For an organization such as Cobra, mere brute force isn't enough to achieve its goals. To destabilize nations and infiltrate governments, a knowledge of law and finance is necessary; to gain legions of followers, the use of propaganda is vital. The infamous twin brothers Tomax and Xamot fulfilled those needs for Cobra.

    Like their own names, these twins brothers are mirror-images of one another, except for a scar on Xamot's face. As they grew up, the bond between the brothers seemed almost supernatural. They finished each other's sentences, sensed when the other was in danger, and even seemed to feel it when the other was in pain. Despite their keen intelligence, the brothers were raised in poverty and joined the Foreign Legion Paras in Algeria to see the world. Not content to take orders from others, Tomax and Xamot became mercenaries, honing their skills in the bush wars of Africa and South America. They soon realized that they were capable of far more and went to Zurich, where they became bankers and eventually experts in international finance and corporate law. But even then, they could never have as much control over their world as they wanted. Then Cobra Commander came to them, offering control over an army of men like themselves. The Crimson Guard were as effective on the battlefield as they were in the board room, and under the twins' command began to infiltrate governments and corporations all over the world.

    The G.I. Joe team first encountered Tomax and Xamot at the Arbco Bros. Circus. The Joes were delivering balloons for Candy (aka Bongo the Balloon Bear) to thank her for use of her van in a high speed chase to stop a group of Cobra agents. Tomax and Xamot, along with a large number of Crimson Guardsmen, used the circus a cover to capture the Joes. In the fight that followed, the newest member of the team, Flint, fought the twins and learned that the brothers could feel when the other was hurt or in danger. Eventually, the Joes gained the upper hand and Tomax and Xamot escaped. A short time later, the twins became involved in the operation that led to the creation of Cobra island, masterminded by one of their Guardsmen, Professor Appel. The brothers led the charge against the Joes' invasion of the newly-created island. They were bested by Roadblock and Gung-Ho while the rest of the Cobras were all but defeated by the Joes. Fortunately for Cobra, the twins' attorneys gained sovereign status for the island forcing the Joes to give up their hard-fought victory.

    As Cobra built up their new island, Tomax and Xamot saw to the security of the island and the protection of Cobra Commander. The twins became close advisors and unofficial bodyguards to the Commander, often at his side. When the Cobra-controlled headquarters town of Springfield was invaded by the Joe team, the Commander and the twins remained on Cobra Island, learning of the battle second hand. After the newly-created Serpentor led the troops in a holding action against the Joes and survived, he became a hero to Cobra's rank and file. The Commander was worried that Serpentor would usurp his power and ordered Tomax and Xamot to assassinated him. As Serpentor's helicopter landed on the island, the twins set up snipers all over the airfield. They would have been perfectly willing to kill Serpentor had he not cleverly surrounded himself with the Cobra troops and their families.

    Just after Serpentor arrived on the island, Cobra learned the secret location of The Pit -- G.I. Joe headquarters. Serpentor and Cobra Commander both led a force to infiltrate the Pit, but while Cobra Commander and Destro led troops deep inside the underground headquarters, Hawk and a group of officers set off a series of explosions that destroyed the Pit, causing it to collapse in on itself. The Commander and Destro were presumed dead and Serpentor took command of Cobra. He decided that Cobra was going to sell Terror-Drome launch bases to any nation that could afford them, but mostly to chaotic or unstable nations. The first to purchase a Terror-Drome was Sierra Gordo's new government, led by former revolutionaries. The deal included advisors and protection from Cobra. Tomax and Xamot were sent to see to the security of the base, under the command of the Baroness and Dr. Mindbender. When the Joes sent a spy plane to investigate, Cobra seemingly shot down the plane, from which the co-pilot parachuted to the jungles below. Tomax and Xamot were sent to investigate and were pleased to see Flint, the man they had fought at the Arbco Bros. Circus, landing. Before the chute hit the ground, the twins were on top of him, beating him into submission and bringing him before the Baroness and Mindbender.

    After "Flint" was subjected to the Brain-wave scanner, it was discovered that he was acually Snake-Eyes in disguise. As this discovery was made, the Terror-Drome came under attack from the "counter-revolutionaries", a group who were unhappy with the new government the revolutionaries had put into power. In the fighting that ensued, Tomax and Xamot spearheaded the defense of the base from the field. They soon discovered that the Joes were advising the counter-revolutionaries. Cobra eventually decided to abandon the base to the Joes and the twins rigged the building to explode when the Joes made it inside. Unfortunately for Tomax and Xamot, the Joes disarmed the explosives before they could go off. They watched as they began to dismantle the base, confident that Serpentor needn't be told of their failure just yet. After all, there was no way for the Joes to transport the segments of the base. But they were wrong. The Joes built a make-shift pulley system and loaded the segments onto a train. Tomax and Xamot were forced to inform Serpentor, who soon arrived via helicopter and destroyed the train. The twins didn't know that the train was only a decoy and the Joes had already transported the Terror-Drome segments.

    Months later, a man claiming to be Cobra Commander arrived on Cobra Island. After Serpentor interrogated him for hours, the Baroness -- one of the few people who could recognize the Commander's true face -- arrived and confirmed that it was truly Cobra Commander. Despite the Baroness' assurances, many still doubted the Commander had returned. Though the Crimson Guard had been loyal Cobra Commander, Tomax and Xamot continued to support Serpentor. Their doubts were actually well-founded, since the newly-returned "Cobra Commander" was really Fred VII, a Crimson Guardsmen who had assumed his identity. Fred and Serpentor were constantly at odds until their anger led to a fist fight. The two leaders' confrontation escalated and plunged Cobra Island into civil war. The Crimson Guard served Serpentor during the conflict, and Tomax and Xamot were his closest military advisors. Soon, the Joes and Destro's new army -- the Iron Grenadiers -- were involved as well, with the Joes supporting Serpentor. In the end, the twins and their forces were only allied with the Joes for a short time. The war ended quickly when Zartan shot an arrow at Serpentor, killing him. Now, the twins had little choice but to give their loyalty to Fred VII -- whom many still believed was the real Cobra Commander.

    After recovering from the civil war, Fred VII decided that the continued existence of Destro and his Iron Grenadiers was too dangerous for Cobra. He staged an assault on Castle Destro in Scotland, with Tomax and Xamot leading the troops into battle. In the battle that followed, Destro's Iron Grenadiers proved to be more formidable than Fred thought, and the tide of battle turned in Destro's favor. Once the battle was over, Destro made an offer to Fred that he couldn't refuse at gunpoint. Destro's forces and Cobra would merge, combining their arms dealing businesses and other operations, all under the command of Destro. In the chaotic months that followed, Tomax and Xamot spent most of their time seeing to the defense of Cobra Island. But all deals were off when the true Cobra Commander returned, took control of Cobra and disposed of his enemies. Destro, however, had already gone into semi-retirement and escaped the Commander's wrath, for now.

    Tomax and Xamot were later sent to the Middle Eastern nation of Trucial Abysmia to oversee the building of Terror-Dromes in the desert country. Now ready to start a new and ambitious plan, Cobra Commander decided to stage an invasion of Trucial Abysmia's oil-rich neighbor. A team of Joes led by Duke and Falcon staged a raid upon the Terror-Dromes before the invasion was set to begin. They believed it would be an easy operation and never expected a large contigent of Cobra personnel and vehicles led by the twins to meet them there. After a short battle, the Joes were overwhelmed and surrendered. The twins taunted Duke for his "cowardice" and the Joe spit in Tomax's face, prompting the brothers to beat their prisoner. After forcing the ten Joes into a ravine, the brothers called Cobra Commander and asked what they should do with the prisoners. "G.I. Joe prisoners?" the Commander answered. "Are you crazy? Get rid of them, immediately!" Believing they had to kill the Joes, the brothers were not happy with their task. Unwilling to carry out the order personally, Tomax wondered, "How do we weasel through this without having anything foul-smelling stick to us?" They looked for a Viper to carry out the order, but didn't actually want to come right out and say it. Finally, a SAW Viper volunteered, saying he'd kill them and not even feel bad afterwards. The twins left him behind in the desert to carry out his business, and the SAW Viper and other troops eventually killed all but three of the Joes. After contacting Cobra Commander, the brothers learned that they had misunderstood their leader's orders. When he said "get rid of them", he meant "let them go". The Commander didn't want the Joes to have a personal grudge against him, and was angry over the twins' mistake. Tomax and Xamot of course placed all the blame on the SAW Viper, only to regret it when the SAW Viper convinced the Commander he should thank him. He was thrown a party while the twins sulked. When the Commander realized he couldn't win the Battle of Benzheen, he settled for a deal with the Emir of Benzheen (which the Emir agreed upon at gunpoint), and was given huge amounts of money. The Commander was upset with his failure, but Tomax and Xamot were thrilled over the financial assets gained at the war's end.

    After the conflict in Benzheen, Tomax and Xamot saw increasingly less action in the field and they have not been seen with Cobra for some time. They returned to their own private corporation, Extensive Enterprises. The international company is involved in legitimate businesses, which provide a cover for the twins' various illegal operations. They were both unaffected by Cobra's eventual fall to military forces in 1994. In 2001, Cobra Commander reemerged and contacted his former lieutenants, including Tomax and Xamot. They have now added their great financial assets to the renewed Cobra, now spending even less time on the battlefield.