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07-28-2009, 11:52 PM | #7811 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2,294
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"What is your Cobra Commander like?"
My CC is pretty much the same as the one depicted in the comics. His motivation is just a little bit different. He basically grew up in a quiet suburban neighbourhood of middle America. His father owned a car dealership. He idolized his older brother, a Special Forces soldier serving overseas. He was class president and valedictorian, married his high school girlfriend etc. The typical small town scenario depicted in numerous tv shows and movies. His whole world comes crashing down over the course of one summer. His older brother is crippled off duty while serving overseas and for some reason is denied full benefits. His brother isn't home for more than 3 weeks before CC realized that his brother has become an alcoholic and is killed in a DUI accident. He finds out that his father is a problem gambler who's been physically abusing his pill popping wife and embezzling from the dealership to fund his gambling addiction. One stormy evening after his kid sister runs away, his mother shoots his father then turns the gun on herself. Distraught, he seeks guidance from his local clergyman but finds out that he's been having an affair with his wife...he then loses custody of his son Billy to his cheating wife and her new boyfriend the pastor. Distraught with how his life has been turned upside down, he blames modern religion, military, the judicial system, govt and corporate america for eroding family values and destroying its moral center. Hounded by the bank and other creditors, he sets his house and dealership ablaze and begins roaming the US. He finds like minded people at a para-military organization called First Strike and becomes fast friends with Vance Wingfield. Quickly moving up the ranks he becomes the protege of the group's leader Cobra Commander; the former Baron Iron Blood. One night after finding his kid sister had become a meth addicted stripper, he enacts his plan to rebuild America. He proposes a large scale, long term scheme of fostering anarchy and chaos while at the same time creating community centers free of the pollutants which infected his own neighbourhood. When his mentor baulks at his grand scheme, he kills him, taking the blue hood and remarks to Vance 'Funny thing about the mask, could be anyone in it'..(shades of Fred the Siegie taking over his identity years later), His central tenet is that democracy breeds corruption so he wants to recreate America (and the world) into what he remembers as a golden age (the fictional world of Ozzy and Harriet etc). Over the years he realizes his vision in cities like Springfield and Broca Beach. Later on he takes over Trucial Abysimia and recreates it into a nation of suburban communities straight out of the 50's. It kinda puzzles the heck out of most of the mostly syrian population but for 60% of the population, they have universal health care, education,freedom of speech and religion (to a certain extent), they're all employed and have money to buy Cobra goods. To the outside world, Cobra is a rogue state but he is beloved by most of the population because he has given them alot of freedoms they had never enjoyed before, the trade off being they didn't elect him. He thinks of himself as a saviour not a tyrant or a criminal. He's a revolutionary who sometimes has to make harsh decisions for the greater good. He thinks he can create a golden age for mankind by ushering in his own world; one where the judicial system is based on natural justice not legal skill, where the govt is there to run the country not your life and everyone goes home in their Cobra car, to their Cobra house, eats produce grown on a Cobra farm and watch a Cobra channel on a cobra TV. |
07-29-2009, 12:04 AM | #7812 |
#voteblackjack
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Northwood, NH
Posts: 35,747
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I really like that alot Tyroc.
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07-29-2009, 12:28 AM | #7813 |
EQ-Viper
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 4,343
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Finalized the Organizational Structure. This is it. No more changes, and every significant position filled by a named Joe. The bulk of Joes are from the ARAH line, but I've incorporated Joes from the GI Joe Extreme, Sigma 6, and Sgt. Savage & the Screaming Eagles lines as well. I was going to add some guys from the Bronze Bombers but they're not really GI Joe (although they did use licensed GI Joe molds), so I skipped them.
The names in bold are the Joes I've yet to make images and filecards for. @Tyroc: I like your interpretation, but I sort of wish you set up the opposition of personal freedoms vs. creature comforts more. I think it would be a nice dynamic to put in play in your version of a Cobra-run Trucial Abysmia. Abysmian citizens have a lot in the way of economic and material benefits, but have given up a lot of their personal freedoms (such as free speech, a free press, the right to assemble peaceably & the right to petition) to gain them. I think it's a very real choice people make everywhere in the world. In Russia, for instance, a large segment of the population is actually pining for a more rigid and autocratic government, because for many of them, the personal freedoms they gained after the collapse of the Soviet Union simply means they're "free to starve" and "free to get robbed by the Russian Mafia" (which is why Putin is so popular over there, despite being cast in the strongman dictator mold). I remember watching a BBC documentary about the situation over there, and a lot of people, particularly the young people who didn't really live through the Cold War, look up to Putin and see him as a symbol for a strong Russia, and the most surprising thing I heard from some of the interviews is how so many of them are willing to exchange certain freedoms for material security. I don't want to judge them for their choices or anything (as one said, "a free press is all well and good, but it doesn't fill one's belly"), but it's certainly different from my perspective on things (and I have to admit, that's probably because I don't have live to in the same hardscrabble conditions many of the Russian youth live in). |
07-29-2009, 01:21 AM | #7814 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2,294
|
Thanks guys
"I sort of wish you set up the opposition of personal freedoms vs. creature comforts more" Funny you should mention that Zulu, that's what I was trying to get at with my CC. The people of Abysimia now have certain freedoms they've never had before like education, consumerism, universal health care etc. They pay for this by not having a democratically elected representative govt. But at least in my joe verse, they're happy (for now) because they've only ever had one regime after another. At least now they have some sort of stability, limited access to the outside world via Cobra TV and Cobra internet and Cobra news feeds. Not everyone likes it or wants to give up personal freedoms and that's why they have the Night Watch to ferret out and quash resistance. At the end of the day, though what Cobra provides is alot more promising then facing year after year of regime change and starvation. At least under CC, the people have homes, food, clothing, medecine and certain luxuries they've heard that the west enjoys..like the Cobra version of the Ipod and Cola. The way my Cobraverse works is that while the left hand is creating chaos and anarchy, the right is buying up land, banks, companies etc via Extensive Enterprises. Cobra has its own food streams, manufacturing, banks, insurance, etc. They have their own suite of network media and media stars (their biggest rock act is Cold Slither and a more insidious version of Hannah Montana...Broca Betty)... Through subsidiary holdings they have smaller Cobra versions of Microsoft, News Corp, HSBC etc. They recruit non combat operatives via religions (like Scientology) and self help and discovery groups (like Landmark Forum). Both of these types of organizations have classes one audits to progress up the chain similar to how my Cobra's chain works whilst instilling core values. Last edited by Tyroc; 07-29-2009 at 01:28 AM.. |
07-29-2009, 01:56 AM | #7815 |
I Ride with Claymore!!!
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Posts: 6,821
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Hey Guys,
I'm bringing up a new topic of discussion: Super Trooper... Don't cringe just yet, I think there's more here than we've considered before. Look, I know we think we've exhausted all the mysteries that lurk in the file cards and the comic continuities... and now all we seem to discuss is new toys, our own command structures, and Zulu's pictures and file cards. And all those things are great (although, if they had their own threads, it might be a good thing - there is a whole big forum out there for a reason) But I think this Super Trooper issue could be something we've missed. Perhaps we've been to quick to crown ourselves as the experts on all things pertaining to Joe continuity.
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Why aren't there more Joes from the Deep South? And would it kill Hasbro to give us a Marine Corps Officer? |
07-29-2009, 02:00 AM | #7816 |
I Ride with Claymore!!!
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Posts: 6,821
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What I mean is this: Suddenly, a new friend comes to our thread and tells us about another Super Trooper character named Captain Joe DeNiro. And not only is he an Action Force guy, but by virtue of the fact that the issue was reprinted in "European Missions" it stands as official Marvel Continuity for the ARAH comic.
So what does this mean? I think it's time we take a more serious look at Super Trooper. Perhaps we've all been too quick to overlook this obscure character because of his silly costume. I've said before that the fact that he's a combat officer with great qualifications shouldn't be ignored. I think this new revelation of another Super Trooper (and the comic's treatment of the selection/training program) is worth our consideration.
__________________
Why aren't there more Joes from the Deep South? And would it kill Hasbro to give us a Marine Corps Officer? |
07-29-2009, 02:02 AM | #7817 |
I Ride with Claymore!!!
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Posts: 6,821
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Since we don't know so much about Joe DeNiro, I think we have to examine/compare the Lattimer character with that of Captain Robbie London - Rapid Fire. The connection between the two figures is obvious, but can we RetCon this connection in a way that makes some sense?
I'm interested to hear what y'all think.
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Why aren't there more Joes from the Deep South? And would it kill Hasbro to give us a Marine Corps Officer? |
07-29-2009, 02:18 AM | #7818 |
EQ-Viper
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 4,343
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Always thought Rapid Fire was a Super Trooper figure "for the masses" (in that it wasn't a mail-in exclusive), and the decision to name him differently was motivated by the desire to keep the Super Trooper figure "special."
As for creating a "story" to tie the two together... I guess the existence of London, Lattimer, and DeNiro points to the existence of a fictional top-secret training program for infantry officers, which, from the description in London's and Lattimer's filecards, seems like its goal is to produce experts in expeditionary warfare. As to whether the graduates of the program are exclusively assigned to the Joe team, your guess is as good as mine. Last edited by zuludelta; 07-29-2009 at 02:20 AM.. |
07-29-2009, 02:26 AM | #7819 |
I Ride with Claymore!!!
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Posts: 6,821
|
Quote:
Always thought Rapid Fire was a Super Trooper figure "for the masses" (in that it wasn't a mail-in exclusive), and the decision to name him differently was motivated by the desire to keep the Super Trooper figure "special."
As for creating a "story" to tie the two together... I guess the existence of London, Lattimer, and DeNiro points to the existence of a fictional top-secret training program for infantry officers, which, from the description in London's and Lattimer's filecards, seems like its goal is to produce experts in expeditionary warfare. As to whether the graduates of the program are exclusively assigned to the Joe team, your guess is as good as mine. About the training, certainly there is a lot missing in the file cards, but I think we now have to take Issue #12 of G.I. Joe European missions into account. By virtue of the fact that it was reprinted for American readers, it is now part of the Marvel Continuity for ARAH comics... and that makes DeNiro an official Real American Hero. Given that fact, the training program is outlined (to some extent) in this comic, and that has to be factored in. The training seems to be conducted/evaluated by the leadership of the Joe Team: Mainly Hawk and Flint. In as much, could the Super Trooper Program be a Joe initiative to train Officers to lead covert missions, or lead airborne operations to be conducted behind enemy lines?
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Why aren't there more Joes from the Deep South? And would it kill Hasbro to give us a Marine Corps Officer? |
07-29-2009, 02:27 AM | #7820 |
I Ride with Claymore!!!
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Posts: 6,821
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And I absolutely agree that Hasbro was just recycling an obscure figure... from a reality based standpoint, that's all that was going on... I just think there's some information/material to be worked with here. I think our understanding of the continuity can be expanded through a little fan RetCon.
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Why aren't there more Joes from the Deep South? And would it kill Hasbro to give us a Marine Corps Officer? |
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