And just like Flint, setting the tone right away for who he is as a character in this show. I should point out G.I. Joe not going away empty-handed, even though Duke, Snake Eyes, and that laser core did get captured by Cobra. G.I. Joe managed to capture Cobra Commander himself. They're gonna take him to prison, but Cobra Commander has a contingency plan that gives us yet another batch of iconic fan favorite characters making their debut in the series. We get Zartan and the Dreadnoughts in a great scene where they capture Colonel Sharp, and we get to see exactly what the Dreadnoughts are about. We get to see what Zartan is capable of with his disguises, taking on the guise of Colonel Sharp so he can spring Cobra Commander. Really great intro for the Dreadnoughts and Zartan here. Zartan, another one of my all-time favorite characters, uh, and making his debut again in the first episode of this miniseries. But with his arrival comes the great debate in regards to Zartan, at least in the Sunbow series, and that is is it hair or is it a hood? Just like uh Duke and Scarlet or Snake Eyes and Scarlet, G.I. Joe fans have gone back and forth about this for years. So Zartan, for me, this is my take. I think in every other form of media, be it action figure, the comics, and stuff like that, it's very obvious that it's a hood. But in the Sunbow series, I think it's equally obvious that it's hair. And I don't care if it's, you know, sort of a miscommunication or misunderstanding from the animation company or anything like that. It's very clear throughout this series that it's hair. You see it in this episode. So for me, where I come down on it in canon, in G.I. Joe Real American Hero, the Sunbow Run, that's hair. Toys, comic books, it's a hood. Well, when I played with the toys, uh, you know, Zartan, it was it was always hair too, because I grew up watching the show, but that's where I come down on it. How about you? Let me know is it hair or is it a hood when it comes to Zartan for you? From another G.I. Joe third rail topic that will tear families apart depending on how you come down on it. Let's get back into the plot of the episode. We get the main plot device that is going to be driving this miniseries, and that is the debut of Destro's weather dominator, similar to the mass device, really leaning in again into the sci-fi elements here and the technology that Cobra and Destro have at their disposal. Uh, bearing the lead, though, beyond the weather dominator and what that's capable of, we get another iconic character showing up for the first time. Not just in the intro. In the episode, we have Storm Shadow doing the bidding of Destro, not really highlighting what Storm Shadow is capable of yet, but believe me, it's coming, and I can't wait. Can't wait to get more from Storm Shadow as this series rolls along. But let's jump over to the prison where Gung Ho is delivering Cobra Commander, and Cobra Commander drops maybe my favorite quote from the entire episode.

SPEAKER_02 9:21

Man, we just brought this creep in.

SPEAKER_03 9:24

What do you mean, parole? No purpose would be served by keeping him in jail when and if he reforms, young man. You wouldn't want to deprive me of my constitutional rights, would you, musclehead?

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Cobra Commander, a champion for constitutional rights, because of course he is. Best quote of the episode, in my opinion, and it leads into the best sequence of the episode as well. We get this prison break, Baroness is in disguise, we saw Zartan impersonating Colonel Sharp, so we knew that was coming. They free Cobra Commander, they take out the guards, and in particular, it's this chase scene that I think is just the very best, other than all the debuts that we got in this episode. But really, this prison break as a whole was great because we got to see how capable Zartan and Baroness are working together, but also the Dreadnoughts when they put their mind to it, however enfeebled they may be, that you know, they can do some, you know, serious shopwrecking as well. But then we get into this chase on the swamp skiers, and the animation was absolutely brilliant to me. It reminded me of Return of the Jedi, like the speeder bike scene, just tremendously animated. I was so impressed going back and re-watching it. It was really kind of blown away. And it also leads directly into our but did you die moment of the week.

SPEAKER_03 10:46

Did you die?

SPEAKER_00 10:48

I got shot.

SPEAKER_03 10:49

But did you die? Be careful, Zartan! I am too valuable to end up splattered all over some cypress tree.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Maybe I could have picked something from the opening battle sequence. There were definitely some options there. Maybe that's what you went with as you're watching along. But for me, what struck me the most was during this chase scene, and again, I compared it to the Return of the Jedi speederbike chase, because the speed just looked so immense. So Zartan with Cobra Commander on the back of his swamp skier, they're serpentining through the swamp. He is zigs and zags, and Cobra Commander just full force gets clotheslined by a tree branch. And I'm sitting there watching, it's like that would have absolutely decapitated. Like that was a hereditary moment if you've seen the movie. So that definitely for me was our but did you die moment of the week. That being said, Cobra Commander did not die and makes it back to the new Cobra Temple hiding out in the desert. And we get another scene that continues to build off the relationship dynamic of Destro and Cobra Commander, but also Destro and how he feels about Zartan and the Dreadnoughts.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

Shouldn't we start planning a mission to free our beloved leader from Blackwater Prison?

SPEAKER_02 12:10

Certainly, Major. I miss the Cobra Commander as deeply as you do, but we can attend to that in good time.

SPEAKER_03 12:18

In good time, you say? No time in prison is good.

SPEAKER_02 12:23

How did you escape so quickly? Zartan and the Dreadnoughts. They have no commitment to our cause. They are nothing more than money-grubbing mercenaries.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

Layering in more of that power dynamic friction between Destro and Cobra Commander, and also showing Destro's disdain for the mercenaries. And I liked Major Blood sort of noticing me like, hey, why aren't we, why aren't we freeing our leader? Uh so that that was interesting to me, and I wanted to point that out here. Of course, we're gonna get a lot more of that. And we got a lot more of the weather dominator being used here. Flint, mutt, and roadblock, unfortunately getting caught up in it and crashing into the pit of chaos. And then we get Cobra Commander once again, tried and true, trying to threaten the world with his latest weapon to force them all to surrender to the will of Cobra. Uh, I don't know what channel that is. Maybe it's yeah, it must be Cobra TV. You know, they do great work over there, so that must be the broadcast channel that Cobra Commander is using. But it is during this broadcast that brings us to our foul-up of the week.

SPEAKER_02 13:33

You're here because you're an industrial spray follow-up.

SPEAKER_00 13:37

Thank you, Sarge. And, you know, the weather dominator has already been showcased to be a huge threat, and Cobra Commander threatening the entire world. Duke, Snake Eyes, captured Flint, Roadblock, Mutt, missing, and Clutch decides to do this. See if you can put a tracer on his speech.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Yeah, all you need is a garbage detector.

SPEAKER_00 14:04

I'm all for a joke. I'm all for trying to lift spirits in a serious situation, but Clutch, you've got Joe's captured, your leader is captured, your second command and his team are missing, presumed dead. The world is under threat of a very real and very functional weather dominator. Cobra Commander is asking for the entire surrender, and you drop that joke. It wasn't even good. It wasn't even funny. Everyone should feel bad for laughing at it. I almost made it a blanket foul-up of the week, but clutch, I'm giving it to you for that. You are our foul-up of the week. The episode ends, though, with the arrival of the Creeper Vines. Destro gives Cobra Commander and Zartan maybe a little bit too much of an up-close and personal demonstration of what they're capable of. I did like the Panther back and forth and Cobra Commander originally not being impressed, and then uh, yeah, being overwhelmed by them. And Destro unleashes them on Flint, who is looking for his missing G.I. Joe comrades, and that's the cliffhanger that we get. And I was sort of amused and took note of the fact that a little reminiscent of the vines, that is, a little reminiscent of what G.I. Joe would face when they tangle with Cobra Law, planting seeds of what is to come, if you will, a little bit there. So that that definitely caught my eye. Before we get into episode MVP, I wanted to take a minute and actually talk about the toys for a second. You know, I've talked about how so many debuting characters and vehicles in this episode that were either on toy shelves or soon would be. A lot of the criticism of this show and other shows of the era is that they were just commercials for toys. I get all that. It's more than that, but I get it. But there's actually a couple things in this episode that had me sitting there asking, like, was that a toy? And why wasn't it? It should have been. And so in that opening sequence, as they're transporting the laser core, we saw a couple things from the Cobra side that I think absolutely should have been toys. And maybe this becomes a reoccurring segment of it should have been a toy. And the first thing was the Cobra transport helicopter, the constrictor. Uh, to me, as I was watching, and it was like that's sort of Cobra's answer to the Tomahawk. And I can't believe, at least to my knowledge, that that was never on toy shelves. I know there's a lot of customs and stuff like that out there, but that would have been a really cool Cobra vehicle to have. And I think even more so than that, that big Cobra transport plane with the Cobra head on it absolutely should have been a toy. I know to be it to scale, it would have had to be massive. I mean, maybe it's Cobra's answer to the flag in terms of size. Think about that. That would have been really awesome. But even if you had to make a smaller one, I I would have loved to have had that as a kid. So those were a couple that I know it's called the Vulture. I don't, I don't love that name, you know, for it. I think we got a big Cobra head on it, call it something else, but that absolutely should have been a toy. I would have loved to have had that as a kid. And then as a side note, I was also thinking, I was like, you know, missed opportunity not having like a Zartan and Dreadnought swamp playset, like their hideout or just a place for the swamp skier, just more playsets in general. I know I always loved those as a kid, and I think that would have been a good one as well. Love the show, love the toys. I think that's gonna become a reoccurring segment here. Probably not every episode because they did such a good job, but I do want to take time to point out the rare missed opportunity where Hasbro could have said, hey, buy our playsets and toys with certain things. Like I said, I know I would have loved all of those as a kid. And so we come to it at last. It is time for episode MVP. And even though this is the most star-studded episode yet of G.I. Joe, in my view, there was really only one choice for episode MVP. He did make his debut in this episode. He got to showcase his strengths and one of his weaknesses. He even sparked the great question coming into this episode: is it hair or is it a hood? This week's MVP is, of course, Zartan. Zartan absolutely carried this episode. And shout out to Zach Hoffman, the voice actor. I love Zartan's voice. It's it comes off so cool. It's also very different from anybody else's. And just like the character showing up here is different from what we've seen from Cobra so far, leading this band of mercenaries. He, like Baroness, is also a master of disguise, but him being able to camouflage himself, the weakness to sunlight, all great stuff, all of these things that we come to know so well about the character on display here in this very first appearance of Zartan. He is definitely the episode MVP by a mile.

SPEAKER_03 18:52

While G.I. Joe and Cobra battle for the land.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

I Zartan rule the swamp. Be sure to drop your own picks for MVP, Fallop, D Y D. Is it hair or is it a hood? Drop them in the comments on Twitter at GI Retro Show. You can connect with me, James at GI Retro.com. Be sure to like, subscribe, all that good stuff. But more importantly, be sure to re watch. This is a lot of fun going through it with you all. I'm excited about this new miniseries. The next episode, The Vines of Evil. And until then, if you didn't know, now you know. Take it away, Flint. And knowing is half the battle.