Ok, so I just don't get this...

People have always seemed to have a degree of disdain for Cobra La in general, from what I've observed anyway. The figures were crappy, the characters were "LASER BLAST" and they ruined Cobra Commander AND Serpentor's origins in the movie.

But everyone seems to still really like Pythona.

Why is that? She wasn't some kind of pivotal character to the mythos, she wasn't some super cool character design that we got short changed out of. She was just some weird looking snake voiced bald chick. The movie and the things that happened therein are pretty much disregarded for most people (again, based on my observations) and her silly body suit with that ugly blotchy uh, pattern wasn't even a cool design.

I mean, this is COBRA-LA here, it's not Boba Fett. What is the big draw? I seriously don't get it. Why all the fanfare for such a small, uninspired part of the mythos?

I know, this is mostly based on my opinion and observations, but I'm not trying to pick any fights. I just want to know why you guys think she's such a big deal, because I couldn't really give two craps about any of the Cobra La figures or characters.

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I know why. Her infiltration of the TerrorDrome at the beginning of the movie is bad-ass.

That's a Firefly / Storm-Shadow type entrance.

Then we didn't even get a figure. We got one of Burgess Meredith with a tail.

Aye, her introduction in the flick was probably the best of any Joe character, possibly ever.

For the first time, Cobra was presented as realistically as they could be in that intro, with effecient security, competent troops and over the top safety measures. Pythona went thru all that, post haste and slapped down anyone that even remotely got in the way.

Every Joe, Cobra, Dreadnok and civilian that evey came upon Serpentor was always scared to death of him. Pythona ran up to him, challenged him and spoke to him as an equal, all without fear.

Her appearance I thought was cool, as I do Nemesis Enforcer, though neither really fit into the Joe world. If they must exist as toys, so be it. 1987s Nemesis Enforcer was crap personified, but the 25th version is all sorts of badass. If/when we DO get a Pythona, I think it'll be execuated perfectly in 25th format.

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What they said. I remember watching the movie for the first time and seeing that crazy first sequence...at first I was sure it had to be Snake Eyes or someone bad ass like that...then it ended up being some rocky-skinned bald chick.

But she came across as so cool in the sequence, and combined with the fact that she never appeared in figure form, it all equals a highly desirable figure that many folks want to see (COBRA La fans or not).

Justin

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Well, as Stalker, ZomebieGuide, and General Hawk point out, there IS that entrance of hers. That infiltration of the Terror-Drome ranks right up there with anything any ninja or infiltration expert ever did in the cartoon, and presented Cobra dealing with a major internal threat other than G.I.Joe. They weren't being attacked, they were defending themselves in their own territory -- something we didn't see too often.

Secondly, I personally disagree with you about the character design. While certainly a bit on the weird side, as was all of Cobra-La, I thought it was pretty impressive. Certainly cooler than either Golobulus or Nemesis Enforcer, especially their figure counterparts.

Thirdly, she was a major FEMALE character. How many of THOSE are there in the G.I.Joe universe? Generally a female character garners some measure of prominence just because the line is so male dominated.

You'll notice that after 1987, we didn't get any females until Ninja Force Scarlett in 1993? And prior, we had had one per year -- Scarlett, Cover Girl, Baroness, Lady Jaye, Zarana, and Jinx. As I've heard it told, Pythona was on deck for 1988, but when Cobra-La failed as miserably as it did, that was the end for any further extensions of Cobra-La (there was also a vehicle in the works).

If it had been up to me, I would've made the Cobra-La 3-pack consist of Golobulus, Nemesis Enforcer, and Pythona, and sold the Royal Guard on a single card so anybody who wanted to could've "army-built" him more easily.

Honestly, Pythona was CERTAINLY a more major player than Nemesis Enforcer in the movie, and probably on a par with Golobulus.

Even if Hasbro gives us a Pythona figure in the 25th-style collection -- which wouldn't surprise me when they get around to bringing the movie into the DVD Packs (along with -- I hereby predict -- components for a Broadcast Energy Transmitter) -- speaking as a traditional-style G.I.Joe fan, I'll always feel just a little bit robbed of a major and reasonably impressive character -- even with the custom I built several years ago.

evil is sexy

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Hmm. So that's it huh?

Perhaps having not seen the movie until I was well into adulthood, and being so entirely underwhelmed with the animated movie as a whole, that this scene never stood out to me.

Fair enough. While my own personal oppinion remains unchanged, I now understand where you guys are coming from at least. Except GoGo - you scare me fella.

Carry on

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Same reason People really wanted a Fat DD Bazooka.

Boobs.

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I really liked the concept art for Pythona that was at this year JoeCon. If it wasn't so expensive I was going to buy it. Also wish my camera did not die as I lost all my JoeCon pics as I was wanting to try a custom of her.

Michael
Bulletman Big B
All Hail DOB!!

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Well, to that point, everything we had seen in the cartoon had some reality to it. Sure there were these fantastic devices that allowed the bad guys to teleport famous buildings someplace else, but when we finally get a MOVIE there is this whole alien idea about a lost civilization with a penchant for body modifications using insects and bugs, etc. It was just creepy to me as a kid. It was like they had Borg implants, but using living things instead of metal, etc. How many movies have been based on some alien creature/parasite burrowing into victims skin? It's creepy.



So do you hate Cobra-La because of the poor figures or do you hate the figures because of what happened in the movie?



I kinda thought she was going to end up as Serpentor's bride or Queen. Both are snake-like names that have been personalized to reflect gender.

True, we didn't get a figure based on her and she had more screen time than most other characters. Plus she had a great entrance. Everyone was thinking we were gonna see new figures, then we see Serpentor and the Cobra-La 3-pack, why wouldn't everyone expect a Pythona figure?


I know some people that happen to find the two Klingon sisters from TNG to be attractive and Asajj Ventress to be hot. I guess it's because of ability, grace, strong character, and evilness. It's the exotic design combined with knowing she could kick your butt if it came down to it-people are attracted to/enraptured by powerful people. I'm not saying we're all hot for an animated character, it's just she impresses us with what she can do (like her entrance).



It's disregarded because we can't fit it in with the rest of the JOE stories, like I said above. It's just so different and alien. I thought her design was frickin' neat, because I hadn't seen anything like it before.



One could say the same about a certain bald-headed, monocle-wearing evil scientist; or some of us liking the Oktober Guard or the Dreadnoks.

I don't know about the rest, but to me the Boba Fett of the original trilogy and any of the books was not the actor from the prequels. I always imagined Christopher George (Rat Patrol, El Dorado, Chisum) combined with Clint Eastwood's 'Man With No Name' under the helmet.

I think if you could just step back and look at the new figure for it's design from a toy standpoint, you might appreciate what Hasbro did to make it be accurate (scale, etc). I have yet to see the figure in person, and I'm not fully convinced the 25th style is all that to begin with anyway. I can, however, look at the products and the customs here and say, "That is a nice looking figure."

I know I have stated a few times in the Critique section about how a custom figure looks exactly as it should. That's a compliment. I'm saying that it is exactly what I would expect a 25th version of the ARAH to look like. I'm sure when I see the Nemmy figure in person I will appreciate it for that reason. It doesn't mean I am whole-heartily supporting Cobra-La by doing so, just tipping the hat at Hasbro.



Maybe we're just trying to get your goat? That we all secretly hate/detest/loathe Cobra-La and we keep saying how great it is just to see how you react?

Or maybe it's because it is one of the best battlefield rallying cries?

COBRA-LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA!!!!!

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I think that this is probably alot closer to the truth of why so many fan boys want this charecter.

But if we are getting 25th females we really need a Cover Girl or either of the M.A.S.K. female charecters long before a Pythona.

Thats right I said it.

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Yeah, I'll go with boobs too. Or is it two boobs? I'm so confused...

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Both actually. I thought the figures were really, really stupid, even as a kid (more so now), and the entire concept is just annoyingly ridiculous, and the movie was the worst of the too silly for me to take seriously animated run. Sure that toons are amusing to watch now, but I could never take them seriously, or base my play on things from them. The movie was the worst of all. Gick!



Absolutely. Give me Jinx and/or Cover Girl (but not this MASK nonsense - if you want to go that route then just start a MASK line damn you) before we even discuss this Pythona nonsense.

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Hang out with us then, we'll try to keep you abreast and support you until your confusion passes, yet not be too brazen...

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First off, let me state that I have zero interest in a "fat Bazooka" figure...

Question -- was this concept art from the 1980's or something more recent? Do you recall the artist?