Cobra (comics)
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The Cobra (real name Klaus Voorhees), also known as The Human Cobra and King Cobra, is a Marvel Comics supervillain, most commonly associated with Daredevil and Thor.
The character was created by Stan Lee and Don Heck in Journey into Mystery #98 (November, 1963) where he was confronted by Thor. The next issue saw him team up with Mister Hyde (with Hyde being the brains of the team) and the duo had a few encounters with the Thunder God before their first skirmish with Daredevil in Daredevil #30 (July, 1967). Hyde and the Cobra were partners for years, although their partnership ended not long before the Cobra joined Sidewinder's Serpent Society. When Sidewinder retired, the Cobra became the leader of the Society under the name "King Cobra". He still leads the Society (complete with a new Sidewinder) though he also partners with Hyde on occasion.
He was later forced to join the Thunderbolts and trained by Swordsman.
[edit] Origins and powers
Klaus Voorhees (born in Rotterdam) was the Dutch assistant to Professor Schecktor, a scientist working in India and looking for a cure to snake bites. Unsatisfied with his lower condition, and intent on stealing Schecktor's discoveries, Voorhees killed the professor by using a cobra and in order to make himself look less guilty, let the cobra bite him as well. He used an experimental antidote to cure himself, but denied it to Schecktor. The cobra was radioactive, and in a process similar to Spider-Man's, Voorhees gained super-human abilities similar to a cobra's. Most notably his amazing contortionist powers and slithery body let him break in, and escape from, buildings. He also has the ability to stick to walls or ceilings. Combined with his super-strength and reflexes, they make him a formidable wrestler.
Cobra is also armed with special gadgets that complete his cobra likeness: he is equipped with a "cobra cord" (an unbreakable cable) to tie up his enemies (solid enough to resist Thor's strength), can launch "cobra darts" (venom-filled projectiles) out of his wrists and release some toxic "cobra gas".
In the Mini-series Toxin: The Devil you know, Cobra himself quotes:
| “ | My bones are almost impossible to break. My tissue doesn't tear. I don't get hangovers, either. | ” |
