The Pit of Vipers

Colonel Sharp buys an advanced computer program code-named "Watchdog" to be the new Joe commander, until they discover it's owned by Cobra. The program orders Admiral Ledger on the U.S.S. Flagg to attack the Cobra ship Cerebus, but it disappeared in the Indian Ocean. Now Flint, Lady Jaye, and Heavy Metal have to take out Watchdog along with its faux designer, Dr. Hamler.

"Now you know. And knowing is half the battle." The Sunbow run closed every episode with a public-service spot delivered by a Joe character, addressing kids on a real-world hazard or virtue. The cartoon's deeper ethic, threaded into the writing across the run, was that Cobra's worldview was based on fear and the Joes' was based on responsibility.

Chris Latta as Cobra Commander

Michael Bell as Duke, Lifeline, Xamot, Blowtorch

Arthur Burghardt as Destro

Morgan Lofting as Baroness

Mary McDonald-Lewis as Lady Jaye, Cover Girl

Bill Ratner as Flint

B.J. Ward as Scarlett

Neil Ross as Shipwreck, Doc, Tomax

Frank Welker as Torch, Wild Weasel, Junkyard, Zandar

Zack Hoffman as Zartan

Charlie Adler as Low-Light

Dick Gautier as Serpentor

1. Sunbow Season 1 daily run (1985). 55 episodes aired Monday through Friday in afternoon syndication, September to December 1985.
2. Production code: 600-51
3. Studio: Marvel Productions / Sunbow Productions / Toei Doga
4. Originally aired: November 27, 1985 in afternoon syndication.