Kobra Two By Two The Fourth Endgame

Kobra had been leading a charmed life....but, all good things come to an end.  

Here's where the original Kobra saga came to its end, with two final solo stories based around the Lord Naja-Naja's battles with Jason Burr.

 

The Lazarus Conspiracy

For once in Kobra's history, his creative team was the same, as Kobra #7 (March-April, 1977) hit the stands with Marty Pasko, Mike Netzer and Joe Rubinstein handling the story (and Netzer doing the cover....) as the saga of the battling Burr brothers continued.

 

Here, Jonny Double and Professor Ross Emerson were celebrating their supposed victory against Kobra, thinking they blew up his Ark (in the previous issue), as Jason Burr dashes their hopes by storming into Double's San Francisco office, fresh from his delay in Oregon.  

 

Meanwhile, Kobra is dealing with his troubles, punishing the men who let Jonny Double get one of wrist weapons.  Burr and his friends go to the hospital to check on Randu Singh, now blinded in the aftermath of last issue's battle with Kobra.  Burr recounts his history with Kobra, his parents' death and how his now missing girlfriend, Melissa McNeil, comforted him and put flowers on their graves for the last six years.  Double told Burr of his plans to go to New York with Emerson, and that they would take care of the flowers, as Burr now checked out the wrist weapon Double got.  

Using that device, Burr was able to get aboard Kobra's Ark, and battle his troops (putting Jason where Kobra wanted him).  In New York, Double and Emerson find that Burr's parents' graves were robbed....six years ago, and that no one had been there in that time!  Back to Burr, who discovers Melissa held captive in Kobra's Ark, as Kobra also takes Jason captive as well.  Kobra has a few new devices, including a Neural Neutralizer to prevent their brotherly physical telepathy from sharing their feelings.

Kobra uses an Empathic Magnetizer to share the pain Kobra is inflicting on his lackeys with Burr.  Jason feels more pain, as Kobra leaves him alone with Melissa, who tells Jason that, though she doesn't know why, she no longer loves him, but loves Kobra instead.  Kobra now reveals his plan to Jason, that Project R is for Resurrection, as Kobra plans to kill world leaders, then resurrect them under his control.  Jason breaks free of his bonds, and battles Kobra, who throws Jason off his Ark over Hudson River (as they were flying to New York), thinking he could kill Jason.  Double and Emerson have to wonder about Melissa and Jason as their facts with the Burr's graves put doubt on their story.  Yet, Kobra feels pain after turning off his Neural Neutralizer, making him realize Jason is still alive, so, plans to resurrect his parents (whom Kobra has)!

The letters' page promises a nest issue, guest-starring Batman, that would deal with these issues....yet, in a rare time of not promising the title's end, the comic was cancelled with this issue!

 

The Dead On Arrival Conspiracy

Still, the story of Kobra did get an end, in DC Special Series #1 (1977), as writer Marty Pasko reworked his tale to make it a little more of a Batman story, for Mike Netzer and Joe Rubinstein to draw (all under a special Neal Adams cover for this special 5-Star Super-Hero Spectacular issue, with four stories unrelated to Kobra, featuring Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Atom).

The adventure begins in Gotham, as Batman prevents members of the Cobra Cult from stealing a letter from the post office...and Batman is startled by the technology and uniforms of these thieves, especially when they evade him by being beamed up into the air!  

Odder still, that the letter he found, was addressed to Bruce Wayne.  Taking the letter home to the Batcave under the Wayne Foundation, and reads its contents to Alfred Pennyworth (Bruce's butler), as the letter recounts Kobra's origins (from issue one), and how Melissa ended up in Kobra's clutches (all with the letter being sent to Bruce because his family had slight ties to Burr's, with the letter being delivered by Burr's detective friend upon belief of his death, as Burr wanted Batman to continue his fight against Kobra, and Wayne was a known friend of Batman....unknowingly to Jason, Bruce was Batman!).  

But, Jason was alive, and, under duress, was revealing what was in the letter to Kobra (as Kobra was protected by his Neural Neutralizer).  Batman used clues he gathered as he discovered Kobra's Ark, and that it had been in the Swiss Alps, home of a secret base of Ra's Al Ghul, which Kobra had appropriated, having Alfred fly him there, so he could break into the base.  In the base, Batman is eventually captured by the Cobra Cult, and bound with Jason Burr, Kobra reveals his plan to them, to kill them by dipping them in Ra's Lazarus Pit, which Kobra has treated to kill anyone immersed in it, and restore them to life under Kobra's control.  

After telling them his plan, Kobra leaves the area (sigh...) and that allows Batman to use his acrobatic abilities to loosen his utility belt, dropping it into the pit to explode, and the two get free.  They find Melissa, and after a brief tussle with Kobra, where Batman takes him captive, they prepare to leave, with Jason and Melissa going ahead in the rail car off the Alps.  Kobra breaks free of Batman using his Neural Neutralizer, and beams aboard his Ark as Kobra's most nefarious plan comes to fruition, that Melissa, who was oddly deathly cold, kills Jason (as Kobra had killed and enslaved her prior to Batman's arrival).  

This causes Batman to vow to work with the Justice League to bring Kobra to justice.

While this ended Kobra's series and his individual war against the world, Kobra would pick up that war in many different titles, including Aquaman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and the Outsiders, DC Comics Presents and even briefly in the Crisis On Infinite Earths...    

 

...and later return to menace the Outsiders sans Batman, throw the governments intelligence agencies into chaos in the Suicide Squad/Checkmate! Janus Directive, deal with King Faraday on the Danger Trail, fight Deadshot, Deathstroke, Katana, Peacemaker and the female Dr. Light, face Wally West's Flash, work against Batman foe Bane, deal with Oracle and Black Canary in the Birds of Prey, face Tim Drake's Robin and more before a change in his status quo (and the new Kobra faces the JSA) and so much more, proving Kobra one of the most dangerous men in the DC Universe.

Finding these issues now is a little harder, as only Kobra #1 and the DC Special Series have been reprinted in Kobra: Resurrection (2010), but his Aquaman and Batman and the Outsiders appearances have been collected, as has his reinvention of Cheetah parts of his Wonder Woman appearances.  Time for a collection of the first seven issues of Kobra, plus the Five-Star Super-Hero Spectacular (with Jonny Double's Showcase and Marty Pasko written Superman #326/#327 as well) to give Kobra his due!

 

 

Flash Facts: Spectacular Changes

This time the Flash team up doesn't happen within the regular Flash issue, but instead in a "Flash Spectacular", otherwise known as DC Special Series #11 (May, 1978), written by Cary Bates and with a cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, showing the two Flashes (Barry Allen and Jay Garrick) as well as Kid Flash (Wally West) and even other speedster Johnny Quick and the villain of the piece....Gorilla Grodd, all going "Beyond The Super-Speed Barrier!".

All that....and I'd buy that for a dollar!


Now, the book was split into chapters, each done by a different artist, focusing on a different character, so, here's the breakdown....

Grodd

Starting off with art by Irv Novick and Joe Giella, there's a big event in Gorilla City!  Notorious criminal, Gorilla Grodd, fresh off of causing trouble for most of Earth (including Gorilla City) with the Secret Society of Super-Villains, King Solovar and the High Council of Gorilla City execute Grodd for his crimes.

Kid Flash

Starting the main story with Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Wally Wood, as they draw Wally West...Kid Flash!  Wally is getting ready for his graduation from high school, when his mom, Mary, almost makes the discovery of her life....Wally in his Kid Flash outfit! 

A little super speed saves the day, but enough of hanging around his home in Blue Valley....Wally heads out with his girlfriend, Leslie (she only appears in this issue)....

....and she nearly discovers his identity as well!  Wally's dog, Lightning, takes off with his accidentally released costume (all distracting Wally from what Leslie has been saying), so after getting his costume, Wally finds Leslie leaving on his bike...at super speed! 

Dangerous super speed as well, so he goes after her as Kid Flash, watching her burn up and hitting a speed he had rarely reached before getting a dizzying effect...and, as he comes back to Blue Valley, finds Leslie, hitchhiking to get home (as the Leslie he was following was an illusion).  There's also a mysterious simian with a ray gun watching....what's up with that?

Back at the West home, Wally, in his Kid Flash costume, has something he decides to tell his parents (his Kid Flash identity....).

Flash (Barry Allen)

Next chapter by Irv Novick and Joe Giella sees Flash (Barry Allen) arriving at Gorilla City in Africa, finding out from Solovar of how they executed Grodd, because the High Council voted to disperse Grodd's atoms to another dimension (instead of just putting him in an improved Exo-Cube cell as Solovar wanted). 

Barry, accepting he'll never have to face Grodd again, leaves Gorilla City at 7:55 am for his job as a police scientist in Central  City....at 8 am! 

(Plenty of time for the fastest man alive!). 

Barry even has time to prevent a car accident (with his new assistant, Patty Spivot) and still be on time. 

Elsewhere in Central City, Barry's foe from his first appearance, the Turtle, is working on a slow laser, which he will use on the citizens of the city...if he can get it to work!  That mysterious simian shows up again, training his ray gun on the device....and, when the Turtle checks it...finds it now works.

The Turtle gets to rob a bank (eventually), drawing the Flash in...and he hits Flash with his slow laser in the eyes.  This seems to give the Turtle (and everyone else in Central City) super speed?  Closing his eyes, Flash turns back into Barry Allen, and is luckily found by his wife, Iris. 

At home, Barry and Iris figure out that the Turtle's ray took away Flash's speed vision, and find that he needs to reach a certain speed to knock loose the ray's affects and return his vision to normal. 

So a quick jaunt around the Earth (hitting a dizzying speed as well), and Flash can see again....and Barry is ready to capture the Turtle!


At home, Barry and Iris finally figure out the wedding gift to give to Patty Spivot and her soon to be husband, David....lovebirds! 

Though, in light of this recent case, Iris suggests turtle doves!

Flash (Jay Garrick)

Over on Earth-2, with art by Kurt Schaffenberger and Murphy Anderson, Jay Garrick of the Keystone Research Laboratories is revealing his secret identity as the Flash to the world. 

As reporters grill him on his new life (because he still plans to be both Flash and a scientist), Johnny Chambers and Tubby Watts of Sees-All Tells All Video just arrive (a little late), and are just in time to witness an accident that draws scientist Jay Garrick into becoming the Flash (and Johnny to change to his secret identity as super speedster with a formula....Johnny Quick!). 

But, that mysterious simian and his ray gun are doing what here on Earth-2?

Flash tries to stop the runaway water blob...but Johnny only wants to make it worse?  Flash stops the problem, even as Johnny wonders why he acted the way he did (but Tubby found an x-factor...that of a new X in Johnny's speed formula!). 

Johnny goes to Jay's house to apologize, but (thanks to that mysterious simian) says the wrong formula, and kidnaps Jay's wife, Joan!  Flash and Johnny Quick battle, and (after hitting a dizzying speed), Flash defeats Johnny....who seems to be cured of his formula problem.....

...but what is that mysterious simian doing monkeying around with the Flashes?

Flash Team-Up

Finally, Alex Saviuk and Joe Giella provide the team-up part, when both Barry and Wally find their costumes activate from their rings...and the two head to an open field where they meet with Jay...all under the control of the mysterious simian, who Wally and Jay assume is Grodd, and quickly defeat him....

..or do they?

The Flashes find out Grodd has possesses Council member Jroyy, and then uses the other Flashes to tell Barry his plan....(proving Grodd wasn't dead, BTW)... ..manipulating them all to reach a dizzying speed, and pull molecules of Grodd back from that other dimension they reached...all so....

....Grodd can live again!

The three Flashes work together, but find it hard to defeat Grodd, now that he has speed as well as his mind over matter powers.  Barry comes up with a desperate idea...combining with the other two Flashes, hoping that triple Flash powers can defeat Grodd!  It works, and the Flashes get Grodd back to Gorilla City, where he gets to try out Solovar's Exo Cube.

Epilogue

Now, for Wally's graduation, by Irv Novick and Joe Giella.  A few guests show up (like the Teen Titans and Elongated Man)....but sad the next, as Wally lets Barry know that he'll still be Kid Flash at college, but will give it up after he graduates that!

All that, and a couple of text pages on Flash's Rogue's Gallery.  A pretty spectacular issue, showing quite a few changes for the lives of the Flashes....all without a multi-issue cross over, or even more than the one Crisis (but, more Crises are in the future for the Flashes; as Jay and Barry discuss Jay's life change in the sixteenth JLA/JSA team-up, and Wally has to get use to not being in the Teen Titans as their 1970s run just ended with a telling of the team's establishing adventure!).

First Issue Plus One: Doctor Fate

Digging into the history of Doctor Fate, one sees that he had one era where he had shown as a particularly bright light....

...that of the 1970s.

Being a major player in JLA/JSA team-ups was not his only function at this time, as he had two solo ventures worth taking a look at!

Here they are, appearing as if by magic!

The Mummy That Time Forgot

First up is the first Dr. Fate solo tale since the 1940s, 1st Issue Special #9 (December, 1975) by Martin Pasko and Walt Simonson, all under a cover by Joe Kubert.


This issue was a great showcase for the golden gladiator, introducing readers of this issue to Kent Nelson, archeologist, who lives in a mystic tower in Salem, MA, with his wife, Inza...

...all the while harboring the mystic entity of ancient Lord of Order Nabu, which when Kent dons his helmet..

...turns Nelson into the protector of the universe, Doctor Fate!

This issue starts in the Boston Museum of Egyptology, where a great evil breaks loose, one that Dr. Fate has feared...that of Khalis!  This animated mummy attacks the doctor, taking away his mystic amulet, with Fate heading back to his sanctuary, and removing the helmet of Nabu, allowing Inza to care for the injured Kent Nelson.   Inza tries to care for her husband, but curses the fates that make her share him with Nabu, and leaves their tower.

Kent awakens, to go to study about Khalis....who was a follower of Anubis in 2030 B.C., and causing chaos in the Egypt of that time, until Nabu came and stopped the mad sorcerer, who was punished by being mummified alive, with Anubis insuring Khalis would stay alive, to come back at some future point to retrieve the amulet of his power...and that day was today!

Kent also reflects on his own origins (more on this later), and Inza feels she stormed out too quickly, yet goes to investigate the museum Khalis came from.  Nelson becomes Dr. Fate again, chasing after Khalis, and using what power he has available, but still unable to defeat his foe, at least until Inza arrives with a piece of Khalis' sarcophagus with Nabu's seal....giving Dr. Fate the ability to stop Khalis' plan to turn modern Boston into ancient Egypt by invoking the power of the Egyptian sun god, Amon-Ra.

Once the battle is completed, Inza and Kent reunite, getting back the amulet, and figuring out a way the three of them can live together.

A stunning story by Marty Pasko that added a little of the Egyptian look to Dr. Fate's bag of tricks, especially the use of the Ankh, all thanks to Walt Simonson's vibrant art, and one of many special issues of First Issue Special, which included characters like the Warlord , Metamorpho, Creeper and Atlas.

This Immortal Destiny

All that, but only a hint of the origin behind Dr. Fate.  DC Special Series #10 (1978) by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton and Michael Netzer explores his origins more fully, expanding upon the original tale told back in More Fun Comics, all under a cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.

This issue starts with Inza brooding in Dr. Fate's Salem Tower, poring over the tomes that give life to Dr. Fate's history.


Young 12 year old Kent Nelson was accompanying his archeologist father, Sven Nelson, onto a dig in Sumeria, when the boy stumbled upon the sleeping form of Nabu, releasing him from his suspended animation (with the gas keeping him under killing Kent's dad).

Now alone and grief stricken, Kent's anguish was replaced by Nabu's magic, as the Lord of Order explained that he was a host to an ancient mystic power, that had been hibernating since his battles in ancient Egypt, waiting for this day, when he could teach a new student the mystic arts, to prepare that body to be his new host to fight the forces of chaos across the multiverse.  Nabu gave Kent the amulet of Khalis and helm of Nabu, and, accepting them....became Doctor Fate.

But, Kent didn't know that would also mean handing control of his body over to Nabu, a fate which Inza was still wrestling with....

This issue also contains origins of the New God, Lightray, and Dr. Fate's fellow Earth-2 inhabitant, Black Canary (though her origin is more complex than the one told here, as it is the Earth-1 Black Canary relating the origin of her mother, the Earth-2-Black Canary).


These will be tales explored at a different time.

Looking for an inexpensive way to read these classic tales?  Look no further than The Immortal Doctor Fate #1 (January, 1985), that reprints these two stories, along with a classic Golden Age adventure of Dr. Fate vs. Wotan, all under a wraparound cover by Walt Simonson, the first of three issues reprinting Dr. Fate (the next two focusing on stories from his time as a back up in the Flash), showing off the magic that is Dr. Fate!