The Autobots Have A New Enemy In the Energon Universe - Even Worse Than the Decepticons

Summary Cobra-La declares war on Cybertron, setting up a massive conflict with the Transformers franchise in the shared Energon Universe.

Cobra Commander forms the Cobra organization and allies with Destro, while the secret society of Cobra-La gets involved.

Lord Golobulus sees the Transformers as a threat to Cobra-La and sends Pythona to space to hunt them down, setting up a crossover.

WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Cobra Commander #5

The big bad of the Transformers franchise has always been the Decepticon faction, but the Robots in Disguise have a new enemy in the Energon Universe shared universe with G.I. Joe. Cobra Commander #5 ends with an infamous secret society from that franchise declaring war on Cybertron, and the consequences could be massive for Hasbro’s shared universe…

Coming from the creative team of Joshua Williamson, Andrea Milana, Annalisa Leoni and Rus Wooton, Cobra Commander #5 sees the title character finally forming the Cobra organization thanks to an alliance with Destro. The issue also ends with a return to Cobra-La, G.I. Joe’s secret society of snake people.

After learning that Nemesis Enforcer was unsuccessful in killing the Commander, Lord Golobulus instead turns his focus to these alien robots that have been appearing on Earth. With Megatron having recently gained his freedom after being imprisoned by Cobra-La, Golobulus sees the danger these Transformers pose, and decides to do something about it.

Cobra-La Declares War on Cybertron, Causing Trouble for the Transformers

Skybound defied fan expectations by including Cobra-La into the Energon Universe, reviving the controversial enemy faction from 1987’s G.I. Joe: The Movie. The new origin of Cobra Commander brought back the concept of Cobra-La, tweaking it slightly so that the Commander is a human scientist who was adopted by the serpent society hidden away in the arctic. After taking Megatron prisoner and developing weapons based on his technology, the Commander is sent on a mission to find more Energon by Lord Golobulus. The Commander is eventually betrayed by his Cobra-La bodyguard, eventually revealed to be Nemesis Enforcer.

None of the Cobra-La characters ever appeared in the original Marvel Comics run of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, as writer Larry Hama found the concept too weird.

Now that the Commander is building his own army, Golobulus is instead turning his attention to the Transformers. Looking over the wreckage left in the wake of Megatron’s recent escape, the Lord of Cobra-La is shocked to discover the Decepticon leader came from a planet full of giant robots. “They escaped a war to come here,” Golobulus says. “A world of blasphemous metal. Our opposite in the universe.” Fearing their arrival could spell the end of Cobra-La, Golobulus turns to near religious zealotry in describing the threat they pose, stating, “They betray our very being and everything we stand for.”

Cobra-La Sends Pythona to Space to Hunt Down the Transformers

It’s interesting that the bio-organic Cobra-La society would view the Transformers as their mortal enemy due to their being made entirely of metal.

Cobra-La emissary Pythona decides to take a squid-like spaceship to learn more about Cybertron and “take this war to the stars.” As far as where Pythona’s story is heading, editor Sean Mackiewicz provides a little more context in Cobra Commander #5’s letters page: “As for more Pythona? All I can say is, I hope you’re reading other EU titles because you won’t have to wait too long.” It sounds like the Cobra-La/Cybertron conflict will play out in other titles - most likely Void Rivals, as that title takes place exclusively in space.

It’s interesting that the bio-organic Cobra-La society would view the Transformers as their mortal enemy due to their being made entirely of metal. With G.I. Joe being formed with the express purpose of hunting down the Transformers on Earth, the Robots in Disguise will face opposition on all sides as Skybound’s shared universe continues to grow. Given all these spinning plates, it seems like the publisher is building up to a massive crossover between all Energon Universe titles, bringing the worlds of G.I. Joe and Transformers together in a way like never before.

Cobra Commander #5 is on sale now from Skybound Entertainment.