Some time prior to 1978, in the Himalayan Mountain region of Tibet, Bludgeon led the soon-to-be Pretender Monsters to meet with the underground kingdom of Cobra-La, seeking power and a ringside seat at the death of a planet. En route, they were shot down and damaged by the Chinese Air Force, however, forcing Bludgeon to make a deal with Cobra-La: in exchange for defending Cobra-La's subterranean domain, Cobra-La provided them with life-supporting organic Pretender shells.