Morgan Fagg
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3 min read

What exactly is Cobra?

For all my Spanish friends wondering what exactly Cobra is, you are right to be confused.

Sky Television has just launched a new drama called Cobra and it is not clear what Cobra stands for and why the series is called that. I love the name but think it should be clear why the new drama is named after a snake.

You are right to be confused and cobra as a name has been used in far too many different formats including other tv series and films.

When I think of cobra, I immediately think of the Cobra AH1 Attack Helicopter from the Vietnam War. Naturally, there is the snake of course but there is also the classic car, the A.C. Cobra and a beer you might be served in Asian restaurants.

When I first heard David Cameron talking about meeting with Cobra after a terrorist attack in London, my first thoughts were of the G.I. Joe action figures because the enemy of G.I. Joe is called Cobra. Strange that the Prime Minister didn't clarify that he was meeting with a government department and not a fictional terrorist group.

Much like Transformers, Hasbro started a cartoon series to sell their toys and later launched two G.I. Joe films in 2009 and 2013.

A little like Spectre in the James Bond franchise or Hydra in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Cobra are the baddies who are always trying to attack G.I. Joe.

Cobra I believe are always shouting Cobra when they attack the toy soldiers and I am sure I had a toy G.I. Joe helicopter that looked just like an AH1 Cobra, when I was young.

The obvious answer is that Cobra is the name of a snake, such as the King Cobra and we can forget Cobra Kai which was a different series that follows the Karate Kid’s rival and the aggressive karate club which he had to quite literally beat, back in 1984.

When talking about tv series, I would be wrong to forget Alarm fur Cobra which was a German police series that ran for many seasons and is available with subtitles on Spanish tv.

Cobra was also the brand of a very popular car alarm but don't get alarmed by all these tv series, films and products with the name Cobra because I will explain the genius of this British tv show's name.

I say British tv series as the 1984 Cobra film starring Slyvester Stalone as a cop, also had a tv series spin-off called, you guessed it, Cobra.

Cobra is not a snake, a helicopter, a beer, a sports car or an alarm system for cars or a cop show like Alarm Fur Cobra in Germany or an 80's tv series in America. Cobra is Sky’s new series which deals with the very real government department, COBRA.

In the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster or the outbreak of Coronavirus for example, COBRA meets to assess the situation. Just like the Situation Room in the Whitehouse, I am sure COBRA meets with leading experts, law enforcement and government departments to manage the government's response.

COBra stands for Cabinet Office Briefings and the main meeting place for members of Cobra is in Room A.

COBRA is an anagram of Cabinet Office Briefings Room A but most people in Spain will be unaware of this committee group and the work that they do.

In the event of a terrorist attack or national emergency, COBRA will meet in Room A to discuss the threat or emergency. Either that or Hydra and Spectre have teamed up with G.I. Joe’s enemy and are operating in plain sight.

I think I will have to watch Sky's new series Cobra to really understand what is happening but at least you know what COBRA stands for even if the advertising campaign hasn't explained what Cobra is.