member. Krake was invited to join Cobra, initially resisting but later providing the means to take over several Chinese triads. The first action Krake takes as Commander is to openly invade the Southeast Asian nation of Nanzhao and steal its gold reserves. During the invasion, he destroys heroin poppy fields, so it initially looks to the world like Cobra is overthrowing a brutal regime and fighting the drug trade; it also drives up the price of heroin, a drug Cobra deals in. The Cobra Council are then slaughtered by Krake's agents, giving him full command of Cobra. Writers Chuck Dixon and Mike Costa have said that while the previous Commander allowed his subordinates to "pursue their own goals so long as they kick back to him" and was content to "profit invisibly", Krake "wants to be known and wants to be powerful, and wants to rule the world in the most supervillainy sense... With his leadership, Cobra shifts from a sneaky, shadowy cabal to an actual military presence." G.I. Joe: Origins involves a psychotic ex-stock broker, who murders his family and several law enforcement officers when his crimes are discovered. Calling himself "the Chimera" and gathering a militia around him, he is one of the first villains that G.I. Joe faces. It is also noted that he started the sub-prime mortgage crisis of the late 2000s. Larry Hama had intended him to be Cobra Commander, but this idea was dropped with the introduction of the Cobra Council, and has not been seen since Origins #5. It has not been specified if he was indeed the Cobra Commander that Chuckles murdered. UK continuities In the UK Battle Action Force comic, Cobra Commander was originally known as Baron Ironblood, leader of the Red Shadows, a ruthless terrorist organization. The Red Shadows were legions of brainwashed fanatic soldiers armed with sophisticated, high-tech weapons. The group was declared the single greatest threat to world security by the UN, with Ironblood being labeled "World Enemy #1". In 1985, Hasbro began moves to market G.I. Joe in the UK, under the Action Force name. This would affect the comic version of Battle Action Force, as the writers were to get rid of the Red Shadows and Baron Ironblood and replace them with Cobra and Cobra Commander. To preserve continuity within the comic, the decision was made to transform Baron Ironblood in to the Action Force version