G.I. Joe's Destro Filled An Important Role Even Hardcore Fans Probably Don't Realize

The beloved 1980s series "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" catapulted a failing toy brand to iconic status, turning a range of action figures into captivating characters for young audiences. Following hot on the heels of the hit Marvel comic series of the same name, published when G.I. Joe had first been reimagined as a military force locked in a war with the terrorist organization Cobra, "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" brought the toy line's heroes and villains to life. While the series' campy, PSA-spewing heroes proved a hit with kids, its outlandish, moustache-twirling villains might have been even more memorable. 

At the heart of Cobra's evil machinations was the adversarial relationship between Cobra Commander and the chrome-faced Destro, Cobra's chief weapons manufacturer. It also fell to Destro to deliver some of the series' most vital exposition in a way that would keep young viewers engaged. As the mind behind Cobra's most extravagant doomsday devices, Destro was incredibly intelligent. This made it easy for him to deliver lengthy explanations in a manner that was eloquent and that sparked animosity between himself and Cobra Commander.

"When exposition was there, it was often with Destro," series creator Ron Friedman explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "I tried to make it as Shakespearean and pretentious as possible. So you could just see Cobra Commander seething. It couldn't just be bald exposition or the kids would tune it out. Kids hate to be pandered to. It didn't need to be dumbed down."

To this day, "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" is fondly remembered by fans as one of the best animated TV series. Despite being devised as a means of selling more action figures to kids, the series felt like so much more than a glorified commercial. Part of the reason is the attention that the writers and actors put into realizing the series' characters and their relationships. Even among the ranks of the series' cartoonishly evil supervillains, motives and storytelling mattered.

Speaking to THR, Destro voice actor Arthur Burghardt revealed just how deeply he dived into Destro's villainy, even comparing his fascination with the character to a morbid fascination with Hitler. "I was beginning to take Destro a little too seriously," the actor conceded. But he explained why he treated the role with such seriousness: "I wanted to make Destro interesting, and I couldn't make him interesting if I didn't believe him, and no one would believe him if I didn't believe him."

Burghardt went on to praise the efforts of Christopher Latta, the voice of Cobra Commander. "[Latta's] thing was to create plot. And the reasons for the plot," Burghardt explained. "It was his idea that there was something of an adversarial tension with Destro." This tension between Destro and Cobra Commander was an invention of the animated series rather than the comics, injecting friction and personality into the series' antagonists.