Welcome Back. So far, in parts 1 and 2 we have set the stage for the history of Marvel and G.I.JOE as closely interlocked. Before we move on to possible origins, let's review a few of these and look at some new ones. Looking at the main high ranking Cobra officials, it seems in some ways we are looking at something very similar to Hydra in many ways. First Baron Strucker comes off as Destro in ways, accompanied, of course by Madame Hydra who is quite similar to the Baroness (who I now have come to believe is also based off of Black Widow, probably related to some juncture in the WW2 days of Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos ). In other places I have suggested that Cobra Commander is based in some aspects off of Kirby's character Kobra. Also Serpentor; though I cannot immediately place in Marvel outside of similar seemingly related events like the Serpent Crown Affair, does seem to be identical to Conan (still Marvel) character Rathamon.
Baroness / Madame Hydra
Destro / Baron Von Strucker
Serpentor / Rathamon
Now let's take a look at some of Kirby's creations which predated Cobra for possible hints into the creation of other Joe characters. Here we can see where some of Kirby's villains' attributes kind of unite in what we now know as Hydra and A.I.M.
Anti-Life and the Apokolips propaganda machine : New Gods - Glorious Godfrey as a kind of televangelist politician, and the Mantis as a super villain to the New Gods, Darkseid's plan's worked their way into every fabric of society...
"(T)he Anti-Life Equation is a formula for total control over the minds of sentient beings,
that is sought by Darkseid, who, for this reason, sends his forces to
Earth, as he believes part of the equation exists in the human subconscious. Various comics have defined the equation in different ways, but a common interpretation seems to be that the equation is a mathematical proof of the futility of living."-Anti Life at wikipedia
Justifiers and the Sect: Forever People - the enforcers of the Glorious Godfrey's Anti Life equation and other horrors, also working through Darkseid.
Royalists and the Corporation : Captain America -bloodline of elitist evolving from the Taurey state who attempted ending democracy with the invention of "madbombs"
Madbomb - " The Madbomb is a sonic device which causes people to go insane when affected by it, making them run wild and attack each other. A Madbomb the size of a fingernail--"Peanut"--can affect people in the same room; a Madbomb the size of a grenade--"Dumpling"--can affect an entire neighborhood; the largest Madbomb, "Big Daddy," could have potentially affected all of the United States." -Marvel Comics Database
VERY suggested reading:
Secret Sun : Mindbomb series (selected)
1.Stargate in the Sky
3.We Are the Night People
5.Shamanic Visions
6.The Convulsive Power of the Dreaming Mind
More in the Mindbomb series!
Collectors : Black Panther- six collectors of worldly and exotic or powerful items, possibly inspiring Cobra's similar taste in rare occult or simply powerful things.
Brotherhood of Hades : 2001 -An organization interested in furthering mind control and related technologies while appearing to be more of an ancient serpent cult. This lays down some of the cult like goings-ons of the inner circles of Hydra and Cobra.
"And here's where it gets even stranger- Kirby introduces another of his countless secret societies, the "Brotherhood of Hades," whose goal is "universal mind control." Their means will be the "Mind Monitor," which is essentially the Internet. With the Devil's face via a hologram for you Blue Beam buffs. In 1977. The leader of this cult is one "Mister Hotline," just to continue to drive home this theme of daemonic communication. He's not entirely un-Crowley-like himself. Hotline wants Mister Machine for some reason or other (he's referred to as a "virus," in keeping with the proto-Internet meme here) and sends out more round-headed, goggle-eyed types to abduct the android." -The Secret Sun: Wizards, Workings, and Walk-Ins Addendum
Foundation : Silver Star
"Drumm gives us some frightening contemporary portents. Drumm was born the son of a super-rich Fundamentalist preacher, who led the "Foundation for Self Denial." His followers dressed in monk's robes, eschewed all worldly comfort and pleasure and gave all of their money to Drumm's father, who used the wealth to buy into the Oil racket. Drumm kills his father, leaves but later returns and takes over the Foundation. Drumm leads his followers to an underground cavern where they ready themselves for an apocalyptic holy war. Need I remind you that one of the translations of Al Qaeda is "Foundation?"
Secret Sun: Silver Star Heroes and the Collective
Thanks for reading, I hope I've inspired somebody to pull out the comics again
(Special Thanks to Christopher Knowles for some Kirby road signs during this journey : )
