Kobra #1

Deep beneath the streets of Manhattan, assassin-for-hire, Horst Buchner, along with two associates, are ushered through secret tunnels, to keep a prearranged rendezvous with Kobra. At the first sign of insult, Buchner's men draw on Kobra. Put off by Kobra's arrogance, Buchner declines his offer of employment, deciding, instead, to rob Kobra of several intriguing artifacts. Still held at gunpoint, Kobra leads Buchner and his gunsels into another chamber, one that holds Kobra's most unique artifact, the Ovoid. Within the confines of the still shimmering meteoroid, Kobra reveals an enormous alien robot, he calls the Servitor. At Kobra's command, the Servitor steps forward, then murders Horst and his associates, pummeling them to death with it's giant metal fists. Sensing that his brother, Jason Burr, is soon to learn of Kobra's existence, and whereabouts, Kobra sends the Servitor up to the streets, on a mission to slay Burr. The Servitor leaves a swath of destruction in it's path, as it makes it's way to Columbia university. Despite opposition from New York's finest, the Servitor moves inexorably to the student union building. Inside, Lieutenant Perez is interviewing Jason Burr. Just as Perez is about to reveal to Burr the existence and identity of his brother, the Servitor crashes through the wall. Lifting Burr up in one of it's gargantuan hands, the Servitor, at Kobra's command, begins crushing him. Suddenly, Kobra, too, feels the crushing force of the Servitor's grip compressing his own chest. Realizing that he and Burr share a sympathetic bond, Kobra orders the Servitor to release him. The countermand causes the Servitor to self-destruct.

For years, Burr believed his twin brother had died, at a hospital in New Delhi, shortly after their birth. Perez reveals the truth to Burr. Two Cult of Cobra worshippers had entered the maternity ward, and abducted Burr's brother. The infant spent his life in a secret Cobra God temple, where he was trained to become the man called Kobra. His final test was to consume cobra venom, survival of which confirmed that he was, in fact, the "chosen one". Somehow, the authorities discovered Kobra's sympathetic relationship to Burr, and hoped to use the man to lure Kobra out of hiding. A Cult of Cobra worshipper reveals to Kobra the blade by which Burr will soon die. Kobra punishes the man for his effrontery by pouring acid on his back. Realizing that Burr must never die, lest Kobra die, too, Kobra makes plans to seal his brother in an isolation cell. Suddenly, Kobra's hand begins burning. At that same moment, Burr stands with his hand thrust into an open candle flame. The sympathetic pain allows Kobra to zero in on Burr's location. At Kobra's appearance, Perez and his officers spring the trap, A dense metal cage is dropped on Kobra, who is fast enough to slither out from underneath it. The officers begin firing on Kobra, but the world's most dangerous man easily evades the hail of bullets. Finally, the officers surround Kobra. Burr fears that Perez will kill the master criminal, thus ending his own life. Suddenly, Kobra is lifted skyward, drawn by an electromagnetic beam into his airship, Kobra's Ark. Burr is left to contemplate his new future, one where his own brother plans nothing but suffering for him.