Herb Trimpe unmasks Cobra Commander

Back when I was 6 years old and my G.I. Joe figures were waging war, I used to wonder why we never saw Cobra Commander unmasked.

In the cartoon and comics, the enemy leader consistently kept his face hidden. And it made sense from a storytelling standpoint. An enemy who could not be known could not be understood. But there was a part of me that always wanted to see Cobra Commander's face sans hood or helmet.

The cartoon and comics eventually revealed it — and those reveals disappointed me. Writers of the animated "G.I. Joe: The Movie" chose to deviate from the character's established background, presenting him as less human and more alien. In the old comics, the character was often shown obscured or disguised when unmasked. More recent comics have shown him to be remarkably normal, which is somewhat disappointing. And speaking of disappointments, I still don't buy Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander.

So it was with great hope today that I asked the original G.I. Joe comic book artist, Herb Trimpe, to draw for me his vision of Cobra Commander unmasked. He accepted my commission request at Baltimore Comic-Con and drew for me the above sketch. Herb's unique rendition of this malevolent and scarred character immediately became my preferred version. Given a challenge that could have lessened a character through revealing the mystery, Herb instead added depth to Cobra Commander. The sketch of this bruised and beaten yet resolute villain is replete with storytelling possibilities. What injuries incurred those scars? What surgery left that metal plate? What happened to his nose? His hair? And why does it look like he's missing a tooth? There's doubtless an interesting story behind each of these traits.

Thank you, Herb. This is the Cobra Commander that I've waited years to see.