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For Sale Mar 30, 2026 at 1:54 PM

G.I. Joe: The Movie, opening sequence (1987, dir. Don Jurwich)

Posted by SpaceForceAwakens

This still goes so hard. The movie itself is a bonkers-as-f*** turn on the G.I. Joe series and scared the hell out of a lot of us as kids. After the negative reaction to Optimus Prime’s death in the Transformers movie they changed the ending. A new Joe film is being developed, but if they don’t get this vibe at least a little right then it won’t be the same.
GI Joe 1080p HD Bluray Intro
YouTube
GI Joe 1080p HD Bluray Intro
GI Joe The Movie (1987) 1080p Blu-ray Intro
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yojumbo Mar 30, 2026 +174
I remember when Duke took a snake spear to the heart and Flint goes, “he’s in a coma!” And then offscreen at the end of the movie, they go “Duke’s okay!” Man, they really course-corrected after the reaction to Optimus Prime’s death.
174
GotMoFans Mar 30, 2026 +51
When he was so obviously dead. GI Joe the movie was supposed to be released first and Transformers was inspired to kill OP because Duke was dying. But Transformers had younger kids as fans. Falcon was also supposed to be Hawk’s son instead of Duke’s brother.
51
Randym1982 Mar 30, 2026 +18
The writer of the movie mentioned how if you turn off the sound. You can see that he's actually dead.
18
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 30, 2026 +11
Well yes, it clearly goes *through his heart*!
11
Impossible-Charity-4 Mar 31, 2026 +14
Snake through the heart, and you’re too late
14
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 31, 2026 +13
It seems Duke, had a bad fate (guitar riff)
13
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 30, 2026 +16
Wait I don’t know this about Falcon. That makes way more sense.
16
charliefoxtrot9 Mar 30, 2026 +11
Lt Don Jonson
11
xczechr Mar 30, 2026 +3
Lt. "Sonny" Crockett
3
charliefoxtrot9 Mar 30, 2026 +3
Lt. "Sonny" Burnett I'm a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude
3
Lamont-Cranston Mar 31, 2026 +6
The production order was GI Joe, Transformers, My Little Pony, Jem. Production delays meant release was reversed with My Little Pony first then Transformers, their failure resulted in GI Joe being released to video and Jem being cancelled.
6
Impossible-Charity-4 Mar 31, 2026 +7
That’s a Mandela for me, dog. I completely remember not watching GI Joe after this movie because Duke died, Roadblock went blind, and Cobra Commander met a fate worse than death because snek.
7
sfitz0076 Mar 30, 2026 +31
Which is weird because I never had a relationship with Duke that I would have cared it he died. If it were Flint, or hell, even Shipwreck, I would have been devastated.
31
yeahwellokay Mar 30, 2026 +38
Nobody cared about Duke they way they cared about Optimus Prime. For me (and maybe most people) it would be like killing off Snake Eyes.
38
ShiroHachiRoku Mar 30, 2026 +13
Snake Eyes dying would've broken me.
13
Spobobich Mar 30, 2026 +3
I hope you don't read the comics.
3
lawtalkingguy23 Mar 30, 2026 +3
What really? Duke was my favorite joe
3
Reggaeton_Historian Mar 30, 2026 +11
> even Shipwreck Bruh, you couldn't even try to traumatize kids with another Shipwreck tragedy after the Springfield two parter. I knew kids that were FUCKED up from this episode. Let alone kill him?
11
sfitz0076 Mar 30, 2026 +6
Is that the episodes with the melting goo?
6
Flying_Dustbin Mar 30, 2026 +5
Yeah, although the Synthoids appeared in an earlier two parter. The episode featuring Shipwreck involved Cobra making him think he had a wife and kids in order to extract some classified info from him.
5
sfitz0076 Mar 30, 2026 +3
Yeah, that episode scared me as well.
3
Recoveringfrenchman Mar 30, 2026 +4
Duke was my guy. I would have been devastated if he died. But I still think it should have been done.
4
WillaBerble Mar 30, 2026 +11
Duke would have gotten an okay, that sucks, but kill my man Roadblock and I would have probably cried.
11
JWAdvocate83 Mar 30, 2026 +5
Duke got impaled by that snake spear, right? 😬 I believe in miracles but nobody walks that one off. Edit: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hTnvPo-jgg8&pp=0gcJCcQBo7VqN5tD
5
newtdawg44 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Funny thing was, I don’t think there would have been nearly the same level of reaction to duke’s death as there was to Optimus. All respect to duke, but Optimus was/is an icon.
2
tubcat Mar 31, 2026 +1
Somehow I was fine with Optimus dying when i was little. It was a killer story beat that led to big payoff with Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus ascending.
1
Timmace Mar 30, 2026 +165
cobraaaaa, COBRAAAAA!
165
shadowCloudrift Mar 30, 2026 +42
I love that second Cobra yell.
42
franktheguy Mar 30, 2026 +15
Co BRUH
15
Dr-Mumm-Rah Mar 31, 2026 +7
Dude gave it his all and made it memorable 39+ years later.
7
zenith2nadir Mar 30, 2026 +59
Man, that Cobra theme song goes hard!
59
Murba Mar 30, 2026 +21
“Cobra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!”
21
NeedsToShutUp Mar 30, 2026 +17
Nowhere to run, Nowhere to hide, Panic spreading far and wide, Who can turn the tide?
17
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 30, 2026 +4
Geeee eyeeee Jooooooooooe!
4
negativeyoda Mar 30, 2026 +8
Then later COBRAAAA LALALALALA! That movie was a fever dream
8
radarbot Mar 30, 2026 +5
Need OSI to back up GIJoe in action: https://youtu.be/Pz59tFR2KMs
5
biggiepants Mar 30, 2026 +6
I'm joining the war... On the side of Cobra.
6
realdynastykit Mar 30, 2026 +60
Probably the best animated opening I've ever seen and the movie is great too.
60
EchoWhiskyBravo Mar 30, 2026 +11
Totally agreed. Though watching now, it is wild that they had that 3 minute theme song/action sequence to open the movie.
11
everythingisunknown Mar 30, 2026 +8
Had never seen this before and this was awesome
8
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 30, 2026 +10
Try watching the actual movie. It's bonkers.
10
redmongrel Mar 30, 2026 +8
For real? Transformers came out the same year (correction, the year prior) and literally starts with an entire inhabited planet being eaten alive.
8
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 30, 2026 +8
No Transformers came out almost a full year earlier. The reaction to Optimus Prime dying a year earlier is why they changed Duke's fate in this one.
8
redmongrel Mar 30, 2026 +3
Oh that’s right! Still, far more awesome opener than this one.
3
xRyuzakii Mar 31, 2026 +1
Watch the transformers intro.. it’s incredible
1
woppatown Mar 30, 2026 +48
I love how COBRA parachute in during a firework show.
48
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 30, 2026 +50
Well for context the Statue of Liberty for the two years (give or take) before this movie came out had been covered in scaffolding as part of its centennial restoration. This was supposed to be the “re-dedication” party of the statue, which would have had a ton of dignitaries present. A terroist attack then would have been highly effective. Good thing the Joes were there!
50
TheCarrzilico Mar 30, 2026 +35
For further context, watch *Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins*. (The Adventure did not continue.)
35
Whitealroker1 Mar 31, 2026 +5
Who can we get to play an old Asian kung fu master?  Joel Grey. 
5
tgold77 Mar 30, 2026 +4
Reboot! Who do we get to play Remo Williams?
4
GeistMD Mar 30, 2026 +8
Jon Bernthal
8
tgold77 Mar 30, 2026 +4
Yeah I guess that’s perfect.
4
Spobobich Mar 30, 2026 +2
Oh man, that friggin makes so much sense why Cobra would try to destroy the Statue of Liberty! I always wondered why they would do that, and figured it was just Cobra being Cobra.
2
theaveragenerd Mar 30, 2026 +25
The animation was so nice in both this movie and Transformers the movie. Just beautiful.
25
VanSaxMan Mar 30, 2026 +8
This, I re-watched the 87 TF movie a little while ago and was truly blown away with the hand drawn animation and the level of detail in the transformations. Truly the best time to be a young kid.
8
meantussle Mar 30, 2026 +26
Cobraaaaa CROTCH
26
meantussle Mar 30, 2026 +16
OH YOU WANT IT AGAIN HERE YOU GO
16
Ok-Caterpillar1611 Mar 30, 2026 +8
Parachute taint drop was my favorite part.
8
meantussle Mar 30, 2026 +2
The double dip was transcendent
2
Ok-Caterpillar1611 Mar 30, 2026 +3
I wasn't paying attention, you're right he bounced his taint on our collective faces.
3
Anal_Herschiser Mar 30, 2026 +3
Not once, but twice.
3
WpgGamer21 Mar 31, 2026 +2
dude tea-bagged on a record scale.
2
Veylora1 Mar 30, 2026 +22
I still remember seeing that as a kid and realizing oh they can just kill anyone huh cool cool..
22
Upper-Management-AI Mar 30, 2026 +13
They obviously didn’t kill anyone! The robots blew up and everyone else jumped out right before everything exploded!
13
Spobobich Mar 30, 2026 +5
Pretty sure nobody caught the Cobra pilot that fell out of the Trouble Bubble when Snake Eyes flipped it over.
5
GlobalManHug Mar 30, 2026 +24
Wild that terrorist organization can field an air force without the worlds governments knowledge but get repelled by a few guys and small arms fire.
24
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 30, 2026 +13
They actually get into this issue pretty well in the (very excellent) Marvel comic series in the 1980s. Cobra is mostly a giant criminal network, not unlike SPECTRE in the 007 universe. It is an organizational body that brings together both legitimate and illegal groups and manipulates them to get what it wants. Doing this, it manages to take over a large, newly-created island off the coast of California while at the same time manipulating the UN into giving it status as a sovereign nation, meaning that the Joes can't attack without a congressional declaration of war (this was the 80s when things still worked like that). Cobra built it into a fortress and — no joke — a convention destination. It had four-star hotels where (mostly despot) heads of state could come and work out their plans together as well as a marketplace for advanced weaponry. Here, with the help of Destro, they were able to make billions of dollars in the international arms trade all while looking legitimate (to a degree). It was also an important R&D hub for the dictatorship crowd, and a lot of these advanced designs are things like compressed fuel jetpacks and giant flying death ships. So they're more than just a terrorist organization at this point, though terrorism is their main tool of conquest. Really they just want the US to fail as a nation so that Cobra can rule the world via the roughly half of the world governments it plans to control via manipulation. A superpower by proxy, sort of.
13
Lamont-Cranston Mar 31, 2026 +4
>Doing this, it manages to take over a large, newly-created island off the coast of California It was in the Gulf of Mexico, they tricked the US into creating it by using a nuclear depth charge on a fault line.
4
GlobalManHug Mar 30, 2026 +2
Sounds like a really great plot actually. I look forward to Christopher Nolan version
2
mithridateseupator Mar 30, 2026 +4
>meaning that the Joes can't attack without a congressional declaration of war (this was the 80s when things still worked like that). LOL someone hasn't heard of the Monroe doctrine. It absolutely didn't work like that in the 80s. (Vietnam started the tradition of not naming wars as real wars, and was much earlier)
4
Moonstoner Mar 30, 2026 +5
Well to be fair bazookas, Lazer rifles, crazy land, sea air flying crafts with lazer guns in them, jet packs, more lazers, ninja sword, grappling hook gun, spear, a hawk for some reason.... jets at one point. But ya for the most part a a few guys and one lady doing it.
5
murrtrip Mar 30, 2026 +2
They were also highly-skilled martial artists.
2
TheCarrzilico Mar 30, 2026 +39
Say what you will about Cobra Commander, he's at least willing to be on the front lines.
39
DrGrabAss Mar 30, 2026 +31
The head of the entire organization flew, unescorted mind you, through the fray on a single-engine jet pack, *without armor,* to place a bomb gently against a wall as part of their master plan. That’s leadership! Batshit insanity, but leadership nonetheless.
31
Gericht Mar 31, 2026 +6
As a kid it looked SO cool. I always did favour Cobra more than GI joe when it came to their equipment. But thinking back, this whole thing would have worked SO much better if Cobra had just attacked some random other thing with all this force, while a single guy in a business suit left a suitcase alone during the party at the statue.
6
MSK1984 Mar 30, 2026 +16
I remember getting this on VHS, the minute the intro hit, I was f****** HOOKED!
16
GotMoFans Mar 30, 2026 +27
One of the greatest theme songs in the history of film. Seriously.
27
GigaSoup Mar 31, 2026 +3
Cooobraaaaaa... COOOOOOBRAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!
3
statecv Mar 30, 2026 +11
I remember watching this in the 80s and wow. Still cool today. I didn't realize then that it was sort of the end of that era.
11
Earthpig_Johnson Mar 30, 2026 +11
I’m still flummoxed by Sgt. Slaughter’s itty bitty t**** bag.
11
Jester1525 Mar 30, 2026 +9
If it helps, what he said was: "There are two ways out of my command. On your feet like a man or in a ditty bag. An itty... bitty... ditty bag." A dirty bag is a small drawstring bag used for any number of things in the military, but common uses today are for toiletries, tent stakes, or dice
9
Enderkr Mar 30, 2026 +4
We all knew it was "ditty bag," but none of us said that..... :D
4
Merickson- Mar 30, 2026 +10
My favorite History Channel documentary.
10
capcalhoon Mar 30, 2026 +10
I dare anyone to come up with an animated children's movie character with a better villain name than Nemesis Enforcer.
10
Every_Bookkeeper5121 Mar 30, 2026 +3
He was the coolest character in the movie for sure. I was still happy when Sgt Slaughter body slammed him though
3
mountaindoom Mar 31, 2026 +2
Do you know what Nemesis means?
2
hobocop123 Mar 30, 2026 +9
let’s keep rebooting this franchise until they get it right
9
Spobobich Mar 30, 2026 +3
All they gotta do is make it a cartoon for a mature audience. Gritty and no holds bared like the comics.
3
mountaindoom Mar 31, 2026 +3
I really enjoyed the G.I. Joe Resolute from a few years ago. Felt like that.
3
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 30, 2026 +1
In this case, yes.
1
viceroyvice Mar 30, 2026 +15
Peak G.I. Joe. Nuff said.
15
Major-Plastic4686 Mar 30, 2026 +7
I just went from 6 to midnight!
7
sfitz0076 Mar 30, 2026 +7
I don't think kids had a relationship with Duke like they did with Optimus Prime. Optimus Prime was in every episode of the Transformers. Duke was kind of getting phased out for Flint in season 2. I can't remember that many Duke episodes. So I don't think kids would have been that devastated if he died.
7
WhitePootieTang Mar 31, 2026 +1
I dunno, his mail away figure was pushed so hard that kids had his toy to lead most battles.
1
Enderkr Mar 30, 2026 +7
I am 43 years old and I still watch this movie at least once a year. DGAF, it still goes hard as f***.
7
DrGolo Mar 31, 2026 +3
Keep an eye out for those AMC fathom events next year for the 40th anniversary. For the 30th they brought it (the dvd version) back to the movies for a single showing.
3
stebuu Mar 30, 2026 +6
I rewatched the movie last summer and as a middle aged person with a moderate interest in all things military I was "wow attempting to take Liberty Island is a bad strategic move"
6
Doright36 Mar 30, 2026 +6
Bad strategy was basically Cobra Cimmanders whole personality.
6
tgold77 Mar 30, 2026 +1
You know who else likes submarines?
1
J-RedFive Mar 30, 2026 +6
The moment at 2:40 when Duke grabs the bomb, jets up to the Cobra ship, attaches it and pushes off is so epic. The live action movies had a lot of failures but the lack of jetpacks seemed like such an overwhelming oversight!
6
Dramatic-Secret937 Mar 30, 2026 +1
I havent watched this in ages but your description just brought it back as i too marveled (get it? Marvel?!) at that scene and the intro upon first watch as a kid
1
WillaBerble Mar 30, 2026 +3
I always thought it was funny that that one cobra guy parachuted his crotch onto the face of the viewer 2x.
3
Regal-Beagal-131 Mar 30, 2026 +4
Best part ,  Snakes Eyes jumping into the pod and flipping it upside down and then sitting in it and taking off!
4
BLAGTIER Mar 31, 2026 +2
In one smooth move.
2
DJBeefalo Mar 30, 2026 +7
Did Duke not just murder Destro and Baroness here with that bomb?
7
capt1nsain0 Mar 30, 2026 +14
Everyone’s got parachutes/ejector seats/ escape pods to get to. Cartoon logic.
14
Dramatic-Secret937 Mar 30, 2026 +3
More like censor requirements
3
guimontag Mar 30, 2026 +3
And the only bad guys that actually get shot are all faceless robot footsoldiers
3
Brobard Mar 30, 2026 +2
They were already out flying too. You see them a bit before Duke nabs the bomb. 
2
DJBeefalo Mar 30, 2026 +2
Fair enough. We'll just assume the rest of the ship was filled with thousands of B.A.T.s.
2
the_angry_austinite Mar 30, 2026 +3
I remember as I got older and would occasionally see the books, I would be shocked at how often people would die in GIJOE.
3
theMaynEvent Mar 30, 2026 +3
Commented on this very video just the other day: "I never saw the movie as a kid. A friend in high school lent me his DVD copy and before watching the movie proper, I spent a good hour just rewatching this intro. Tour de force!"
3
BeeTeaEffOhh Mar 30, 2026 +3
If anyone is interested, and you should be, Skybound (Robert Kirkman's comic imprint, of The Walking Dead and Invincible fame) recently got the Hasbro license and have been killing it with new, integrated comic series. Their GI Joe and Transformers books are great and not too far along, so great time to jump in if you want some awesome Cobra and Transformers action.
3
PaulClarkLoadletter Mar 30, 2026 +3
That’s quite a toy commercial.
3
WhitePootieTang Mar 31, 2026 +1
It was all the best toy commercials for the best toys.
1
Flying_Dustbin Mar 30, 2026 +3
I like the little vignettes that play out during this intro, like Cobra Commander planting the bomb himself, Bazooka nearly taking Shipwreck's head off with one of his rockets, Freedom, Junkyard, and Scarlett all ganging up on Torch, Snake Eyes hijacking a Trubble Bubble in mid flight (because he's Snake Eyes that's why), and Alpine grappling onto that Firebat, smashing the canopy with his bare hands, and then having Snake pick him up.
3
Every_Bookkeeper5121 Mar 30, 2026 +3
Hogwash! 🐍
3
Charrbard Mar 30, 2026 +3
80s kids movies did not mess around. Not to mention R-rated movies like Rambo, Robocop, Terminator, even total recall, being turned into toys and cartoons.
3
JayTNP Mar 30, 2026 +2
If we ever get another live action GI joe movie and this isn’t a shoot for opening or ending sequence I don’t want it
2
CaseyAnthonysMouth Mar 30, 2026 +2
Should have killed Duke. Part of what made Transformers the Movie so great was seeing a pile of transformers get the technicolor knocked out of em. Made the stakes real for this 7yo! 😂 The Goldbergs has a pretty great episode about Transformers.
2
Duneking1 Mar 30, 2026 +2
I always wondered where Cobra got their financing and where did they recruit military from. They go through technology and people like crazy. They must have something going for them or they‘d eventually run out of resources.
2
Flying_Dustbin Mar 30, 2026 +5
They get support primarily through two entities: Extensive Enterprises, a corporate front that launders money for Cobra's activities (run by the Crimson Guard commanders Xamot and Tomax) and an arms company run by Destro known as M.A.R.S. (Military Armaments Research Syndicate).
5
shadowCloudrift Mar 30, 2026 +2
What happened to that planned G.I. Joe and Transformers crossover film?
2
Livid-Mistake-6845 Mar 30, 2026 +2
Still one of the best movie openings ever. I will fight anyone who disagrees.
2
radarmy Mar 30, 2026 +2
This movie defined my childhood
2
zudoplex Mar 30, 2026 +2
It always killed me with these shows that had nicely animated intros only to have not the best animation with the feature. Serpentor was awesome.
2
ThaiJohnnyDepp Mar 30, 2026 +2
Huh. I had no idea this movie existed whereas I wore out the VHS of the Transformers movie.
2
SparrowBirch Mar 30, 2026 +2
I forgo Bon Scott played Cobra Commander 
2
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 30, 2026 +4
It was actually Chris Latta, who also voiced Starscream in Transformers among others, and was a legendary jerk. He was so much of a jerk that he got fired from the first season of The Simpsons.
4
antisocialdecay Mar 30, 2026 +2
I remember my aunt bought me Jinx the red ninja when they released the line from the movie. My cousin gave me shit because she had b****. Tunnel Rat and Law and Order were cool.
2
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 30, 2026 +2
Law & Order: "We're a team, man. He finds the bombs, I drive the car. We tried it the other way but it didn't work out." Such a great one-liner in a kids cartoon.
2
Spobobich Mar 30, 2026 +2
Ha! I remember buying the Chun-Li GI Joe figure just so my collection wasn't such a sausage fest! Finding female action figures was tough back then!
2
ShyGuyWolf Mar 30, 2026 +1
I heard of this event and how Transformers made the thing changed. little Timmy was sad
1
Me_Krally Mar 30, 2026 +1
Does the new movie follow the last two? Honestly I’d prefer a big screen animation.
1
kevinsixhohsix Mar 30, 2026 +1
I love the movie but I can't recall watching the actual show. Like obviously I watched it and had tons of the G.I Joe action figures but no particular episode stands out as memorable. Same with Transformers. When I think of Generation 1, all I recall is the movie. Weird.
1
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 30, 2026 +1
[Well, you'll want to watch this.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dabVaor2NlQ) There's no place like Springfield!
1
HyperionWinsAgain Mar 30, 2026 +1
The episodes I still remember all these years later are the multipart epics. Mass Device, Pyramid of Darkness, etc. If those don't spark your memory I don't think anything else will!
1
Raknirok Mar 30, 2026 +1
None may challenge Serpentor!
1
FoxMcCloudOwnsSlippy Mar 30, 2026 +1
As a kid growing up in the UK, I only knew this as Action Force. Took me years before I knew its true title, G.I.Joe!!! Still, the movie hit me so hard, it's so dark man.
1
Avoidtolls Mar 30, 2026 +1
#Jihad Joe!!!
1
fuxoft Mar 30, 2026 +1
I want to see $300 million Michael Bay movie with this vibe. Oh wait, someone will probably make it this year using the AI...
1
[deleted] Mar 30, 2026 +1
[deleted]
1
Spobobich Mar 30, 2026 +1
He flipped the Trouble Bubble mid air, the Cobra Pilot fell out and he started piloting it. But you already knew that.
1
ShiroHachiRoku Mar 30, 2026 +1
How many people did Duke kill?
1
Dr_Baby_Man Mar 30, 2026 +1
I had a lot of those plastic action figures and toy vehicles. The whole thing was a big ad to sell their toys.
1
black_metronome Mar 30, 2026 +1
Larry Houston (X-Men Animated Series) storyboarded and directed this sequence OP.
1
blokedog Mar 30, 2026 +1
Cobra's through Whatta we do?
1
Spobobich Mar 30, 2026 +1
It's a damn crime Roadblock didn't rhyme his lines in GI Joe 2, but I'm pretty sure the Rock thought that was beneath him.
1
handsomedan1- Mar 30, 2026 +1
In the UK GI Joe was called Action Force. They changed the films opening song to reflect that. I personally preferred the UK version but both are cool.
1
rain-dog2 Mar 30, 2026 +1
That Marvel logo at the start just uncovered some deep nostalgia. Comic book content was so rare back then, and each time I saw it, I’d get super hopeful. And the comics trade magazines were feeding that hope with news of everything that might get a pilot or a script. Everytime you’d see that logo you were rooting for them to hit a home run.
1
Mr402TheSouthSioux Mar 30, 2026 +1
This one sequence made the whole film for me. Remember watching it the first time on WGN Chicago with all my friends. They aired at prime time.
1
tigzie Mar 30, 2026 +1
I watched this like a month ago. Such a banger! "Crashing through the sky, comes a fearsome cry of Cobra, COBRAAAAA"
1
hiro24 Mar 30, 2026 +1
Just think where Cobra would have been if instead of spending all their money on weapons and soldiers and bases they'd just bankrolled SuperPACs and convince half the country the other were demonic satan worshipers with fake news.
1
fordlincolnhg Mar 30, 2026 +1
Damn, this brings me back. I watched this so much as a kid. Time for a rewatch.
1
bravetailor Mar 30, 2026 +1
Sunbow shows are often underrated because they were unabashedly toyetic action shows, but they often outsourced to some of the best Japanese animation studios at the time which were really pushing the envelope visually of how cinematic toyetic action animation could be. Longer tracking shots, animated zooms, sophisticated camera angles, etc,. All of this was not something you saw often in the preceding Hanna Barbera years of Sat Am animation which tended to stick to more static medium level shots, close ups or full shots, even in the action scenes. Transformers, GI Joe and Jem action scenes tended to feel a lot more dynamic in the way they were edited and animated.
1
babaganoosh30 Mar 30, 2026 +1
This is what Pete Hegseth sees in his mind at all times.
1
Scorpinock_2 Mar 30, 2026 +1
It was a bold choice to start the film with a focus on the enemy. I distictly remember thinking “Where are the Joes? Why are they letting this happen? When they pop out the theater went crazy.
1
radarbot Mar 30, 2026 +1
The Venture Bro parody is as funny as this intro is exhilarating: https://youtu.be/Pz59tFR2KMs
1
GeistMD Mar 30, 2026 +1
Wow, all these years later and its still kind of exciting. Seeing it in the theaters was radical.
1
elProtagonist Mar 30, 2026 +1
If a live action movie doesn't have this intro, I don't wanna see it
1
DigitalNova99 Mar 30, 2026 +1
YO JOE!
1
KidzRockGamingTV Mar 30, 2026 +1
I’ve had the GI Joe cartoon song as my cell phone ringer for years. The Gen-Zs look at my Gen-X ass like I’m in the grave already lol.
1
vroart Mar 30, 2026 +1
Btw, storyboarded by the artist behind X-men! And you can tell since that opening also has that style
1
GrandmasLilPeeper Mar 30, 2026 +1
Makes me want to get my GI Joes out and play guys
1
ReddiTrawler2021 Mar 30, 2026 +1
One hell of an intro. The rest of the movie wasn't too bad to me, but it couldn't match up to this scene.
1
Ok-Caterpillar1611 Mar 30, 2026 +1
It's giving this or the other way around: https://youtu.be/3kH-CfCaMl8?si=EMiCEu0iA1x3uUCl
1
drood420 Mar 31, 2026 +1
I love this version of the theme song.
1
noctalla Mar 31, 2026 +1
Cobra Commander is essentially Starscream in human form.
1
gosquirrelgo Mar 31, 2026 +1
Same voice actor IIRC
1
Funandgeeky Mar 31, 2026 +1
The reflection in Cobra Commander’s helmet as he falls is peak ‘80s animation.  I remember when this would air. It was a five part episode. The opening was different from the standard TV opening and Sgt. Slaughter hosted that week in live action segments narrating each part. It was always a fun week. I wasn’t a huge GI Joe fan but did enjoy this movie.  I loved how we finally saw Cobra Commander’s face and learned his origin. And his final fate was pretty gruesome. So absolutely peak 80s. 
1
MenudoMenudo Mar 31, 2026 +1
That triggered WAY more nostalgia than I was expecting. Also, wtf was that plot? They were snake people from a snake themed Shangri-La called Cobra-La? That was bonkers, and it got steadily weirder from there.
1
Lamont-Cranston Mar 31, 2026 +1
After this and the break in of Cobra Island you really don't need to watch the rest.
1
Turbulent-Honey5707 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Man, as a kid, watching him plant the bomb on the cobra ship, pick up old glory, and then fly up and plant it on top the Statue of Liberty was, and still is, the coolest shit ever.
1
friday126 Mar 31, 2026 +1
An updated version would have Cobra using middle east oil $ to buy up congressional, controlling interest in the deployment orders of the Joes. A few of the Joes would, over time, get wind of this. One of the more outspoken Joes gets "Pat Tillmaned", then shit gets real.
1
chunkybudz Mar 31, 2026 +1
Absolute peak
1
arcana73 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Oh look, its masked ICE officers descending into the cities
1
Whitealroker1 Mar 31, 2026 +1
“He’s in a coma…..”
1
Whitealroker1 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Shout out to the 90s comic. Tells an actually pretty compelling story about the origins of the Cobra Commander, snake eyes, zarten, Storm shadow. 
1
FlowAcrobatic Mar 31, 2026 +1
Coobraaaaa reeeetreaatt!!
1
feckincrass Mar 31, 2026 +1
God damn. This is still awesome. Those sax notes during the second verse? The sequence with Alpine and his balls of steel? Duke straight up murdering whoever was on that helicarrier? Perfect.
1
tubcat Mar 31, 2026 +1
I used to rent this and the Transformers movie at least once a month. The Transformers soundtrack is actually a banger end to end.
1
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 31, 2026 +1
Instruments of Destruction is such a great song.
1
mountaindoom Mar 31, 2026 +1
"There's only two ways out of my command: on your feet like a man, or in a dirty bag. An itty, bitty, dirty bag."
1
TriscuitCracker Mar 31, 2026 +1
As one of the YouTube comments states, if I was one of the animators of this I’d be proud as f***.
1
nellyruth Mar 31, 2026 +1
Watched an episode recently. Love Shipwreck flying a jet with no gear on and Polly on his shoulder.
1
FeralPsychopath Mar 31, 2026 +1
So what the live action remake is like the US verse some sort of AI robot invasion in the style of Starship Troopers set in New York?
1
jaylerd Mar 31, 2026 +1
It was always hard to leave for school if you saw that Statue of Liberty for the intro…
1
SolomonBlack Mar 31, 2026 +1
More animation then the rest of the movie and any five episodes of the actual cartoon.
1
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 31, 2026 +1
It’s so bonkers and out of nowhere.
1
chainsawvigilante Mar 31, 2026 +1
NEMESIS ENFORCER, MY BELOVED. Loved all the nonsense Cobra La backstory shit. So good.
1
06EXTN Mar 31, 2026 +1
80’s cartoon themes went so hard. I miss that about shows.
1
Devilofchaos108070 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Loved this movie. I was huge into GI Joe as a kid
1
acshou Mar 31, 2026 +1
This opening is in a game now.
1
SpaceForceAwakens Mar 31, 2026 +1
Eh?
1
No-Sympathy-686 Mar 31, 2026 +1
F*** YEAH!
1
Samaritan_Pr1me Mar 31, 2026 +1
This is pure AMERICA! BLEEP YEAH! For kids and I love it.
1
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