1987 Cobra La Royal Guard - Around The Web

 In my great Joe purge, I got rid of pretty much anything that wasn't important to me.  But, somehow, this 1987 Royal Guard from the Cobra La set survived.  I'm not sure if I kept him since I had the antennae.  Or, if it was just dumb luck that he was left behind.  Either way, I'm glad he stayed in my collection as, now, he's stupidly expensive and I'd never spend the going rate to get a complete version.  There's tons of amazing content on this figure available.  Scroll through the links and you'll see some great work by Joe photographers.

1987 Royal Guard Profile

1987 Royal Guard at Nekoman's Viper Pit

1987 Royal Guard by Purple Cobra 75

1987 Royal Guard by primordial_earth_84

1987 Royal Guard by ironman3719

1987 Royal Guard by Dok Sewage

1987 Royal Guard by yotothejoe

1987 Royal Guard by Night Force Tunnel Rat

1987 Royal Guard by robstoycollection

1987 Royal Guard by lightscameraactionfigures

1987 Guard by misanthropic_git

1987 Royal Guard by Nekoman

1987 Royal Guard by Special Mission Force

1987 Royal Guard by Purple Cobra 75

1987 Royal Guard by discovolante

1987 Royal Guard by SteelBrigade

1987 Royal Guard by Dr. Modulok

1987 Royal Guard by hanover_h.a.v.o.c.

1987 Royal Guard by giannis_toys_dios

1987 Royal Guard by Purple Cobra 75

1987 Royal Guard by chris porostosky

1987 Royal Guard by strikeforce_codename

1987 Royal Guard by golden_cobra_79

1987 Royal Guard by gijoe_80s_kid

1987 Royal Guard by thedustinmccoy

1987 Nemesis Enforcer

I am not a fan of Cobra La.  I never have been.  Even as a kid in 1987, I couldn't figure out why something like Cobra La was introduced into the Joe world.  For some reason, even as a adult, I am more forgiving of aliens, robots and genetic mutations than I am of Cobra La.  I think this comes from the fact that the characters were so odd for the time.  In 1994, including the Lunartix was an extension of the Armor Tech and astronauts that had come before.  Cobra La had no such soft introduction.  Suddently, Joe went from reality based military themed toy to full scale fantasy.

As a kid, I did not own Cobra La.  I purchased Slaughter's Renegades while my younger brother picked up Cobra La.  (This was by design as I knew Cobra La sucked and I wanted Mercer in my possession.)  Once we had thee figures in house, though, I felt obligated to try to use them in some capacity. The Royal Guard slowly found a role as a Cobra diver, pilot, flying trooper or heavy armor soldier. He was never the primary focus of any battle, but he did get some use. Golobulus was simply useless. The tail did not translate to a toy and was of no use. Even his weapon was terrible. Nemesis Enforcer fell somewhere in the middle. The figure was human enough to pass for a random bad guy. But, I had no real character in mind for him.

Mostly, the Nemesis Enforcer became a faceless villain whose main goal was to be killed by Joe or Cobra forces. He might have been the albino leader of a group of dissatisfied students, a disfigured solider bent on revenge or just some random guy who happened to get a gun a tried to rob a bank. Regardless, the figure's main goal was die without me having to sacrifice one of my good figures for the role. The result was that my childhood Nemesis Enforcer survived in remarkably good condition compared to many of his contemporaries. As an adult collector, Cobra La has no home in my collection. I have purged all but the Royal Guard and he remains only due to an oversight. I don't have a connection to the characters or figures in any way. So, there is no reason for them to take up a space in my collection any more.

The Nemesis Enforcer mold was only used this one time in the U.S.  Hasbro realized their folly on Cobra La and buried the molds...never to be seen again.  Really, this is too bad.  Funskool might have done something very interesting with this guy.  Really, collectors would have likely enjoyed a Cobra La repaint set during the repaint era.  The molds aren't terrible and Nemesis Enforcer could easily be converted to a more conventional Cobra villain. The character was revisted in the Anniversary line in a more movie accurate design. So, fans of the character do have at least one other option available.

Nemesis Enforcer figures can be pricey.  At times, they will exceed $20 for a mint, complete with filecard figure.  But, other times, you can get them cheaper.  Some collectors love this figure and consider the cartoon characters to be more important than anyone heavily utilized in the comic.  As such, this figure has its following.  Other collectors, though, couldn't care less about Cobra La and don't spend much time seeking them out.  As a mold, the Nemesis Enforcer has great potential.  Saddled with the baggage of the G.I. Joe Movie, though, the character is tough to get behind.  Still, the figure is a reminder of what the Joe line was in 1987 and was a harbringer of things to come as the line progressed. In that regard, the figure has some value. But, to me, this guy will always be an aberration.

1987 Cobra La Royal Guard

I know. I can't believe it either. I'm actually profiling a figure from Cobra-La. What's even worse; I'm about to tell you how this figure is very cool and should be a part of your collection. Truthfully, I feel dirty. I'm going to espouse the single most hated concept in all of Joedom. Cobra-La is held in lower regard than Star Brigade, Ninja Force, Mega Marines, and, dare I say it, Eco Warriors. While those concepts were far fetched, the hidden society of bug people living in the Himalayas was too far off the deep end. Putting Cobra-La aside, though, allows you to enjoy what is actually a very nice figure. While Golobulus and the Nemesis Enforcer don't work for much, the Royal Guard is a versatile figure that can have uses even in the most reality based situations.

When I first got the Cobra-La set, Golobulus and the Nemesis Enforcer went into a junk box from which they only recenltly escaped. The Royal Guard, though, immediately found his way into a heavy play rotation. He is highly reminiscent of the Emporer's Royal Guards from Star Wars. I think that was part of his appeal. I also liked the heavy armour that covers the Guard's body. From the get-go, this guy was a heavy infantry trooper. (Of course, the next year I replaced this guy with the Nullifier, who occupies the heavy infantry trooper moniker to this very day.) Once that phase was over, the Royal Guard found a home as the drone pilots who flew the pods from the Mamba helicopter. The head looks like it could be some sort of futuristic helmet and he fit very nicely in the pod's cockpit. (It also helped that I had two Royal Guards, one for each pod.)

While this kept the Royal Guard busy for many, many years, I've recently began to use them again. These guys do work as underwater troops, but I have enough other figures I've bastardized for that purpose. (See the Toxo Viper for more details.) This guy, though, has become a specialty trooper. I like Crimson Guards watching over my Cobra Commander. This guy, though, has found use guarding other Cobra hierarchy. Scrap Iron and Metal Head both use these guys to keep other, younger, and more ruthless Cobras from taking over their positions. It is in this capacity that I've found the Royal Guard to be very fun to use. I also use them as Cobra prison guards. The Joes have many, many figures that can easily be used as prison guards, but Cobra needs them as well. The heavy armor and covered face looks just like the tough cookie that would have to break heads in a Cobra prison.

There is another reason I chose to profile this figure. The Royal Guard comes with an antenna that I consider one of the five hardest accessories to find for any Joe figure. (Heavy Metal and Lift Ticket's mouthpieces are first, followed closely by Sneek Peek's, the 1984 Firefly's walkie talkie is the other.) This thing is damn near impossible to find. Very few Royal Guards that you find on the second hand market have this tough accessory. Expect to pay for those who do, though. Without the antenna, these guys are still useable. With the antenna, they are just that much better. Like most of the toughest accessories, the lack of the antenna doesn't ruin the figure. I had three of these for years. None of them had the antenna, but they all got use. Now that I've finally got one with the antenna, I really don't use him as much. I have a feeling, though, that these guys will make a reappearance before too long.

Royal Guards are extremely tough to find if you want them complete. They are remarkably easy though, to get without the antenna or gun. It seems that tons of people had the Cobra-La set, but no one wants to admit it. The steady stream of these guys that appears on the second hand market, though, seems to indicate that this figure was used in many people's collections. Incomplete Royal Guards, therefore, don't command a premium. In fact, you can usually pick them up for under three or four dollars. Complete Guards, though, can get quite a bit more expensive. Many collectors who are sticklers about the completeness of their figures count the Royal Guard as one of the few they have incomplete. Still, this guy is Cobra-La and there are many people who simply disregard him for that reason. If you can put the Cobra-La behind this figure, though, he makes an excellent addition to your collection. As more and more people forget about the terrible G.I. Joe movie, figures like the Royal Guard will be judged solely upon themselves as a figure. When taken that way, the Royal Guard is well worth extra attention.

I like this figure, but can't stand the concept behind him. What is your opinion? Let me know.