The Cobra High Command. In theory, Cobra Commander is absolute ruler. In practice, he often has to convince the others to go along with his plans. When Cobra Commander is supplanted by Serpentor following the "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" multi-parter, Serpentor is able to rule with absolute power the way Cobra Commander was never able to.
Legion of Doom: In theory, Cobra is a single organization under Cobra Commander's control. In practice, the Cobra High Command works more like one of these. Xamot and Tomax, despite being in command of the Crimson Guards, often threaten to cut off funding from their Extensive Enterprises business empire. Likewise, Destro often complains about Cobra Commander's plans (he's only really working with Cobra because he's selling them their weapons and vehicles), while Zartan sometimes has to be outright bribed (he's a mercenary, go figure).
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: When things are going well, they work... reasonably well together. But it's very clear that none of them really trusts the others.
COBRA COMMANDER
The original and the most notable lead of the terrorist organization Cobra, this mysterious masked man rules over the organization with an iron fist, though his competency levels differ between the animated works and the comics.
Big Bad: As the leader of Cobra, he is the main antagonist.
Demoted to Dragon: In the Arise, Serpentor, Arise mini-series, Dr Mindbender and Destro are so tired of his incompetence they create Serpentor to supplant him. Cobra Commander manages to convince Serpentor to keep him around as a scapegoat that can be blamed when things go south.
Creepy High-Pitched Voice: A quite high and shrill voice.
The Dog Bites Back: In Operation: Dragonfire, after returning to a humanoid form and slowly re-rallying Cobra back under his command, he's able to capture Serpentor and transforms him into an iguana. He does point out that he'll return to normal shortly, but it's the idea of the humiliation of it all that gives the transformation a pass.
Dirty Coward: Among the 80s villains, Cobra Commander is particularly known for screaming "Retreaaaaaaat!" the moment something goes wrong. At least Megatron usually got his behind kicked by Optimus Prime first before calling for a retreat, while Skeletor generally could actually stand up to He-Man before he decided to cut his losses.
Dumbass Has a Point: Will often point out the flaws in Serpentor's plans.
While people both in and out of universe tend to make fun of him for ordering retreats the moment the tide seems to turn against Cobra, when Serpentor takes over and is a much more aggressive leader Cobra's military losses mount heavily. G.I. Joe has the might of the US backing them: an outright war of attrition is just not something Cobra can win.
Evil Genius: When he wants to be, he can actually be reasonably quick-witted, like the time he reprogrammed an entire squad of B.A.T.s to kill both Serpentor and Sergeant Slaughter, and did it within a few minutes.
Evil Sounds Raspy: One of the best examples and likely one of the Trope Codifiers.
Facial Horror: In "Lights! Camera! Cobra!" Destro walks in on Cobra Commander having a meal to make a report, and the following conversation take place:Destro: "I've located the captured Firebat! It's...!!! *turns his head away* Commander, your hood. Put it on." Cobra Commander: *laughs* "It takes a strong stomach to watch me eat, doesn't it, Destro?"
From Nobody to Nightmare: Cobra Commander claims to once been a humble cadet at a military academy... where he led a mutiny. In the movie he's revealed to actually be a member of Cobra-La, a race of lizard people.
General Failure: The animated version of Cobra Commander wasn't the greatest leader out there to the point where the rest of Cobra eventually overthrow him in favor of Serpentor.
I Control My Minions Through...: Money. Cobra Commander is a very big believer in the power of money to open doors. His filecards and bios often mention that part of the reason he rallied so many people to his cause is because he pays very, very well.
An episode reveals that Cobra offers a medical plan, much to Shipwreck's surprise. In addition, Cobra actually has recreational facilities all over the world where Cobra's troops can relax and enjoy themselves.
Malevolent Masked Man: As silly as he can seem, never doubt Cobra Commander is a very, very bad man. Several episodes show that he makes heavy use of slave labour, and that he isn't above a bout of watching people fight to the death in a gladiator ring.
Miles Gloriosus: There are times when Cobra Commander's actual strategy is sound, but his insistence on being there on the field coupled with his Dirty Coward tendencies means he'll scream "retreat" the moment someone shoots at him. His dialogue in the first episode of "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" suggests he insists on being on the battlefield because he wants to be the one to claim victory over the Joes.
Never My Fault: He tends to blame his screw-ups on others.
No Indoor Voice: He's almost always shouting when he speaks.
Non-Action Big Bad: Zigzagged. He might call a retreat pretty quickly, but he's also often on the front lines. His most notable action was rescuing the entire Cobra High Command following Serpentor's ill-advised occupation of Washington D.C. by holding off the pursuing Joes with a flamethrower. In addition, he sometimes demonstrates a certain level of superhuman strength, ripping metal chairs right out of the floor or performing the occasional Neck Lift.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: Some of his plans were genuinely clever and only foiled by sheer good luck on the part of the Joes.
In his appearance as Old Snake in season 3 of The Transformers, he easily helps the actual villain of the episode disable Rodimus Prime, Springer, Arcee and Ultra Magnus. He's also the one who makes the suggestion to use their inactive bodies as weapons, rather than simply scrap them as his employer intended.
He also destroyed the Golden Gate Bridge with a Kill Sat.
Off Screen Villain Dark Matter: While there are several episodes that involve Cobra trying to refill their coffers or even going bankrupt, Cobra Commander somehow manages to pay for massive flying aircraft carriers, at least three gigantic snake-themed temples, and a lot of soldiers.
Several episodes hint that part of this is because he makes use of slave labor and cuts costs wherever he can. Filecards also mention he has a steady stream of income from weapons sales outside of the US.
Sssssnake Talk: In the very early episodes of the series, he recognizably hissed his S's. Even when this was downplayed later on, he was prone to ending bouts of laughter with a sinister hiss.
Smug Snake: Pun not intended. Cobra Commander sometimes comes up with genuinely clever plans, but he almost always starts gloating before victory is assured and is prone to make stupid mistakes because of his ego and histrionic personality.
The Starscream: Becomes this after being supplanted by Serpentor. Fitting, considering his voice actor also voiced the Trope Namer.
Throw the Dog a Bone: The DiC series has him regain his humanity and control of Cobra, and he manages to get revenge on Serpentor in the process. His appearance on The Transformers shows that, while he fails to Take Over the World and loses control of Cobra, he was able to escape justice and become a legend to the criminal community.
Villain Decay: His schemes become less effective and more buffoonish over time. This becomes deconstructed later; Cobra eventually becomes sick of him and wants a more effective leader, resulting in them creating Serpentor as his replacement.
Visionary Villain: While some of his plans are certainly out there, others are actually quite clever, such as the Synthoid infiltration plan (which would've worked if he hadn't pissed off Destro to the point Destro allied with G.I. Joe to put him in his place). He also understands the value of PR and propaganda, using them more than once against the Joes.
Most notably, he's a firm believer in the power of money; one of his more notable schemes involved causing all the paper money in the US to turn to ash, and then taking advantage of the subsequent economic chaos to get everyone to invest in "Cobra Currency". Even in his appearance in Transformers, when asked if his Synthoid technology is still available and for sale, he laughingly responds, "This is the world. Everything is for sale!"
The episode "The Wrong Stuff" demonstrates just how much of a Visionary Villain he is: he takes over all tv signals in order to indoctrinate people into his line of thinking, uses the monopoly this gives him to make a killing on advertising, and when G.I.Joe launches an attack on Cobra's space station, he broadcasts it live in an example of If It Bleeds, It Leads.
JAMES McCULLEN DESTRO XXIV / DESTRO
Cobra's weapons manufacturer and supplier.
Arms Dealer: His profession is selling weapons.
Consummate Professional: He's just as petty and evil as any of the other Cobra High Command... but he really, really hates to see shoddy workmanship. If you buy weapons or equipment from Destro, you can be certain it works.
He's also not very fond of Zartan, as Zartan's Only in It for the Money tendencies makes him rather unreliable: during the battles for the pieces of the Weather Dominator Zartan outright stole one of the components and tried to auction it to either G.I. Joe or Cobra. Both sides simply sent their forces to take it from him.
The Dragon: He generally operates as Cobra Commander's right hand man... when it suits him.
Evil Sounds Deep: He's evil and has a deep voice.
Honest John's Dealership: Averted. When you buy from Destro, you buy quality. He actually gets offended by inferior or shoddy workmanship.
Mad Scientist: Is credited with the creation of the Weather Dominator.
Malevolent Masked Man: Wears a metal mask (which inexplicably has moving lips), verging on a Cool Helmet; it goes from silver to gold during the DiC run.
Official Couple: With the Baroness.
Pragmatic Villainy: Destro is usually the most reliable of Cobra high command to keep a firm grasp of the situation. Throughout the pilot, he's critical of Cobra Commander's early celebrating of a victory they've not yet guaranteed and even attacks him when he finds out that he used up their resources in a failed attempt to destroy New York. Destro himself later attempts to destroy New York himself, but only after he's made sure they have enough resources to make sure their threats aren't empty.
Religion of Evil: In this version he runs a secret cult dedicated to appeasing the "Great Old Ones" which once attempted to sacrifice Lady Jaye, whom he found to be distantly related, to them, and had to call a truce with the Joes in another episode when Cobra Commander freed one of the creatures in an attempt to destroy Serpentor.
The Starscream: More than willing to work against Cobra when it suits him... or when he wants to remind them how valuable he is.
CISAROVNA, ANASTASIA / THE BARONESS
The Baroness: the Trope Namer.
Clingy Jealous Girl: Towards Destro. On at least one occasion, she interfered with his plan solely because he didn't share the plan with her.
Fanservice: Besides her usual catsuit, there was also "The Gamesmaster" where she spent the entire episode in a bikini.
Femme Fatale: A kid-friendly version, at least.
Mistress Of Disguise: She's impersonated everything from tourists to doctors to high-level American officers. She even once impersonated a male cameraman working for Hector Ramirez.
Official Couple: It's pretty much acknowledged that she and Destro are an item. Cobra Commander once called them and was outraged when the screen came on to show them making out.
What the Hell Is That Accent?: Her accent slides from German to Russian to something vaguely Eastern European.
TOMAX AND XAMOT / THE CRIMSONS TWINS
Twin brothers who by day work in the world of high finance and by night serve as Cobra's Crimson Guard commanders.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: They do not appear in the DiC continuation. Their company Extensive Enterprises does appear in the two-part episode "Long Live Rock and Roll", but the fates of the twins themselves after the events of G.I. Joe: The Movie remain unaddressed.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Their cover is running "Extensive Enterprises", which is a front for Cobra's financial interests.
Identical Twin ID Tag: Xamot has a wicked-looking scar on his face.
Open Secret: Just about everyone knows that Extensive Enterprises is one of Cobra's biggest, if not the biggest, backer.
Thrill Seeker: The more daring and dangerous the stunt (such as riding a ballistic missile), the more they enjoy it.
Twin Telepathy: They have a deep mental connection, which allows them to finish each other's sentences but also means any pain inflicted on one twin is felt by the other.
The "Pyramid of Darkness" episodes reveal that when separated (e.g. one has been captured by G.I. Joe), they can pinpoint each other's location. The only issue is they have to be roughed up first.
SERPENTOR
Pronounced "Sir-PEN-tor", Serpentor was the creation of Dr. Mindbender and Destro who, tired of Cobra Commander's constant failures, scavenged the graves of the greatest military minds throughout history and used their DNA to create the greatest leader the world has ever seen. Among his "donors" were Napoleon, Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Rasputin, Vlad the Impaler
Attack! Attack! Attack!: This is generally his main strategy. To be fair, several of his DNA donors like Napoleon and Genghis Khan put a lot of value on offensive maneuvers note , but Serpentor tends to prefer straightforward frontal attacks.
Badass Boast: Upon his "birth" at the end of the penultimate chapter of his premiere miniseries, he delivers this awesome speech to Sgt. Slaughter and the Cobra leaders in attendance:Now that I am the one you seek- I am the one born to rule! Destined to conquer! Let those who fear me, follow me! Let those who oppose me, DIE! For I am Serpentor, and THIS, I COMMAND!!!
Bald of Evil: Implied to be this in the cartoon; since, much like Zartan, the top of his head was never shown.
Be Careful What You Wish For: The Cobra High Command wanted a new leader who would be more effective, more powerful than Cobra Commander. They got one... but unlike Cobra Commander he's more than physically strong enough to manhandle them and force them to obey him through sheer brute strength, while being much less likely to actually listen to them.
Born as an Adult: He is created in a fully-grown adult body and with the knowledge of all the historical figures he is cloned from.
Catchphrase: "THIS I COMMAND!"
Even Evil Has Standards: In "My Favorite Things" Serpentor proudly boasts of the many genetic templates that form him, referring to them as "conquerors, tyrants and kings". When a Strato Viper arrives and presents him with a portrait of Useful Notes/Rasputin, he wryly notes, "Ah, Rasputin. What an evil scoundrel he was."
Flawed Prototype: Serpentor was created from many brilliant, yet incredibly egotistical and sadistic, individuals. The end result, without Sun Tzu's disciplined mind to balance it out, is a boastful and hot-headed leader who can't strategize his way out of a paper bag.
General Failure: He makes Cobra Commander look like a military genius by comparison.
Informed Attribute: He's supposed to be created from military conquerors and legendary commanders like Napoleon, Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan... but he rarely shows any actual strategic ability.
Most obvious is his ill-advised invasion of Washington: if he has Napoleon's memories like he claims, he ought to remember what happened the last time he thought taking a nation's capital city automatically meant he'd win the war.
Leeroy Jenkins: He is a physical powerhouse and likes to lead from the front... but he's even worse about launching attacks than Cobra Commander ever was. In the "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" mini-series, shortly after his creation and usurpation of Cobra he immediately orders a full scale assault on Washington DC. Cobra Commander points out the foolishness of this: you can't just invade US territory and expect to hold it.
Serpentor does actually take Washington... but because no planning went into the invasion when the Joes launch their inevitable counterattack the Cobras crumble almost instantly because they're out of ammunition and fuel. Serpentor apparently thought taking one city, even one as important as Washington, would be enough to get the entire US to surrender.
No Indoor Voice: His normal tone is an elevated shout. When he starts ranting or bellowing orders, it rattles windows.
Serpent Staff: Serpentor has a pair of cobras that rest on his shoulders. In the movie, he can command them to become rigid and throw them like javelins, probably as a reference to Thulsa Doom.
Uncertain Doom: He is last seen in the DiC series being chased by Gnawgahyde after being turned into an iguana and being informed that the transformation is only temporary. Since Serpentor never appeared again, it's unclear whether Gnawgahyde killed him or if he actually managed to escape the Dreadnok before the transformation wore off and simply never came back out of the shame and disgrace the experience brought him.
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