Cobrander

Cobrander is a Beastformer from the Generation 1 continuity family.

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.

One of the greatest villains on planet Beast, Cobrander (コブランダー Koburandā) began his reign of terror generations before the Autobot/Decepticon war reached the Beastformers' world. A being utterly devoid of mercy, he traveled the world, seeking out and challenging the greatest warriors he could find, besting them then demanding fealty and tribute from their lands. He believes those weaker than himself are at best tools to be used, and most often mere insects to be crushed at his whim. And with his brute strength and savage nature, aided by his ability to spit poisonous liquid from his fangs and claws, he never lost. Worse still, he wields the MVP Weapon Mahilacore (マヒーラコア Mahīrakoa), a strange blade that can emit radio waves that interfere with the nerve impulses of living creatures, paralyzing them... and with sufficient power, he can even control minds.

So great was his threat that the Royal Lion Clan turned to powerful magic to stop him, separating his soul from his body and hiding both away... but even that ultimately was a delaying tactic, as Alligatron sought out and revived Cobrander as part of his quest to rule the planet.

Cobrander's defeat at the paws of White Leo, descendent of the Lion Clan, signaled the end of the great war and a brokering of peace. Cobrander slithered back to his homeland of Zigrad, where he rules as King. But true to his vicious nature, his rule is a despotic one, as the country grows more isolated, the populace living in fear and poverty. He's backed by his spying Emperor Shield Dragon, whose sonic abilities compliment Cobrander's and help keep the populace of Zigrad scared and under control.

Fiction

Beastformers catalog

A fierce villain that threatened the peace of planet Beast, Cobrander was finally captured and his soul sealed into the Bewitching Serpent Seal. Without its soul, Cobrander's body transformed into a stone statue which was placed in the jail of Red Phoenix with the Mysterious Ancient Document and the seal by the ruling Lion clan. Red Phoenix slept as a fortress hidden in the planet's vastest forest. Mysterious Ancient Document When the Autobot Beastformers and the Decepticon Beastformers came across the fortress, Red Phoenix transformed into its firebird mode, inadvertently dropping the stone statue into a deep valley. Its origins were a mystery to the Beastformers, but the Mysterious Ancient Document contained the answers. Series 3 catalog

When Alligatron died and returned as a ghost, he learned how to revive Cobrander, and did so to sic him on the Autobot Beasts. Burstsun catalog

Beastformers comic

Cobrander fought against the Laser Beasts when they emerged from their underground kingdom to challenge the Beastformers for the surface of the planet. Beastformers VS Laser Beasts

Legends comic

The revived Cobrander was defeated by White Leo, stopping the mind control that was affecting the Decepticon Beastformers and finally putting an end to the war. LG51 Doublecross Prologue

Cobrander took part in the final battle between the Beastformers and the Laser Beasts on Beast in 2023. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 1

Toys

Transformers: Beastformers

• Petrified Special Cobrander (Mail-away Beastformer, 1987)

• ID number: 59

The only version of Cobrander available in the Transformers iteration of the Beastformers line, "Petrified Special" Cobrander (石にされた特製コブランダー Ishi ni Sareta Tokusei Koburandā), sometimes called "Ceramic Cobra" (セラミックコブラ), is an anthropomorphic cobra in robotic armor, cast in marbled-gray plastic, lacking the normal toy's weapon. His left arm ends in a thumbless spike. One version has a bare chest where a Battle Emblem should be, while the other (seemingly rarer) version has a sticker with the Royal Lion Clan emblem from the Bewitching Serpent Seal card.

He could only be obtained by a mail-away offer requiring the purchase of both the Red Phoenix Fortress and the "Burstsun Special Set" ten-pack: each one had half of a "stone tablet" token that had to be mailed in along with a filled-out questionnaire included in both packages. The last day to send in the paperwork was 1988 January 31.

The figure was produced in insufficient numbers to meet the demand, resulting in a second production run (thus the sticker/no-sticker versions; it's unclear which was the first-run, but presumably the rarer sticker-having version came first). Even with this second run, this figure's rarity has given it an incredibly high secondary-market price tag, upwards of 50,000 yen (roughly $450 in USD at the time of this writing). In the English-speaking collector community this figure is typically referred to as "Stone Cobra", and it is a common target for counterfeits.

Beastformers

Molded with an eternal Bronx cheer.

• Cobrander (Beastformer, 1988)

• ID number: 59
• Accessories: "Mahilacore" MVP Weapon

The normal full-color and properly-armed version of Cobrander was only sold in the post-Transformers "RPG"-themed Beastformers sequel series. The Battle Emblem on his chest reveals one of three symbols when warmed up; Fire, Water or Wood.

He was sold in the second assortment of individually-packed Beastformers, with a peg-hole in the top flap, and a sticker on the bottom with his name and role on it. This series did not have any kind of "rare card" random pack-in promotion. Samples of Cobrander (among others) have also been found on simple bubble cards, with the bio card positioned so the name shows clearly under the figure's feet, but it is uncertain if this style of packaging was ever properly sold at retail.

Later in the run, the "mood ring" styled rubsigns were replaced with new rubsigns that revealed full-color Fire/Wood/Water images on black backdrops. (These rubsign variants also happened at the same time in the Hasbro Battle Beast version of the line.)

• Perfect 6-Piece Set (Box set, 1988)

• Accessories: "Mahilacore" MVP Weapon

Cobrander was also part of the "Perfect 6-Piece Set" (パーフェクト6体セット Pāfekuto 6 Tai Setto, the English text on the packaging renders it as "Beastformer 6 Animals Set") multi-pack, unchanged from his individual release.

Five of the six slots in this box set will always have the exclusive Crystal Killer Fish, plus the "common" Beastformers Baboon, Cobrander, Eagle Killer, and Shield Dragon. The sixth would be either Demonkey or Little Serow, both of whom were also only available in this set, meaning you'd need to buy two for a complete collection. Thankfully, a panel on the bottom-right corner of the box back tells the buyer which six figures are in that set, so at least it's not blind luck this time.

Merchandise

Meiji candy toys

• Ramune Beastformers Battle Card (1988)
  • Meiji ID number: 40

A gold-foil "Battle Card" of Cobrander (seen at the top of this page), featuring his painted character art from the Bewitching Serpent Seal card (and related materials), was available in randomly-packed sets of cards that came with ramune-flavored candy tablets. The back of the card features a severely truncated bio, with data for the game from the Meiji chocoball SD figures' packaging.

While the cardback shows line-art of an SD-styled Cobrander toy, no such toy was actually produced.

Notes

• Cobrander's name is a portmanteau of the English words "cobra" and "commander". This does not make him Cobra Commander.
• Cobrander's Transformers-era "role", given on the back of the Bewitching Serpent Seal card and the large cast poster, is merely "?".
• His 1987 checklist-poster art incorrectly gives him a gold weapon. The 1988 version of the art corrects this mistake.
• His 1988 release's bio card gives him the nickname Cobra (コブラ Kobura).

Foreign names

• English: King Cobra