Cobra: How does the space opera that celebrated an entire generation end?

“Out of nowhere, it’s a cobra / Faster than a snake, it’s a cobra.” !” Cobra is a Japanese space opera anime created by Akio Sujino and Osamu Dezaki based on the manga by Buichi Terasawa and released in Japan in 1982-1983. In France, Canal+ has been broadcasting exclusively since 1985.

Cobra is a space adventurer whose left arm hides a delta beam, a fearsome weapon. With his android armanoid, he travels the galaxy trying to escape the space pirates commanded by the fearsome Salamander.

The final episode is called “Soon Cobra” and is the 31st in the series. In previous episodes, Salamander was killed by a laser beam shot to the forehead (episode 30), and Dominic, a Galactic Police agent and Cobra’s companion, was kidnapped by Salamander in episode 27.

The final episode opens with Kargoo, on his frozen planet, killing Salamander as well as Palmas in the Galaxy Bar. Unaware of all this, Cobra is on the train getting ready to go to the party. He then meets Dominique, who doesn’t recognize him. He is accompanied by bodyguards who call him “Muriel Laramba” and who turns out to be the high priestess of a sect known as the “Rada Sect”. The similarities between Muriel and Dominique are striking.

Also on the train, Kanos is in turn killed by Salamander and has time to warn Cobra, who cannot believe that the leader of the space pirates is still alive. To find out for sure, the adventurer decides to travel to the planet Wonatus, home to the Salamanders and the Radha Sect (including Muriel and the sect’s high priest Losad).

The latter is the day before the main event, the statue of Goddess Radha (a symbol of freedom and peace) will be sent into orbit in a rocket. While talking to Muriel, Cobra mentions that he, like Dominique, has a butterfly tattoo on his back, and to him, Muriel is Dominique. But their meeting is interrupted by an attack by members of the Rada sect with the sign of the salamander!

They are quickly defeated, but another problem arises: the missile is launched by High Priest Losad, because the interstellar police are coming and he is actually part of the Space Pirates.

Losad then explains his plan: every Radha statue in the galaxy actually contains a high-powered laser cannon, and each threatened planet will have to pledge allegiance to the Salamander. He adds that when the real Muriel died suddenly, she kidnapped Dominic, “brainwashed” him and transferred Muriel’s thoughts into his mind.

Missiles are fired into the galaxy and in his paranoia, Salamander orders the destruction of the launch pad (and therefore Losad and his minions) so that only he can control the statues. In the confusion caused by the station’s destruction, Cobra and Dominic escape and stumble upon the throne room of Salamander, who is about to shoot the statues stuck in the galaxy.

A battle ensues between Cobra and his arch-nemesis, but the Adventurer’s delta beam shots fail to stop the Salamander, instead knocking it down for a few precious seconds, allowing Cobra to reach the missile command post and resume firing.

When Salamander reappears, he begins his operation, but the statues shoot at each other and his plan is put on hold. Cobra then shoots the wall behind the throne of the hall bearing the opponent’s mark. Then he noticed that there was a man behind him, now dead.

Salamander was an evil spirit without the consistency of a body, created by this man who manipulated him like a puppet from afar. During the fight, Dominic, who suffered several shocks, miraculously regained his memory.

Aboard his ship Psychoroid, Cobra and his android ally Armanoid (repaired after the events of episode 27) set off again for new adventures… this is the end of the series.

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