KOHBRA KOHBRA
Real Name: Presumably Kohbra
Identity/Class: Terrestrial fauna (cobra) mutate (New Men)
Occupation: Agent of the Man-Beast;
Group Membership: New Men; specifically the Man-Beast's New Men (Barachuudar, Cobrah, Haukk, Lizhardus, Monck, Phrogg, Pih-Junn, Rhodan, Snakar, Triax the Terrible, Weezhil, others)
Affiliations: Man-Beast, Rhino (Aleksei Sytsevich)
Enemies: High Evolutionary (Herbert Edgar Wyndham), Hulk (Bruce Banner), Porcunius and his New Men opposing the Man-Beast's agenda (Eaglus, others unidentified), Sir Ram, US Air Force of the High-Evolutionary's Counter-Earth (notably including General Ross), Adam Warlock;
| presumably Count Tagar, Knights of Wundagore (notably Sir Lepard, Sir Lyan, Sir Ossilot, and other unidentified Knights), Thor Odinson;
possibly the Beyonders, Prime Movers of Tarkus, Sphinxor, Thanos
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
at least formerly various hidden base (including this one) on the High Evolutionary's Counter-Earth;
formerly Wundagore-3;
formerly somewhere in the galaxy Dromisana;
presumably created in the High Evolutionary's Citadel of Science atop Mount Wundagore, Transia;
First Appearance: (Possible first appearance, behind-the-scenes) Thor I#135 (December, 1966);
(identified, but mostly off-panel and covered in armor) Marvel Premiere#1 (April, 1972);
(pictured without armor) Marvel Premiere#2 (May, 1972)
Powers/Abilities:
A snake-evolved into humanoid form, Kohbra possesses scales and a
serpentine face, with a notably widened cowl-like feature resembling
some types of cobras (notably the king cobra). He is likely
poikilothermic ("cold-blooded"), making his body temperature and
metabolism somewhat dependent on the ambient temperature.
It would seem likely that he would have fangs that could deliver a powerful venom, but there is not actually images showing fangs or any discussion or threat of venom.
Despite the relatively small
number of New Men, Kohbra wished to conquer humanity, and he would war
against his own people if they refused this idea.
He has some experience battling with a sword and shield.
Kohbra spoke with a sibilant hiss, as is common with serpentine characters...
History:
(Thor I#135 - BTS / Quicksilver I#9 (fb)) - Locking
himself within the
Evolutionary's genetic laboratory in his Citadel of Science atop Mount
Wundagore, the Man-Beast used his evolutionary ray (presumably still
powered by Isotope C) to create a number of his own New Men, who then
engaged Thor and
the Evolutionary.
Thor subdued the Man-Beast, and Count Tagar and the Knights forced the rest of the
New Men into the Evolutionary's Star Chamber, which then transported
them to the "galaxy Dromisana" (see comments).
The Man-Beast then using the High Evolutionary's machinery to guide the newly developed humanity on Counter-Earth to commit the violent crimes the High Evolutionary had sought to prevent. The High Evolutionary revived and attacked the Man-Beast, who summoned his New Men (apparently including Kohbra, as there is an exact match of that helmet view; color difference likely due to different lighting vs. artistic license (or error), or maybe it is someone different with the same type helmet) to aid him. Though the High Evolutionary stopped them as well, the distraction allowed the Man-Beast to strike down the Evolutionary with a psychic blast. Before the Man-Beast could slay the Evolutionary, however, Him -- the creation of the Enclave whom the Evolutionary had rescued from space -- rushed to attack the New Men. The Man-Beast teleported himself and his followers down to Counter-Earth, and the Evolutionary considered destroying his now-tainted world, but Him convinced the Evolutionary to allow him to track down the Man-Beast and to save humanity. The Evolutionary gave Him the Soul Gem and sent him to Counter-Earth with the new name of Adam Warlock.
(Marvel Premiere#2 (fb) - BTS) - From within their base, Wundagore-3, the Man-Beast assigned Kohbra of his New Men to find Him, with all of Wundagore-3's resources placed at his disposal.
Via their spy-eyes, Kohbra located
Him in Southern California. Anticipating the Man-Beast's interest in
sending someone to liquidate Him, Kohbra arranged for Rhodan and his
Hounds of Helios to accomplish this.
(Marvel
Premiere#2) - Man-Beast summoned Kohbra,
noting that it had been hours since his assignment, reminding him that
he had access to all of Wundagore-3's resources, and demanded a report
on his progress. Kohbra noted that their spy-eyes had located Him in
Southern California. At the Man-Beast's query, Kohbra summoned Rhodan.
Approving this decision, and noting that Kohbra had done well again, as
always, the Man-Beast dispatched Rhodan and his Hounds
of Helios to slay Him. After Rhodan predicted his triumphant return
with the head of the "goldskin," Kohbra advised him that he should
succeed for his own sake.
(Marvel Premiere#2 - BTS) - After
departing, Rhodan considered that while Kohbra chided him as a lackey,
one day soon, his triumphs would outshine Kohbra's and he would sit at
the left hand of the Man-Beast.
However, Warlock defeated Rhodan's hounds, then used his soul gem to
transform Rhodan back into a normal rat, which was apparently
slain by a barn cat.
(Warlock I#1 - BTS) - The High Evolutionary altered Counter-Earth so that it vibrated on a different plane, a mere micro-second out of synch with the rest of the dimension, so that a rocket from Earth approaching Counter-Earth could neither see nor be seen by Counter-Earth.
(Warlock I#1) - After the Man-Beast (in the form of the Prophet) led Adam Warlock to his lair, Warlock rushed to attack what appeared to be the Man-Beast, although it was only a lifeless manikin. Nonetheless, Kohbra urged the other New Men to stop him if they valued their souls. Refusing to be stopped, Warlock decapitated the manikin, at which point he realized the deception and after which the Prophet unmasked, revealing that he was the Man-Beast.
(Warlock I#2) - As Man-Beast approached Warlock, who
was being restrained by a pair of unidentified New Men, Kohbra urged
Man-Beast to stay wary, as Warlock was dangerous. After Warlock had
refused the Man-Beast's offer to join him, the Man-Beast warned Warlock
that he could rend him to pieces, and Kohbra urged Man-Beast to trust
his instincts and to destroy Warlock. Man-Beast countered that Warlock
might instead be a powerful ally, but Warlock again refused and
attacked the Man-Beast's New Men.
After Warlock had used his Soul Gem to revert Monck back into a gibbon, Man-Beast again sought an alliance. Kohbra urged his master so slay Warlock while he had been weakened by the Soul Gem's use, but Man-Beast swatted Kohbra back, calling him a fool and chastising him for flaunting his will against the Man-Beast's.
(Warlock I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Man-Beast subjected
Warlock to an illusion of his allies betraying him, which Warlock
ultimately rejected.
(Incredible Hulk II#158 (fb) -
BTS) - After the Man-Beast dissolved into mist to escape de-evolution
by Adam Warlock (although he secretly possessed Rex Carpenter), Kohbra
assumed leadership of the New Men and plotted to conquer Counter-Earth.
Porcunius led a rebel group of New Men who sought only acceptance, not
dominance.
(Incredible Hulk II#158 - BTS)
- Seeking to get rid of the Hulk and the Rhino, the Leader (Samuel
Sterns) sent them on a craft to the opposite side of Earth's sun, at
which point it would slow down; it was believed that either the orbit
would decay and it would plunge into the sun or they would remain
trapped in the craft until they would perish.
(Incredible Hulk II#158 (fb) -
BTS) - Kohbra led his army of New Men in an assault on the base of the
group of rebel New Men led by Porcunius.
(Incredible Hulk II#158 - BTS) - The Leader's craft instead reached Counter-Earth, after which point the two passengers were separated from each other and the craft.
(Incredible Hulk II#158) -
Kohbra announced to Porcunius that he and his rebel band were
surrounded and told him to surrender, to rejoin is fellow New Men, and
to reclaim their collective destiny to rule this Earth. Before
Porcunius could respond, however, the Hulk's fall caused him to crash
through the base's ceiling. Porcunius initially suspected the giant
green creature to have been sent by Kohbra, but Kohbra feared that
Porcunius and his men had gained an ally, and so he led his forces to
flee; he told his men to "let the fool think us frightened. We will
have our day soon enough." Regardless, their flight convinced Porcunius
and his men that the creature was not one of theirs.
(Incredible Hulk II#158 - BTS)
- Porcunius and his allies befriended the Hulk. Porcunius agreed to
help the Hulk locate his ship and return to his world, at least in part
to prevent Kohbra and his allies from gaining the ship.
(Incredible Hulk II#158 (fb) - BTS) - Kohbra and/or other members of his New Men located and allied with the Rhino.
(Incredible Hulk II#158) - From their base in "foul man-built caverns," Kohbra introduced the Rhino to his gathered New Men, noting him to be from the same world as the Hulk and stating how they would rise in triumph.
(Incredible Hulk II#158 (fb) - BTS) - Phrogg, an agent of Kohbra who had infiltrated Porcunius' men, learned of their plan to recover the ship from a local air force base, and he reported this to Kohbra.
(Incredible Hulk II#158) - Led by Kohbra, Rhino charged into the air force base and smashed the Hulk from behind. Kohbra instructed Porcunius to order the Hulk aside so they could claim the ship. However, both groups could only stand back as the behemoths fought.
The two groups of New Men then
fought each other, with Kohbra vowing that Porcunius' outnumbered
forces would lose the struggle.
(Incredible Hulk II#158 - BTS) - Regardless, the Leader then recalled his ship, hoping to leave the Hulk and Rhino stranded there.
(Incredible Hulk II#158) - Soon
after, Kohbra confronted Porcunius directly, advising him that only the
two of them could put an end to this farce. Porcunius countered that
the war for this world's survival was no farce.
However, before they could engage,
both New Men took pause as the Hulk spectacularly smashed the Rhino to
the ground, knocking him out. The Hulk then dragged the Rhino aboard
the ship, which soon departed with them.
As Air Force base airmen rushed
in, led by this world's General Ross, Kohbra appreciated that their
fight must be set aside, and both groups of New Men fled back to their
subterranean lairs.
Comments: Created by Roy Thomas, Gil Kane, and Dan Adkins.
Kohbra's shield sure seems to look
like it's got a 666 on it, which fit with playing-up Adam Warlock as a
Jesus-like messianic figure, as 666 is "the number of the beast"
(referring to the devil).
As far as I know, there is not
anything that indicates that the Man-Beast was able to create
additional New Men on his own without the High Evolutionary's
evolutionary ray, Kohbra was likely created and present in Thor I#135.
There is certainly a large serpentine character (seen to the left here) that could wrap its
limbs around others like a constrictor, but that character's face does
not look anything like Kohbra's.
I am listing Kohbra as
behind-the-scenes in Thor I#135.
To the best of my knowledge, Kohbra did not appear after fleeing from the Air Force in Incredible Hulk I#158. I had long assumed that the similarly named Cobrah appearing in Incredible
Hulk I#176-178 was just a misspelling or variation of the same being,
but the two characters don't really look alike. I'll profile Cobrah in
the next few months...
Perhaps Man-Beast eliminated Kohbra for his
failure...or perhaps he was transformed and did become Cobrah or Snakar.
Assuming Kohbra
did not perish at some point earlier, he was presumably present on
Counter-Earth when Sphinxor and the Prime Movers took the world for the
Beyonders' museum circa Marvel Two-In-One I#61-64 (1980)...and when
Counter-Earth was apparently destroyed by the Infinity
Gauntlet-possessing Thanos (as revealed circa Warlock and the Infinity
Watch#4 (1992).
I am not really certain what the deal is with the
Counter-Earth that appeared circa Uncanny Avengers II#1 (2015), but I
do not believe Kohbra was seen with them.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Kohbra should be distinguished from:
Located somewhere in the USA on the High Evolutionary's Counter-Earth. (Incredible Hulk II#158 (fb) - BTS) - Kohbra and/or other members of his New Men located and allied with the Rhino. (Incredible Hulk II#158) - From their base in "foul man-built caverns," Kohbra introduced the Rhino to his gathered New Men, noting him to be from the same world as the Hulk and stating how they would rise in triumph. --Incredible Hulk II#158 |
Marvel Premiere#1, story pg. 16, panel 4 (armored helmet seen while spoken to by Man-Beast; to the right--->)
pg. 21, panel 2 (armored helmet seen as Man-Beast's
New Men confront High Evolutionary; to the left <----- );Appearances:
Thor I#135 (December, 1966) - Stan
"The Man" Lee (writer/editor), Jack "King" Kirby (penciler), Vince "The
Prince" Colletta (inker) - BTS; presumed
Marvel Premiere#1-2 (April-May, 1972) - Roy Thomas (writer),
Gil Kane (pencils), Dan Adkins (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Warlock I#1 (August, 1972) - Roy Thomas (plot),
Mike Friedrich (script), Gil Kane (pencils), Tom Sutton (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
Warlock I#2 (October, 1972) - Roy Thomas (plot),
Mike Friedrich (script), John Buscema, Tom Sutton & Gil Kane (pencils), Tom Sutton (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#158 (December, 1972) - Roy Thomas
(plot/editor), Steve Gerber (writer), Herb Trimpe (penciler), Sal
Trapani (inker)
First posted: 01/03/2024
Last updated: 10/19/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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