Cobra Commander issue 1
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| File:Cobra Commander 2024 1 cvr.jpg | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Image Comics Skybound Entertainment | ||||||||||||
| First published | January 17, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | January 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Joshua Williamson | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Andrea Milana | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Annalisa Leoni | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Rus Wooton | ||||||||||||
| Editors | Sean Mackiewicz & Jonathan Manning | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Energon Universe | ||||||||||||
An ambitious man begins his journey to ensnare the world in his coils.
Synopsis
A mysterious man in a mask and trenchcoat walks into the No Man's Land truck stop on the outskirts of a mountain range and tells the bartender he needs a vehicle. One of the patrons, Jimmy, teases the stranger over his hiss-like "lisp" and wishes him luck before heading out to his truck. The stranger follows Jimmy and tells him that his vehicle will do nicely, using — as Jimmy describes it "some kind of toy" — to attack him. The bartender follows after Jimmy to collect his pay... only to find Jimmy's bloody remains in the snow, next to the image of a cobra drawn in blood.
Before, in the secret society of Cobra-La, an angry mob gathers outside of a science lab, angry at the scientists for bringing a "monstrosity" into the city. One of the scientists insists that they retreat, but he is shot in the head by their commander, who insists no one retreats. He orders the other scientists to protect their research and hands them weaponized spores to combat the mob. The commander begins fighting back as the doors to the lab open, but the other scientists hesitate. One of them asks the commander if she should also throw her spore, which promptly explodes in the commander's face.
Once the commander recovers from the explosion, he is given a reflective metal helmet to hide his shame. Pythona appears and tells him to put it on; he has been summoned. The commander is brought before Lord Golobulus, the leader of Cobra-La who first brought him into their society when he was wandering the world without purpose. Golobulus castigates him for his actions; the people of Cobra-La respect organic life above all else, yet the commander has cost the lives of their people experimenting with "the specimen" and its "blasphemous technology." The commander balks at this, believing his work of such value that he should be given a position of leadership within Cobra-La. Golobulus reveals he knows the commander is responsible for leaking information about the specimen and instigating the riots, and that the only reason he was healed was so that Golobulus could personally oversee his execution. The Royal Guards attack the commander, but he uses a series of small, insectoid robots to attack, infest, and kill them from within. The commander tells Golobulus that Cobra-La is a powder keg, cut off from the world so long that their resources are dwindling and civil war is imminent, but with this technology, they can make Cobra-La strong again. If Golobulus wants to further his control of the world, he must let the commander live to pursue a special mission in the outside world.
The commander returns to the science compound where they are keeping the "specimen" in question: Megatron! Thinking out loud to the inactivate robot, he reflects that while Cobra-La is advanced for Earth, they are nothing compared to what awaits in space. While the other scientists tried to communicate with Megatron, the commander opts for a more direct approach, activating a machine that (quite painfully) extracts the energon from Megatron's body. This also reveals to him that there are other energy signatures similar to Megatron's in the outside world. The commander decides he will track down these others and learn the secrets of the energy that fuels them. Then no power in Cobra-La or any world will be able to stop Golobulus' army — an army he shall lead. As the commander exits the laboratory, Megatron looks up and smiles.
Back in the present, the commander watches a sunset fall over a lake when he is confronted by the handler Golobulus sent to keep an eye on the him during his mission. The "grunt" insists they keep moving and recommends taking on a disguise so as to draw less attention. The commander doesn't care. He wants the attention. They have a long journey ahead of them to Florida, and by the time they are done, the world will fear the name of... Cobra Commander!
Meanwhile, a small cabin on the edge of a swamp awaits, the door marked with a logo and name: "Dreadnoks!"
Featured characters
Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Cobra/Cobra-La | Others |
|---|---|
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Quotes
Notes
Continuity notes
- #WhereIsMegatron? In the depths of Cobra-La apparently! Though the issue doesn't say exactly, it would appear that this story takes places after our first look at the Decepticon leader frozen in the ice in Transformers #4.
- When Cobra Commander siphons the energon from Megatron, the electric effect is colored yellow. While this could just be a representation of electricity, it's worth noting that we've previously seen yellow energon in Void Rivals #1 when Darak and Solila use it to repower Jetfire (a detail kept for Transformers #1.)
- The fact that Cobra Commander detects more energy signatures like Megatron's indicates that this issue takes place after the Autobots and Decepticons have awoken in the pages of Transformers, but when exactly is not clear.
G.I. Joe references
- The truck that Cobra Commander steals has the treads and colors of a H.I.S.S. tank.
- COBRA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!!! The secret society of snake-people — including Golobulus, Pythona, and the Royal Guard — made their debut in G.I. Joe: The Movie, where we learn that they were responsible for the creation of Cobra and that Cobra Commander hails from them. While often maligned by fans and excised from most re-imaginings of G.I. Joe, their inclusion here continues the Energon Universe's trend of basing their mythology on the Sunbow Productions cartoons.
- Cobra Commander is established to be a normal human who Cobra-La took in, something glimpsed by his caucasian skin tone while recovering, marrying his more typical backstories in other media with his Sunbow origin. Whether this CC was a used car salesman remains to be seen.
- In a clever subversion of expectations, the Cobra-La scientist yelling to retreat is drawn to resemble Cobra Commander’s pre-mutated form from G.I. Joe: The Movie, making the reader think this is the classic CC we know and love... only to be shot by our actual Commander.
- Cobra Commander's first armor is based on his 1991 action figure.
- The Dreadnoks are a gang of bikers and mercenaries, often led by the master of disguise Zartan, who frequently find themselves in the employ of Cobra.
Transformers references
- The outfit Cobra Commander wears as he enters the outside world draws heavily from his "Old Snake" guise from the Generation 1 cartoon episode "Only Human."
- In the panel featuring a look at Cybertron, we also glimpse a few cameos, including an Omega Sentinel, an Insecticon, and several tetrajet Seekers that are colored after the Rainmakers.
Real-world references
Errors
- Just as with Duke #1, the back cover of the comic is patterned after a classified file (this time in red). However, it features the same grammatical errors, reading: "The contents of this booklet is confidential. This unauthorized disclosure of information within is prohibited."
Other trivia
Covers
- Cover A: Cobra Commander emerges as the Ark crashes behind him.
- Cover B:
- Cover C (1:10 Copy Incentive):
- Cover D (1:25 Copy Incentive):
- Cover E (1:50 Copy Incentive):
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- Explore the Energon Universe in Duke #2, Transformers #5, and Cobra Commander #2!
- A new era for G.I. Joe starts in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #301!
- Kroma by Lorenzo de Felici
- Arcade Kings
Reprints
- Cobra Commander Volume 1 (June 12, 2024) ISBN 1534398155 / ISBN 978-1534398153
- Collects issues #1–5.
- Trade paperback format.
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Volume 1 – cover art by Andrea Milana
