#COBRA Commander

[shadefish]

"Destro, Baroness, I am leaving base tonight with someone I spoke to on the internet. I am going to be wined and dined and then coerced and manipulated into physical intimacy. Do not expect me back until morning."

"...Are you going on a date, commander?"

"NO!"

[gijoe-forever]

[possumcollege]

[blueikeproductions]

So an interesting detail was revealed about the TFONE Quintessons.

It would appear, according to staff on the movie, that the ships are actually living, organic creatures.

By extension, going by their design similarities, the TFONE Quintessons are likely fully organic themselves.

Prior to the Quintus Prime origin, it was never clear where the Quintessons came from but their designs are clearly mechanical.

Japanese media would offer an explanation of sorts, in the Controverse manga.

In this story Primacron, the ancient sea monkey alien that created Unicron and later Tornedron in the G1 cartoon, would stake the claim that he created ALL mechanical life. When the Quintesson Judge calls this out, Primacron calmly responds that he created mechanical bacterial life once and surmises those creatures became the Quintesson race.

Further manga would reveal this is true, and go the extra mile by revealing Primus and Primacron were ancient beings that existed in the universe prior to the Big Bang (mirroring a similar idea in the Marvel comics).

Primacron was originally Primus’ pet, but as his intellect grew, and so did his ambitions, and once the old universe died and ours was born, Primacron would enslave his former master in what would become The Matrix of Leadership, and it would grant life to his mechanical creations, the Beast Mode Primitives, the Quintessons and Unicron.

It would appear most modern media opts go instead cast the Quintessons as organic creatures, created by Quintus Prime’s Emberstone, that pilot mechanical suits.

Cyberverse’s take on the Judges also goes an extra mile, similar to Primacron, revealing that these Quintessons are born by fusing five distinct lifeforms together, all chosen to judge a universe accordingly. This is depicted by using Starscream as the dominant component….

But unlike the wholly mechanical Judge seen before, Starscream’s Judge form has organic components, with other organic races in the Greys and Velgrox.

While there’s an argument the G1 Quints might be biomechanical, it’s never been clearly defined with Cyberverse Quint Starscream more plainly leaning in that direction.

As for the organic technology present among the TFONE Quints, that potentially has two origins.

The more famous one are the Trans-Organics, the prototype race the Quintessons developed before making the Consumer Goods and Military Hardware robots that would become The Transformers.

A cyborg like race of primitive animals, they were unable to accomplish basic tasks, and gave into their beast like savagery, destroying several Quints before they were sealed away deep within Cybertron.

In the modern era, a group of Quintessons opted to free their ancient beasts of burden, tricking Galvatron into unleashing them so that the Trans-Organics may destroy the Transformers, allowing the Quints to reclaim Cybertron. Inevitability this fails, with the Quints done in by the Dweller beast, an energy vampire worm Trans-Organic.

The Dweller is the most famous one, and spawned other counterparts seen in Cyberverse and EarthSpark, with the EarthSpark versions being a race native to Quintessa, typing it back to its origins.

The second inspiration, if potentially coincidental, could be GI Joe’s Cobra-La.

The GI Joe movie would reveal Cobra had its origins in Cobra-La, an ancient race of snake people that were the original dominant species of Earth before us mammalian humans evolved.

Cobra Commander is native to Cobra-La, originally being a snake man scientist who became mutated in a lab accident before becoming leader of the snake themed terrorist organization that’d slither into America.

He’s further mutated as punishment for his failure in taking over the world in Cobra-La’s name, slow mutating into a cobra.

While the DiC sequel series would see him restored, albeit still as a mutant snake man.

Presumably CC’s still a snake dude when he briefly menaces in the G1 Movie era Autobots as Old Snake.

Anyhow, the relevance to the Cobra-Laians and Quintessons, is the former use organic based technology. Basically, this means they create specially developed animals to use in place of tools, bridges & vehicles.

@bogleech’s own post on Cobra-La discusses other examples of their technology: https://bogleech.com/cobrala

In the GI Joe film, the Cobra-La people are disgusted by humanity’s use of inorganic machinery, and opt to eradicate humans and reclaim the land that was theirs prior to the Ice Age.

In the Energon Universe, this prejudice exists still for humans, as Cobra Commander is instead a human that lives in their ranks, but they’re more offended by the existence of the Transformers after CC’s science team dug out a frozen Megatron to study him.

Aghast at a cold, mechanical planet populated by giant metallic robots, Cobra-La sends Pythona aboard a space fairing … whatever this fella is…

… to Cybertron to nip this so called invasion in the bud.

It would appear she takes a semi unintentional detour, dealing with matters in the Void Rivals series first, where she’s set to battle the Skuxxoid in particular. (I’d laugh if she became the wife he constantly talks about.)

The Quints and Cobra-La sharing the concept of organic technology is honestly very interesting, and while I do think it was created independently of GI Joe, should more TFONE content be made and the Transformers and Quintessons go to Earth, a further connection to Cobra-La would be really cool.

It’s theorized in the Energon Universe that the Quintessons could’ve created or at least influenced the Cobra-La people, and such an idea isn’t unheard of, as the Zertonians and Agorrians of Void Rivals are revealed to be descendants of Transformers via a new character called Zerta Trion. It’s implied but not yet totally confirmed the Quintessons created the Transformers also via the G1 cartoon as well, and I just think it’d be hilarious if the proud, organic Cobra-La people would discover they’re related to the fully mechanical Transformers via the Quintessons and be utterly mortified. (I don’t think they’d like their Zertonian/Agorrian cousins much either since, despite being organic they have technology based Energon ports on their heads.)

Incidentally it feeds into a personal headcanon regarding EarthSpark, since MARS Industries exists here, that Quintus Prime used the Emberstone to seed life on Earth that would one day evolve into Cobra-La, making them relatives to the Terrans, Quintessons, and Lithonians (the later because Quintus reminds me of Kranix for some reason).

[grimewart]

first day at cobra

[crisisofinfinitemultiverses]

GI Joe 1 (2024) by Joshua Williamson & Tom Reilly

Cover: Lee Bermejo (variant)

[roybattyrabbit]

roaches after you stomp them to death 50 billion times

[ploppymeep]

started watching gi joe last week and im predictable soooo

[16-tito-16]

[fieldsofeternalfortune]

[bumblingfloob]

skybound starscream in like 5 issues:

[artverso]

Michael Beck - Cobra Commander

[gijoe-forever]

[nicolemariejean]

Could I convince you to join Cobra? 🖤🐍

Baroness from GI Joe

Daily cosplay videos: My instagram

[gijoe-pics]

[kaontic]

Note to self:

If you ever want to portray Megatron about to give the foolish organics he’s in the custody of a serious reality check—

Zoom in on his face plate.

It doesn’t matter what expression he has on.

You will know, as his “keepers” should, that he is not your toy to play with unless he gives that consent for you to use him, if necessary.

How ironic *glances awkwardly at the mini-figure my nephew gifted me*.

That visual language rings loud and clear: Don’t tread where you’re not supposed to tread flesh-bags.

Despite how evil and toxic (and straight up dense like my God) he acts in many universes, he’s my current catharsis distributor along with Starscream ok.

Optimus, Skyfire and Grimlock can check him when his charm finally wears off.

Man I need to sleep but they keep me up. 😂