G.I. JOE- The Rise of Cobra

[5150 Lego]

...Or anything G.I. Joe related. I heard about the movie around a year ago, and even started seeing some still shots. Then the first trailer aired during the super bowl. I wasn't all that enthused. Then i saw the new 2 minute trailer. I'm a little bit more amped, but still not all that thrilled. Not like i was for the first transformers movie,or even the 2nd for that matter. When i watch it, it just doesn't scream "G.I. Joe!" for me.

G.I. Joe (next to Lego) was probably my most favorite of my toys. More so than Transformers. And who wouldn't like them? A mix of all kinds of custom military type vehicles, awesome playsets and great figures with their own little "stories" and back grounds. Its funny; my mom used to have to bitterly drag me out of bed at 7am for school, but i had no problem getting up at 6am on Saturday mornings to watch my favorite cartoon! Yes, like Transformers, it was nothing more than a half hour toy commercial. But i wasok with that. I still remember rolling my Cobra "Hiss" Tank around while it was on screen. Same with my Battle Wagon and Y-22.

here's the web site for the movie..

http://www.gijoemovie.com/

Now I'm not going to be unrealistic. I don't expect to see a fleet of Cobra rattler planes, dog fighting GI Joe X-30 fighter planes. I don't expect a live action G1 G.I. Joe movie remake. I'm not a hard core fan by any means, but do have fond memories of what i remember G.I. being. I'm notsure if i see that in this new movie. But either way, it does look like a good action flick. I'm going to go into it with an open mind likei did Transformers. Hopefully i won't be disappointed. The Character designs are pretty good and though i have no idea of the plot, it seems its carrying on the general theme of the original cartoon and comics. Cobra is hell bent to rule the world, and the Joe's have to stop them. If they can at least get that part right, then this movie just might be OK.

[SWMAN]

I have never watched GI Joe, and never watched Transformers. I was afraid that Transformers would suck because it was based on a Hasbro toy. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised, and it was really good. I have seen the previews for GI Joe, and I think that it will be like Transformers, and be pretty good.

[Tyrant]

I was a big fan of the cartoon and toys back in the 80s. I eventually became a fan of the comic book. The story in the comics was considerably better and closer to something resembling realistic. They actually used bullets and people actually died for good. Eventually Devil's Due restarted the comics as a follow on to the Marvel run. Their run was even grittier. Lots of deaths. The upside was Cobra Commander was finally made into a character to be feared and not an incompotent fool. My personal favorite moment of that run was when he killed Serpentor. Real recently on Cartoon Network they ran GIJoe Resolute. It was an animated movie (I guess it was a movie, there were several deaths but it was open ended) that was a lot more like the DD run of the comic book. The opening bit was Cobra using their new super weapon to nuke Moscow and kill several million people to prove they aren't screwing around. That's the kind of thing I have wanted to see out of GIJoe for a while.

Now there's the movie. I have my doubts it will be any of that. I do think it will be a good action movie. I do think some characters will turn out okay. I also think some characters will be unrecognisable. I am particularly worried about Destro and Cobra Commander (and Zartan to a lesser extent). I am assuming they are trying to keep a lid on CC for as long as possible because he hasn't been in the previews. The same goes for Destro with the helmet. The accelerator suits are different. At least now there will be a good reason why 50 guys can fire full auto in an open area at 2 guys and not hit them at all. I'll go watch it but I have no expectations for the storyline or the characters. I'm making Terminator my future potential disappointment by actually hoping it's good.

[5150 Lego]

I was a big fan of the cartoon and toys back in the 80s. I eventually became a fan of the comic book. The story in the comics was considerably better and closer to something resembling realistic. They actually used bullets and people actually died for good. Eventually Devil's Due restarted the comics as a follow on to the Marvel run. Their run was even grittier. Lots of deaths. The upside was Cobra Commander was finally made into a character to be feared and not an incompotent fool. My personal favorite moment of that run was when he killed Serpentor. Real recently on Cartoon Network they ran GIJoe Resolute. It was an animated movie (I guess it was a movie, there were several deaths but it was open ended) that was a lot more like the DD run of the comic book. The opening bit was Cobra using their new super weapon to nuke Moscow and kill several million people to prove they aren't screwing around. That's the kind of thing I have wanted to see out of GIJoe for a while.

Now there's the movie. I have my doubts it will be any of that. I do think it will be a good action movie. I do think some characters will turn out okay. I also think some characters will be unrecognisable. I am particularly worried about Destro and Cobra Commander (and Zartan to a lesser extent). I am assuming they are trying to keep a lid on CC for as long as possible because he hasn't been in the previews. The same goes for Destro with the helmet. The accelerator suits are different. At least now there will be a good reason why 50 guys can fire full auto in an open area at 2 guys and not hit them at all. I'll go watch it but I have no expectations for the storyline or the characters. I'm making Terminator my future potential disappointment by actually hoping it's good.

Nice. This pretty much sums up how i feel about the movie as well. I am looking forward to seeing this, but i have also come to grips that it won't be what i remember from my childhood. And i can't expect that from a modern day live action movie. As of right now, the only characters that are unmistakable at this point ar Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, and Baroness. Other others at this point all look the same. Though i guess not everyone can have there trade mark uniforms. Then it mightend up looking like "Street Fighter" as have a cheesy feel to it.

I too caught G.I. Joe, Resolute. I liked it. Easily recognizable characters, good story and I agree that having real deaths helped add to the whole story.

A few weeks ago while shopping at target i came across some GI Joe toys. I was happy to see that they had re-released some of the original toys and figures just as they were built in the 80's. I was stopped in my tracks when i saw the 25th anniversary GI Joe "Tiger Rat" airplane. It is basically a repainted Cobra Rattler plane painted in yellow and black tiger stripes.

I remember when i was a kid seeing this in the catalog and doing every bit of homework and cleaning every orifice of my house for months to unsure that i would get this for my birthday. Only to find out that i was looking at an old catalog and it had been discontinued for some time. So needless to say, i snatched one up right away. Next week ithink i'll go pick up a Cobra Rattler and a GI Joe X-30 plane.

[Tyrant]

A few weeks ago while shopping at target i came across some GI Joe toys. I was happy to see that they had re-released some of the original toys and figures just as they were built in the 80's. I was stopped in my tracks when i saw the 25th anniversary GI Joe "Tiger Rat" airplane. It is basically a repainted Cobra Rattler plane painted in yellow and black tiger stripes. I remember when i was a kid seeing this in the catalog and doing every bit of homework and cleaning every orifice of my house for months to unsure that i would get this for my birthday. Only to find out that i was looking at an old catalog and it had been discontinued for some time. So needless to say, i snatched one up right away. Next week ithink i'll go pick up a Cobra Rattler and a GI Joe X-30 plane.

I have seen the 25th figures and vehicles. I have several of the figures and a couple of the vehicles. I do like that they have remade the older figures while updating the detail and articulation. I have heard of the Target vehicles. I used to have the Python Patrol Conquest. I have seriously considered getting the new one. I hope they plan on releasing the Viper that comes with it seperate because I always liked the Python Patrol figures (even though the colors are somewhat horrid and totally fail at being camofluage) for some reason. Even the Crimson Guard who has virtually no red on him. I am hoping they release the rest of them. My only concern is the movie toys stopping things up (though Hasbro swears they won't).

Edited May 6, 2009 by Tyrant

[5150 Lego]

I have seen the 25th figures and vehicles. I have several of the figures and a couple of the vehicles. I do like that they have remade the older figures while updating the detail and articulation. I have heard of the Target vehicles. I used to have the Python Patrol Conquest. I have seriously considered getting the new one. I hope they plan on releasing the Viper that comes with it separate because I always liked the Python Patrol figures (even though the colors are somewhat horrid and totally fail at being camofluage) for some reason. Even the Crimson Guard who has virtually no red on him. I am hoping they release the rest of them. My only concern is the movie toys stopping things up (though Hasbro swears they won't).

ya,I'm thing of grabbing a Rattler while there still on the shelves. Even though its not a movie toy, i fear once the movie comes out, everything GI Joe related will be cleaned out. Much like when the transformers movie came out.

From what i understand there releasing things in waves. Its very possible that there's quite a few more figs and vehicles to be released before the movie toys come out. There's even rumors of the U.S.S. Flagg coming back.

[M'Kyuun]

Even as a kid, I always felt that the GI Joe cartoon was silly, but with all the cool technology on both sides, it had potential to be better. Beyond the ridiculous "no death" policy, what really irritated me was that Cobra would often pull off some caper with precision at the beginning of an episode, only to dissolve into bumbling idiots the moment GI Joe showed up. Suddenly they couldn't shoot straight, and well, pretty much could do nothing right. To make matters worse, the Joes themselves were cheesy and often lame, even by 80's standards. Then came Resolute, a more mature take on the series, and far closer to what I had wanted it to be in the 80's. I liked it, but thought it could have been a little better, perhaps closer to Justice League, which I really enjoyed for it's often slightly more mature writing.

Having seen the previews for the live-action, I'm not holding my breath. First, I'm not crazy about Stephen Sommers, writer/director of the Mummy movies and Van-Helsing. His "wouldn't it be fun if..." approach and tendency for cheesier than cheddar dialog fill me with dread. Secondly, Destro does not look or sound like Destro. With all the CG tech, his iconic chrome dome should have been a no-brainer. moreover, watching the trailer, I believe Baroness spoke a line, but without any trace of her characteristic accent. Furthermore, to amp up the superhuman-ness of the characters, the Joes will now wear power armor, thus negating the need for much of thee really cool vehicles and tech nology from the original show. The tech, at least for me, was the only thing that made GI Joe cool. The vehicles and equipment were amazing, so well made that they are being rereleased with little to no changes for the current figures, which themselves are excellent.

I often wonder why Hollywood producers feel an irresitable need to reimagine a property which is considered great, or at least great enough to warrant bankable live-action treatment. I would humbly suggest that the property in question achieved greatness by virtue of its own merits, and stands out in the minds of its fans because of those merits. So, for a fan, those merits are what we want to see in any incarnation. That makes more sense to me than reimagining everything until it is but a barely recognizeable caricature of what I remembered and liked about the property. Ahem, Transformers, anyone?

[AwesomeStar]

My dad just came back from Chicago and brought me home my favorite: a selection of American comics, that you can't get over here.

I got a Doctor Who, Batman, Captain America and GI Joe one.

I like the GI Joe one the most, as its a great story, and my IRL name is Joe, so thats pretty cool.

Its Issue #1, but I believe Issue #0 precedes it.

~A.S.

[5150 Lego]

Having seen the previews for the live-action, I'm not holding my breath. First, I'm not crazy about Stephen Sommers, writer/director of the Mummy movies and Van-Helsing. His "wouldn't it be fun if..." approach and tendency for cheesier than cheddar dialog fill me with dread. Secondly, Destro does not look or sound like Destro. With all the CG tech, his iconic chrome dome should have been a no-brainer.

From my understanding, there's a reason that destro (in the previews) doesn't have his chrome helmet. Its basically going to be like Star Trek were there going to be introducing all the characters and giving you background on them. So for the first part of the movie, Destro will not have his Chrome helmet, but rest assured that he will adorn it in the film.

moreover, watching the trailer, I believe Baroness spoke a line, but without any trace of her characteristic accent.

Though i don't remember her speaking in the trailer, if this is in fact true, it will be very disappointing. I always thought her accent was abit sexy.

Furthermore, to amp up the superhuman-ness of the characters, the Joes will now wear power armor, thus negating the need for much of thee really cool vehicles and technology from the original show. The tech, at least for me, was the only thing that made GI Joe cool. The vehicles and equipment were amazing, so well made that they are being re released with little to no changes for the current figures, which themselves are excellent.

I have to agree. From what I've read they will have an assortment of new vehicles, but it would have been nice to have a few of the classics thrown in the mix. Heck, i would have been fine with even a few modern day "tweaks" of the original designs. Maybe they will. How cool would it be if they discovered a bunker that housed a bunch of old original vehicles that have been in hibernation for a couple decades?? I would forgive all if that was part of the plot!

I often wonder why Hollywood producers feel an irresitable need to reimagine a property which is considered great, or at least great enough to warrant bankable live-action treatment. I would humbly suggest that the property in question achieved greatness by virtue of its own merits, and stands out in the minds of its fans because of those merits. So, for a fans, those merits are what we want to see in any incarnation.

There in what i highlighted is the problem. You need to remember that movie like these, while the idea is not to piss off, and dismantle the fan base of whaitch made such series such as G.I. Joe and Transformers so great,..... Can not be full talored to them alone. These are not B rate movies with B rate budjets. While the fans are an important part of any Series, unfortunutly, they do not make up the majority that will be seeing these movies.

That makes more sense to me than reimagining everything until it is but a barely recognizeable caricature of what I remembered and liked about the property. Ahem, Transformers, anyone?

I could go on, but i think you know where my thoughts on the new movies and "Bayformers".

[KimT]

Oh my god.

I can't believe this is still around.

I played with G.I.Joe action figs when I was a kid, except they were called Action Force in Europe.

And now there's a movie coming

Yehaaa! I am thrilled as a little kid

[Tyrant]

Oh my god.

I can't believe this is still around.

I played with G.I.Joe action figs when I was a kid, except they were called Action Force in Europe.

And now there's a movie coming

Yehaaa! I am thrilled as a little kid

Suprisingly here in the US they have produced figures for all but 3 years from 82 (or maybe it was 83, but I am fairly certain it was 82) to now. They stopped in the mid 90s shortly after Hasbro aquired Kenner. The popular rumor (that apparently actually has some basis in fact) is that the folks that came over from Kenner killed it out of spite because it was direct competition with Star Wars which they were about to restart (so they wanted no competition). In '97 they restarted as TRU exclusives and in either '99 or '00 they started wide distribution again. Around that time they restarted the comic book under Devil's Due (which as at that time part of Image) as a continuation of the Marvel series. It ended last year and they are now restarting the series.

For anyone who liked the basics of the cartoon, but wants more realistic action, the Marvel (and later DD) series is what you are looking for. They use bullets, not lasers. People bleed and die. Not everyone bails out of planes that are about to blow up or crash. One issue alone sees the entire Battle Force 2000 wiped out. A couple of issues later one lone Saw Viper guns down 7 or 8 named characters (like Doc). The body count was fairly high by the end of Marvel's run and it was through the roof by the end of the Devil's Due run. Probably most important of all, Cobra Commander is shown to be a terrifying individual and not a moron. Not to mention his background story is awesome (and no, he's not a snake ma from Cobra-La). He used to be a used car salesman. It all spirals out from that after his brother was killed in a car accident that also claimed Snake Eyes' family who were on their way to pick him up at the airport on his way back from Vietnam after being disfigured. The whole war is spawned out of that freak occurance. Unfortunately none of that will be in the movie.

[5150 Lego]

OK.

So I saw the movie yesterday. I have to say i was pleasantly surprised and was alot better than i thought it was going to be. I (like many) wasn't impressed by the previews, and they left a sour taste in my mouth. But after actually watching the movie most of what i saw panned out. That's not to say that it didn't have its problems. First I'll start with what i liked.

Character development: I felt they did a good job of relating the characters to the audience. Most of the actors had a relevant part in the movie and were portrayed well.

Story/plot: I think the story was staright forward, and not overly complex. Good for a movie like this.

Action: Action was good and well paced.

Female aspect: Yes, I'm sorry to say, the girls in G.I.Joe were hot. Baroness and Scarlet (especially Scarlet) were great eye candy!

Now what i didn't like:

Comedy: Was virtually non-existent. While G.I. Joe has always been serious, from the the 80's cartoon series, to comics to the recent "Resolute" movie, i felt the movie needed some comedy to break it up. While it did have some, it wasn't well placed and very cheesy. (more so than ROTF) A movie like this needs some comedy relief.

Accelerator suits: Lame. Just plain lame and stupid. While i get they were part of the Sigma 6 series, they were lame and that part could have been used to introduce a new vehicle. Which brings me to my next point...

Lack of cool vehicles: While there were a few jets, other than the Hummer with the snow plow (whitch was lame)and the snow mobiles, there weren't any cool tanks, trucks, Jeeps etc. One of G.I.Joe Main attributes have always been the cool vehicles. There was a serious lack of any. Very disapointed.

Marlon Wayne: He is a horrible actor,and much better comedian. He should have stayed with "In Living Color". His character as "Ripcord" was lame cheesy and his attempt at humor was insulting considering he his background in comedy. He brought the movie down for me.

The "love story": Man, and you thought Micheal Bay was bad at love stories? While i understand this is needed for the general public, Duke and the Baroness being in love was lame and Ripcord's lame attempt to get Scarlet was even worse.

Cobra Commander: I didn't like his appearance. He (like megatron to TF movie verse) was unrecognizable. I do understand that update in character designs are needed, but his overall design was lame. Reminded me more of Darth Vader than Cobra Commander.

Baroness: She didn't have her trade mark accent. But much like Soundwave, i got over it.

CGI: Sucked. Thats all there is to it. In this day in age, there was no excuse for this.

Despite all this.....

I still did enjoy the movie. It did just what a movie like this should. Entertain. But still, i just didn't scream G.I.Joe to me.

[salty tbone]

Despite all this.....

I still did enjoy the movie. It did just what a movie like this should. Entertain. But still, i just didn't scream G.I.Joe to me.

I'm glad you still liked it even though there were three things you listed as positive and eight negative. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm hoping I'll at least be entertained while I cringe as one of my favorite childhood toys gets milked. BTW, it's "Marlon Wayans."

[5150 Lego]

I'm glad you still liked it even though there were three things you listed as positive and eight negative. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm hoping I'll at least be entertained while I cringe as one of my favorite childhood toys gets milked. BTW, it's "Marlon Wayans."

Ya, i can see where someone would start shaking there head to my reasoning's, but bottom line is i did enjoy it. The character development was big in this movie which i think helped it the most. Nearly every character has equal time on screen which is rare and you easily had depth into there purpose. The only two that you didn't get any back ground was

Zartan and Heavy Duty and the communications guy (sorry, i forgot his name)

Though Cobra Commander never really had an origin in the original series and most of the comics (other than him being part snake or something in that nature) i understand that it was needed to give back ground and development to his character for the general audience. I can accept that. I still don't care for his design though.

I really do wish they had more vehicles. I could have forgiven nearly all if the main action scene were comprised of trade mark Joe and Cobra vehicles instead of those Lame Accelerator suits and a Hummer that wants to be a transformer. This would have made the movie more recognizable to its origins. It didn't have to be a remake of the cartoon. In fact, I'm glad they didn't go that route. But while it was a very enjoyable action popcorn flick, it wasn't recognizable as G.I. Joe to me.

And the female aspect.... Ya,i'm a pig. While the movie had its problems, Rachel Nichols as Scarlet and Sienna Miller as Baroness were nice to look at. Alot more so than Megan fox was in Tf's.

[SWMAN]

While I have not seen the movie, I have heard and read that it is terrible, even for GI Joe fans. From what I have read, it is a big time action movie with no plot. Now, I will not judge it because I have not seen it, but because of what I have read, I will not be.

[5150 Lego]

While I have not seen the movie, I have heard and read that it is terrible, even for GI Joe fans. From what I have read, it is a big time action movie with no plot. Now, I will not judge it because I have not seen it, but because of what I have read, I will not be.

Who have you been hearing this from? I wouldn't rely on critics for reviews on a movie like this as it doesn't apeal to them in the first place. Take it for what it is just like Transformers. Now i will say this...

For an action movie it was top notch.

..BUt as a G.I. Joe movie..... I dunno.

[Tyrant]

Though Cobra Commander never really had an origin in the original series and most of the comics (other than him being part snake or something in that nature) i understand that it was needed to give back ground and development to his character for the general audience. I can accept that. I still don't care for his design though.

Cartoon Cobra Commander had little backstory. It is all in the movie (the one with Cobra La where it is revealed he is a mutated snake man). However, the comic book Cobra Commander has considerable backstory. He was a used car salesman who's business was failing. His brother was in the service (in Vietnam). CC's blamed his business failings on the government and believed that the government and big business were out to crush the little guy. His brother volunteered for repeated tours in Vietnam so that his brother (the man who became Cobra Commander) wouldn't be forced to go. This eventually turned his brother into an alcoholic shell of a man. One night he hit another car and everyone in both vehicles was killed. The other vehicle was the family of Snake Eyes coming to pick him up at the airport. This caused Cobra Commander to snap, mentally. He forever blamed Snake Eyes for the death of his brother via psycho logic: If Snake Eyes hadn't been coming home, his family wouldn't have been coming to get him, so Cobra Commander's brother wouldn't have hit them and would still be alive. He went home, possibly killed his wife (never see her ever again), and took his son Billy with him to start his mission to change the world. He recruited numerous other people to his cause and started concealing his identity behind a hood (the blue hood). Together with these people they started assorted pyramid schemes to build large amounts of cash. This money went towards buying arms (guess who they turned to for that). They took over the town of Springfield and built arms plants underground. Before this, Cobra Commander had sought someone to pursue Snake Eyes. That's when he hired Firefly. Firefly believed he couldn't do what had to be done to get to Snake Eyes so he hired Zartan. Zartan found Snake Eyes with Storm Shadow at the Arishakage (sp?) clan training with Storm Shadow (who was in the same unit in Vietnam). Zartan mistakenly killed the Hard Master instead of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow was blamed for it. He joined Cobra to discover who really sent Zartan.

So, in short, a major part of the motivation for Cobra and the war involves Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander has a considerable backstory. The movie did get it right that several of the characters have an interweaving backstory. Cobra Commander and Snake Eyes have a considerable past. Their past association draws in Storm Shadow, Zartan, Firefly, Stalker, and Wade Collins (another member of Snake Eyes' unit who ended up becoming a Crimson Guard and his son became an apprentice to Snake Eyes later). The Baroness and Destro have past involvements. The Baroness blames Snake Eyes for her brother's death in Vietnam.

What the movie also did is get most of their past invovements completely wrong. The Baroness still "lost" a brother and blames a member of the team for it though that team member is now Duke. Cobra Commander still feels betrayed by his country (I guess, it's either that or he realised how fun it is to be evil using science) but not in the same way. The Baroness is with Destro, but under different circumstances. Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow have a past, but it is considerably different in it's implications in their relationship.

This is all avoiding the changes in race in some characters that were mostly pointless. To be clear on that, what I mean is that if they wanted ethnic diversity in the cast there are members of just about every race already on the team so there is no need to change a characters race (like Ripcord) or his nationality (like Breaker or Heavy Duty) when they can just use another character. Need an English guy for some reason, use Big Ben. Need a few more African Americans aside from Heavy Duty, there's Roadblock, Deejay, and Doc among others. If for some reason you need a guy in a hawaiian shirt, use Chuckles. There's deversity to spare in the line up already, no need to make unnecessary changes.

I had problems with the movie, mainly dealing with aforementioned character changes. However, I found the movie entertaining and more or less in line with the tone of the 80s cartoon. It at least resembled some aspects of a previous incarnation of the series which was more than I had hoped for. I just hope that in teh sequel, should one happen, Cobra Commander get the crome face plated helmet and we get to see Cobra in action and not stupid Neo Vipers. If Cobra uses anything "super human' it should be B.A.T.s (Battle Android Troopers for those who don't know).

[posades]

Watched it last night. Now let me just say I'm no super fan, in fact I never played with the action figures when I was a kid nor did I watch the cartoon series or read the comics.

I thought it was good, mindless fun (similar to Transformers 2, though I thought this movie was better). I can see why they changed Rip Cord's race (so they could have a leading black character), and even though the plot was really unbelievable it still held up somewhat. Like someone else said the CGI was not so good comparing to today's standards, and Dennis Quaid just didn't do it for me.

Oh and the chicks in the movie were hot.

Edited August 11, 2009 by posades

[salty tbone]

I can see why they changed Rip Cord's race (so they could have a leading black character), and even though the plot was really unbelievable it still held up somewhat.

I can't really say it bothers me they changed his race, but really why? There's plenty of black GI Joe characters they could have used without having to be so revisionist. I guess since Rip Cord is such a secondary character, they figured who cares.

[5150 Lego]

Cartoon Cobra Commander had little backstory. It is all in the movie (the one with Cobra La where it is revealed he is a mutated snake man). However, the comic book Cobra Commander has considerable backstory. He was a used car salesman who's business was failing. His brother was in the service (in Vietnam). CC's blamed his business failings on the government and believed that the government and big business were out to crush the little guy. His brother volunteered for repeated tours in Vietnam so that his brother (the man who became Cobra Commander) wouldn't be forced to go. This eventually turned his brother into an alcoholic shell of a man. One night he hit another car and everyone in both vehicles was killed. The other vehicle was the family of Snake Eyes coming to pick him up at the airport. This caused Cobra Commander to snap, mentally. He forever blamed Snake Eyes for the death of his brother via psycho logic: If Snake Eyes hadn't been coming home, his family wouldn't have been coming to get him, so Cobra Commander's brother wouldn't have hit them and would still be alive. He went home, possibly killed his wife (never see her ever again), and took his son Billy with him to start his mission to change the world. He recruited numerous other people to his cause and started concealing his identity behind a hood (the blue hood). Together with these people they started assorted pyramid schemes to build large amounts of cash. This money went towards buying arms (guess who they turned to for that). They took over the town of Springfield and built arms plants underground. Before this, Cobra Commander had sought someone to pursue Snake Eyes. That's when he hired Firefly. Firefly believed he couldn't do what had to be done to get to Snake Eyes so he hired Zartan. Zartan found Snake Eyes with Storm Shadow at the Arishakage (sp?) clan training with Storm Shadow (who was in the same unit in Vietnam). Zartan mistakenly killed the Hard Master instead of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow was blamed for it. He joined Cobra to discover who really sent Zartan.

Ahh.. Interesting. Never knew that about his comic book origins. Very cool. Thanks for the input. Its always cool to learn of different back stories of all the characters.

So, in short, a major part of the motivation for Cobra and the war involves Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander has a considerable backstory. The movie did get it right that several of the characters have an interweaving backstory. Cobra Commander and Snake Eyes have a considerable past. Their past association draws in Storm Shadow, Zartan, Firefly, Stalker, and Wade Collins (another member of Snake Eyes' unit who ended up becoming a Crimson Guard and his son became an apprentice to Snake Eyes later). The Baroness and Destro have past involvements. The Baroness blames Snake Eyes for her brother's death in Vietnam.

What the movie also did is get most of their past invovements completely wrong. The Baroness still "lost" a brother and blames a member of the team for it though that team member is now Duke. Cobra Commander still feels betrayed by his country (I guess, it's either that or he realised how fun it is to be evil using science) but not in the same way. The Baroness is with Destro, but under different circumstances. Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow have a past, but it is considerably different in it's implications in their relationship.

I have a question for you Tyrannt. Since you seem to be a G.I.Fan i'd like you input on the subject. In your post you say that Cobra Commander has a different origin in the comics than the TV series. My guess is that its similar with other characters origins changing depending on what series you read/watch. So my question to you is,....

IS the movie changing things around slightly any different than if a new series was introduced? I ask cause i have this ongoing discussion with many concerning Transformers. Many are upset that the origins and stories aren't exactly spot on, but you never here anyone complain when things change when a new comic book, or series comes out. I don't see why when a movie comes out, as long as it is similar, or at least makes sense, that it should be seen any different.

This is all avoiding the changes in race in some characters that were mostly pointless. To be clear on that, what I mean is that if they wanted ethnic diversity in the cast there are members of just about every race already on the team so there is no need to change a characters race (like Ripcord) or his nationality (like Breaker or Heavy Duty) when they can just use another character. Need an English guy for some reason, use Big Ben. Need a few more African Americans aside from Heavy Duty, there's Roadblock, Deejay, and Doc among others. If for some reason you need a guy in a hawaiian shirt, use Chuckles. There's deversity to spare in the line up already, no need to make unnecessary changes.

But does ones race really defy said character? in some cases i can see where it would ( i was disappointed that the Baroness was not European and did not have her trade mark accent), but in this case i don't see how changing ripcord to a black guy would hinder his character.

I had problems with the movie, mainly dealing with aforementioned character changes. However, I found the movie entertaining and more or less in line with the tone of the 80s cartoon. It at least resembled some aspects of a previous incarnation of the series which was more than I had hoped for. I just hope that in the sequel, should one happen, Cobra Commander get the crome face plated helmet and we get to see Cobra in action and not stupid Neo Vipers. If Cobra uses anything "super human' it should be B.A.T.s (Battle Android Troopers for those who don't know).

My feeling are that it was a good action movie, not so much a good "G.I. Joe" movie. I just didn't scream G.I. Joe to me. But neverless, i can't deny the fact that i did enjoy it.

I can't really say it bothers me they changed his race, but really why? There's plenty of black GI Joe characters they could have used without having to be so revisionist. I guess since Rip Cord is such a secondary character, they figured who cares.

They might have figured in Ripcords case, race did not define his character. Meaning he could have worked as being white, black, Hispanic etc. Producers know that a person a like Marlon Wayne's has fans and can attract people that may not normally be interested in a movie like this. (though personally,i felt his role made the movie less enjoyable. I don't care for him as an actor). But he is popular with the younger crowd. Could you imagine the hype if they got Angelina Jolie to play Baroness? Like Heath Ledger playing the Joker, she alone would have brought in an additional 10 million opening weekend. This is really the only reason i could see them wanting to use Marlon Wayans to play Ripcord.

[Tyrant]

I have a question for you Tyrannt. Since you seem to be a G.I.Fan i'd like you input on the subject. In your post you say that Cobra Commander has a different origin in the comics than the TV series. My guess is that its similar with other characters origins changing depending on what series you read/watch.

For whatever it is worth, as far as I know a lot of the other characters were unchanged from one source to the other. Just ignore everything in the original movie with Cobra La and most are identical. The difference was the cartoon didn't go into many of their backstories like the comic book did. The comic book was written by Larry Hama and he also wrote all but one of the filecards on the figures so he made those two sources match up.

So my question to you is,....

IS the movie changing things around slightly any different than if a new series was introduced? I ask cause i have this ongoing discussion with many concerning Transformers. Many are upset that the origins and stories aren't exactly spot on, but you never here anyone complain when things change when a new comic book, or series comes out. I don't see why when a movie comes out, as long as it is similar, or at least makes sense, that it should be seen any different.

Well, I don't know a lot about the Transformers and their various incarnations but I do know it seems like some things are nearly universal (Megatron and Prime are mortal enemies, Unicron eats planets) and other things aren't quite that fixed. GIJoe has a few incarnations. The cartoon, the Marvel/DD comic book run, the Resolute cartoon (which may or may not be considered a continuation of the old cartoon), Sigma 6 (this one is mostly not cared about by anyone), and then the GIJoe/Transformers crossover universe DD made. There may be a few one offs in there as well. Between these, most of them have the same basic premise and personalities. Over time they have differences (Cobra Commander being a snake man is a good example). The cartoon and cmic books have a different tone. The Cartoon is a saturday morning cartoon while the comic book uses bullets, has deaths, and occasionally deals with politics. That's just to clear up where the various incarnations of GIJoe stand in relation to one another.

To answer your question, I can see the films as being like a new comic line. I think the problem is that most fans don't want to think about them like that. They like to think of them as an adaptation, like a book. So, like a book to movie project, when things get changed fans get angry. I learned that it comes with the territory a while ago which is why I am not angry with the changes. I don't like them and view most of them as unnecessary but I try not to let it ruin the movie for me. It might not be the best adaptation, but I feel it captured the feel of the 80's cartoon with a touch of the violence from the comics. So I guess my answer is I can look at it that way but I don't like when I have to look at it that way. I feel if they are making a movie based on something, it should actually be based on that something. If they didn't think the concept or characters could work for a bigger audience, why are they making a movie about it in the first place. This wasn't even close to the worst butchering of the source I have seen (to date, I believe that to be Queen of the Damned as far as movies I have seen that I have also read the source) and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. If they get the characters actions, styles, etc right I can give them some slack in changing their back stories.

But does ones race really defy said character? in some cases i can see where it would ( i was disappointed that the Baroness was not European and did not have her trade mark accent), but in this case i don't see how changing ripcord to a black guy would hinder his character.

For me in this case it isn't about how it impacts the character (though Wayans did have some "urban" dialogue as I recall which I am assuming Ripcord never did) but the fact I think it was just lazy. If they needed another black guy there are readily available options. I judge this kind of thing movie by movie. In Daredevil I was fine with making the Kingpin black because I can't think of a white actor to fit the role and MKD did fit it physically (and the fact he can act didn't hurt). Though in that case I do wonder what kind of signal it sends making the bad guy black when he used to be white. With GIJoe, or other series with character's that already have racial diversity, I think it's just lazy and unnecessary. It doesn't make me upset, but if I were a Ripcord fan it might. I know that all too often these things (cartoons, comics, fantasy/scifi books and movies) are seemngly targeted towards a white audience (no, that's not racist, it's a fact) so adding diversity can be a good thing. However, when a property already has it in spades, changing characters is just lazy and stupid. And to be clear in case anyone is wondering, I would be just as upset if a black character were played by a white guy.

They might have figured in Ripcords case, race did not define his character. Meaning he could have worked as being white, black, Hispanic etc. Producers know that a person a like Marlon Wayne's has fans and can attract people that may not normally be interested in a movie like this. (though personally,i felt his role made the movie less enjoyable. I don't care for him as an actor). But he is popular with the younger crowd. Could you imagine the hype if they got Angelina Jolie to play Baroness? Like Heath Ledger playing the Joker, she alone would have brought in an additional 10 million opening weekend. This is really the only reason i could see them wanting to use Marlon Wayans to play Ripcord.

I had read that he very happy to land the part. He apparently was a big fan back in the day and was fairly knowledgeable about the mythos. I was skeptical because I thought he was added as a comic factor. I was quite suprised to see that his humor was kept to a minimum.

[salty tbone]

They might have figured in Ripcords case, race did not define his character.

I can see your point. Although, I had the original action figure, and even I would have a tough time defining what DID define Ripcord's character other than someone who did high-altitude parachute jumps. Don't really remember him much in the comics.

The movie pretty much has its own story line so they could pretty much do whatever they wanted. Which is why many fans are saying it was a good action movie but didn't feel like G.I. Joe. That disappoints me. I was hoping for a movie that really excited my nerd side.

[5150 Lego]

I have to say, i'm really disapointed with the toys coming from the movie. not what i was expecting at all. There's one hellocopter that was ok, but for the most part, nothing special.