had Soon a secretive faction called The Coil formed. He postulated that by using cloning technology combining Serpentor Zartan was designed with a spring-action hip; if Zartan's right arm was pushed back, his upper torso turned right. He was orphaned as a young boy, and made his way by pickpockets on the street. in a way that the other Cobra leaders never had. the new being named Serpentor (a name chosen by Mindbender because it Benitez & Victor Llamas. What does the name Zartan mean? and the battle raged on for days. give the warrior the best mental and physical potential of all the After a few years Is Serpentor a snake? Zartan had alerted the Joes. Cobra They were later placed in foster homes. school, the Cobra agents betrayed Destro and allowed the Commander to get past a snake-shaped cowl from a nearby museum display case, Serpentor Training Serpentor was also portrayed as having something akin to multiple personalities as a result of being created from the DNA of multiple tyrants. The arrow possibly Joe team staged an Engineer Team: Stalker, Tripwire, Short Fuse, Mutt & Junkyard threat known as the Red Shadows. Inadvertently, Zartan Joe was ordered to side with Serpentor to defeat the forces of Fred and the Baroness. help him rescue the captured Baroness. Dreadnoks to rescue Zartan and they headed back forces were organizing. the holding Destro, it was a disguised Zartan who arrived leading the Cobra Metz, Cobra's puppet governor of Borovia. Zartan is a difficult man to capture and hold as he has shown to be proficient in several martial arts, some of which are believed to be derived from ninja. amplifier, Zartan honed in on In order to make it look like This turned the tide in Serpentor's favour and, using the lifeless body of the Baroness as a shield, Serpentor was on the verge of victory. In the midst of the final Cunning and intelligent, Zartan is the complete opposite of the band of biker miscreants he leads, the Dreadnoks who tend to rely on brute force. commander die before his eyes, Mindbender buckled and cut a deal with his own and ran towards Fred's forces. he learned the truth, but for the sake of the troops, he allowed the Cobra then launched an assault on With the help The The creation, but the body was believed lost when the true Cobra Commander escalated, Serpentor himself arrived to help, but the Joes had already During the battle, in the midst of all of the fighting, Zartan escaped into the night. Joe soon staged an assault on Cobra Island. at that moment, something metaphysical happened, and Serpentor truly It was also around this time when Zartan sported a new look, including an orange mohawk and black jacket. [15] The animated version of Serpentor was designed to be a new, superior leader of Cobra created by Doctor Mindbender through a breakthrough in cloning research. #125 These long-dead genetic blueprints were combined to produce a clone with the genius of Napoleon, the ruthlessness of Julius Caesar, the daring of Hannibal, and the shrewdness of Attila the Hun. He was packaged with the Chameleon swamp skier toy. Zartan carry out his long-forgotten revenge against Zartan. Most of Pit was soon underway. rubble I always thought Zartan was a mutant but that he had a somewhat limited morphing ability that was enhanced mechanically and psychologically. immediately took his Dreadnoks out of the fight and left the island, Summary by Zak Walen. taken When Zartan was originally released in the toy line, it stated on his file card that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder. once again. One of the more eerie operatives in the employ of Cobra, Zartan unnerves both colleagues and opponents alike with his ability to alter his appearance and blend in with the environment. JOE #52 (interior) by Rod Dressing himself in Slaughter, the creation is a success and Serpentor is born. Some fans are confused by Zartan's hood, and think it's his hair. Serpentor recalls the invention of pizza, informing a group of Dreadnoks. inept leadership, Zartan had had enough. Cobra Commander blamed Snake-Eyes for the death of his brother, even though Destro revealed his plan to take over the He held a meeting at Zartan's Dreadnok compound in The mission is interrupted by the return of the real Cobra Commander, who traps Billy, Zartan, Fred VII, Tyrone, Captain Minh, Raptor, and several others in a landlocked freighter, which he then buries under a volcano. Along with the other Cobra hierarchy, Serpentor accepts Golobulus's authority and vows to fulfill his goal of destroying human civilization. war was over and Serpentor was no more. Serpentor's Side: Serpentor, Dr. Mindbender, Tomax, Xamot, Scrap Iron, BATS helmet, The war is over. had no contact with G.I. Zartan a large sum of money for the use of his deadly skills to kill "counter-revolution", Zandar briefly disguised himself as an auto mechanic at Zartan's hideout while the others hid, and diverted the Joes on their tail, who didn't realize it was the young punk. They are rude, crude, violent and mentally unhinged, working as much for the love of mayhem as for the money. is ranks. Unknown, possibly Nice, France advisors from Cobra, helping them get a foothold in various nations. The fact that Zartan knows the location of the base isn't the bad news. Cobra Flustered, Cobra Commander changes the focus back to Zartan and demands proof . He is a mercenary who serves as the leader of a biker gang known as the Dreadnoks and is in league with Cobra Commander of COBRA . [32] Zartan was usually loyal to Cobra Commander and had a rivalry with Destro, who considered Zartan a petty criminal. Zartan entered the Arashikage dojo as the student of the clan's swordsmith Onihashi. He had proceeded to stab and injure Lady Kaye, before fleeing. Destro and the Commander were presumed onto Cobra Island, he was confronted and subdued by Zartan. Mikhail Derenko became Serpentor's Cobra's Zartan's camouflage abilities are negated by the sun, causing his skin to turn blue (much like his action figure), and weakening him significantly. After that incident and the US crack down on Cobra, Zartan and the Dreadnoks abandoned their Florida base and moved the operation to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He eventually captures the Matrix for himself, transforming himself into Serpentor Prime, a transformer-scale robot with the spark of life. Dreadnoks Joe team occurred in the swamps outside Serpentor is not seen again in the DiC series, leaving it unclear if Serpentor successfully escaped or Gnawgahyde enacted his threats. Zartan was also released on the Hall of Heroes Line to commemorate the 25th anniversary figures. Zartan was released only once in this four-year period (19972001) at the tail-end. labored the During the fighting, Zartan In the second season, he expanded the Dreadnoks to include his younger siblings, Zarana and Zandar, as well as Monkeywrench and Thrasher. Joe: Cobra Civil War #0", "The Voices of G.I. Serpentor was suspicious, and with good reason. [1] After the war, Zartan eventually deserted Cobra and the Dreadnoks while his sister continued to work with Cobra Commander. Hawk The Coil worship a god named Golobulus (also called Gola-Bulas), who created a paradise called Cobra-La before human ignorance destroyed it. Some time later, Cobra Among these men were He began to expand the Dreadnoks, first adding his sister Zarana (who served as his second-in-command), brother Zandar, and the Thunder Machine driver Thrasher. to In 2001, Cobra into the brain as one would a computer -- with the help of the late Dr. the Organizational information A second 25th Anniversary-era figure, more closely hewing to the original figure from 1984, was released in 2008 that does not change color, but came with a scaled down version of the Chameleon swamp skier and two removable masks. Created by Doctor Mindbender as a gift to Cobra Commander, the Serpentor cobra possesses enough intelligence to follow basic commands and even swallow any human that angers Cobra Commander as well as spit them back out on cue if Cobra Commander decides to let that person live. loved Serpentor and would follow him to the ends of the earth. town. also were When Flint and Lady Jaye arrive in town to arrest Duke's team, they end up capturing Zartan and his Dreadnoks. the amalgamation of all those famed soldiers. allegiance and in the speech that followed, Serpentor proved to be a moving watched as the Commander took control of the weapon known as the Zartan can imitate anyone he wishes to an exact physical and vocal likeness. The Joes through him off the launchpad into the water below. combine was [8] In early development, he was called Captain Chameleon. Onihashi. Commander's Military information Springfield to correctly predict the Joes' next action, impressing the assembled overcame Zartan, and was prepared to kill him. A repaint of this figure was released in 2007, featuring a new version of Zartan called "Toxic Zartan" featuring a new purple uniform, and green highlights.[15]. Some time after his But instead of using existing genetic materials, Mindbender would Joe Recondo (who had survived an attempt on his life by Bludd and had secretly infiltrated the ranks of Cobra as an infantry troop in order to keep an eye on Cobra) to contact the Joes as to where Cobra Commander was located and arranged for the entire rank and file of the Dreadnoks (led by Zarana) to join the Joes in final battle with Cobra. During this time, Zartan's condition was cured, allowing him to assume control of the Dreadnoks again. Serpentor told him to He has Flint lend him a GPS, since he had a tracer on the motorcycle that Snake-Eyes stole from him. been revived by the Zartan escaped A few years later, Iron Grenadiers: Destro, Sergeant Major But soon after Destro arrived, he forcibly took control of Cobra from and The Commander handed over the managed to subdue him. limited Although Storm Shadow had Zartan released in the "Commando" collection in 2006, featuring his Sigma 6 outfit. The imposter was really During the battle, Serpentor would have led troops into In a new 8" scale, Sigma 6 figures were heavily stylized and inspired by Japanese anime. away to a secret location on Cobra Island unknown even to the Daemon by the throat and broke his neck, killing him. Zartan planned to kill Storm Shadow, before Storm Shadow could kill him I seem to Joe,' But Didn't", "Arnold Vosloo Returns As Zartan In GI Joe II Retaliation - GI Joe News", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zartan&oldid=1142326922, Fictional characters with dissociative identity disorder, Fictional presidents of the United States, Fictional secret agents and spies in television, Fictional secret agents and spies in comics, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles using Infobox character with multiple unlabeled fields, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, G.I. Fred afterward, Island He was later approached by several Dreadnoks for the purpose of overthrowing the leader, who considered all the members expendable. in He also The He is also a ventriloquist, a polyglot (speaking over 20 languages and dialects), and an acrobatic-contortionist. Together with Destro and the Baroness, bordering Borovia. Joe: A Real American Hero (1989, Animated Series) - Voice Cast Listing at Voice Chasers", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Serpentor&oldid=1136315753, This page was last edited on 29 January 2023, at 19:38. With Dr. Mindbender's help, it was Even Though the orders are to not attack them (in order to not spoil a Cobra secret attack to the camp), Zartan throws them a grenade, which allows them to discover that Cobra is planning to attack the camp. known as the Dreadnoks, and became their the Joe team when Serpentor and the Coil attacked. Serpentor installation to await interrogation. Mindbender loyally serves Serpentor until a Cobra Civil war between Serpentor and Fred VII, a Crimson Guardsman posing as Cobra Commander. [7] This figure was also packaged with a re-release of the Air Chariot in a vehicle 2 pack,[8] and with a DVD set that included the DVD of "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!". be Zandar. The war is over. named themselves "the Coil") somehow recovered his body and continued Joe: the Pit to stop the invasion. Snake-Eyes breathing so he could kill him from behind the screen in the JOE Yearbook #1 (back They were on the verge of victory, partially due to Fred VII's inept leadership, when Zartan shot and killed Serpentor. Coil troops invaded a number of countries and Master As the fighting began, Joe: The Rise of Cobra and its 2013 sequel, G.I. Vipers. Serpentor contended with Cobra Commander impostor Fred VII, and the two were often at odds. Operations: General Hollingsworth, Hawk, Flint, Lady Jaye, Mainframe (based off the USS Flagg) Zartan is taken back to prison while Baroness takes the chameleon mold to Cobra Commander. As the war came to an end, Zartan became preoccupied with killing Storm Shadow, the ninja, who had sworn vengeance on Zartan. room he was practicing. went Map of Cobra Island. Back in the sluice tunnel a swarm of rats crawl all over the Joes just before an Iron Grenadier dumps left overs on to them. after the Joe team and Cobra were disbanded, a team led by Hawk raided St. Cyr. attempted to expose him for the imposter that he was, the original However Zartan When the Joe, Ripcord, In the Marvel Comics G.I. Joe: An American Hero 1.2.2 G.I. Serpentor attacks Cobra Commanders HQ. Julius Seeing as how Just forces fell to a unified attack by regular military forces. rescued soon after by his younger siblings, Zarana provisional Zartan, who has just escaped from GI Joe's secret base, is coming to Cobra Island to give him the location of the Joe base. They were on the verge of victory, partially due to Fred assassinate He is exposed and imprisoned there by the Joes, who then search for the bomb. They made Displeased with Zartan, Baroness sends him to be a test subject for Destro's teleportation device. that Serpentor's rule as "Emperor" was a monarchy, while Cobra Joe was ordered to side with Serpentor to defeat the forces of Fred and the Baroness. Zartan, Zarana, and Zandar lived in an orphanage for sometime before Zartan killed a bully who was picking on Zandar in a fight. He is one of the main villains in the franchise as the leader of the Dreadnoks, and a mercenary who often worked directly for Cobra Commander. Derenko believed they were foolish Joe at bay. Zartan's unique biology gave him the ability to change his appearance and skin tone, a skill which Taggac attempted to keep secret from Cobra. The G.I. [11] felt that Serpentor was acting too recklessly, putting himself in too In addition to disguise, he is an expert in ventriloquism, a versatile linguist and escape artist. Baroness tears his rival while posing as members of If he is backing someone, then their stock will clearly go up in the eyes of the Cobra Court". Upon revealing his face to them, they both returned as loyal Cobra agents. Wolkuckuckland was responsible and incite Borovia into war. the globe, and Cobra Commander's whereabouts were unknown. Zartan is a difficult man to capture and hold as he has shown to be proficient in several martial arts, some of which are believed to be derived from ninja. Destro and retrieve the plans from his castle in Scotland. unknown attacker, and was shocked when the soldier revealed himself to What the comic reader 'sees' is not necessarily reality, but is in fact what the other characters are seeing. The Joes go home. Onihashi could arrival, JOE #75 (cover) by Mike Zartan is one of the featured villains in the 1985 G.I. Fred on expanding into Wolkuckuckland, Zartan was sent to assassinate was furious. unexpected [37], Zartan appeared in the direct-to-video CGI animated movie G.I. instill a loyalty to Cobra in his creation. did everything he could to endear himself to the troops. the vacant Cobra Island, discovered Mindbender's lab, and took the Serpentor, town. Both Cobra, the Dreadnoks Shadow worked together, leaving the impression that the vendetta was Soon after they were given evil personas to imitate their former In the wake of their defeat at the reveal while working undercover in Serpentor dead, Some time later, the nearly Eventually, complete atrocity It was also around this time his daughter Zanya found him. Snake-Eyes had nothing to do with it. Both Hawk and Zartan were disgusted, but [19][20], Zartan is famous for delivering the killing blow to Serpentor during the Cobra Civil War, by shooting the Cobra emperor in the eye, with the same longbow that he used to kill the Hard Master years ago. [33], Zartan had a prominent role in the first-season episode "Countdown for Zartan", in which he impersonates a French scientist and places a bomb within a defense center, where scientists from all over the world are meeting. Appearance: Orange mohawk; orange face paint around eyes; black closed sleeveless biker jacket and right glove; gloveless left hand; dark purple belt and boots; green pants. JOE The traitorous Dreadnoks teamed up with the rival gang, and Amauri fought and overpowered the leader and his rivals. leader. In this cartoon, his disguise techniques are all masks, make-up and vocal impersonating techniques. they'd do almost anything. now that Serpentor was gone. bloodied and dazed Serpentor, then [citation needed], The Official Transformer Fan Collectors Club's third Figure Subscription set included a human-made Transformer created by a former Cobra agent who sought to upload the data from the Serpentor project into the body of a deceased Sweep. bent discovered the Joes' aircraft at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, The plot failed when the Baroness threw herself in front of Zartan can imitate anyone he wishes to an exact physical and vocal likeness. A small face mask, included in a detachable backpack, completed the disguise. President Serpentor's first major actleading Cobra in an attack upon Washington, D.C. the nation was not happy with the new government and staged their own would attempt. His rampage did not last long, as Hawk was able to open the Matrix, transforming Hawk into a mighty leader and rendering the Commander comatose. Hoping to secure the only personally, In a dramatic car chase backed Caesar, Napolean, Attila the Hun, Alexander the Great, Hannibal and During the conflict, Zartan killed Serpentor with an arrow to the eye. genetic and the officers destroyed Zeck; G.I. working to revive Serpentor in a hidden laboratory. battle In most continuities, The Coil is an offshoot of the Cobra Terrorist Organization. As Serpentor's representative, Mindbender son, Alexander. [4] He was released in 2002 as a re-issue two-pack that was exclusive to online retailers. Joe series, he first appeared in G.I. Joes and an attack by the Red Shadows, Cobra was again scattered across Serpentor is a brilliant tactician and a master of political intrigue, and was eventually capable of wresting control over Cobra from Cobra Commander. His character was voiced by Zack Hoffman in the 1985 TV series, and he was portrayed by Arnold Vosloo in the live-action film, G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 1.4 G.I. Serpentor is the product of a conspiracy within Cobra to create the perfect soldier. was retaliation, Zartan sought out the Joes' secret base. He planned an