FACES OF EVIL: KOBRA - Spoilers & Discussion

[Sean Walsh]

Picked this one for the heck of it - having been a fan of his usage in JSA and the stuff that went down in CHECKMATE. And, going back a ways,the short-lived 1970's KOBRA series.

And wouldn't ya know it, I'm glad I read that old series, because it comes back to haunt us.

Jason Burr is Kobra.

For those not in "the know," Kobra was Jeffrey Burr, who also had a twin brother Jason. Jason was basically the good son, while Jeff was.....not. Jeff was basically always after Jason, because he couldn't fulfill his obligation to Kali Yuga with that "twin connection" out there - Jason was able to sense the evil that Jeff was doing and could influence him. In the end, Jeff succeeded in kiling Jason and devoting himself fully to being Kobra.

.....well, now Jason's back from the dead somehow, and while there's a bit of an identity crisis at first, he basically comes to accept his return and his new position as Kobra. Things change a bit here and there.....but ultimately, whatevr good Jason Burr once possessed is very much gone.

A good issue - really didn't expect the backstory to be in play so much, so that was a very delightful surprise.

No God but God!

Faith to Kali Yuga!

Kobra!!!!!

[Retro315]

I'm only really familiar with Kobra because of a few reasons.

One, some vague memories from my very young childhood, just based on character design flipping through a comic in a qwik-e-mart at some point.

Two, because I'm a massive G.I. Joe fanboy and I always laugh hysterically that there are two comic book evil COBRA organizations with snake-motifs (although I'll gladly say I like the Joe Cobra better, what with Hama's original comics being very realistically played, and the various strokes of genius in depicting the classic genre "henchmen" group in clever ways, as terror cells, and so forth) ... but anyway, yeah. Laugh about Kobra/Cobra. I mean he's really not that far from Serpentor ... just with more of a cult super-villain slant than a genetic super-soldier slant.

Three, I've heard that Kobra rocked in the original JLA stories and in Checkmate.

And Four, lastly, I just spent a weekend reading every Aquaman story ever, and I love the end of Volume 1 how Kobra crops up and Aquaman, Batman and Hal Jordan kick the crap out of them.

Anyway, I grabbed this issue and I liked it. It wasn't that tough to figure out that this guy was the brother of the Silver Age Kobra, and I'd already gathered that Kobra was a cult of fanatical killers who have beef with the super-heroes. Also easy to figure out that Kobra cloned himself or genetically engineered soldiers or something.

It was a cool issue. Effective, gave Superman a nice spin, Batman had his expertise moment, and it set up Kobra as a real pain for somebody in 2009. Shady terror group with snake theme and no scruples, with mysterious motives? Count me in.

Personally, in honor of Batman himself, I hope it's the Outsiders that get to tangle with Kobra.

[Christopher Cross Is God]

Three, I've heard that Kobra rocked in the original JLA stories and in Checkmate.


He was pretty cool in Batman & the Outsiders (by Barr & Alan Davis).

I think Kobra was in Suicide Squad moreso than Checkmate, but I'm not sure on that one since I didn't read too many Checkmate issues.......Regardless, Kobra was cool as hell in Suicide Squad. Then there was The Janus Directive, which was that big cross-over with Suicide Squad, Checkmate, and a couple other titles, with Kobra as the main villain.

[Doc Goblin]

This has been the strongest Faces of Evil oneshot so far. Solomon Grundy was good but hampered by being such a blatant take off the Hulk. Prometheus was solid but a little more concerned with revising history than telling a story. Deathstroke was just a weak effort on a pointless exercise.

My knowledge of Kobra coming into this was pretty limited. It all came from Rucka's Checkmate. This issue did a good job of explaining things so I wasn't lost about who the hell Jason or Jeffrey Burr were.

I really like that it followed up on a thread from Rucka's Checkmate series. It was almost like reading a new issue of that great book. I just wish we could have seen some of those characters in this.

[rwe1138]

I'm glad they didn't bring back Jeff. Getting your heart ripped out by Black Adam is tough to return from. I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just happy it wasn't in this case.

[Karl O'Neill]

Best faces of evil issue so far. i loved it!!!!

[Spiffy]

I agree that this was pretty strong, but I did wind up scratching my head a bit at Jason's (or his clone, or whatever he is) motive for this new agenda of his.

Was it simply a boo-hoo over his brother being gone? You know... a Black Adam-like "I blame the world for letting bad things happen!" vibe (a similarity in motives which would be ironic given that Black Adam killed his brother)?

Or was it the fact that superheroes are godlike and nobody is allowed to emulate god?

Or was it simply that he's nuts (perhaps as a side effect of whatever process brought him back) and there's really no need to dig deeper for a motive?

[Sean Walsh]

Was it simply a boo-hoo over his brother being gone? You know... a Black Adam-like "I blame the world for letting bad things happen!" vibe (a similarity in motives which would be ironic given that Black Adam killed his brother)?

Partially. I think.

It seemed to me like he was first and foremost going after the elements of Kobra (and those worshippers of Kali Yuga) that basically split apart and BLEEPed up his family in the first place. Revenge against fellow evil people, if you will.

But then at the same time, he was prescribed to the faith of Kali Yuga and Kobra's aim established by his brother - something he did not believe in before his death, but in his rebirth - and will take on the role of the new Kobra (but with his own particular twists).

[Taskmaster]

This has been the strongest Faces of Evil oneshot so far. Solomon Grundy was good but hampered by being such a blatant take off the Hulk. Prometheus was solid but a little more concerned with revising history than telling a story. Deathstroke was just a weak effort on a pointless exercise.

My knowledge of Kobra coming into this was pretty limited. It all came from Rucka's Checkmate. This issue did a good job of explaining things so I wasn't lost about who the hell Jason or Jeffrey Burr were.

I really like that it followed up on a thread from Rucka's Checkmate series. It was almost like reading a new issue of that great book. I just wish we could have seen some of those characters in this.

Agreed, I really enjoyed this Faces of Evil issue more than any of the others. Deathstroke was a huge disappointment, Grundy was too much of a Hulk Rip off and Prometheus suffered from "lets kill some characters to make him look badass". This was fun, gave Kobra (the man and the organization) a new spin and set up what could be a major threat for the DCU in 09, can't wait for more

[Taskmaster]

I agree that this was pretty strong, but I did wind up scratching my head a bit at Jason's (or his clone, or whatever he is) motive for this new agenda of his.

Was it simply a boo-hoo over his brother being gone? You know... a Black Adam-like "I blame the world for letting bad things happen!" vibe (a similarity in motives which would be ironic given that Black Adam killed his brother)?

Or was it the fact that superheroes are godlike and nobody is allowed to emulate god?

Or was it simply that he's nuts (perhaps as a side effect of whatever process brought him back) and there's really no need to dig deeper for a motive?

I chalked it up to the crazy effects from using a Lazarus pit, plus the fact that using one and returning after all this time would've just added to making him crack

[the4thpip]

If that great new mythological age that Morrison said would follow Final Crisis features cheap shock value like mutated babies being killed on live TV, maybe it is time I got off this ride. :frown:

[Samuraixsithlord]

I thought all these Faces of Evil oneshots would be a waste of money, but they were all good and set up future titles and events. Grundy=The Blackest Night, Prometheus=Justice League, Deathstroke=Deathtrap, Kobra=Future Crossover event?

[paulski]

Picked this one for the heck of it - having been a fan of his usage in JSA and the stuff that went down in CHECKMATE. And, going back a ways,the short-lived 1970's KOBRA series.

And wouldn't ya know it, I'm glad I read that old series, because it comes back to haunt us.

Jason Burr is Kobra.

Really? Well then, that's f*cking awesome!

I haven't read my copy yet but had a quick flick through it last night and thought "That couldn't have been who I thought I saw... nah, they're not clever enough for that". To bring back his brother who was so excellently killed off in DC Special Series #1, one of my favourite stories ever, is just goddamn genius.

I forgive DC for all their recent screw-ups after hearing this... :biggrin:

[The Cool Thatguy]

I thought all these Faces of Evil oneshots would be a waste of money, but they were all good and set up future titles and events. Grundy=The Blackest Night, Prometheus=Justice League, Deathstroke=Deathtrap, Kobra=Future Crossover event?

Maybe a Checkmate revival

[Karl O'Neill]

Maybe a Checkmate revival

Hopefully by ivan brandon or john rogers.

[Seraku]

I thought this was well done, liked the use of Supes in this issue