History[]
Origin[]
Originally a cult in an underreported part of the world, Kobra had a prophecy that one day someone would lead them to greatness. Finding this someone as one of a set of twins, they selected one at random and took him to be raised by them. This baby, named Jeffrey Burr by his parents, grew to be a formidable warrior and a criminal mastermind. As he took control of the organization, he was awarded the title "Naga Naga". Under Burr, Kobra began using cutting-edge science to fulfill it ultimate goal of bringing about the Kali Yuga the Age of Chaos, in which the imperfect world will be swept away by a divinely-inspired, better version. They were opposed by an international peace-keeping agency who recruited Jason Burr, Jeffrey's brother, with whom he shared a psychic connection. This particular campaign ended when Jason Burr dead. Over the years, Kobra has clashed with several superheroes, most notably Batman and his Outsiders and Wonder Woman. At one point, during a battle between the outsiders and Strike Force Kobra, the organization split into two factions, one led by Burr and the other led by his traitorous lover, Eve. This split remained in place, much to the glee of counter-terror agencies, until a few years before the Identity Crisis. The main body of the Kobra Cult back Jeffrey Burr's efforts to take control of the world's telecommunications with the powers of the superhero Air Wave, but they were stopped by the Justice Society of America. Months later, when Burr escaped from court, rogue JSAer Black Adam led a team that killed Burr.
The New Direction[]
In the wake of this, Kobra underwent an internal struggle which began with would-be leaders including King Snake, and a schoolfriend of Tim Drake who apparently fitted the prophecy, but this has apparently settled: a new leader has emerged. Under her, the organization now seeks to fulfill 'the prophecies of Kali Yuga'. It is actively being fought by the super-spy agency known as Checkmate. However, the cult had a new weapon, in the form of the Bestowed, practitioners of blood magic who could sense treasonous thoughts and turn people's insides into piles of snakes.
The Day Evil Won[]
After a few years, however, the ruling body of Kobra came to a conclusion the initial prophecy was accurate, but they had kidnapped the wrong child. Unearthing Jason Burr's remains and reanimated him in a Lazarus Pit. Though initially murderous towards the group, he eventually took control. Seeing Kobra's current form as inefficient, he decided to remake the organization. Initiating a terror campaign, he simultaneously tied up Checkmate and the American authorities catching old Kobra sleeper agents, while acquiring Lexcorp's Everyman Program biotech, Saul Erdel's teleportation technology, and a piece of stone taken from the Statue of Hatred in the Rock of Eternity. With these, in addition to the magic of the Bestowed, Burr was able to move invisibly from place to place, using magic to speed-indoctrinate whole cells of snakemen, creating infrastructure out of nothing.
Notes[]
- Prisoners in the American federal prison system sometimes convert to Kobra, to the general disgust of Earth's superheroes. One such example is Slipknot.
- Like Ra's al Ghul, Kobra owned a hidden network of very specialized Lazarus Pits.
- Kobra apparently entertains many specialized sub-sections. One such section was the Blackadders, a group of ninja-like fanatics. In the past Kobra operated an aggressive metahuman research and recruitment program, this program that gave birth to both known versions of Strike Force Kobra.
- The new Kobra seems to be ranked by serpent type, low level members are Lanceheads, higher level members are called Nagas the highest level shown are the Bestowed, mystics who specialize in Blood Magic.