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What do you think that Season 3 would have been like?

posted 12 years ago by Forgotten_Hero
12 replies | jump to latest

G.I. Joe ran for two seasons, and there undoubtedly would have been a third, except that Sunbow folded after the box office failures of the Transformers and My Little Pony movies. Assuming those films had been successful, it's interesting to speculate as to what the third season would have been like.

The Movie introduced a number of new characters who undoubtedly would have pushed the first season's characters further into the background, although hopefully not to the same degree as in Transforms. But there were a number of other potential game changers as well. Cobra Commander had just been turned into a serpent and, according to Lifeline, there was no way of changing him back. Meanwhile, a new enemy had been introduced in Golobulus. And what about Cobra-La? The city itself most likely would have only appeared in the movie, but would we have seen Golobulus' slimey bioweaponry in the third season? Or perhaps the series would have picked up right where the second season left off, only with Golobulus as the primary adversary and Serpentor as his Lieutenant.

In terms of the series' quality, it may be for the best that a third season never came about, but I'm still curious as to what it would have been like if it had. Also, what would it have meant for Golobulus? It seems as though the writers unanymously agreed to sweep him under the rug, but if he had been the primary adversary for an entire season, it's possible that some may have potentially tried to work him into different adaptations. I couldn't see him being in two many cartoons, but I could imagine the odd comic book appearance here and there.

[–] col_rutherford 12 years ago

New G.I. Joe episodes were produced by DiC a few years after the Sunbow series ended. The 1989 mini-series "Operation Dragonfire" picked up where the movie left off. Cobra Commander was returned to humanoid form by Baroness. Cobra Commander then regained control of Cobra and transformed Serpentor into an iguana. Cobra-La was never mentioned again. The DiC series featured a mix of new and old characters. Unfortunately, the DiC series had cheaper, lower quality animation compared to the Sunbow series and different voice actors were used for most of the characters.

[–] Forgotten_Hero 12 years ago

That's just it though, the follow up was done years later and by a different company. If Sunbow had made the third season right after the movie came out, things probably would have been a lot different.

[–] col_rutherford 12 years ago

The G.I. Joe cartoons were made to promote the toys, so if the Sunbow series had continued it would have likely featured characters released in 1987 and 1988.

A new Cobra Commander figure wearing an armored suit was released in 1987, so it's likely he would have returned for a third season. I don't think Golobulus would have been the main villain. Cobra-La was an idea that appeared to be dead on arrival. Only three Cobra-La figures were released as a pack in 1987 and Cobra-La was never mentioned in the Marvel comic book or the DiC animated series.

There were several characters released in 1987 that did not appear in the movie, including Fastdraw, Psyche-Out, Outback, Crazylegs, Sneak Peek and the members of Battleforce 2000 on G.I. Joe's side and Big Boa, Croc Master, Crystal Ball, Raptor and Zanzibar on Cobra's side. They probably would have appeared in Season 3 if it had been made.

Destro gained his own private army, the Iron Grenadiers, as part of the 1988 toy line. According to the animated commercials for the comic book, Destro left Cobra because he was tired of the fanatical ravings of Cobra Commander and Serpentor. The 1988 releases also had Storm Shadow join G.I. Joe and repaints of older figures were released as part of G.I. Joe's Tiger Force.

[–] Forgotten_Hero 12 years ago

Interesting, I didn't realize that Cobra's armored look originated in 1987. I thought that the comment about his change being irreversable was meant to write his character off, but it's likely that they would have partially reversed his mutation and given him that armor in the third season. As for Cobra-La, apparently the series creator blocked them from making it into any cartoon or comic book adaptations. I found these excerpts from the G.I. Joe Wiki:

Cobra-La never appeared in the G.I. Joe A Real American Hero Marvel series because writer Larry Hama disliked "a host of silly characters" who had been forced on him by Hasbro and he "drew the line at Cobra-La and a few others."[10]

http://gijoe.wikia.com/wiki/Cobra-La

A trading card for Golobulus released after The Movie and written by Larry Hama, claims he perished under the rubble of the ice dome. He did not go on to appear in the D.I.C. series, which picked up some time after the film.

http://gijoe.wikia.com/wiki/Golobulus_(RAH)

So, even though the film allowed Golobulus to escape, the series creator made certain that he didn't appear in any further works. I'm guessing the same would have been said of the third season if it had come to fruition. Hasbro apparently wanted them to be a part of the series though.

[–] col_rutherford 12 years ago

I don't recall seeing any TV ads for the Cobra-La figures in 1987, whereas the armored Cobra Commander was featured prominently in commercials at the time. Perhaps Hasbro came to the late realization that Cobra-La wouldn't be popular, so they gave the toys and the movie minimal promotion.

I suspect Season 3 of the Sunbow series would have opened with a five-part mini-series focusing on the return of Cobra Commander, similar to DiC's "Operation Dragonfire". I don't know if Serpentor would have been disposed of, though, since his figure was still being sold in 1987 and he's shown arguing with Cobra Commander in an animated commercial from 1988.

[–] Forgotten_Hero 12 years ago

That seems to be the tried and true Hasbro method. When in doubt, start things off with a five part episode. I still think that they would have been forced to acknowledge Cobra-La if they had made a season in 1987 or 1988 though. Assuming that they realized that it was a bad idea before the season started, it might have been a simple write off. General Hawk states that in passing that Cobra-La has been destroyed and its inhabitants have been taken into custody. Presumably, that means Golobulus as well. It'd be there way of saying let's never speak of this again.

There is one other thing though which I forgot to mention, Duke. At the last minute, his death was changed to a coma. If the films had gone well and a 1987 season was written, Duke would most likely have still been absent. If for some reason there was a gap between the movie's release and the start of the third season, he probably would have returned, albeit in a smaller role than before.

[–] col_rutherford 12 years ago

Duke already alternated in the role of commanding officer with Flint and Hawk before the movie came out. If the movie had been successful, it's likely that Lt. Falcon would have also served as the commanding officer in Season 3 episodes. A repainted Duke figure was released as the Tiger Force squad leader in 1988.

[–] Forgotten_Hero 12 years ago

I wonder who would have voiced Lt. Falcon in the regular series.

[–] home0006 11 years ago

Unless Hasbro learned their lesson with the Transformers, it's probably best there never was anything after the movie. It would have been interesting to see where they took the characters and show though.

There were so many parallels with the two movies it's amazing so my guess is it'd go down the same path of Transformers after that movie.

Cobra-La to me was the equivalent of the Quintessons which I never liked in the Transformers. Assuming you use the cartoon continuity, all of a sudden they introduce this mysterious race that now supposedly built and created the Transformers. Then Cobra-La was this mysterious race of people who now formed Cobra which has never been mentioned at all before. They're going to strip all the things that grounded the Transformers in reality by now making everything take place in space. I could easily see them doing the same thing with Cobra-La.

[–] Forgotten_Hero 11 years ago

I liked the Quintessons in the film, but they definitely wore out their welcome in the third season.

[–] EmperorGalvatron 11 years ago

I feel the same way about the Quintessons. They were cool in the movie as a strange and violent race, but when they became the Transformers creators and the focal point of the season they were not interesting.

The characters of Big Boa and Croc Master seem interesting. Would've been cool if the appeared on the show.

[–] ItsEddieHaskellBeyotch 11 years ago

Well, if Marvel Productions hadnt gone out of business at least it would've been better animated than the gawd-awful DiC Enterprises version.

'When there's no more room in Hollywood, remakes shall walk the Earth.'