We were introduced to Cobra Commander in the early pages of G.I. Joe #1. At the time, he was wearing his casual hood. Later, he donned the battle helmet that would become the basis for his first action figure in late 1982. Two years later, though, kids were graced with a new Cobra Commander, this time wearing the hood. This figure was only available as a mail away. But it was available for about a decade. So, the dealers from the mid 1990's who wanted people to pay a premium for this figure because it was "rare" were taking advantage of naïve collectors. Fortunately, Ebay rectified that as it became obvious there were plenty of Hooded Cobra Commanders to go around.
The massive overstock that was still available back in 2012 when I profile this figure, though, has dried up. So, while this version of the Commander is still cheaper than a mint 1983 helmeted figure, you'll pay a premium for it today. Being a key figure of, perhaps, the most important character in the line, there's tons of content on the figure out there. Here's some of the best from around the web.
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander Profile
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander by dreadnokdread
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander Photos at the Attica Gazette
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander by Scarrviper
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander at Nekoman's Viper Pit
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander by viper_space
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander by Roland da Thompson Gunner
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander by cobra_rules_cybertron
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander by Slipstream80
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander at JoeADay.com
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander by master bungle
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander by Nekoman
1984 Hooded Cobra Commander by Sintechness
I'd love to get one of these just to have one, but to be honest its been a low priority for me as I find that headsculpt awful. The do-over from the early 90s is far superior IMO.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those iconic figures to me. I acquired one last fall and am happy to have it in my collection. As a kid I always liked this version over the helmeted figure, always thought the darker blue made a big difference and meshes so well with the Cobra officers and troopers. It's also crazy to think that overstock for a figure that was released in the 80s was readily available up until 2012! Makes me regret ignoring o-rings for a decent part of the 2000s rather than immersing myself in collecting o-ring during that time.
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