1983 Cobra Officer
I’ve been in a bit of a lull lately with not much GI Joe stuff to talk about. The Cobra Officer isn’t a figure I can find a lot of original things to say about, and I’m far from being the only person who likes the figure a lot. Regardless, I’ve wanted to profile him on my blog for some time, and talking about a classic seems like a good way to refresh myself as we head into 2020.
I don’t really have the sentimental attachment to the Cobra Officer that I do for the Cobra Trooper. Largely, this is because I just didn’t remember him apart from the standard Troopers in Sunbow, which as a kid was my only source for connecting with the GI Joe lore. The only thing I can say is that I did handle this mold first before I ever obtained the Cobra Trooper, by way of the Python Trooper I had as a kid.
Perhaps that childhood exposure to the mold does affect my opinion on it now. The truth is, I’m more fond of the Officer’s sculpt over the Trooper’s, however, that’s only in a few ways. The added details on areas like the helmet and webgear seem more appealing to me than the Trooper’s relatively simple sculpt. Noticeably, the Officer is much less bulky than the Trooper, which I tend to think looks a little more natural.
An odd thing I hate about the Cobra Officer compared to the Trooper, however, is the figure’s grip. For some reason he has one of the most ridiculously tight grips in the entire line that I know of. For an early sculpt, it seems as though it wouldn’t be that strange, but even the Cobra Trooper and Cobra Commander can hold their weapons better than the Officer here can. It doesn’t ruin the figure, but it’s always been something that bothers me.
For parts, you get just one: the classic AK-47. It’s one of the world’s most common and iconic firearms, so it’s appropriate to be included with one of GI Joe’s most notorious enemies. I agree with the sentiment I’ve seen from others that it would’ve made more sense for the Troopers to have the AK and the Officer to have the Dragunov, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is one of my favorite accessories in the entire line. Even after The Black Major started casting these by the dozens in different colors, I still never get tired of getting this part.
Cobra Officers are not rare, but expensive and prices seem to vary more than with other figures; usually even a rough figure will go above $20. Largely, this is because of the fragile silver paint used on their Cobra sigil. However, even once this paint has completely worn away, these can still go for a premium. Used to, you could by the worn ones and replace this paint application with a decent sticker if you felt so inclined, but today even this is not very practical. I really enjoy my Cobra Officer and can’t imagine my collection without one, but the prices for them sting.
My first Cobra was a straight arm Officer. Eventually he lost a thumb and fingers on the other hand. His emblem was long gone but he still manned a HISS turret.
The swivel arm version added those thick cuffs for some reason.
Neither my brother and I had the swivel arm Officer until the mail order offer around 1987. My brother had the Stinger driver, though. Every one of those guys is an O-4 Major…driving a jeep.
I overall like the officer mold better. It’s a bit more symmetrical, as the trooper has that odd pistol on his webgear and the shoulder bits. I don’t know why that makes the officer better, maybe it’s just my nostalgia for my first Cobra figure.
I found it amusing the cartoon used the officers as security troopers more than unit leaders, even until the movie. I often wondered if they didn’t understand what the officers were supposed to be. I wish someone had made true to the toon versions of the trooper and officers, as there’s a lot more differences than colors.
It’s a solid figure. I think the sculpt works really well, and I’m glad it’s not just mine that have hands that can’t hold a damn thing.
It’s kind of a shame that the mold’s never been used by a Factory Custom maker. I think it would’ve been pretty cool had TBM used it circa 2010. It’s detailing and such matches well with the COBRA Trooper sculpt, so some interesting part combos could’ve been made.