Inspired by Conan the Barbarian

I never realized it at the time, but the first miniseries "The M.A.S.S. Device" was inspired in some parts by Conan the Barbarian (1982) which came out a year before this series.

- Cobra Commander's temple looks similar to Thulsa Doom's temple and they both celebrate / worship the Snake.

- The Giant slave man that Duke fights in the Cobra arena looks very similar to Conan himself. In fact the whole pit fight scene seems lifted from Conan minus the gore and mind control headbands / joysticks.

- There was a wheel of pain that the slaves were chained to in one scene just like the wheel Conan was chained to as a child.

- In fact, Thulsa Doom turns into a snake and so does Cobra Commander eventually in G.I. JOE the Movie (1987).