| Cobra |
| Real name: Klaus Voorhees Aliases: King Cobra, The Human Cobra Identity: Publicly known Occupation: Professional criminal, mercenary, and leader of the Serpent Society Citizenship: Naturalized citizen of the United States of America Place of Birth: Rotterdam, Holland Known relatives: Piet Voorhees (Cobra II, nephew) Group Affiliation: Serpent Society, Serpent Squad Education: High school graduate, two years of vocational training in prison Height: 5'10" Weight: 160 lbs. Eyes: Blue Hair: Bald Powers: Cobra's bones are extremely flexible and impossible to break. The source of his powers are mutagenic effects of venom of a radioactive cobra. Abilities: Cobra is double jointed, can dislocate and snap back into place his shoulders and hips at will, and has phenomenal mastery of his musculature. A master contortionist, he can move via muscular contractions through something as narrow as a one foot diameter pipe. Weapons: Spring-loaded wrist-shooters propelling "cobra-bite" projectiles, containing a poison derived from cobra venom. Cartridge projectiles filled with various substances: acids, smoke, nerve gas, plastic explosives, etc. Paraphernalia: Bodysuit made of reinforced synthetic stretch material; torso section, helmet, and tail made of bendable plastoid, entire costume created with silicon and graphite dust compound to make it slippery. Source of paraphernalia is the Tinkerer, as well as A.I.M. History: The only Serpent (besides Princess Python) with an extensive history of crime, Cobra started off as a Thor villain. After, he branched off and battled other heroes, such as Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Captain America. He often allied himself with Mr. Hyde, but once he was contacted by Sidewinder to join the Serpent Society, he abandoned the partnership. As a member of the Society, he never really stood out among the others, and often worked alongside Anaconda, who was quite a bit more gutsy than Cobra. During the first few missions, Cobra was in the background. His only noticable appearance at first was when the Porcupine found him and wanted to sell him his suit (which the others made fun of him for). It wasn't until Viper took over that Cobra was able to shine. During Viper's invasion, it was Cobra's duty, along with Copperhead and Boomslang, to poison the water supply, turning Washington D.C.'s citizens into hideous snake-like creatures. They succeeded, but were confronted by Captain America and Diamondback. Diamondback, quite distraught over Cobra's betrayal, was defeated by Cobra, who swore he was a double agent secretly working for Sidewinder. It was a lie, of course, as he was quite afraid of what Viper could do to him. However, the fear of returning to prison once again popped in his mind, and Sidewinder would not be there to save him. In the end, Cobra came through, defeating Viper and handing her over to Captain America. Searching out his old chum Mr. Hyde, Cobra defeated the madman and returned to the Serpent Society to claim leadership, taking the name "King Cobra." The others didn't have a problem with it, except Copperhead, who left the team shortly after. Since then, Cobra -- err, I mean King Cobra -- has been leading the organization. At one point, he wanted to get revenge on Diamondback for being in a relationship with Captain America, as he thought she was sharing information with him. After holding a trial, the verdict was death. Diamondback's friends in the Society, Asp and Black Mamba, came to her rescue, but they were all defeated by Cobra and the Society. Captain America intervened, saving the girls and taking Cobra into custody. He resurfaced later, searching for a successor and choosing Jack Flag. It blew up in his face, however, and Jack Flag betrayed Cobra. Much later, Cobra returned to once again punish Diamondback, but it turned out to be a life-model decoy. Cobra was defeated anyhow (poor guy...). It is interesting to note that, just as Sidewinder had Black Mamba during the first incarnation of the Society, Cobra had Coachwhip as his little "whipping girl." Har har. Recently, Cobra turned up in the Raft as one of the several villains, and has also fought Toxin. During Civil War, he was coerced into joining the Thunderbolts army, alongside fellow teammates Bushmaster and Rattler. He also turned his nephew Piet into a supervillain who took the same name and battled White Tiger. Maybe this new Cobra could be a candidate for a new Serpent Society member? Suggested Reading: Journey into Mystery #98, Jounery into Mystery #105-106, Journey into Mystery #110-111, Daredevil #30-32, Daredevil #61, Captain America #163, Captain America #180-183, Daredevil #142-143, Daredevil #153-154, Spectacular Spider-Man #46, Amazing Spider-Man #231-232, Captain America #310, Captain America #343-344, Captain America #365-367, Captain America #380-382, Captain America #434-437, Toxin #1, New Thunderbolts #104 |