During a failed assault on the Pit, the secret headquarters of G.I. Joe, Cobra Commander and Destro were separated from the main Cobra force by an explosion and presumed dead. The two escaped and assumed civilian disguises to travel incognito. Cobra Commander was depicted as an average, physically fit Caucasian with a pony tail, large round green-spectacle sunglasses, and a long slender mustache. Although only a convenient disguise at the time, this civilian look would resurface on subsequent unmaskings. A police officer soon recognized the Commander from a picture carried by an accident victim: the Commander's son Billy, who had survived the explosion, but lost a leg and an eye. Unnerved by the discovery, the Commander swore to take responsibility for Billy's condition, and promised to be a better father.