the B.A.T.s. Kwinn - An Inuit mercenary, only appearing in the first two years of the comic book series. A mercenary with a strong code of honor, he was described as having previously worked for the CIA, Mossad, MI6 and the KGB, leading to him working with Cobra in Sierra Gordo. He later renounced his life as a mercenary, but was betrayed and killed by Doctor Venom in the series. Fred VII - A soldier in the Crimson Guard, having temporarily impersonated Cobra Commander after believing that he had fatally shot him. He died after the real Cobra Commander made his return in the series. Black Out - Sniper Thomas Stall, who was rejected by G.I. Joe for failing his psychological exam, and was suspected of being involved with the disappearance of his sister. After being imprisoned, Thomas broke out of the brig at Fort Huachuca during an attack by Cobra, whom he surrendered to and subsequently joined. Factions Black Dragon - A ninja organization that works for Cobra. Cobra-La - An ancient civilization that Cobra was said to have connections with in different adaptions. Coil - A religious wing of Cobra and a highly influential cult that is known to the public as a self-help group. Dreadnoks - Led by Zartan and his siblings Zandar and Zarana, the Dreadnoks are a militarized biker gang, working for Cobra when brute force was needed. Zartan used them for backup and brought them with him when he joined Cobra, with Zarana in particular becoming a top ranking agent of Cobra under Fred VII. Members include Buzzer, Gnawgahyde, Monkeywrench, Ripper, Road Pig, Thrasher, Torch, and Zanzibar. Iron Grenadiers - The Iron Grenadiers are a private army owned and maintained by Destro. V.E.N.O.M. - Short for Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem. Specialist Trakker's action figure for the G.I. Joe toyline states that V.E.N.O.M. is a technology and weapons research branch and mercenary army for Cobra. Rank and file The vast majority of Cobra is made up of legions of uniformed soldiers. Nearly all of them appear masked in order to be anonymous and widely diversified according to specialties and functions. Some of the more prominent include: Cobra Troopers - These are the basic infantry soldiers introduced in 1982, equipped with normal military gear (as opposed to the more hi-tech gear of the Vipers), with Cobra Officers as the field leaders. They are featured on