The Cobra
Strikes.

Cobra makes its move, the Joes mobilize.

Cobra Commander unveils the M.A.S.S. Device — a teleportation weapon capable of moving an army through molecular space — and announces his intent to use it. The Joes have 96 hours to stop him before the device's first live test irradiates a Soviet city.

Duke briefs the team at JOE HQ. Scarlett recons Castle Destro. Snake Eyes deploys at altitude. The pilot ends mid-skirmish, with Cobra Commander broadcasting his next demand to the world.

"And knowing is half the battle."

Pilot episodes rarely land their world-building this clean. Friedman writes the M.A.S.S. Device as both the mission objective AND a parable: the Joes go after the weapon because using it would end the world; Cobra Commander deploys it because controlling the world is the point. The moral is implicit, not stated.

Production trivia and continuity.

• First on-screen appearance of: Cobra Commander (hooded), Destro (silver mask), Baroness, Duke, Scarlett, Snake Eyes.
• The M.A.S.S. Device design is a reuse of pre-production sketches for the never-aired G.I. Joe / Transformers crossover.
• Voice cast: Michael Bell (Duke), Chris Latta (Cobra Commander), Arthur Burghardt (Destro), Morgan Lofting (Baroness).
• The "Joe HQ" mountain bunker exterior is a redress of a Spaceman: Marvel Productions Sunbow earlier asset.