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Cobra Commander

Cobra Commander is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero franchise. He is the supreme leader of the terrorist organization Cobra and the archenemy of the G.I. Joe Team. He was portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and by Luke Bracey with the voice of Robert Baker in the 2013 sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

Profile
Cobra Commander is a fanatical leader who rules with an iron fist and demands total loyalty or allegiance. His objective is total control of the world's governments, people, wealth, and resources, brought about by revolution and chaos. He is believed to have personally led uprisings in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and other trouble spots, while being held responsible for kidnapping scientists, businessmen, and military leaders, forcing them to reveal their top level secrets.

Over the years, Cobra Commander has suffered assassination attempts, and even an imposter posing as him for a time. However, he always manages to find a way out of every situation, having become a constant foil for the G.I. Joe Team, who have ended up fighting Cobra almost exclusively. No matter how dire or unscathed, Cobra Commander's hatred and drive have only grown ruthless and more focused.

Dangerously destabilized, Cobra Commander's persona runs the gamut from friendly and charismatic, to terrifyingly brutal and psychopathic. His charm can twist intentions and morals, so that his rhetoric actually reads as plausible and relatable to his minions. Psychoanalysts who have studied his case files, have described him as an ingenious hustler with visions of grandeur, which makes him all the more dangerous. Most dictators are hampered by pretending to pursue a noble cause, but Cobra Commander does not have that problem. He hopes to fray the fabric of society, using terrorism, tyranny, and economic slavery, to uproot the existing power structures around the world.

The character was created by Marvel Comics writer Larry Hama, who envisioned the character as "being in love with the sound of his own voice", and drew inspiration from famous conservative pundit William F. Buckley.

Toys
Cobra Commander was first released as a mail-in figure in 1982. Wearing a light blue uniform and his signature battle helmet, early production runs were marked with an early version of the Cobra sigil, nicknamed the "Mickey Mouse" emblem for its more rounded shape. All of the original sixteen figures from 1982 were released with "straight arms". In 1983, the figure with the proper Cobra sigil was released on a card for mass market with "swivel-arm battle grip", which made it easier for figures to hold their rifles and accessories. In 1984, the Commander was offered again as a mail-away exclusive, this time in a darker blue, with the iconic hood that he wore prominently in the Marvel comics. This figure continued to be available as a mail-away figure until the line ended in 1994.

In 1987, a new Cobra Commander figure was designed, this time outfitting him in full-body battle armor. Cobra Commander was given another overhaul in 1991, wearing a blue and black ceremonial uniform, with an ornate redesign of his original battle helmet. Also in 1991, a "Talking Battle Commander" figure was released, featuring a blue and yellow uniform inspired by the hooded Cobra Commander figure. This figure was repainted in black with silver accents, for 1993's Battle Corps subset. A 12" version of the Commander wearing the same uniform (blue with yellow accents) was released in 1993 as well. In 1994, Cobra Commander was suited up for space combat as part of the Star Brigade. Wearing a teal and purple spacesuit, the Commander's domed helmet was removable, revealing a masked head underneath. This face is similar to the sculpt which lay under the hood of the 12" figure, with dark hair, and a half mask covering his nose and mouth.

After the line was canceled in 1994, Hasbro made several attempts to resurrect A Real American Hero through repaint series. In 1997, Cobra Commander was released as part of the "Cobra Command Team" 3-pack, using the 1987 Battle Armor mold in a dark blue. In 2000, the Talking Battle Commander mold was repainted (sans talking backpack) in an even darker blue, with silver highlights, with a new character "Chameleon" (a Baroness doppelganger created to sidestep copyright problems). A second repaint of the 1987 figure was made available in 2001, in a muted version of its original color scheme. It was also a double-pack with the 'Laser-Viper' figure.

Modern
In 2002, the Commander was initially meant to be redesigned by Hasbro. After the more radical elements were removed, the Commander emerged as one of the least extreme make-overs of the line, once again sporting the iconic hood. A second Commander figure was released in 2003 for Spy Troops, featuring a more military look than the Commander has ever had before, and using the Commander's signature Battle Helmet. Both figures went on to be repainted multiple times in 2004's Valor vs. Venom line, including one version with an interchangeable helmet and hood.

A 12" Cobra Commander was released to coincide with the Spy Troops line, based on the same design as its smaller counterpart.

A version of Cobra Commander with no accessories came with the Built to Rule Cobra H.I.S.S. in 2004. The figure featured additional articulation with a mid-thigh cut joint, plus the forearms and calves of the figure sported places where blocks could be attached.

25th Anniversary
2007 was the 25th anniversary of the original launch of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. To celebrate, Hasbro created three boxed sets of brand new figures, featuring modern sculpt and updated and increased articulation (including the replacement of G.I. Joe's trademark O-ring construction). Cobra Commander was included in the inaugural Cobra set, along with Destro, Baroness, Storm Shadow, and a Cobra Trooper. The figure was rereleased on a single card, and repainted in black and gold for the "Cobra Legions" 5-pack, and in comic accurate colors for a Comic 2-Pack. Mirroring the vintage line, Cobra Commander was released with a hooded head sculpt in the first wave of single carded figures.

A second Cobra Commander sculpt, based on the 1987 Battle Armor figure, was released in early 2008. The Battle Helmet version from 2007 was repainted in cartoon accurate colors for a second single card release, and the "Cobra Senior Officers" 3-Pack. The hooded version was repainted for the "Crimson Guard" 3-Pack.

Marvel Comics (1982–1994)
Cobra Commander first appeared in the Marvel Comics series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #1 (June 1982).

While Cobra Commander's birth name and childhood are unknown, he is believed to be a North American citizen born in the mid-twentieth century. His only known relative, an older brother named Dan, enlisted in the military during the Vietnam War, and volunteered for repeated tours to spare his younger sibling from conscription. During this time, the man who would become Cobra Commander worked as a used car salesman. When Dan returned from Vietnam, he displayed deep psychological trauma, and took to self-destructive behavior, resulting in his death in a car collision with another family. Devastated by the loss of his brother, the future Cobra Commander blamed the family's survivor: another war veteran, against whom the young Cobra Commander formed an elaborate revenge scheme.

Cobra Commander tracked the former soldier to Japan, where he was training to become a member of the Arashikage ninja clan. The Commander approached the mercenary Firefly to assassinate the soldier, but Firefly referred Cobra Commander to Zartan, another assassin who infiltrated the clan, but ultimately killed the wrong man (the Hard Master). Storm Shadow was blamed for the murder, and his search for his uncle's killer would eventually lead him to join Cobra, where he would pledge loyalty to Cobra Commander as his personal bodyguard, in order to get close to him and find the real assassin. The soldier left the ninja clan soon after, to live in seclusion in the Sierra Nevada mountains, until enticed to return to service on the G.I. Joe team as Snake Eyes.

Cobra Commander returned to his wife and newborn son Billy, but when his wife found out what had happened in Japan, she threatened to go to the authorities. Cobra Commander abandoned his wife, taking Billy with him. Living on the road and earning a living by increasingly illicit scams and con jobs, the soon-to-be Commander blamed all his problems on the American social system, and traveled in search of people who shared his desire to topple big business and the government, using money earned from pyramid schemes to attract followers. It was during these early meetings that he first began wearing a blue hood to mask his civilian identity.

He then moved operations to Springfield, an average small American town which had suffered economic collapse. Through his criminal skills he revived Springfield's' fortunes, and used cash and charisma to win converts to his cause. Eventually he seized control of the entire town and used it as a base to grow his organization into the paramilitary group "Cobra". This corrupting rise to power distanced Cobra Commander from his son, enough that Billy eventually joined the underground anti-Cobra resistance. From Springfield, Cobra's agents spread throughout the world, overturning or subverting unstable governments to establish criminal networks and profitable arms trades. The organization also explored dangerous and experimental technology, including mind-scanners and battle robots. Cobra became a significant international threat, becoming so large that Cobra Commander could no longer control it on his own. He created a "High Command" of his most skilled lieutenants, which included Zartan, Baroness Anastasia DeCobray, Scottish arms dealer James McCullen Destro, and Australian mercenary Major Sebastian Bludd.

This led to frequent power-struggles within the organization, and ultimately the Baroness and Major Bludd enacted a plot to assassinate the Commander, and seize control of Cobra. In a twist of fate, the conspirators recruited Billy to carry out the assassination, but he was intercepted by Destro. Cobra Commander had no qualms about torturing his own son to unearth the conspiracy, yet Billy refused to surrender who had sponsored the hit. Storm Shadow later freed Billy, and they both escaped to New York, where Storm Shadow trained him in ninjitsu. Billy was later caught in the crossfire between the Soft Master and Cobra agent Scrap-Iron, resulting in an explosion which seemingly killed Billy and several others.

During a failed assault on the Pit, the secret headquarters of G.I. Joe, Cobra Commander and Destro were separated from the main Cobra force by an explosion and presumed dead. The two escaped and assumed civilian disguises to travel incognito. Cobra Commander was depicted as an average, physically fit Caucasian with a pony tail, large round green-spectacle sunglasses, and a long slender mustache. Although only a convenient disguise at the time, this civilian look would resurface on subsequent unmaskings. A police officer soon recognized the Commander from a picture carried by an accident victim: the Commander's son Billy, who had survived the explosion, but lost a leg and an eye. Unnerved by the discovery, the Commander swore to take responsibility for Billy's condition, and promised to be a better father.

Still incognito, the Commander traveled to Denver where he sought out the undercover Crimson Guard agent Fred VII, a mechanical genius. Billy eventually awoke from the coma, with acute amnesia (and a new motorized prosthetic leg built by Fred). After an encounter with the Blind Master and Storm Shadow's cousin Jinx, Billy recovered his memory and immediately rejected his father, whereupon the Commander renounced the organization he had founded, declaring that his ambitions had cost him the only things that truly mattered. Fred VII, in return, shot Cobra Commander in the back, apparently killing him.

Fred VII then impersonated the Commander himself, traveling to Cobra Island to vie for control of Cobra with Serpentor (eventually sparking the Cobra Civil War). Unknown to Fred VII, he had been under surveillance by another Crimson Guardsman when he buried the Commander's body. This agent discovered that Cobra Commander was not dead, and brought him back to health. Thereafter, the Commander formed an underground network of loyal agents within Cobra, and rebuilt his personal fortune and influence. When Doctor Mindbender went to harvest DNA from Cobra Commander's body for the creation of a new leader, he discovered the empty grave, upon which the original Cobra Commander revealed himself and seized open control of Cobra.

Hardened by his "death" and betrayal at the hands of those he once thought loyal, the resurgent Commander was even more ruthless than before. His first act was to eliminate those who tried to murder him or subsequently learned of the act: Fred VII, Raptor, Firefly, Mindbender, Zartan, Billy, and numerous unnamed Cobra personnel, all of whom he had buried alive within a volcano. Later, he established a brainwashing program to compel allegiance from those around him, including Destro, the Baroness, Zartan, Storm Shadow, and Billy. The returned Commander was far more willing to kill, pulling the trigger himself rather than relying on others to kill for him, as when he murdered the Borovian rebels Magda and the White Clown.

As Marvel's G.I. Joe series drew to a close, Cobra Commander and Snake Eyes finally battled each other in issue #150. Snake Eyes eventually won against an armored Cobra Commander, but the Commander would have the last laugh, as he captured Storm Shadow and successfully brainwashed him back to the allegiance of Cobra. Shortly afterward, Cobra forces in Europe fell to a unified attack by regular military forces. In the wake of this conflict, most of Cobra's high command disappeared, and Cobra Commander himself became an international fugitive. Soon after, the military disbanded the G.I. Joe team.

Devil's Due (2001–2008)
Among the few revisions Devil's Due instituted was the expansion of Cobra Commander's origin. After his brother's death, the future Commander sought out the surviving son of the family killed by Dan. He found the soldier (Snake Eyes) at a bar, where the Commander saved him from an oncoming truck and the two became friends. They traveled from state to state, acting as vigilantes. One night, Cobra Commander took Snake Eyes to the house of a corrupt Judge who he blamed for the hardships they had both experienced: years before, the judge had presided over a case involving Cobra Commander's brother Dan, who ran a veteran's hospital. The hospital had been burned down by a patient, but the judge ruled that it was insurance fraud; Dan lost everything and turned to drinking, which led to the crash that took his life and the lives of Snake Eyes' family. Realizing where his anger had taken him, Snake Eyes refused to kill the man and walked away. Cobra Commander killed the judge himself and vowed revenge against Snake Eyes for having turned on him.

Years after the G.I. Joe Team has disbanded, Kamakura finds evidence that Cobra Commander has returned to the United States. Snake Eyes forwards this information to Duke, who uses it to have the G.I. Joe Team reinstated. Cobra Commander calls together the members of his organization, to let them know about his plan to take over the United States with nano-mites. Destro is the last to arrive, but after hearing the Commander's plan, he turns the tables on Cobra Commander, and takes control of Cobra.

Cobra Commander eventually regains control with the help of Storm Shadow, and creates plans to get revenge on both Destro and Hawk. Later, Storm Shadow breaks free of Cobra's mind control, and contacts Billy for help. Billy recruits Snake Eyes and Kamakura to assist him in rescuing Storm Shadow, but not before Cobra Commander brainwashes him again. A battle between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow ends in a stalemate, leaving Storm Shadow in the control of Cobra Commander.

A distress call from T'Jbang leads the Joes to Tibet, where Cobra Commander and Storm Shadow are hiding with the Red Ninja clan. Snake Eyes defeats their leader Sei Tin, and becomes the new master of the Red Ninja clan. The Joes are then sent on a mission to Cobra Island, where Cobra Commander has returned to power. Meanwhile, Destro is double-crossed by the president of Sierra Gordo, and makes a deal with Duke to deliver Cobra Commander. Destro is traded for Cobra Commander, but not before the Commander shoots Hawk in the back, and in turn is shot from behind by the Baroness. Cobra Commander is freed by the Dreadnoks, and revealed to have been Zartan in disguise.

Cobra Commander takes back complete control of Cobra, and sends a unit to destroy The Pit, as Cobra discovers a weather control weapon named the Tempest, and moves it to their new Monolith Base in Badhikstan. Cobra uses the Tempest to unleash the Deathangel Virus on the county of Badhi, as G.I. Joe attacks Cobra's new stronghold. Cobra Commander escapes, but not before shooting Dr. Mindbender, who dies helping G.I. Joe to disable the Tempest. The Red Shadows organization then steps forward, targeting members of both G.I. Joe and Cobra. They are defeated by G.I. Joe, and the team is then deactivated by order of the President, given that Cobra as an organization has fractured, although Cobra Commander remains at large.

America's Elite
One year after the previous series, satellites begin falling out of orbit and crashing into major cities, resulting in massive civilian casualties. Thinking that Cobra is responsible for the attacks, the G.I. Joe Team is reactivated to deal with the new threat. The team eventually discovers that a man named Vance Wingfield, who once attempted to start a nuclear war and was presumed dead, is behind the attacks. Meanwhile, Cobra Commander, who has been rebuilding his forces since the end of the previous series, infiltrates the U.S. government by disguising himself as White House Chief of Staff Garrett Freelowe. He tries to convince the President to shut down the G.I. Joe team. When he fails, he creates a new team called the Phoenix Guard led by General Philip Rey, a former G.I. Joe commander. The Phoenix Guard infiltrates G.I. Joe headquarters, and manages to capture several Joes, until General Rey discovers the true identities of the Phoenix Guard members. G.I. Joe then captures most of the Phoenix Guard, and after the failed attack on G.I. Joe headquarters, Cobra Commander abandons the White House.

The Baroness then pursues a campaign of revenge against her betrayers, Cobra Commander and Wraith. During her quest, she finds Wraith in a club in Prague, and lures him into a cemetery where she confronts and defeats him, shooting him in the head. She trades his armor to the Red Shadows, in exchange for information on the whereabouts of Cobra Commander. The Baroness locates the Commander in Honduras, but finds that Destro, her husband, is also present. After a brief fight, Destro agrees to trade the M.A.R.S. corporation, his Iron Grenadier forces, and his eldest son Alexander to Cobra Commander, in exchange for his and the Baroness' baby. Cobra Commander avoids capture, by revealing that he possesses the personal information of every G.I. Joe agent, because of his time working in the White House.

Cobra Commander uses his control of M.A.R.S. weapons to create conflict all over the globe, in a last bid to gain control of the world. G.I. Joe counters by going on the offensive, mobilizing the entire G.I. Joe roster, and launching missions to capture Cobra agents still at large. Meanwhile, Cobra Commander recruits soldier Nick Bailey, making him the last member of a new elite Cobra unit code-named "The Plague". The main G.I. Joe team heads to Israel, where they help stop an assassination attempt. While the team is away, Cobra Commander attacks Washington, D.C., taking over the White House and capturing the President. Cobra also takes over Fort Meade, while Alexander McCullen attacks London and France with the Iron Grenadiers.

Cobra Commander then sends Tomax and a squad of Night Creepers to "The Coffin", a prison in Greenland created to hold all of G.I. Joe's captured enemies. Tomax manages to free Major Bludd and several others, while killing those Cobra Commander considered "loose ends". Dela Eden, who had been freed from The Coffin, is recruited by Cobra Commander to find Destro and the Baroness, in order to kill them. Cobra takes over several nuclear arsenals, including one in Suffolk, England. As a warning, Cobra Commander detonates a nuclear bomb in The Empty Quarter, and then broadcasts an ultimatum on television for world leaders to accede to his authority, or he will start choosing populated targets. Billy, Cobra Commander's son, confronts his father at Fort Meade and tries to kill him. He fails, and Cobra Commander kills him instead, hanging Billy's body from a flagpole, with a message that no one is untouchable.

After the Joes defeat a plan by Cobra Commander to blow up nukes in the Amazon and Antarctica, Cobra Commander and The Plague retreat to a secret base in the Appalachian Mountains, where the first Cobra soldiers were trained. When the Joes attack the Appalachian base, General Colton is shot in the back by Cobra Commander, but survives. The battle ends, when Hawk tackles Cobra Commander, and knocks him out with a punch to the face. In the aftermath, the Joes are still active and fully funded, and Cobra Commander is locked away in a special underwater prison.

Hasbro later announced that all stories published by Devil's Due Publishing are no longer considered canonical, and are now considered an alternate continuity.

IDW Publishing (2008–2018)
In IDW's series, "The Commander" is a title and rank, not an individual, and there have been numerous Commanders in the past: they have been elected and placed in power by a ruling body called the Cobra Council.

The first Cobra Commander was a well-known, famous businessman, operating as the Commander in secret. His uniform was a suit and tie, with gloves and variation of the silver face mask. Rather than having an army helmet over the blank face plate mask, the lower portion of the mask has fangs engraved around the jaw line. Unlike other incarnations of the character, this version of Cobra Commander – usually just called "the Commander" – is extremely reclusive, and his existence is only known to only select high-profile Cobra subordinates (such as the twins Tomax and Xamot and the Baroness). Cobra Commander's personality is also much more passive-aggressive and introspective; having captured the G.I. Joe spy Chuckles, Cobra Commander refuses to allow Tomax and Xamot to kill the spy, opting instead to personally recruit Chuckles, by taking him into his confidence and promising him revenge against Xamot.

In issue #12 of "G.I. Joe: Cobra", Xamot attempts to set up Cobra Commander to be killed and Chuckles to be blamed, only to learn the Commander has outmaneuvered him. Chuckles doesn't manage to kill the Commander, shooting him and missing. This is the first time a Commander has been killed in action, and a competition erupts in Cobra to find who will be the replacement, directed by the Cobra Council. The competition becomes a contest of who can kill the most Joes: competing Cobra agents include Baroness, Dr. Vargas, Major Bludd, Oda Satori, Tomax, Krake, and Raja Khallikhan. Baroness does not believe the Council would make her the Commander as she's a woman – not that this stops her from killing Joes.

Krake wins the competition, largely by revealing that he had killed and replaced one of his rivals with Zartan, doubling his kill score and showing the initiative to break the rules to win. Krake's origin would be given in Cobra Annual 2012: born in Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle during a battle and named Tiger Eyes, he grew up as a child laborer and later child soldier for drug gangs. He was named Krake by Major Bludd, who was impressed when he told Krake he had a spy in his gang and the man responded by killing every other member. Krake was invited to join Cobra, initially resisting but later providing the means to take over several Chinese triads.

The first action Krake takes as Commander is to openly invade the Southeast Asian nation of Nanzhao and steal its gold reserves. During the invasion, he destroys heroin poppy fields, so it initially looks to the world like Cobra is overthrowing a brutal regime and fighting the drug trade; it also drives up the price of heroin, a drug Cobra deals in. The Cobra Council are then slaughtered by Krake's agents, giving him full command of Cobra. Writers Chuck Dixon and Mike Costa have said that while the previous Commander allowed his subordinates to "pursue their own goals so long as they kick back to him" and was content to "profit invisibly", Krake "wants to be known and wants to be powerful, and wants to rule the world in the most supervillainy sense... With his leadership, Cobra shifts from a sneaky, shadowy cabal to an actual military presence."

G.I. Joe: Origins involves a psychotic ex-stock broker, who murders his family and several law enforcement officers when his crimes are discovered. Calling himself "the Chimera" and gathering a militia around him, he is one of the first villains that G.I. Joe faces. It is also noted that he started the sub-prime mortgage crisis of the late 2000s. Larry Hama had intended him to be Cobra Commander, but this idea was dropped with the introduction of the Cobra Council, and has not been seen since Origins #5. It has not been specified if he was indeed the Cobra Commander that Chuckles murdered.

UK continuities
In the UK Battle Action Force comic, Cobra Commander was originally known as Baron Ironblood, leader of the Red Shadows, a ruthless terrorist organization. The Red Shadows were legions of brainwashed fanatic soldiers armed with sophisticated, high-tech weapons. The group was declared the single greatest threat to world security by the UN, with Ironblood being labeled "World Enemy #1".

In 1985, Hasbro began moves to market G.I. Joe in the UK, under the Action Force name. This would affect the comic version of Battle Action Force, as the writers were to get rid of the Red Shadows and Baron Ironblood and replace them with Cobra and Cobra Commander. To preserve continuity within the comic, the decision was made to transform Baron Ironblood in to the Action Force version of Cobra Commander.

The transition came as Baron Ironblood grew tired of his group's failures and decided to destroy the Red Shadows, by secretly informing Action Force of the group's bases. Going into hiding, Ironblood relocated to Southeast Asia, where he had plastic surgery on his face, constructed a new mask and costumed identity (that of Cobra Commander), and underwent extensive treatment to give him immunity towards all forms of snake venom (a process known as mithridatism). He then began the process of recruiting a new inner circle and organisation, known as Cobra.

Unfortunately for Ironblood, his illicit fortune to finance this new army is stolen by former Red Shadow member, Red Jackal, who he is forced to rebuild as a cyborg (and rechristened as "Destro"). Furthermore, both surviving members of the Red Shadows and the retooled Action Force repeatedly foil his plans. In the final Battle Action Force storyline, after an attempt to locate the headquarters of the Action Force team fails and leads to a crushing defeat of his forces, Ironblood/Cobra Commander goes insane and collapses into a near catatonic state.

In Action Force Weekly, Cobra Commander is a featured character starting from issue #1, where he is depicted as bald. Destro believes Cobra Commander's excesses are the greatest risk to Cobra's success.

Sunbow
In the first season of the original 1980s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero animated series, Cobra Commander is the leader of Cobra, described in the show's opening theme as "A ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world". His face is always covered, either by a featureless chrome mask concealing his entire face or by a hood with eye-hole cutouts. He wears a blue military uniform, occasionally sporting a cape and carrying a scepter, depending on the occasion. His distinctively shrill, raspy voice was provided by Chris Latta. He had a knack for concocting creative schemes for world domination – including cloned dinosaurs, giant amoebas, miniaturized troops stowed away inside Christmas presents, and using a super-laser to gleefully carve a picture of his face on the moon – plans which his immediate subordinates, particularly Destro, often blasted as ridiculous. The writers later commented that they only found Cobra Commander's personality when they stopped writing him as an Adolf Hitler-type and started writing him more in the vein of Yosemite Sam.

Season 2 opened with the 5-episode mini-series Arise, Serpentor, Arise! in which Doctor Mindbender, disillusioned with Cobra Commander, decides to literally create a new leader to replace him. Acting as an operation to create a super-soldier, Cobra agents are sent around the world to collect DNA samples retrieved from the tombs of history's most notorious conquerors and military leaders to genetically craft Cobra Commander's successor. Fortunately for the Commander, G.I. Joe interferes with the gene collection to deny the critical inclusion of Sun Tzu's DNA, and it is instead replaced with Sgt. Slaughter's. During the first attempt to create the ruler, Cobra Commander contaminates the DNA mixture with a mutated virus, causing a rampaging monster. The second attempt is successful due to Scrap-Iron stopping Cobra Commander from sabotaging the experiment again, thus giving birth to Serpentor, who immediately assumes charge of Cobra and deposes the erstwhile Commander to the status of "lackey". Serpentor soon orders an attack on Washington, D.C., with the Commander in handcuffs. Cobra Commander convinces Dr. Mindbender to free him, as he knows how to use a weapon, and rescues the high command from certain disaster. He saves himself by convincing Serpentor that he truly needs him as a scapegoat.

Thereafter, Cobra Commander seems to be employed as Cobra's primary field commander, while Serpentor leads mostly from the Terrordrome. Serpentor even allows Cobra Commander to be the organization's second-in-command, a decision tolerated by the rest of the Cobra High Command. Cobra Commander spends much of Season 2 trying to reclaim his former glory from under Serpentor's domineering shadow, assembling his own secret society called The Coil to that end.

G.I. Joe: The Movie explains Cobra Commander's origin in full, while yet contradicting background information previously established in the animated series. Cobra Commander was a scientist and nobleman from the ancient, pre-human society of Cobra-La, now hidden in the Himalayas. Although humanoid in appearance, he has pale blue skin, no hair, and eyes with snake-like pupils. He was disfigured by volatile spores in a laboratory accident, mutating an array of eight additional eyes upon his visage, thus explaining why he wears a mask. Despite this deformity, his ambition was recognized by Cobra-La's ruler, Golobulus, and he was chosen to venture from their isolated Himalayan kingdom to establish an army for the razing of human civilization and reemergence of Cobra-La: that army is Cobra. This origin stands in contrast to the episode "Twenty Questions", where the Commander told an interviewing journalist that he was responsible for spearheading a mutiny at his military academy in his youth. In other episodes, aforementioned reactions to off-screen unmaskings or glimpses of the Commander's features are not in keeping with the inhumanly blue-skinned, reptile-man portrayed in the film.

In light of Cobra's constant failures, Golobulus decides to put the Commander on trial, via a kangaroo court, and punishes him by forcing his further exposure to the spores; their effect begins to devolve him into a snake. He escapes with Joe member Roadblock, but Cobra Commander's "humanity" slips away as his body transforms. He literally loses his human form, ultimately becoming mentally unresponsive and transforming into an oversized snake, as he repeatedly hisses "I was once a man!" During the Joe assault on Cobra-La, he is last seen coming to Lt. Falcon's rescue during the final battle and foils Serpentor's attack, allowing G.I. Joe to defeat Cobra-La and save the world.

A third season following the events of the movie was planned. In the storyline of Season 3, the Coil would become a criminal organization led by Tomax and Xamot and serve as the Joes' new enemy. For the first half of the season, Cobra Commander would be a secret character shifting alliances between G.I. Joe and the Coil, in order to destroy them both and rebuild Cobra, and in the second half, reveal himself in mutated form. The season was never produced, as the Sunbow series was abruptly canceled by Hasbro.

DiC series
After the movie, as seen in the sequel G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series, Cobra Commander is still in his snake form and kept as a pet by Serpentor. However, Baroness restores him partly to a semi-human form—through exposure to an ancient primordial energy called Dragonfire, which is the focal point of the first five episodes of the new series. The basic shape of his body is humanoid, his skin and features are reptilian and he retains a taste for flies that he catches with his prehensile tongue. His intellect is fully restored, and upon being outfitted with his battle armor, Cobra Commander once again appears to be a humanoid male. He regains control of Cobra, and even dispatches Serpentor, using the new found Dragonfire energy to temporarily turn him into an oversized iguana. Cobra Commander's inhuman origins are never mentioned again, and he is never shown to have reptilian features again. In Season 2, he resumes wearing his original cloth mask, and his eyes and skin appear to be completely human.

Chris Latta returned to voice Cobra Commander for the duration of the DiC series, credited in both seasons as Christopher Collins.

Transformers
Cobra Commander appeared in the third season of the Transformers episode "Only Human". Set in the then-future year 2006, a trench-coated underground weapons dealer going by the name "Old Snake" is approached by crime lord Victor Drath, who wishes to purchase synthoid technology (as seen in a few episodes of the G.I. Joe animated series). Old Snake transfers the minds of Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Arcee and Springer into synthoid bodies, leaving their robotic shells for Drath's use in criminal activities.

Although it is never explicitly stated that "Old Snake" is actually an aged Cobra Commander, his raspy voice is again provided by Chris Latta, he wears the character's distinctive silver mask, and has visible traces of his blue uniform underneath his trench coat. He is identified in dialogue as the former leader of a terrorist organization that developed synthoid technology. At the end of the episode, Drath and his men are arrested, and Old Snake, being able to evade the authorities, laments about terrorists not being what they once were. He raises his fists skyward and starts to give the rally cry of Cobra, but breaks prematurely into a hacking cough.

This version of Cobra Commander was commemorated with the unlicensed "Snake" toy produced by Headrobots, limited to 300 pieces, and officially in 2015 as part of the G.I. Joe and the Transformers line released by Hasbro through the Transformers Collectors' Club. According to the profile included with the latter figure, Old Snake further experimented with Transformer technology, and after a failed experiment dubbed Serpent O.R., he revived the Battle Android Trooper program, creating the Advanced Stealth B.A.T., capable of transforming into an unmanned aerial vehicle.

Sgt. Savage and the Screaming Eagles
Cobra Commander appears briefly in the pilot episode of Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles, having a video conference with General Blitz concerning the relationship between Cobra and Blitz's I.R.O.N. Army. He wears the uniform of his 1992 action figure, and is voiced by Scott McNeil in this appearance. General Blitz refers to ties between the two groups, and states that he had helped create Cobra. He then threatens to destroy Cobra if Cobra Commander interferes with Blitz's mission, but the Commander does not seem intimidated.

Spy Troops and Valor vs. Venom
Cobra Commander appeared in the direct-to-video CGI animated movies G.I. Joe: Spy Troops and G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom, voiced by Michael Dobson.

G.I. Joe: Resolute
In the miniseries, Cobra Commander is portrayed in a darker incarnation than the one in Sigma 6, revealing the attributes of cowardice and hysterics to have been only a mask for weeding out traitors and such among his organization, as well as to motivate his followers to think for themselves. He executes a plan to achieve world dominion through the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program with a prototype particle beam weapon to hold the world hostage. He is portrayed as utterly ruthless, casually destroying all of Moscow just to demonstrate the beam's power to the United Nations and killing anyone in his organization who shows incompetence or threatens his command, such as Sebastian Bludd. Over the course of the story, Cobra Commander becomes more unhinged as his scheme unravels and his underlings are killed/captured, choosing to strike cities randomly instead of waiting for the United Nations to respond to his demands. Ordering his troops to defend the Springfield base where he has hidden himself, Cobra Commander slaughters his control team for the particle superweapon and takes shelter in a bunker as Duke arrives to disable the weapon, now aimed at the U.S. capital. As he gloats about his victory, Duke recalibrates the weapon to fire at Springfield instead, and Cobra Commander desperately tries to escape the nigh-indestructible bunker that Duke had forced shut as Springfield is destroyed. Despite this, Cobra Commander was found to be missing from the bunker when Duke made a return to the site. Cobra Commander was voiced by Charlie Adler.

G.I. Joe: Renegades
In the series G.I. Joe: Renegades, Cobra Commander is reinterpreted as a corporate businessman known as Adam DeCobray, CEO of the legitimate Cobra Industries, a multinational conglomerate which serves as a front for his terrorist organization, it is also revealed that Adam DeCobray isn't his real name. He is egotistical, but nowhere as arrogant and pompous in his promotional speechmaking as some of his other incarnations. Suffering a disfiguring terminal condition that resorts to him wearing a full breathing mask covered by plastic shielding wrap, Cobra Commander is forced to appear to the public as a normal-looking virtual simulation over video screens with only a few like Baroness knowing of his true appearance. Only Doctor Mindbender knows the full truth of his condition as Cobra Commander funds the scientist's research in hopes to achieve immortality. Charlie Adler reprises the role of Cobra Commander for this series.

While he is more ruthless and less incompetent than his previous versions, Cobra Commander still has an affinity for big, expensive schemes such as building a transcontinental, maglev train network to move weapons and resources across the country, making armies of Bio-Viper soldiers, and later the M.A.S.S. teleportation device. He doesn't participate in field work, carrying out most of his day-to-day activities from a high-tech bunker located under his mansion.

Sigma 6
In G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, Cobra Commander's profile has been modified, stating that he considers himself a warrior king. This rendition of the character possesses snake-like eyes as well as full battle armor. He wears a helmet that resembles a snake's head and covers his face with a hood. The snake staff he carries contains a number of hidden weapons systems. In the Sigma 6 animated series, the Commander was voiced by Marc Thompson. At the series conclusion, most of Cobra has been captured but Cobra Commander and Firefly are still at large.

Sigma 6 figures were heavily stylized with help by the Japanese animation company Gonzo. The Cobra Commander was released in the "Commando" collection in a new 8" scale, in 2006. Wearing body armor and a cape, the Commander still donned his iconic hood with a battle helmet on top of it. As an action figure, Cobra Commander had a spinning wheel built into his chest, which registered battle damage if hit. A repaint of this figure, without the battle-damage feature and new weapons, was released in black and silver. A second, more radical repaint followed in 2007, with the Commander's armor painted silver, and an air chariot included as an accessory.

The Commander was also released in the 2.5" line, initially as part of the "B.A.T. Attack" figure 4-pack. A second version was included with the H.I.S.S. Tank.

Live action films
Cobra Commander appears in the movie G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Gordon-Levitt wore a mask and prosthetic makeup underneath. Upon seeing concept art of the role he was being offered, Gordon-Levitt signed on because; "I saw the designs and drawings of the way they interpreted my character for this movie – the costume, the whole getup – and I was like, 'Oh, wow. I get to be that guy? Fantastic. Sign me up. Please. Thank you.'" Gordon-Levitt described his vocal performance as being half reminiscent of Chris Latta's voice for the 1980s cartoon, but also half his own ideas, because he felt rendering it fully would sound ridiculous. The hood was not used in the movie, due to concerns that it would resemble the hood used by the KKK.

For most of the movie, he is referred to as The Doctor, a "mad" scientist working with James McCullen researching military uses of nanomites. It is revealed that he was Rexford G. "Rex" Lewis, the younger brother of Ana Lewis, and once a military science officer alongside Duke, his friend and mentor. When an enemy East African location is destroyed prematurely by an air strike, Rex is presumed dead. However, just prior to the explosion, Rex witnessed McCullen's experimental research on nanomites, conducted by Doctor Mindbender. Surviving the incident, scarred & requiring a special mask to breathe, Rex learns from Mindbender and perfects the nanomites. He uses his own sister as a test subject in creating the Neo-Vipers, making her the Cobra agent known as the Baroness. Rex holds a grudge against Duke for leaving him to die. When Duke is captured, Rex reveals himself, as he attempts to inject Duke with the nanomites, the Baroness overcomes her programming and saves Duke, while Rex escapes with a badly burned McCullen. Rex uses specially made nanomites to heal McCullen's face, which also encases it in a living, silver-like metal. Dubbing him "Destro", Rex puts on a new breathing mask and tells McCullen to call him Commander. Although he is arrested and placed in a high security prison aboard the USS Flagg, Cobra Commander's master plan has only begun, with Zartan disguised as the President of the United States.

Cobra Commander returns in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, played by Australian actor Luke Bracey and voiced by Robert Baker. Director Jon Chu suggested in a March 2012 interview that this Cobra Commander is not the same character played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Rise of Cobra, but in May 2012 confirmed that the Cobra Commander of Retaliation is indeed still Rex Lewis. He features an altered appearance from the first film, more similar to his helmeted look from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon.

In the movie, Cobra Commander has been transferred from the FLAGG to another high-security prison in Germany alongside Destro, where he is being force-fed a paralyzing drug whilst floating in a water chamber. He is soon broken out by Storm Shadow and Firefly, but Destro is left behind and Storm Shadow is injured as the base is destroyed. After sending Storm Shadow off to the Himalayas to heal, Cobra Commander retreats to his own base of operations, where he meets with Zartan (still disguised as the President). They reveal Project Zeus, a super weapon, which uses kinetic bombardment and targets several prominent cities. Cobra Commander demonstrates the magnitude of the weapon's power in front of the world's leaders by destroying London. The Joes are able to stop Cobra Commander before he unleashes the full power of Zeus, but the terrorist leader escapes after the deaths of Zartan and Firefly.

Cobra Commander will be appearing in G.I. Joe: Ever Vigilant for a cameo.

Video games

 * Cobra Commander is one of the featured villains in the 1985 G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero computer game.
 * Cobra Commander appeared as the final boss in the 1991 G.I. Joe video game, in 1992's G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and Konami's G.I. Joe arcade game.
 * In the video game G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, he is the fourth and final boss, who is fought towards the end of the "Cobra Base" act. Joseph Gordon-Levitt reprises his role.
 * Cobra Commander appears in the 2020 video game, G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout.

Other works
Cobra Commander's figure is briefly featured in the fiction novel 6 Sick Hipsters. In the story, the character Paul Achting spent four years collecting G.I. Joe figures to set up a battle scene between the Joes and Cobra. As he imagined the characters in his head, he observed the "core of Cobra Command" atop an oak toy chest, high above the thick shag carpet, and "the hooded Cobra Commander, looking like a blue klansman, was loading his black laser pistol and making small talk with Destro".

Cobra Commander is briefly featured in the webcomic Casey and Andy by Andy Weir, in which his new mask is mistakenly delivered to Doctor X and vice versa.

The commander's business ventures and identity issues are discussed in the non-fiction book Powerplay.

His works with secret bases is discussed in the paperback Saturday Morning Fever.

His general background is examined in the non-fiction The End of Victory Culture.

The merits of Destro versus Cobra Commander is discussed by Iraqi soldiers in the autobiography by veteran Matt Gallagher.

title: Cobra Commander


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David Cummings (musician)

David Cummings (sometimes credited as Dave Cummings) is a British musician and scriptwriter. He is best known for writing for British television comedies such as The Fast Show, and for being a guitarist in Del Amitri between 1989 and 1995.

He was educated at Collyer’s School and the University of East Anglia, where he earned a degree in English & American Studies. It was while studying at the UEA that he met Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson, who later went on to create The Fast Show. At this time, however, Higson was mostly interested in music, and Cummings was a founder member of his band, The Higsons, who gained some cult popularity at the time.

After graduating, Cummings moved to London, where he continued playing guitar, notably in the cult band Bonsai Forest featuring Paul Whitehouse on lead guitar. In 1989 he joined the Scottish group Del Amitri after the departure of their guitarist Mick Slaven, being pictured on the cover of the 1990 album Waking Hours even though he joined after the material had already been recorded.

Cummings played on the next two Del Amitri albums, Change Everything in 1992 and Twisted in 1995, as well as on various tours, including an appearance at Woodstock '94. However, at the end of their United States tour of 1995, which saw them riding on the crest of a top ten hit there with the song Roll to Me, Cummings decided to leave the band. He thought all the touring might put a strain on his marital life, and his departure is documented - and somewhat dramatised - on the band's tongue-in-cheek 1996 tour diary video release Let's Go Home.

Even before his departure from the band, since 1994 Cummings had begun to move into scriptwriting, working with Whitehouse on material for comedian Harry Enfield's Harry Enfield and Chums sketch show broadcast on BBC One.

His friendship with Whitehouse and Higson led to Del Amitri appearing in an episode of their BBC Two sketch show The Fast Show in 1995, and after his departure from the band Cummings turned full-time to television scriptwriting.

As well as continuing to write for The Fast Show until its conclusion in 2000, Cummings co-wrote with Whitehouse the sitcom Happiness (BBC Two, 2000–01) and the feature film Kevin and Perry Go Large, which was a spin-off from Harry Enfield and Chums.

In 2014, he appeared in The Life of Rock with Brian Pern as John, the bassist of the fictional prog rock band Thotch.

In 2015, he helped co-write Paul Whitehouse's sitcom Nurse, based on his Radio 4 show of the same name, which debuted on BBC 2 on 10 March.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: David Cummings (musician)


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Alternative music

Alternative music may refer to the following types of music:

 * Independent music
 * Alternative rock
 * Alternative pop
 * Alternative R&B
 * Neo soul, sometimes known as alternative soul
 * Alternative reggaeton
 * Alternative hip hop
 * Alternative dance
 * Alternative metal
 * Christian alternative rock
 * Indie folk, sometimes referred to as alternative folk
 * Alternative country

title: Alternative music


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Eduardo Risso

Eduardo Risso (born 23 November 1959) is an Argentine comics artist. In the United States he is best known for his work with writer Brian Azzarello on the Vertigo title 100 Bullets, while in Argentina and Europe he is noted for his collaborations with Ricardo Barreiro and Carlos Trillo. He has received much acclaim for his work.

He is the main creator of the popular Argentine comic convention Crack Bang Boom; a massive event which is held annually in the city of Rosario and is considered as the most important of its type in South America.

Biography
Risso was born in Leones in Córdoba Province, Argentina, and started as a cartoonist in 1981, drawing his first collaborations for the morning newspaper La Nación and the magazines Eroticón and Satiricón, all published by Editorial Columba. In 1986, he worked for Eura Editoriale of Rome, Italy, and in 1987 he drew Parque Chas, scripted by Ricardo Barreiro. The series was first published by Fierro in Argentina and then by Totem in Spain,  Comic Art in Italy and finally the complete series as an album in France, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and the United States. In 1988, he drew Cain, again scripted by Barreiro.

Later that same year, Risso drew Fulù, scripted by Carlos Trillo, published in Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, and in Argentina in the Puertitas magazine. The Trillo-Risso duo also created Simon: An American Tale, published in Italy and France, Borderline, published in Italy and Chicanos, published in Italy and France.

Risso and writer Brian Azzarello launched the 100 Bullets series for Vertigo in August 1999. Azzarello and Risso collaborated on several Batman stories as well including "Broken City" in Batman #620–625 (December 2003 – May 2004); a Batman serial for Wednesday Comics #1–12 (2009); and the Flashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance limited series in 2011. Other projects from the team include Spaceman and the 100 Bullets: Brother Lono limited series. Risso and writer J. Michael Straczynski produced the Before Watchmen: Moloch two-issue limited series in 2013. Paul Dini's Dark Night: A True Batman Story graphic novel was drawn by Risso in 2016. He also started work on the Image Comics series Moonshine.

In 2010 he created the Argentine event Crack Bang Boom, a comics/Argentine comics, cartoon, cosplay, fantasy and science-fiction convention, which is annually held in the city of Rosario. Hosted and organized by Risso with a group of collaborators and with support from the Municipality of Rosario, Crack Bang Boom has become the most famous convention of its type in Argentina, as well as one of the most important events for the comics world in South America.

Awards
Risso has won four Eisner Awards for his work on 100 Bullets with Brian Azzarello. He won for the "Best Serialized Story" in 2001; for "Best Continuing Series" in 2002 and 2004; and for "Best Artist" in 2002. He won the Harvey Award for "Best Artist" in 2002 and 2003.

Covers only

 * Red Sonja #5 (Dynamite Entertainment, 2006)
 * Superman #700 (DC Comics, 2010)
 * First Wave #5 (DC Comics, 2011)
 * Before Watchmen: Comedian #1 (DC Comics, 2012)

title: Eduardo Risso


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Decaffeination

Decaffeination is the removal ("de-") of caffeine from coffee beans, cocoa, tea leaves, and other caffeine-containing materials. Decaffeinated products are commonly termed by the abbreviation decaf. Decaffeinated drinks contain typically 1–2% of the original caffeine content, but sometimes as much as 20%.

Decaffeination of coffee
Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge performed the first isolation of caffeine from coffee beans in 1820, after the German poet Goethe heard about his work on belladonna extract, and requested he perform an analysis on coffee beans. Though Runge was able to isolate the compound, he did not learn much about the chemistry of caffeine itself, nor did he seek to use the process commercially to produce decaffeinated coffee.

Decaffeination processes
Various methods can be used for decaffeination of coffee. These methods take place prior to roasting and may use organic solvents such as dichloromethane or ethyl acetate, supercritical CO2, or water to extract caffeine from the beans, while leaving flavour precursors in as close to their original state as possible.

Direct method
The first commercially successful decaffeination process was invented by German merchant Ludwig Roselius and co-workers in 1903, after Roselius observed that a consignment of coffee beans accidentally soaked in sea water had lost most of their caffeine content while losing little of their flavour. The process was patented in 1906, and involved steaming coffee beans with various acids or bases, then using benzene as a solvent to remove the caffeine. Coffee decaffeinated this way was sold as Kaffee HAG after the company name Kaffee Handels-Aktien-Gesellschaft (Coffee Trading Company) in most of Europe, as Café Sanka in France and later as Sanka brand coffee in the United States. Café HAG and Sanka are now worldwide brands of Kraft Foods. Methods similar to those first developed by Roselius have continued to dominate, and are sometimes known as the direct organic solvent method. However, because of health concerns regarding benzene (which is recognized today as a carcinogen), other solvents, such as dichloromethane or ethyl acetate, are now used. The unroasted (green) beans are first steamed and then rinsed with the solvent which extracts the caffeine, while leaving other constituents largely unaffected. The process is repeated between 8 and 12 times until the caffeine content meets the required standard (97% of caffeine removed according to the US standard, or 99.9% caffeine-free by mass per the EU standard).

Indirect method
Another variation of Roselius' method is the indirect organic solvent method. In this method, instead of treating the beans directly, they are first soaked in hot water for several hours, then removed. The remaining water is treated with solvents (e.g. dichloromethane or ethyl acetate) to extract the caffeine from the water. As in other methods, the caffeine can then be separated from the organic solvent by simple evaporation. The same water is recycled through this two-step process with new batches of beans. An equilibrium is reached after several cycles, wherein the water and the beans have a similar composition except for the caffeine. After this point, the caffeine is the only material removed from the beans, so no coffee strength or other flavorings are lost. Because water is used in the initial phase of this process, indirect method decaffeination is sometimes referred to as "water-processed". This method was first mentioned in 1941, and people have made significant efforts to make the process more "natural" and a true water-based process by finding ways to process the caffeine out of the water in ways that circumvent the use of organic solvents.

Swiss Water process
An alternative method for removal of caffeine from coffee is the Swiss Water process. This process uses no organic solvents, and instead only water is used to decaffeinate beans. It is a technique first developed in Switzerland in 1933, and commercialized by Coffex S.A. in 1980. The Swiss Water process was then introduced by The Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company of Burnaby, British Columbia, in 1988.

The process uses green coffee extract (GCE) for the caffeine extraction mechanism. Green coffee extract is a solution containing the water-soluble components of green coffee except for the caffeine, obtained by soaking green coffee beans in hot water, then filtering through an activated charcoal filter to remove the caffeine molecules. Fresh beans containing both caffeine and the other components are added to the GCE solution, where the gradient pressure difference between the GCE (which is caffeine-lean) and the green coffee (which is caffeine-rich) causes the caffeine molecules to migrate from the green coffee into the GCE. Because GCE is saturated with the other water-soluble components of green coffee, only the caffeine molecules migrate to the GCE; the other water-soluble coffee elements are retained in the green coffee. The newly caffeine-rich GCE solution is then passed through the activated carbon filters to remove the caffeine again, and the process is repeated. The continuous batch process takes 8–10 hours to meet the final residual decaffeinated target.

Food engineer Torunn Atteraas Garin also developed a process to remove caffeine from coffee.

Triglyceride process
In this process, green coffee beans are soaked in a hot water and coffee solution to draw the caffeine to the surface of the beans. Next, the beans are transferred to another container and immersed in coffee oils that were obtained from spent coffee grounds and left to soak.

After several hours of high temperatures, the triglycerides in the oils remove the caffeine, but not the flavor elements, from the beans. The beans are separated from the oils and dried. The caffeine is removed from the oils, which are reused to decaffeinate another batch of beans. This is a direct-contact method of decaffeination.

Supercritical CO2 process
Food scientists have also turned to supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as a means of decaffeination. Developed by Kurt Zosel, a scientist of the Max Planck Institute, it uses CO2 (carbon dioxide), heated and pressurised above its critical point, to extract caffeine. Green coffee beans are steamed and then added to a high pressure vessel. A mixture of water and CO2 is circulated through the vessel at 300 atm and 65 °C. At this pressure and temperature CO2 is a supercritical fluid, with properties midway between a gas and a liquid. Caffeine dissolves into the CO2; but compounds contributing to the flavour of the brewed coffee are largely insoluble in CO2 and remain in the bean. In a separate vessel, caffeine is scrubbed from the CO2 with additional water. The CO2 is then recirculated to the pressure vessel.

Caffeine content of decaffeinated coffee
To ensure product quality, manufacturers are required to test the newly decaffeinated coffee beans to make sure that caffeine concentration is relatively low. A caffeine content reduction of at least 97% is required under United States standards. There is less than 0.1% caffeine in decaffeinated coffee and less than 0.3% in decaffeinated instant coffee in Canada. Many coffee companies use high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to measure how much caffeine remains in the coffee beans. However, since HPLC can be quite costly, some coffee companies are beginning to use other methods such as near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Although HPLC is highly accurate, NIR spectroscopy is much faster, cheaper and overall easier to use. Lastly, another method typically used to measure the remaining caffeine includes ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy: useful for decaffeination processes that include supercritical CO2, as CO2 does not absorb in the UV-Vis range.

A controlled study in 2006 at Florida State University of ten samples of prepared decaffeinated coffee from coffee shops showed that some caffeine remained. Fourteen to twenty cups of such decaffeinated coffee would contain as much caffeine as one cup of regular coffee. The 473 ml (16 ounce) cups of coffee samples contained caffeine in the range of 8.6 mg to 13.9 mg. In another study of popular brands of decaf coffees, the caffeine content varied from 3 mg to 32 mg. In contrast, a 237 ml (8 ounce) cup of regular coffee contains 95–200 mg of caffeine, and a 355 ml (12 ounce) serving of Coca-Cola contains 36 mg.

Decaffito
As of 2009, progress toward growing coffee beans that do not contain caffeine was still continuing. The term "Decaffito" has been coined to describe this type of coffee, and trademarked in Brazil.

The prospect for Decaffito-type coffees was shown by the discovery of the naturally caffeine-free Coffea charrieriana variety, reported in 2004. It has a deficient caffeine synthase gene, leading it to accumulate theobromine instead of converting it to caffeine. Either this trait could be bred into other coffee plants by crossing them with C. charrieriana, or an equivalent effect could be achieved by knocking out the gene for caffeine synthase in normal coffee plants.

Decaffeinated tea
Tea may also be decaffeinated, usually by using processes analogous to the direct method or the CO2 process, as described above. Oxidizing tea leaves to create black tea ("red" in Chinese tea culture) or oolong tea leaves from green leaves does not affect the amount of caffeine in the tea, though tea-plant subspecies (i.e. Camellia sinensis sinensis vs. Camellia sinensis assamica) may differ in natural caffeine content. Younger leaves and buds contain more caffeine by weight than older leaves and stems. Although the CO2 process is favorable because it is convenient, nonexplosive, and nontoxic, a comparison between regular and decaffeinated green teas using supercritical carbon dioxide showed that most volatile, nonpolar compounds (such as linalool and phenylacetaldehyde), green and floral flavor compounds (such as hexanal and (E)-2-hexenal), and some unknown compounds disappeared or decreased after decaffeination.

In addition to CO2 process extraction, tea may be also decaffeinated using a hot water treatment. Optimal conditions are met by controlling water temperature, extraction time, and ratio of leaf to water. Temperatures of 100 °C or more, moderate extraction time of 3 minutes, and a 1:20 leaf to water weight per volume ratio removed 83% caffeine content and preserved 95% of total catechins. Catechins, a type of flavanol, contribute to the flavor of the tea and have been shown to increase the suppression of mutagens that may lead to cancer.

Both coffee and tea have tannins, which are responsible for their astringent taste, but tea has around one third of the tannin content of coffee. Thus, decaffeination of tea requires more care to maintain tannin content than decaffeination of coffee in order to preserve this flavor. Preserving tannins is desirable not only because of their flavor, but also because they have been shown to have anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic, antioxidative, and antimicrobial properties. Specifically, tannins accelerate blood clotting, reduce blood pressure, decrease the serum lipid level, and modulate immunoresponses.

Certain processes during normal production might help to decrease the caffeine content directly, or simply lower the rate at which it is released throughout each infusion. In China, this is evident in many cooked pu-erh teas, as well as more heavily fired Wuyi Mountain oolongs; commonly referred to as 'zhonghuo' (mid-fired) or 'zuhuo' (high-fired).

A generally accepted statistic is that a cup of normal black (or red) tea contains 40–50 mg of caffeine, roughly half the content of a cup of coffee.

Although a common technique of discarding a short (30 to 60 seconds) steep is believed to much reduce caffeine content of a subsequent brew at the cost of some loss of flavor, research suggests that a five-minute steep yields up to 70% of the caffeine, and a second steep has one-third the caffeine of the first (about 23% of the total caffeine in the leaves).

title: Decaffeination


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Alexander Butlerov

Alexander Mikhaylovich Butlerov (Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Бу́тлеров; 15 September 1828 – 17 August 1886) was a Russian chemist, one of the principal creators of the theory of chemical structure (1857–1861), the first to incorporate double bonds into structural formulas, the discoverer of hexamine (1859), the discoverer of formaldehyde (1859) and the discoverer of the formose reaction (1861). He first proposed the idea of possible tetrahedral arrangement of valence bonds in carbon compounds in 1862.

Butlerov was born into a landowning family.

The crater Butlerov on the Moon is named after him.

title: Alexander Butlerov


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Aelius Theon

Aelius Theon (Αἴλιος Θέων, gen.: Θέωνος) was an Alexandrian sophist and author of a collection of preliminary exercises (progymnasmata) for the training of orators. He probably lived and wrote in the mid to late 1st century AD and his treatise is the earliest treatment of these exercises.

The work (extant, though incomplete), which probably formed an appendix to a manual of rhetoric, shows learning and taste, and contains valuable notices on the style and speeches of the masters of Attic oratory. Theon also wrote commentaries on Xenophon, Isocrates and Demosthenes, and treatises on style. He is to be distinguished from the Stoic Theon, who lived in the time of Augustus and also wrote on rhetoric.

title: Aelius Theon


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Brian Azzarello

Brian Azzarello (born August 11, 1962) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter who first came to prominence with the hardboiled crime series 100 Bullets, published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. Azzarello is best known for his numerous collaborations with artists Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets, Batman: Broken City, Spaceman, Moonshine) and Lee Bermejo (Batman/Deathblow, Luthor, Joker, Batman: Damned), his contributions to the Watchmen prequel project Before Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns sequel series DK III: The Master Race, as well as for his stints on the long-running Vertigo series Hellblazer and The New 52 relaunch of the Wonder Woman title.

Early life
Azzarello grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where his mother managed a restaurant and his father was a salesman. As a child, he read monster and war comic books, but avoided the superhero genre. He attended the Cleveland Institute of Art, studying painting and printmaking. In 1989, after several years of working various blue-collar jobs, Azzarello moved to Chicago, where he became interested in the work of Black Lizard Press, a small publishing house which reprinted hardboiled detective and noir fiction. He also met his future wife Jill Thompson, a comic book artist who was working for DC Comics's imprint Vertigo.

Career
Azzarello began working in comics in 1992, joining Comico as the production coordinator. He was soon promoted to managing editor, before becoming Editor-in-Chief—or, as he was often credited, "line editor"—the position he held from 1993 until the company's demise in 1997. During this period, Azzarello's wife Jill Thompson introduced him to Lou Stathis, an editor at DC Comics' Vertigo who wanted to move away from the light fantasy stories the imprint was known for at the time, and Azzarello was eventually hired as a writer. He contributed short stories to a number of Vertigo's anthology titles and penned Jonny Double, a 4-issue limited series which marked his first collaboration with Argentine artist Eduardo Risso. In August 1999, Azzarello and Risso launched 100 Bullets, a hardboiled noir series for Vertigo. The series ran for one hundred issues, from 1999 to 2009, and was noted for Azzarello's use of regional and local accents, as well as the frequent use of slang and oblique, metaphorical language in his characters' dialogue. Azzarello's other work for Vertigo includes a run on Hellblazer, the 2005 western series Loveless with artist Marcelo Frusin and an original graphic novel Filthy Rich, one of the two titles that launched the Vertigo Crime line in 2009.

In 2003, Azzarello was assigned to write arcs for DC Comics' Batman and Superman, commenting to Chicago Tribune, "DC is giving me the keys to both cars in the garage, the Maserati and the Ferrari... Somebody told me, 'Don't drive drunk.'" The results were the 6-issue Batman: Broken City and the 12-issue "Superman: For Tomorrow", which was supposed to be the centerpiece of a larger storyline consisting of several interconnected mini-series, including one written by Azzarello, Lex Luthor: Man of Steel. The initiative, unofficially dubbed "Superstorm" due to the fact that the mini-series were edited by the team of DC's Wildstorm imprint, experienced production problems and delays, causing Luthor to become a standalone work only loosely connected to "For Tomorrow". In the following years, Azzarello continued to write more Batman-related stories such as the 2008 graphic novel Joker, a serial for Wednesday Comics in 2009 and Flashpoint: Batman — Knight of Vengeance. In April 2015, Azzarello was announced as the co-writer of an eight-issue sequel to The Dark Knight Returns, titled The Dark Knight III: The Master Race, with Frank Miller and artist Andy Kubert. The series, released bi-monthly, was launched in late 2015. Azzarello's most recent Batman work was the Batman: Damned three-issue series for the DC Black Label imprint with artist Lee Bermejo.

Azzarello was one of the architects of First Wave, a new publishing line for pulp characters then-recently acquired by DC Comics, set outside the main DC continuity. He wrote the opening one-shot for the line, Batman/Doc Savage, continuing with the First Wave limited series. In 2011, Azzarello spearheaded The New 52 relaunch of the Wonder Woman series with artist Cliff Chiang. The pair stayed on the title until issue #35 (Dec. 2014). In 2012, Azzarello wrote two limited series for the Before Watchmen project, focusing on Comedian and Rorschach. In 2014, Azzarello became the co-writer of the weekly series The New 52: Futures End along with Jeff Lemire, Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens.

In 2016, Azzarello launched the 12-issue maxi-series Moonshine with frequent collaborator Eduardo Risso at Image. In 2019, the series resumed publication with issue #13 as an ongoing title.

Awards
Azzarello and Risso won the 2001 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story in 100 Bullets #15–18: "Hang Up on the Hang Low".

Influences
Azzarello cites Jim Thompson and David Goodis among his influences.

Personal life
Azzarello was married to fellow comic book creator Jill Thompson. The couple resided in Chicago. In a 2021 interview with Word Balloon Podcast Network, Azzarello mentioned that he was no longer married to Thompson.

The character "666" from Mark Waid and Alex Ross' 1996 mini-series Kingdom Come is physically modeled after Azzarello.

Early work

 * Northstar:
 * Slash #1: "Mega Mounds and the All-Nighter" (with Nathan Loggins, anthology, 1992)
 * Cold Blooded #1: "An Undead Evolution" (1-page prose story illustrated by Kyle Hotz, 1993)
 * Comico:
 * Lady Bathory:
 * Overstreet's Fan #7–9: "Thicker Than Water" (with Jim Callahan, co-feature, Gemstone, 1995–1996)
 * Primer vol. 2 #1: "The Assassin's Song" (with Vincent Proce, anthology — cancelled after one issue, 1996)
 * Red Dragon #1: "Enter Red Dragon" (with Tony Akins, cancelled after one issue, 1996)

Vertigo

 * Weird War Tales vol. 2 #1: "Ares" (with James Romberger, anthology, 1997)
 * Gangland #1: "Clean House" (with Tim Bradstreet, anthology, 1998) collected in Gangland (tpb, 112 pages, 2000, ISBN 1-56389-608-7)
 * Jonny Double (with Eduardo Risso, 1998) collected as Jonny Double: Two-Finger Discount (tpb, 104 pages, 2002, ISBN 1-56389-815-2)
 * Heart Throbs vol. 2 #2: "The Other Side of Town" (with Tim Bradstreet, anthology, 1999)
 * Flinch (anthology):
 * Book One (tpb, 192 pages, 2015, ISBN 1-4012-5812-3) includes:
 * "Food Chain" (with Eduardo Risso, in #2, 1999)
 * Book Two (tpb, 192 pages, 2016, ISBN 1-4012-6139-6) includes:
 * "Last Call" (with Danijel Žeželj, in #10, 2000)
 * "The Shaft" (with Javier Pulido, in #13, 2000)
 * 100 Bullets (with Eduardo Risso):
 * 100 Bullets (1999–2009) collected as:
 * Book One (collects #1–19, hc, 456 pages, 2011, ISBN 1-4012-3201-9; tpb, 2014, ISBN 1-401-25056-4)
 * Includes the "Silencer Night" short story (art by Eduardo Risso) from Vertigo: Winter's Edge #3 (anthology, 2000)
 * Book Two (collects #20–36, hc, 416 pages, 2012, ISBN 1-4012-3372-4; tpb, 2015, ISBN 1-40125-431-4)
 * Book Three (collects #37–58, hc, 512 pages, 2012, ISBN 1-4012-3729-0; tpb, 2015, ISBN 1-40125-795-X)
 * Book Four (collects #59–80, hc, 512 pages, 2013, ISBN 1-4012-3807-6; tpb, 2016, ISBN 1-4012-5794-1)
 * Book Five (collects #81–100, hc, 512 pages, 2013, ISBN 1-4012-4271-5; tpb, 2016, ISBN 1-4012-6133-7)
 * 100 Bullets: Brother Lono #1–8 (2013–2014) collected as 100 Bullets: Brother Lono (tpb, 192 pages, 2014, ISBN 1-40124-506-4)
 * Strange Adventures vol. 2 #4: "Native Tongue" (with Esad Ribić, anthology, 2000)
 * Hellblazer (with Richard Corben, Marcelo Frusin, Steve Dillon (#157), Guy Davis (#162–163) and Giuseppe Camuncoli (#168–169), 2000–2002; with Rafael Grampá, 2009) collected as:
 * John Constantine, Hellblazer Volume 14 (collects #146–161, tpb, 384 pages, 2016, ISBN 1-4012-6373-9)
 * Includes "The First Time" short story (art by Dave Taylor) from the Vertigo Secret Files & Origins: Hellblazer one-shot (2000)
 * John Constantine, Hellblazer Volume 15 (collects #162–174, tpb, 320 pages, 2017, ISBN 1-40126-579-0)
 * John Constantine, Hellblazer Volume 22 (includes the co-feature from #250, tpb, 392 pages, 2020, ISBN 1-4012-9568-1)
 * El Diablo vol. 2 #1–4 (with Danijel Žeželj, 2001) collected as El Diablo (tpb, 104 pages, 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1625-0)
 * Sgt. Rock: Between Hell and a Hard Place (with Joe Kubert, graphic novel, hc, 144 pages, 2003, ISBN 1-4012-0053-2; sc, 2004, ISBN 1-4012-0054-0)
 * Loveless (with Marcelo Frusin (#1–5, 9–10), Danijel Žeželj (#6–8, 13–15, 22–24) and Werther Dell'Edera, 2005–2008) collected as:
 * A Kin of Homecoming (collects #1–5, tpb, 128 pages, 2006, ISBN 1-4012-1061-9)
 * Thicker Than Blackwater (collects #6–12, tpb, 168 pages, 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1250-6)
 * Blackwater Falls (collects #13–24, tpb, 288 pages, 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1495-9)
 * Vertigo Crime: Filthy Rich (with Victor Santos, graphic novel, hc, 200 pages, 2009, ISBN 1-4012-1184-4; sc, 2010, ISBN 1-40121-185-2)
 * The Bat-Man (with Cliff Chiang, unproduced series intended for publication under the First Wave imprint, then under Vertigo, c. 2010–2011)
 * Spaceman (hc, 224 pages, 2012, ISBN 1-4012-3552-2; tpb, 2014, ISBN 1-4012-4270-7) collects:
 * Strange Adventures (with Eduardo Risso, untitled 8-page prelude in the anthology one-shot, 2011)
 * Spaceman #1–9 (with Eduardo Risso, 2011–2012)

DC Universe

 * Batman:
 * Batman by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso (hc, 240 pages, 2017, ISBN 1-4012-7101-4) collects:
 * Batman: Gotham Knights #8: "Black and White" (with Eduardo Risso, co-feature, 2000) also collected in Batman: Black and White Volume 2 (hc, 176 pages, 2002, ISBN 1-5638-9828-4; tpb, 2003, ISBN 1-5638-9917-5)
 * Batman #620–625: "Broken City" (with Eduardo Risso, 2003–2004) also collected as Batman: Broken City (hc, 144 pages, 2004, ISBN 1-4012-0133-4; tpb, 2005, ISBN 1-4012-0214-4)
 * Wednesday Comics #1–12: "Batman" (with Eduardo Risso, anthology, 2009) also collected in Wednesday Comics (hc, 200 pages, 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2747-3)
 * Flashpoint: Batman — Knight of Vengeance #1–3 (with Eduardo Risso, 2011) also collected in Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Featuring Batman (tpb, 272 pages, 2012, ISBN 1-4012-3405-4)
 * Batman: Gotham Knights #35: "Cornered" (with Jim Mahfood, co-feature, 2003) collected in Batman: Black and White Volume 3 (hc, 288 pages, 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1531-9; tpb, 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1354-5)
 * Solo #6: "Poison" (with Jordi Bernet, anthology, 2005) collected in Solo (hc, 608 pages, 2013, ISBN 1-4012-3889-0)
 * Joker (with Lee Bermejo, graphic novel, 128 pages, 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1581-5)
 * Batman vol. 2 #44: "A Simple Case" (co-written by Azzarello and Scott Snyder, art by Jock, 2015) collected in Batman: Superheavy (hc, 176 pages, 2016, ISBN 1-4012-5969-3; tpb, 2016, ISBN 1-4012-6630-4)
 * Batman: Europa #1–4 (co-written by Azzarello and Matteo Casali, art by Jim Lee (#1), Giuseppe Camuncoli (#2), Diego Latorre (#3) and Gerald Parel (#4) from layouts by Camuncoli, 2016)
 * The series was initially announced in 2004 with Gabriele Dell'Otto slated to draw issue #4; it was first solicited for a 2011 release with Jock as the fourth issue's artist.
 * Collected as Batman: Europa (hc, 144 pages, 2016, ISBN 1-401-25970-7; tpb, 2018, ISBN 1-4012-8555-4)
 * The Dark Knight III (co-written by Azzarello and Frank Miller):
 * Batman: The Dark Knight — The Master Race (hc, 392 pages, 2017, ISBN 1-4012-6513-8; tpb, 2018, ISBN 1-4012-8431-0) collects:
 * The Dark Knight III: The Master Race #1–9 (art by Andy Kubert, 2016–2017)
 * Dark Knight Universe Presents (series of 12-page mini-comics):
 * The Atom (art by Frank Miller, originally published as an insert in issue #1, 2016)
 * Wonder Woman (art by Eduardo Risso, originally published as an insert in issue #2, 2016)
 * Green Lantern (art by John Romita, Jr., originally published as an insert in issue #3, 2016)
 * Batgirl (art by Frank Miller, originally published as an insert in issue #4, 2016)
 * Lara (art by Frank Miller, originally published as an insert in issue #5, 2016)
 * World's Finest (art by Frank Miller, originally published as an insert in issue #6, 2016)
 * Strange Adventures (art by Frank Miller, originally published as an insert in issue #7, 2017)
 * Detective Comics (art by Frank Miller, originally published as an insert in issue #8, 2017)
 * Action Comics (art by Frank Miller, originally published as an insert in issue #9, 2017)
 * The Dark Knight Returns: The Last Crusade (art by John Romita, Jr., one-shot, 2016)
 * Joker: 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular: "Two Fell into the Hornet's Nest" (with Lee Bermejo, anthology one-shot, 2020)
 * Collected in Joker: The Deluxe Edition (hc, 152 pages, 2020, ISBN 1-4012-9428-6)
 * Collected in Batman: 80 Years of the Bat Family (tpb, 400 pages, 2020, ISBN 1-7795-0658-9)
 * Batman: The World: "Global City" (with Lee Bermejo, anthology graphic novel, 184 pages, 2021, ISBN 1-77951-227-9)
 * 9-11 Volume 2: "America's Pastime" (with Eduardo Risso, anthology graphic novel, 224 pages, 2002, ISBN 1-56389-878-0)
 * JSA All-Stars #6: "Blind Spot" (with Eduardo Risso, co-feature, 2003) collected in JSA: All-Stars (tpb, 208 pages, 2004, ISBN 1-4012-0219-5)
 * Superman:
 * Superman vol. 2 (with Jim Lee, 2004–2005) collected as:
 * For Tomorrow Volume 1 (collects #204–209, hc, 160 pages, 2005, ISBN 1-4012-0351-5; tpb, 2006, ISBN 1-4012-0352-3)
 * For Tomorrow Volume 2 (collects #210–215, hc, 160 pages, 2005, ISBN 1-4012-0715-4; tpb, 2006, ISBN 1-4012-0448-1)
 * For Tomorrow (collects #204–215, Absolute Edition, 328 pages, 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2198-X; tpb, 2013, ISBN 1-4012-3780-0)
 * Lex Luthor: Man of Steel #1–5 (with Lee Bermejo, 2005) collected as Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (tpb, 120 pages, 2006, ISBN 1-4012-0454-6)
 * Following the success of Joker, DC reprinted the series with newly-created story pages as Luthor (hc, 144 pages, 2010, ISBN 1-4012-2930-1; tpb, 2015, ISBN 1-401-25818-2)
 * The "enhanced" version of the book was re-released as part of the two-volume set Absolute Luthor/Joker (hc, 384 pages, 2013, ISBN 1-4012-4504-8)
 * Superman/Batman #75: "Joker and Lex" (with Lee Bermejo, co-feature, 2010) collected in Superman/Batman Volume 6 (tpb, 328 pages, 2017, ISBN 1-4012-7503-6)
 * DC Comics Presents: Green Lantern: "Penny for Your Thoughts, Dollar for Your Destiny!" (with Norm Breyfogle, co-feature in one-shot, 2004)
 * Solo #1: "Low Card in the Hole" (with Tim Sale, anthology, 2004) collected in Solo (hc, 608 pages, 2013, ISBN 1-4012-3889-0)
 * Tales of the Unexpected vol. 2 #1–8: "Architecture and Mortality" (with Cliff Chiang, anthology, 2006–2007) collected as Doctor 13: Architecture and Mortality (tpb, 144 pages, 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1552-1)
 * Wonder Woman vol. 4 (with Cliff Chiang, Tony Akins (#5–6, 9–10, 13–14, 17–19), Kano (#10), Amilcar Pinna (#17), Goran Sudžuka (#18–20, 24–26, 28, 30–32) and Aco (#23.2), 2011–2014) collected as:
 * Blood (collects #1–6, hc, 160 pages, 2012, ISBN 1-4012-3563-8; tpb, 2013, ISBN 1-4012-3562-X)
 * Guts (collects #7–12, hc, 144 pages, 2013, ISBN 1-4012-3809-2; tpb, 2013, ISBN 1-4012-3810-6)
 * Iron (collects #0 and #13–17, hc, 176 pages, 2013, ISBN 1-4012-4261-8; tpb, 2014, ISBN 1-4012-4607-9)
 * War (collects #19–23, hc, 144 pages, 2014, ISBN 1-4012-4608-7; tpb, 2014, ISBN 1-40124-954-X)
 * Flesh (collects #23.2 and 24–29, hc, 176 pages, 2014, ISBN 1-4012-5097-1; tpb, 2015, ISBN 1-4012-5349-0)
 * Bones (collects #30–35, hc, 160 pages, 2015, ISBN 1-4012-5350-4; tpb, 2015, ISBN 1-40125-775-5)
 * Includes the Wonder Woman short story (co-written by Azzarello and Cliff Chiang, art by Goran Sudžuka) from Secret Origins vol. 3 #6 (anthology, 2014)
 * Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang: The Absolute Edition Volume 1 (collects #0–18, hc, 484 pages, 2017, ISBN 1-4012-6848-X)
 * Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang: The Absolute Edition Volume 2 (collects #19–35, 23.2 and the short story from Secret Origins vol. 3 #6, hc, 456 pages, 2018, ISBN 1-4012-7749-7)
 * Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang Omnibus (collects #0–35, 23.2 and the short story from Secret Origins vol. 3 #6, hc, 928 pages, 2019, ISBN 1-40129-109-0)
 * Before Watchmen: Comedian / Rorschach (hc, 256 pages, 2013, ISBN 1-4012-3893-9, tpb, 2014, ISBN 1-4012-4513-7) collects:
 * Before Watchmen: Comedian #1–6 (with J. G. Jones, 2012–2013)
 * Before Watchmen: Rorschach #1–4 (with Lee Bermejo, 2012–2013)
 * The New 52: Futures End (co-written by Azzarello, Jeff Lemire, Dan Jurgens and Keith Giffen, art by various artists, 2014–2015) collected as:
 * Volume 1 (collects #0–17, tpb, 416 pages, 2014, ISBN 1-4012-5244-3)
 * Volume 2 (collects #18–30, tpb, 304 pages, 2015, ISBN 1-4012-5602-3)
 * Volume 3 (collects #31–48, tpb, 408 pages, 2015, ISBN 1-4012-5878-6)
 * DC 100-Page Comic Giant: Swamp Thing — Halloween Horror: "Hollow" (with Greg Capullo, co-feature in one-shot, 2018)
 * Collected in Swamp Thing: Roots of Terror (hc, 168 pages, 2019, ISBN 1-4012-9587-8)
 * Collected in Swamp Thing: Tales from the Bayou (tpb, 168 pages, 2020, ISBN 1-7795-0115-3)

Other imprints

 * Wildstorm:
 * Wildstorm Summer Special: "Apple Read" (with Brian Stelfreeze, anthology one-shot, 2001)
 * The Authority vol. 2 (with Steve Dillon, cancelled relaunch of the series intended for publication under the Eye of the Storm imprint — initially announced for April 2002)
 * Batman/Deathblow #1–3 (with Lee Bermejo, 2003) collected as Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire (tpb, 160 pages, 2003, ISBN 1-4012-0034-6; hc, 2013, ISBN 1-40123-772-X)
 * Deathblow vol. 2 #1–9 (with Carlos D'Anda, 2006–2008) collected as Deathblow: And Then You Live! (tpb, 224 pages, 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1515-7)
 * First Wave:
 * First Wave (hc, 256 pages, 2011, ISBN 1-4012-3135-7; tpb, 2012, ISBN 1-4012-3136-5) collects:
 * Batman/Doc Savage Special (with Phil Noto, 2009)
 * First Wave #1–6 (with Rags Morales, 2010–2011)
 * The Spirit vol. 7 #6: "The Man I Love" (with Eduardo Risso, co-feature, 2010)
 * Doc Savage vol. 5 #6–12 (co-written by Azzarello and Ivan Brandon, art by Nic Klein, James Harren (#8–9) and Phil Winslade (#10), 2010–2011)
 * DC Black Label:
 * Batman: Damned #1–3 (with Lee Bermejo, 2018–2019) collected as Batman: Damned (hc, 176 pages, 2019, ISBN 1-4012-9140-6; tpb, 2021, ISBN 1-7795-0947-2)
 * Birds of Prey (with Emanuela Lupacchino, one-shot, 2020)
 * The project was initially announced as an ongoing series set in the main DC continuity with an October 2019 launch date.
 * Two issues were solicited before the series was postponed until the release of the Birds of Prey film and relegated to the Black Label imprint.
 * Suicide Squad: Get Joker! #1–3 (with Alex Maleev, 2021–2022) collected as Suicide Squad: Get Joker! (hc, 160 pages, 2022, ISBN 1-7795-1425-5)

Other publishers

 * Marvel:
 * Startling Stories: Banner #1–4 (with Richard Corben, 2001)
 * Collected as Startling Stories: Banner (tpb, 112 pages, 2001, ISBN 0-7851-0853-X)
 * Collected in The Incredible Hulk Volume 1 (hc, 352 pages, 2002, ISBN 0-7851-1022-4)
 * Cage #1–5 (with Richard Corben, Marvel MAX, 2002) collected as Cage (hc, 128 pages, 2002, ISBN 0-7851-0966-8; tpb, 2003, ISBN 0-7851-1301-0)
 * Spider-Man's Tangled Web #14: "The Last Shoot" (co-written by Azzarello and Scott Levy, art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, anthology, 2002)
 * Collected in Spider-Man's Tangled Web Volume 3 (tpb, 160 pages, 2002, ISBN 0-7851-0951-X)
 * Collected in Spider-Man's Tangled Web Omnibus (hc, 560 pages, 2017, ISBN 1-302-90682-8)
 * Noir: A Collection of Crime Comics: "The Bad Night" (with Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon, anthology graphic novel, sc, 104 pages, Dark Horse, 2009, ISBN 1-59582-358-1; hc, 2020, ISBN 1-5067-1686-5)
 * Aftershock:
 * American Monster #1–6 (with Juan Doe, 2016–2017)
 * Issues #1–5 are collected as American Monster: Sweetland (tpb, 120 pages, 2016, ISBN 1-9350-0293-7)
 * Shock Volume 1: "Based on a True Story" (with Toni Fejzula, anthology graphic novel, 160 pages, 2018, ISBN 1-9350-0265-1)
 * Image:
 * 3 Floyds: Alpha King #1–5 (co-written by Azzarello and Nick Floyd, art by Simon Bisley, 2016–2017) collected as 3 Floyds: Alpha King (tpb, 128 pages, 2018, ISBN 1-6321-5867-1)
 * Initially announced as a 4-issue limited series titled 3 Floyds: Rise of the Alpha King, to be written by Azzarello solo and intended for publication by Heavy Metal Media.
 * Moonshine (with Eduardo Risso, 2016–2021) collected as:
 * Damn Near Perfect (collects #1–6, tpb, 144 pages, 2017, ISBN 1-5343-0064-3)
 * Misery Train (collects #7–12, tpb, 144 pages, 2018, ISBN 1-5343-0827-X)
 * Rue Le Jour (collects #13–17, tpb, 120 pages, 2020, ISBN 1-5343-1514-4)
 * The Angels Share (collects #18–22, tpb, 120 pages, 2020, ISBN 1-534-31724-4)
 * The Well (collects #23–28, tpb, 144 pages, 2021, ISBN 1-5343-1986-7)
 * Mine! (A Celebration of Liberty and Freedom for All Benefiting Planned Parenthood): "Fright of the Morning Dread" (with Cliff Chiang, anthology graphic novel, hc, 304 pages, ComicMix, 2018, ISBN 1-9398-8866-2; sc, 2018, ISBN 1-9398-8865-4)
 * Faithless (with María Llovet, Boom! Studios):
 * Faithless #1–6 (2019) collected as Faithless (tpb, 128 pages, 2020, ISBN 1-6841-5432-4)
 * Faithless II #1–6 (2020) collected as Faithless II (tpb, 160 pages, 2021, ISBN 1-6841-5658-0)
 * Faithless III #1–6 (2022) collected as Faithless III (tpb, 160 pages, 2023, ISBN 1-6841-5850-8)
 * Anthrax: Among the Living: "A.D.I. / Horror of It All" (with Dave Johnson, anthology graphic novel, 120 pages, Z2 Comics, 2021, ISBN 1-9408-7859-4)
 * The Most Important Comic Book on Earth (anthology graphic novel, 352 pages, DK, 2021, ISBN 0-7440-4282-8) featured two stories written by Azzarello:
 * "The Shepherd and the Thunder" (script by Azzarello based on the concept by Peter Hammarstedt, art by Danijel Žeželj)
 * "Ohno" (with Cliff Chiang)

Filmography

 * Batman: Gotham Knight (2008), segment "Working Through Pain"
 * Batman: The Killing Joke (2016), based on the eponymous graphic novel

title: Brian Azzarello


text:
Adam A500

The Adam A500 is an American six-seat civil utility aircraft that was produced by Adam Aircraft Industries. The aircraft is of pod-and-boom, push-pull configuration with its two Continental TSIO-550-E piston engines mounted to provide centerline thrust.

Design and development
The A500 was developed from the M-309 CarbonAero technology demonstrator designed by Burt Rutan and built by Scaled Composites at the Mojave Airport. The "309" designation refers to this being Rutan's 309th aircraft design. The 309 first flew in March 2000, but the aircraft has since been gutted and was used as a static display outside the Adam Aircraft Industries headquarters. In 2006 the 309 was loaned to the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum and is now on display.

Compared to conventional twin-engine installations, the centerline thrust arrangement reduces drag and maximizes the controllability of the aircraft should one engine malfunction or fail. This engine configuration was used by the similar Cessna Skymaster. The A500 airframe is largely built of carbon fiber epoxy composite materials with a Nomex honeycomb core. Other features include cabin pressurization.

The prototype A500 first flew on July 11, 2002, and was FAA certified in May 2005.

Adam Aircraft ceased operations on 11 February 2008, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on 19 February 2008, having delivered seven A500s.

In April 2008 Adam Aircraft was purchased from bankruptcy by AAI Acquisition Inc. At the time of purchase this new company indicated that they would pursue certification of the A700 jet as a priority and that the A500 would not be produced due to the continuing poor market for piston-engined aircraft. AAI went out of business in April 2009 without producing any aircraft.

In July 2009 there was an indication that a new buyer, Thomas Hsueh of Triton America based at Skagit Regional Airport in Burlington, Washington, was interested in purchasing the A500 design and returning the aircraft to production.

In April 2011 Triton Aerospace announced that they had acquired the assets of Adam Aircraft including the aircraft type certificate and intend to return the A500 to production.

In April 2011 Triton Aerospace announced that they will redesign the aircraft using what Thomas Hsueh, owner of Triton Aerospace, termed "proper engineering" to shed 1000 lb of empty weight and recertify it with the intention of putting it back into production. The aircraft will also be changed to a turboprop, with twin engined and rear-engined-only versions. A new prototype was expected in 2013 with re-certification to follow. Hsueh indicated that for now production is planned for the US, but costs may require moving the assembly line to China or even a lower cost country such as Mexico.

By 2013 the Triton website had been taken down and the URL sold. It is likely that the company has gone out of business.

A500 payload issues
In evaluation flights conducted in 2007 the A500 was noted as being over the projected empty weight by 1260 lb or 30%.

The initial design empty weight publicized in 2003 was 4200 lb, while the actual empty weight of the serial number 7 A500 was 5460 lb. Initial gross weight was to be 6300 lb, which was increased to 7000 lb. This resulted in a change of useful load from a forecast 2100 to 1540 lb.

With the 230 USgal fuel tanks full, the available payload for crew, passengers and baggage is 160 lb, down from a projected 720 lb. This means that the A500 cannot carry full fuel and one standard weight adult male or female pilot.

Adam Aircraft had intended to address the lack of useful load by demonstrating that the current 30 USgal of unusable fuel is actually 10 USgal. This would have increased the useful load by 120 lb and allowed a full fuel crew weight of 280 lb.

Support and aircraft type club formation
The five A500s in private service have run into problems obtaining parts and at least one was reported as grounded due to parts issues in August 2008.

The aircraft owners organized an aircraft type club, the A500 Owners Association, with the goal of convincing the new owners of the design at that time, AAI Acquisitions to provide parts support for the existing aircraft.

AAI's head of customer support, Jan D'Angelo, responded in August 2008, saying:

"There's no economic model that justifies setting up a support team to support just five planes in the field. There's no critical mass to make it economically viable."

Aircraft on display

 * Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum - M309 proof of concept design
 * Pima Air and Space Museum - N504AX

title: Adam A500