Is showing CC's face a good idea or bad idea?

[GIJoeFan2012]

You think it's better if Cobra Commander's true face remains unseen? I notice movies based on cartoons give their villains real names and show their faces. Dr. Claw is another example of this. I always picture CC as a man with a burnt face. Seeing CC with a normal lookin' face turns me off for some odd reason.

[Troops of Doom]

Bad idea. Villains are much more interesting when they have some mystery that's never solved.

[Snow Wolf]

Bad idea. He should be the faceless enemy, while still maintaining a bit of his own character over the classic meglomanic persona.

[dmizrok]

i read somewhere i think that the reason for the mirrored mask was that you saw your reflection when you looked at him...you were looking at yourself...i say helmet on.,much better not seeing the face (but the hood is my favorite)..it happens in movies not only with the bad guys, but the GOOD too..they cant keep their faces covered lol...

[jogunwarrior]

Bad idea. Keep the face hidden. One of my favorite aspects of the IDW universe was the Cobra Commander identity was a complete mystery...even after they killed him. It could have been anyone, and that is scarier to me than knowing who the enemy is.

[jeffafa]

Bad. Bad, bad, bad...

[RolandofGilead]

When I was little, I used to be really interested in what Destro, Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander looked like under their masks. I sat up at night thinking about it and wondering and making pictures in my mind.

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/G-I-Joe-55-CGC-9-8-1987-Marvel-Comic-featuring-Legendary-Unmasking-Cover-/00/s/Njk1WDQ3Ng==/$%28KGrHqFHJC8E8f%282-PStBPNG7kEh+Q~~60_35.JPG

I remember when this comic came out I tried so hard to see the faces through their disguises. Then I grew up a little and began to realize that it really didn't matter. The Joes were simply drawings by some artist or another and they all looked different depending on who was doing the art. Now it doesn't bother me.


That much.

[blackbarn]

It's a bad idea but Hollywood likes to cast big actors in such roles then feel they must be unmasked to show off the star. They also seem to think a scene can't be dramatic without the actors face visible.

[sharky]

You should add a poll.

[CrimsonGuard101]

Bad idea, Cobra Commander dosen't need a real reckognizable human face or "unmasked" look imop (lloking at you ROC Rex "The Doctor" Lewis)..his chrome dome is iconic enough and symbolizes the unknown reach Cobra has...best to keep it that way so you never have to have the same actor whine when he dosent wanna return...also you dont have to make him som deforme dor burn unit victim to expalin why he wears a mask..he wears it cause hes a badass nuff said...

[Griff]

You should add a poll.

preferably one with a hot chick twirling around it. :D I say leave his identity a mystery...better left to wonder.

[Jettfire]

I think the mystery should be maintained, right up until the final scene. Then he should remove his mask to reveal a pasty-faced old white guy.

[VideoViper]

If I had to do a movie, it would be hard to hide the actor's face without ultimately piecing the pieces togeather.

My solution, addopt a Alfred Hitchcock type style were only part of the face is shown, when the story requires that he be unmasked, Close ups of only the eyes, or only the lips; even shooting angles so that we see the back of his head when he talks. It is an artistic way of saying the real face is the Mask. It would take talent to do it right, & make it work with what we typically think of as an action movie. But it definately be cool to pull it off.

[chuchu33]

http://liztellsfrank.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/screen-shot-2010-12-06-at-3-31-57-pm-e1291678454887.png?w=604

[helrod]

when a characters main appeal is mystery it is a BAD idea.
Bobba Fett is another who was basically a guy in a cool costume and people loved it make him an annoying 8 yr old and you get millions of angry fans.
I don't need to know what a person looks like to feel the effects of their actions, and I don't need them to have a lame(yes it will always be lame) back story to make them evil.
When someone is just evil it makes them scary.
It works the same for heroes the trend now is to give a hero a tragic past ,which is funny because a tragic past would most likely make you a villain.

good for the sake of good...evil for the sake of evil..
A mask is there so we don't have to see the face.

[crock master]

isnt he supposed to look like fred anyways?

[Indiana Joe]

Haven't we seen his face lots of times ?

https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSZyE_lY0Xx50sD6zmFHwmefIVEsAAve 3957amB-f0TBFDhHSO2qwhttps://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSguWsYFA5CdS4N46_tpD27S0Vn4a66b GFHpsut4LeNxvLy844Phttps://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRbEZv0WJ_hQC_iYqs93wMNGvVaE45Rn 1wO1QJ7mIoBovlFdM2Shttps://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSu02egizajuY2G9ORL5_IB1lbrmGoZa GeHQ-dW8fIg7cBAefLuOwhttps://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSLvOBYhJ5Y_vr-2GE_mZobpXAH3Q-FZfZKeK_iTKKzDA2MK0bWhttp://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y244/MikeILLER/FACES-1.jpghttps://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT8pSoa45EOS7HnsIekDwXmuVl-8KCUvD-eM4CU4C9VqHTeBv3nhttps://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSaUPSHOaG73GedX0Xv8sf4vfRc-S7Ld2cxgXfp5C_cHnC_VgjXhttps://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQP4ts1OCJCftcF9LWj-OdiBue7I5_Ff9PBq73iCscAoE4FP1y5h2PeswRxqghttps://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ6Uqk1snhS7P93Ckvi99n3baLusW8Q9 MqyL9kxrdhteDdLdIcUXg

[cobracobra]

wouldn't want to see the face unless it was a death scene.

[CrimsonGuard101]

wouldn't want to see the face unless it was a death scene.

like a bullet strait throguh the faceplate...shattering it...

[Indiana Joe]

I could NOT find an Adam DeCobray pic on the web anyplace!
can you believe it?

[samantha]

I like that we do not see his face.

[ilzuccone]

cc doesn't have a face!!

[monstermonkey]

Seeing as he's been a major villain who I've enjoyed for 30 years now, I don't mind seeing his face. He was shown clearly in the DDP Unclassified and American's Elite series, and he was just a normal looking guy, which which what I preferred. Not the snakefaced dude from the cartoon or the kid from "3rd Rock from the Sun" all grown up with burn scars on all over his mug. I really hate both of those versions of the Commander.

[Sturm Shadow]

I agree, it's a bad idea. I think CC's face should be kept hidden all the time, like Snake Eye does. I feel the same way about Storm Shadow and Destro too.

[GIJoeFan2012]

Don't some women love mysterious men and bad boys? lol why do I have the feeling CC would get a LOT of women with his blue hood if he was in the real world?

[Crimson Rage]

Of course the mystery adds to the menace. In the Marvel comic he's just a regular guy that would have had us all going "Is that it?" if we'd seen his face. It would have killed his appeal.

Renegades on the other hand... Trying to capture a new audience, the character wasn't the same... Possible that kids wouldn't really 'get' a blank-faced villain, so I do understand why his face did get shown.

[Wylde Weezle]

Movie-verse is easy; Cobra Commander looks like Joseph Gordon Levitt and I'm fine with that. And if Snake Eyes ever ends up unmasked in a Joe movie and is played by Ray Park, I'd be totally ok with that too, since in my mind that's already what he looks like under the mask.

[GI Joe Eternal]

Bad idea. Last time we saw his face he was in the US Army, his name was Rex and he was Baroness' brother.

I can do without all that.

[DESTRO]

Bad idea!

[Indiana Joe]

Interesting that his helmet/visor is reflective/mirror surface to reflect our own image as if we are the true evil Nah.....

[Sturm Shadow]

This.

He is the face of evil..what we are seeing IS his real face..like Michael Myers.

Yeah, CC is like the personification of evil, and his mask is a way to reinforce his lack of humanity. Removing his mask is almost like an attempt to make him more sympathetic, like he's just one of us, and that's not the kind of CC that I want in G.I.Joe. We don't need to turn him into ROTJ's Darth Vader.

[Crimson Rage]

Well, I don't think Cobra Commander is the personification of evil... His filecard certainly used the term, but that was because kids loved absurd extremes like that... it never came across in any other medium (not to me, anyway)

His Sunbow character was more pantomime (which made him rather loveable) and in the Marvel comic he was a damaged individual driven to extremes by fate who often garnered our sympathies. That's why I always liked him, despite his 'villainy': Precisely because he wasn't a clichéd "black hat" villain.

[Snow Wolf]

I agree, that extreme black-white, good-bad comparison was implemented to appeal to the understanding of the little kids watching the cartoon, reading the comics and playing with the toys. Of all three mediums, I prefer the comic presentation of CC best.

Well, I don't think Cobra Commander is the personification of evil... His filecard certainly used the term, but that was because kids loved absurd extremes like that... it never came across in any other medium (not to me, anyway)

His Sunbow character was more pantomime (which made him rather loveable) and in the Marvel comic he was a damaged individual driven to extremes by fate who often garnered our sympathies. That's why I always liked him, despite his 'villainy': Precisely because he wasn't a clichéd "black hat" villain.

[Viper6]

very bad idea

[isilaran]

Bad idea, it could end up making the character hard to take seriously, like when the inspector Gadget toy line unmasked Dr. Claw

[NeoDragonKnight]

any unmasking in any property is typically bad. Peoples minds can make up anything better they can show visually (this is the failing in todays Horor genre), and is more satisfying to each individual as its their own version of whats behind the mask.

[NAJA EMPIRE]

VERY VERY BAD!!! Kind of funny how we really have seen his face NUMEROUS times, yet we won't accept the fact of what he looks like. Like we keep voiding it or something

[GIJoeFan2012]

any unmasking in any property is typically bad. Peoples minds can make up anything better they can show visually (this is the failing in todays Horor genre), and is more satisfying to each individual as its their own version of whats behind the mask.

I just thought of something.....what if the person was a race/specie fans weren't expecting after the unmasking? For example, some people ignore the fact Destro is scottish and pretend he is black because of his mask and voice. To me, I think that's kinda wrong. Personally, I would be GREATLY offended if I was a scottsman or alien and people ignore it and pretend I am their race/specie, especially if the creator(s) intended him/her to be that certain race/specie. I do notice some fans do this.

[punchitchewy80]

bad idea. when i was little and first saw the real movie it was the only time i ever saw what was behind the chrome /no joe cartoon for us in blighty/ and it was a weird frog looking snake thing! that never made sense to me, older and wiser i understand but still keep him covered.

[Headman]

The worst thing any of the previous incarnations ever did was give a backstory for Cobra Commander. He shouldn't have a name, a history, a son (That's right!) or a face.

[ZEITGEIST]

i'm good with the joseph gordon levit/dr rex face. he is about what i would imagine under the mask anyway. no problems with that dude in the cc role at all.

cc as a snake man? now we got problems...

[Tom-1]

I always felt it was unimportant to see his face. I always liked that Fred assumed them mantle using that little aspect as his 'in' - it can be anyone under the mask.

Tom

[nightfall]

Bad deal. They don't need to pull that stunt. That'd be about as bad as if they showed SE face. Just my opinion.

[Kaboomskie]

Hollywood makes bad things good.

[GIJoeFan2012]

Wouldn't there be problems if a leader never takes off his mask?
Let's say your soldiers never seen your real face under the hood. Wouldn't it be easy for someone in cobra to kill CC and take over his life, using a voice changer. Like a guy said, ANYONE could be under the mask.

[Crimson Rage]

Guess it boils down to how "real" you want your GI JOE scenario to be. Cobra Commander essentially living in the helmet so that nobody ever sees him (including the audience) is absurd... popping to the toilet with his helmet on?? And what if he's wounded and needs treatment to the face/head area? Does he shoot the doctor afterwards for seeing his face? Such things don't cross your mind as a kid, so you grow up with the expectation that he must always be masked... Reality ain't so straight forward though.

[Raw Dog]

I think it is better if you don't show Cobra Commander's face because in general people fear the unknown and therefore, keeping the Commander's identity a secret would make him scarier.

[arthurdent]

I saw an issue in which CC decides to quit Cobra and devote more time to his son... Only to have an ambitious underling shoot him and take his place. The originals CC face was a very normal face and the underling had had plastic surgery to look more like CC. And for the record, having doubles of the leadership is a very old idea.

[bitetheasp]

The underling was part of the Fred series. They had plastic surgery to all look like the first Fred Broca, not Cobra Commander.

[CrimsonGuard101]

Guess it boils down to how "real" you want your GI JOE scenario to be. Cobra Commander essentially living in the helmet so that nobody ever sees him (including the audience) is absurd... popping to the toilet with his helmet on?? And what if he's wounded and needs treatment to the face/head area? Does he shoot the doctor afterwards for seeing his face? Such things don't cross your mind as a kid, so you grow up with the expectation that he must always be masked... Reality ain't so straight forward though.

I leave real world realism out of it...is just a movie...and its about GI JOE you never see any of them in the bathroom and the day we do something is really wrong...they way i see it is, if I dont need to go during a 2 hour movie...they dont need to either...so he can wear his mask all day long...in every scene and it wont phase me...

[CLASSIFIED117]

For guys like Storm Shadow and Firefly, it's fine. But not Cobra Commander.

[Troops of Doom]

Guess it boils down to how "real" you want your GI JOE scenario to be. Cobra Commander essentially living in the helmet so that nobody ever sees him (including the audience) is absurd... popping to the toilet with his helmet on?? And what if he's wounded and needs treatment to the face/head area? Does he shoot the doctor afterwards for seeing his face? Such things don't cross your mind as a kid, so you grow up with the expectation that he must always be masked... Reality ain't so straight forward though.

If Cobra Commander can't take a dump with his helmet on, there's something seriously wrong with his anatomy. :p

Hiding your identity while running an international terrorist organization seems like a smart, realistic thing to do.

Great sig quote!

[Crimson Rage]

If Cobra Commander can't take a dump with his helmet on, there's something seriously wrong with his anatomy. :p


Entirely do-able, but ever so slightly comical... It was the image rather than the praticality that came across as undermining his 'position', if you see what I mean.

[eddy-arashikage]

Guess it boils down to how "real" you want your GI JOE scenario to be. Cobra Commander essentially living in the helmet so that nobody ever sees him (including the audience) is absurd... popping to the toilet with his helmet on?? And what if he's wounded and needs treatment to the face/head area? Does he shoot the doctor afterwards for seeing his face? Such things don't cross your mind as a kid, so you grow up with the expectation that he must always be masked... Reality ain't so straight forward though.

For a guy who would shoot up cities under the guise of america I would think the killing of a doctor to somebody who could be claimed as the most evil of men on the planet today would not be much of an issue. In resolute we had a more adult approach to the commander and he killed one of his own men so a doctor that saw his identity...

Him going to toilet would not be a public affair im sure that kind of 'business' would happen in a safe and secure area. His helmet is part of his battle uniform im sure if you are a soldier and you need a dump you don't take off your Kevler jacket right?

If they are going to do a scene with CC having a shit I hope that its left for the deleted scenes!

[eddy-arashikage]

Chu mentioned continuity its the same commander just not the same actor so I would think there won't be much time where the mask is off I could be wrong though!