This character had such a wonderfully bizarre genesis... sort of ahead of his time with the clone angle. Leave it to Sunbow to teach history during an after school cartoon based on toys.

This figure is the embodiment of gold plastic syndrome.. I dropped one one time and you wouldnt believe how many pieces he shattered into

i had one of these as a kid and i remember the death of the air chariot. dropped it one day onto brick patio and it exploded like ancient china. appropriate for the accumulation of history's most infamous conquerors. serpentor himself may still be buried in my parents yard. the resurrection of the cobra emperor from his grave was a constant threat to my hero action figures.

So glad you did this character! I also love Cobra Commander explaining to Serpentor that he needs a patsie, a fall-guy to blame for when things go wrong, so you should keep me around. So much great manipulation on the part of the Commander.

Again.. 10 year old me is screaming, seeing all the unpacked Joes in the background.. The feeling getting to the toy store seeing them all, especially when New lines came in 😍

I see him standing on the chariot and can't help but think of "No capes!!!'

I had one as a kid. I never really liked the chariot. I was more into the realistic military stuff. I don't think the figure itself was ever really one of my favourites either, but I remember him as being what I thought of back then as one of the more well made figures. I guess I was sort of thinking it feels like they put a lot of effort into this one so he must be important. But I don't know, I just didn't really get into him. Saying that, I've actually got one on the way in the mail now. I'm trying to make sure I get all the figures from my childhood, and he was one. Everybody is different, and I see a lot of passion for Cobra, which is cool, I appreciate them a lot more now. I was definently a GI Joe kid.

First off, great video, Michael. Your research and editing gets more remarkable each time. Secondly, I actually really like the concept of Serpentor. It's very original, extremely science fiction and actually taught me about DNA before anything else ever did. Lastly, I just don't like him as the leader of Cobra. It will always be Cobra Commander. This, WE command!

It's great that you used a Serpentor 'stunt double' for the fighting scenes in a video :)

I'd been looking forward to this since you mentioned it, and I was not disappointed. Serpentor was hard to find in our neck of the woods back in the day. I didn't have it nor did my buddy. Watching your show today fulfilled that dream of opening Serpentor. As always great job!

I totally never realized that Serpentor was a victim of GPS. First I've heard of him having a problem. I played so rough with mine as a kid and I never had a break other than one of his cobra teeth.

PPS: Considering that Serpentor had Hannibal's DNA, it would have been a nice fourth-wall-esque touch if he'd said '...I love it when a plan comes together...' whilst hatching one of his diabolical Cobra schemes...not that any Cobra plans ever stay together for long, of course...!!! (All jokes aside, an A-Team/GI Joe crossover of some sort would be pretty darn awesome one of these days, yes...?).

I sided with cobra Commander in the Cobra civil war, but serpentor is cool. Especially since he gets a vehicle.

Fascinating work as always, yes? As a life-long history buff myself, the concept behind the Marvel Comics' version of Serpentor in particular - whose modern-day warrior's DNA came from Storm Shadow rather than Sgt. Slaughter, by the way - always struck me as being pretty darn cool back in the day, partly because it was always interesting to see his rival historical personalities clash with each other like they did during the classic Cobra Civil Wars - which is still my favourite GI Joe storyline full stop, by the way; not least because I always had a soft spot for another of its key players, namely Fred VII, the ex-Crimson Guardsman who not only shot, 'killed'*, and impersonated the original Cobra Commander in his new battle armour, but who also got to live the dream of many a Joe fan down the years and kiss the Baroness...!!!** But I digress (cont...). (* Don't worry, the original Cobra Commander later got better and made a comeback in true '80s-arch-villain style, as you do...!!!) (**Okay, Fred VII himself later complained that it was like kissing a dead fish, but it's the principle of the thing, yes...?!)

Sepentor is an impressive figure loaded with great detail and color scheme. The six-inch version is not too shabby either with some nice accessories such as the cobra staff and sword. I always have been fascinated with his back story. Thanks for another excellent review!

Even though Serpentor proved pedigree does not guarantee victory. He was an awesome character. And still a pretty cool figure.

Thank you so much for this upload, I live near one of the fires in California and while I haven't been told to evacuate it's still stressful and I'm worried about all the other people. Your voice is so calming and the things you talk about so earnest. It really calms me down no matter the subject matter

Huh... learn something new every day: Attila the Hun has some sweet checkbook balancing skillz. 🤔

Wow Michael great video ! Serpentor is one of my favorite Cobra character and was one of my most beloved toys of my childhood! If you thinks his voice was impressive in English, in Spanish was stunning! The Hispanic voice actor has deep and strong voice ! So dramatic! After 30 + years I found one at great prices in Ebay and now is part of my collection!

I remember getting this figure for Christmas back in the 80’s and I remember having to superglue the backpack head shield because when I would put on the cape the backpack would come out of his back

Great video of one of the best G.I. Joe action figure The Cobra Emperor Serpentor. I love it .

Vintage Serpentor's a bald and chinless freak under that helmet. I had a copy of the figure where the helmet was totally gone. There's a rarer version where his neck is painted yellow. There's also some minor variations to the tail on his upper chest with later Hasbro mail away releases. He available as a mail away for years, until the end of the line or close to it. He was a late addition to season 2 and that's why so many of his appearances are via monitors or random throne rooms, those were added to existing scripts. Of course, he did get My Favorite Things.

👏great stuff assembled from the worlds greatest leaders and the goldest plastic

Love Serpentor, he's one of my prized pieces. I believe the word you're looking for is his "backpack" is meant to resemble a cobra's hood.

Remember my local store didn't have it and my great grandma said her local store 2 hours away had it. She bought it and mailed it and I was at the mailbox everyday waiting for the mailman!! Sure wish I still had it

I had many figures in the early 80s and the biggest issue I had was the thumbs breaking off, especially before swivel arm. Also, since Star Wars was still big, I would take toothpicks, color them with a magic marker, wrap tape around one end and they became lightsabers for the Joe/Cobra guys.

Thank you for sharing sir 🍻 cheers! Another great video! Sepentor is a fantastic villain.i remember playing with that toy non stop.

As you read the file card I said to myself waitaminnit. The 1986 file card mentions "The Interrogator" which was a character and figure that never saw the light of day until 1991. Interesting. Could Interrogator have originally been planned for 86? Could it have been an alternate name for Mindbender? These little details can reveal many things in the history and also raise questions.

G.I. Joe was pretty cutting edge for mid the 80's, not only did they have this plot of splicing the DNA of great rulers to make a super commander but remember that episode with the Dinosaurs on a secret Cobra Island, 'Primordial Plot'? It's basically Jurassic Park 8 years before Jurassic Park came out. Anyway, I do wish we saw more of Serpentor and Cobra Commander having their power struggle, could have been a neat story line to explore. DNA, A-OK!

Yea, he was always one of my favorite figures back then, as well. It's funny you mention how fragile he is, as a couple of my friends had him and the heels were broken off on both of them, where the peg hole is and back. I always thought that was really weird.

Great review. Serpentor was always my favorite Joe toy as a kid. There seemed to be other variations of him as well as the snakes you showed. Some Serpentors didn't even come with a cape, and the Air Chariot could be either a shimmering gold color or a more dull copper like color like the one I had.

Another awesome video Michael!👍 Really like how you go over the blueprints. Funny how they make everything sound as if it was a real functioning part! Lol The cape on the original reminds me of the cape on the Ovion from Battlestar Galactica. A lot of times the cape is worth more than the figure. Toy Polloi made a custom of it sometime back but the sparkles woven inside he had a hard time replicating! And that is saying something when he can’t make something work!👍

I had both of those vehicle's that were in the commerical. I miss those toys.

Great vid! I would love to see a few more in depth vids on other vehicles from the 1986 line up. Perhaps the Dreadnoks Thunder Machine? 😄

Great video again! Flawless assessment and really enjoyed this as I had the original Serpentor with air chariot. Although mine didn’t bold too well over the years. Thanks again for making these videos!

Great video! Thank you! I didn't have the original Serpentor, but I managed to get all of the "25th Anniversary" versions and -- very appropriately for the character -- Frankenstein'd a near-Vintage approximation, like that custom of yours. Thanks to this video, it now looks like I'm going to have to learn how to overlay some pigments onto Molotow Liquid Chrome to try to get a really, really blinged-out air chariot from that dull earwax-coloured re-issue.

He looks awesome!

One of my favorite villains still wish to get him and the Joe’s in 6 inch

Thank you so much for this video, I just purchased a vintage Serpentor with the Air Chariot on ebay for $150. The cape is unripped and while I don't know if the figure is "imaculate", it does look like it's in very good condition... so this is helping me figure out how to handle it and avoid the dreaded Gold Plastic Syndrome... though I kinda want to put the 25 Anniversary Serpentor's snake spear in his hand... I should probably not, though.

Another excellent video Michael keep up the amazing work 👍

PS: (cont.) The coolest thing about Serpentor, meanwhile, is undoubtedly the crucial role that he played during one of his past lives in what is surely the greatest advance in the history of human civilization thus far, namely the invention of the pizza...!!! (See imgur.com/gallery/bYojy9f for proof - who knows, perhaps this would be a good plot point for a Joe/Turtles crossover some day, yes...?!).

Very thorough review! You went into pretty deep details to bring us a top notch review. As for Serpentor himself, I'll give him this, I really like the idea for his origin story, a clone of various historic leaders to produce the ultimate warrior. However, that's where my compliments to this guy end. I really wonder if ANYONE out there likes this guy over Cobra Commander. Props to them if they do, but I really don't see it. Cobra Commander was fun to watch, his personality was very entertaining. Serpentor was just an obnoxious jerk, REALLY aggressive to everyone around him. Really gets me seeing him putting CC, one of my favorite 80s villians, in a lower place. Oh yeah, and that annoying catchphrase of his, "This, I Command!" At least Cobra Commander finally got his revenge by turning this guy into an Iguana.

Skeletor and Cobra Commander are my two favorites!😁👍. Great idea for a segment! Outstanding job Mike!👍😁

Brings back my childhood i used to have that and many many more Gi Joe & Cobra 🙏👍

Hi from Canada,You Sir, you are my favorite toy reviewer to date, especially your background

I used to also use serpentor's snake as Cobra commander mutated into a snake. Good to see others did the same 👍

I always loved Serpentor, I just dont understand the hate.

I always like ol serpy . I still have my vintage v1 but one of the teeth has broken off and his cloak is a lil ragged. there was two more re-releases of that v1 mold . V2 where they swapped out the gold for black . and v3 which was the first to sport a whole new head sculpt and removable Helmet ! I have that one also and its not bad there is no gold on him but I still like the colors they kinda inverted them so the greens became yellow to simulate the gold look and the gold became green , also I have that 25th one and like you I thought it was mis-constructed so I tired to put the fan inside the housing but its not designed to hold it and just flops to the base of the bottom section creating a huge gap.

Can't wait till they release the 6inch classified version

Funny thing about the first 25th Serpentor is that the design was based on (at that time) current Serpentor design from Devil's Due. The second version was more in tune to the actual version, but damn did the coloring suck. But man, I've said it before I'll say it again. Your custom variation is amazing!

I just watched the 5 part series here in KZfaq on Hasbro's channel. Amazing episode series!! Loved the tension and all the action. Btw, did they ever make that brown monster that was made due to the virus that Cobra Commander put into the first formula?

Didn't see the vid .your title earned a LIKE.

I remember my buddy had this figure and Globulas! I was so jealous!

This is one of those very few cases in which the modern version beats the vintage one.

Another great review. For the record, the snake used to be a dark gold originally.

Amazing video. Thank you for showing all the details of this wonder piece. I just picked the 86 Serpentor up. The only thing missing is the stickers for his hover craft. Do you have any direction on where I can get the stickers? I would appreciate the assistance.

Memories. Would love to hunt down more of the Joe cartoons/movies.

Take me out of this box and Neal to your emperor, you puny giant!! THiIS I COMNAND!🍻🤣👍

I hope Super7 creates a ReAction figure of The Cobra Emperor to put alongside ReAction Galvatron “THIS I COMMAND🐍”

I found this missing only the cape and box for like $.50 in a thrift store bag.

Serpentor is pretty much like a annoying brother to cobra commander.

My memory isnt so good but I thought this was a mail in figure. 4 to six weeks delivery took forever for as kid

Serpentor was a great villain, I wonder why they ended up bringing cobra commander back?

I bet this give you nightmares whiles moving the figure. I got Pryo from G2 Transformer line, YYYeeeaa i know how you feel when moving your friend Serpentor. Honestly there say rice paper is delicate, there never had GPS toys especially made entire out of that unstable mixture polymer.

Heh might of been the start of me growing out of GI Joe as a kid

Idk how but 12:04 scared the crap outta me lol

22:42 Does the 80s Hood fit on him though? I think putting the 80s Hood on him from the old figure would go a long way to improving his look.

I got the Serpentor from the DVD Battle Pack Arise Serpentor Arise and I don’t think he looks as half as good as the one you have on blister 🤔 still, it’s a fun piece but I would love to find an original Serpentor 🤔 Great video Mr Mercy ✌🏽👍🏽

You will give me this figure! This I Command!!!!!!!

Any chance anyone has a review of the Cobra B.u.g.g. vehicle?

It's too bad they didn't just name Dr. Mindbender instead of just "The Interrogator." Dr. Mindbender had a high place in my Cobra hierarchy, he was weird, but he had a certain dignity that other shirtless Cobras didn't have.

I remember being a kid and begging my dad to buy that for me😁😁😁😁He did...lmao...New sub here👍

10:50 I'd argue that the Triple T is a fine vehicle buuuuut it does come with Sgt Slaughter making it a inherent cash grab

Cobra should have dominated with someone like serpentine at the helm in hindsight as an adult now

The first revamped Serpentor reminded me of Dwayne Johnson in the illustration and then the doll had a sad face. Why? XD

I remember giving him a pistol as a kid.

It would've been cooler if they put a snake mask on him.

Ironic that Serpentor should be one of the weakest figures. I guess Dr Mindbender's science wasn't as solid as he thought! One of only two Joes I broke as a kid - both lost their crotch piece - Serpentor and Quick Kick (my favourite figure).

Mine broke

When's the golubulous (god I hope I'm spelling that right) review!... I'm just joking, no hurry

Mike, do you have the website of the stand, since it is not on ebay anymore? The website that I have for the serpentor stand is at: displaystandsdirect.com/serpentor-air-chariot-stand/ . Is that the same person, where you got it from?? I just got my serpentor today, and will do a review on him soon on my channel.

I always liked the idea of Serpentor. However, the application on the other hand....😕

The top and bottom halves of the air chariot never fit together well