I really like this idea. In fact my idea for a perfect Cobra army builder would be a base figure that takes design hints from both the Cobra Trooper and the Viper, and include both a harness and helmet for a Cobra Trooper look and a vest and helmet for a Cobra Viper look.
That'd be really cool.

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Wasn't there a 12 inch figure that did this?

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But if they all washed their uniforms and equipment their would be no more Toxic Vipers

I like a lot of the ideas you all have when it comes too Trooper=Viper. I however don't think Troopers would make good terrorist because the armor and symbols would be a big give away.

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You mean the symbol that's on almost every single piece of their gear and hardware? The one they wear proudly?

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It might also give them away when they shout "COBRA!" every time they do anything.

"Let's go eat pizza!"
"COBRAAAA!"

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I always considered the Troopers the entry level Cobras. The Vipers the first rung of the Cobra special forces ladder.Better equipment more training etc.

They are almost as bad as the Brotherhood of Nod terrorist that are walking around in red hoodies with the Black Scorpion symbol on their gear, and they shout "For CAIN!!" OR "Peace through Power!!!" How they are able to actually take out people with suicide bombs without being spotted and taken out first is beyond me.

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Doesn't the Command and Conquer series take place in some near future with an alternate history?

Well, in this universe, maybe Tourette's Syndrome has become contagious and a lot of people walk around randomly shouting "FOR CAIN!"

I'm just spitballing here.

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Its hard to say know because if you play Red Alert 1 and beat the game with the Russians you will see Cain went back in time and helped the Russian win on the condition that Russia would join with the Brother Hood of NOD. That is the only time you see him so its up in the air if he did go back in time and altered it. On the other hand Tiberium Sun and Tiberium Wars shows a lot of Russia as being part of NOD, so Feliz navi da.

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once the vipers came out the troopers should have just put on a red shirt and joined the enterprise away team. If I were in the cobra army I would rather be a viper than a trooper, they look much cooler. If your gonna be a terrorist you might as well look awesome while doing it. Despite how I feel about the troopers I keep buying them any chance I get if for no other reason than having troops to fill up the terror drome. The one trooper that looks awesome and I had to get a few sets of was the Cobra Night watch, the camo pattern was pretty sweet.

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I know there's a 12" Viper that was a bit of a hybrid of Viper and Blueshirt designs, but I don't know about one that can switch between Blueshirt and Viper....

But yeah, Hasbro should invest in new tooling to make a Viper/Blueshirt hybrid that can switch between Blueshirt and Viper accessories... I think all fans would eat that up. It'd be like the Cobra version of the Rise of Cobra PIT Commando!

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I think this is the one I was thinking of... http://www.yojoe.com/12inch/03/viper.shtml

For some reason I was thinking that he came with an actual Viper helmet. I was wrong though.

And yeah, it would definitely be cool to get a 3 3/4'' figure that was a Viper/Blueshirt hybrid.

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I was just reading up on Cobra Paratrooper and Cobra Officers and now I feel even more confused on how the system works. It says Paratroopers are the lowest on the ranking system and if their Cobra officers shouldn't the out rank Vipers?

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Put down the logic and back away from the action figures.



I had a whole org chart I tried to use to impose order and a rank hierarchy on the Cobra troops.

I don't have the jpeg any more, but essentially everyone who enlists gets the blueshift outfit. If they have the appropriate background, they can skip aptitude testing and go right to their area of expertise (EMTs or med-school dropouts become Medi-Vipers, pilots become Air-Vipers and can potentially be Gyro-Vipers or A.V.A.C.s or Strato-Vipers). Otherwise they all take something like an S.A.T.

If their science and math scores are high enough, they get tracked on the Tele-Viper path and can graduate to be Techno-Vipers. Or they might opt for the driving test and become Motor-Vipers with potential to be H.I.S.S. drivers. If they don't have attitudes apart from killing, they get Viper armor and can apply to the Alley-Viper or Eel program (better training and gear, higher pay). Once a Viper, they can try to qualify on the S.A.W. or the H.E.A.T. (again, better equipment and pay). Night-Viper and H.A.L.O.-Viper training can pad the paycheck as well.

Officers are sometimes promoted from one of the Viper classifications, but more often they are professional mercenaries hired to keep the troops on task or personal friends of someone in the Cobra hierarchy. The latter are cheaper and more common, and the main reason so many Cobra operations fall apart.

Regardless of where a Cobra troop is stationed or what his rank might be, if he screws up badly enough, they'll stick him in a Toxo-Viper suit. The survival rate for those troops is ridiculously low, but the ones who make it for extended periods are often offered exciting opportunities as test subjects in Dr. Mindbender's experiments.

CGs are totally outside the standard track, being recruited by the Twins from among exceptionally qualified professionals. But to make the rank and file feel better about their opportunities, Cobra Commander created the Elite Viper corps. They wear Crimson and are afforded pretty much every luxury. The Officers hate them.