Curse of the Kobra: Part 2

"Curse of the Kobra" is the tenth and eleventh episodes of the third season of Batman Beyond. It depicts a plan of the organization Kobra to splice humans with dinosaur DNA and thereby create a new era. After Terry fails to stop Kobra from stealing a thermal bomb Bruce sends him to an old friend, Kairi Tanaga, for martial training. While there Terry meets up with Zander, an advanced student in her class. The two get along well enough but after they leave the class and go to Cheezy Dan's Zander shows both a violent nature and a deep interest in Maxine. Things take a turn for the worse when Terry finds out that Zander is really the new leader of Kobra. Zander has plans to splice all members of Kobra with dinosaur DNA, and then increase the temperature of earth so that only his people will be able to survive. Now Batman must face one of his greatest challenges ever.

Terry wakes up in the Batcave and Bruce explains that he had a minor concussion and has four cracked ribs. The cracked ribs will cause him pain when he moves and breathes. This will prove to be a major setback in finding Max.

Bruce heads out to speak to Kairi about Zander's whereabouts. She only has a phone number, however. She also talks about her failure to teach Zander a moral code and feels guilty about it.

Back in the Batcave, Bruce checks the number and discovers that it belongs to a secret base of Kobra. In spite of his injuries, Terry heads off to save Max.

Max wakes up in a lavish bed and discovers that she's wearing different clothing. Two women come in and claim that they are her servants and that the master wants to see her. Max refuses and fights her way out of the room. Unfortunately, she cannot find a way out of the base and her servants come after her. She manages to beat them both, but she's soon confronted by a dinosaur-like mutant. It captures her and takes her to Zander who is happy to see her. Max asks to know more about her situation and Zander decides to agree.

Zander explains that his DNA was synthesized and he was grown in an artificial womb being fed only specialized nutrients. His life was spent being taught military strategies, martial arts, and advanced weaponry. He was raised in this way so that he could become the perfect leader for Kobra, but Max realizes that they forgot to think about his desire for a mate, which is where she comes in. Max still refuses Zander and Dr. Childes suggests having her eliminated. Zander refuses to allow that as he's intrigued by Max's own freethinking.

Meanwhile, Batman checks up on the address Bruce gave him and makes his way inside. However, his ribs are still bothering him, and he doesn't notice that he's being followed.

Inside the base, Zander explains to Max that he sees dinosaurs as being the ultimate life forms and intends to combine their DNA with humans so that they will gain the one thing that they lacked: adaptability. By using splicing, he intends to create a new life form that will rule the earth. When Max claims it can't be done, Zander shows her the splicing process proving it can be done. Max figures out that the thermal bomb will be used to raise Earth's temperature making it too hot for humans to survive but perfect for the cold-blooded dinosaurs. Max isn't interested in surviving and refuses him. Zander doesn't care, however, and orders Max to be spliced.

Using his stealth mode, Batman manages to listen in on a conversation about Max and saves her from being spliced. Unfortunately, it's too late for her to escape as the Kobra base is a flying ship and it's taken off. Max tries to tell Batman the plan but the duo is assaulted by the truck driver and another Kobra goon. Batman manages to beat the driver and a mysterious individual in a black outfit saves Max.

The ship makes it to their destination: a dormant volcano sitting on top of an extremely deep rift. They prepare to drop and detonate the thermal bomb thereby bringing up magma. Fortunately, before they can drop the bomb Batman arrives and stops them. Zander splices himself and attacks. Batman fights back but Zander's new form proves to be too powerful and he manages to try and drop the bomb. However, the control module has been deactivated and the bomb is disarmed. Kairi then jumps in and reveals that she's the one who stopped the plan. She apologizes to Zander for failing him but Zander is furious with her because now that he's been spliced, he won't be able to survive Earth's normal temperature. Kairi is unsympathetic however and attacks him. Batman joins in on the fight and together the duo cause Zander to destroy the ship's controls. The ship goes up in flames and the Kobra members make for the escape pods. The windshield breaks open and the cold air causes Zander to fall. Batman heads out to find Max and discovers she's in an escape pod. Unfortunately, a flaming part of the ceiling collapses and Zander revives. Feeling that she failed Zander and it's her responsibility to stop him, she says her final words to Batman, forces he and Max to leave, and attacks Zander head on. The ship collides with the volcano and Batman and Max manage to escape.

Back at Kairi's dojo, Bruce, Max, and Terry drop white lotus flowers into her pond as tribute to her sacrifice.

Continuity
Kairi last appeared as a young woman in Batman: The Animated Series, "Day of the Samurai." Her past connection with Bruce is not made clear in this episode, but in the episode's special feature, the producers confirmed that she is the same character. Max and Zander play the Sentries of the Last Cosmos, a game prominently featured in its eponymous episode. In the flashback scene, Dr. Cuvier from "Splicers" makes an appearance as one of Zander's tutors. Presumably he instructed him in the ways of splicing, his area of expertise.