Sunbow
Serpentor first appeared in a five-part G.I. Joe episode "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!", voiced by Richard Gautier. The animated version of Serpentor was designed to be a new, superior leader of Cobra created by Doctor Mindbender through a breakthrough in cloning research. He was conceived as the perfect warrior, extracted from the unearthed remains of some of the greatest generals of all time--Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Attila the Hun, Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great, Ivan the Terrible, Vlad the Impaler, Hannibal, Genghis Khan, Grigori Rasputin, Montezuma, Geronimo and Egyptian general Xanuth Amon-Toth. In the animated continuity, Sun Tzu's DNA was also intended to be part of Serpentor's creation, but the attempt to obtain his DNA was thwarted by Sgt. Slaughter, whose DNA was then intended for use as a substitute.
The first attempt to create Serpentor was sabotaged by Cobra Commander, who secretly dumped a mutant virus into the Sgt. Slaughter DNA chamber, causing a monster that rampaged throughout Cobra Island until it dissolved. During Doctor Mindbender's second attempt, Cobra Commander is betrayed by Scrap-Iron (who told Doctor Mindbender what had happened). Upon the recapture of Sgt. Slaughter, the creation is a success and Serpentor is born. As a result of Sun Tzu's DNA being missing, Serpentor is very intolerant and overbearing. He issues most of his orders with the phrase "This I command!" However, without the methodical Sun Tzu's influence, Serpentor is also prone to impulsiveness, as shown in his first major act—leading Cobra in an attack upon Washington, D.C. He succeeded in capturing the city and demanded the surrender of the President (who was out of town with the Vice-President at the time), Congress and G.I. Joe. The G.I. Joe members managed a sneak attack on Cobra, turning the operation into a complete fiasco, but just as the Joes are about to capture Serpentor, a sudden burst of fire drives them back. It comes from Cobra Commander, who convinced Mindbender to free him, because he knew how to use a weapon. Cobra Commander convinced Serpentor to let him be his scapegoat since there would be no one to do the punishing for him.
A later episode "My Favorite Things" reveals that Serpentor can assume the facial features of those whose DNA are included in his genetic composition. In addition, a few more donors to Serpentor's creation are revealed: a Viking warrior known as "Ulrik the Batterer", and the reptilian king "Takshaka" from Indian mythology.