G.I. Joe: The Movie

Pythona, an envoy from Cobra-La, talks Serpentor into stealing the Joes' Broadcast Energy Transmitter. The Himalayan raid fails, Serpentor is captured and Cobra retreats to Cobra-La, an underground civilization that ruled Earth 40,000 years ago. Its leader Golobulus reveals that Cobra Commander was a nobleman they recruited and that Serpentor was also Cobra-La's idea. As punishment, Cobra Commander is exposed to spores that slowly turn him into a snake. Lt. Falcon, Duke's half-brother, leaves his post and lets Serpentor escape. After training with Sgt. Slaughter, Falcon leads the rookies on the rescue. Duke falls into a coma saving his brother. Cobra-La is destroyed, Golobulus gets away and Duke wakes up at the end.

1. Behind the scenesDuke was supposed to die

   In the original script, Duke died from Serpentor's spear and even got a funeral. After the backlash to Optimus Prime's death in The Transformers: The Movie, Hasbro reversed course, and new dialogue turned the death into a coma.

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2. Behind the scenesCobra-La was a placeholder

   The writers used Cobra-La as a stand-in, borrowed from Shangri-La in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon. Hasbro liked it and the name stuck.

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3. CameoDon Johnson and Burgess Meredith

   Miami Vice's Don Johnson voices Lt. Falcon, Duke's half-brother. Burgess Meredith, Mickey in Rocky, voices Golobulus, ruler of Cobra-La.

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4. Behind the scenesIt was meant for theaters

   It was planned as Hasbro's third theatrical feature, after My Little Pony: The Movie and The Transformers: The Movie. Delays and weak box office for both sent it straight to video on August 25, 1987.

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