History Film / Cobra

* CowboyCop: Cobra. Apparently the Zombie Squad is an entire crew of CowboyCops, though we only ever see Cobretti and Gonzales.

* AwesomeMcCoolName: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]]. While Cobra's first name [[EmbarrassingFistName isn't that awesome]] his last name, ''Cobretti'', counts as this.

* AwesomeMcCoolName: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]]. While Cobra's first name [[EmbarrasingFistName isn't that awesome]] his last name, ''Cobretti'', counts as this.

* {{Expy}}: The New Order is one for the Manson Family, since much like the Family it is lead by a charismatic figurehead, it kills people at random in order to usher forth a "new world", and attacts people of varied social and cultural backgrounds.
* GangBangers: The New Order gang.

* TheQuietOne[=/=]SilentAntagonist: The Night Slasher barely says a word during most of the movie. Practically the only time he talks is during his final fight with Cobra.

* TheQuietOne: The Night Slasher barely says a word during most of the movie. Practically the only time he talks is during his final fight with Cobra.

-->''Night Slasher'': I want your eyes, pig! ''I want 'em!''

* GenericDoomsdayVillain: For all we know about his serial killer tendencies and his Social Darwinist motives, we know nothing about the Night Slasher's backstory, and thus have no explanation for either trait. Heck, we don't even learn ''his real name.'' Same goes for the New Order; we never learn why they're all motivated to work for a serial killer. He and his gang may as well have popped in out of thin air so Cobretti could have criminals evil enough to slay by the dozen.

[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobra-movie-poster-1986-1010327193_3136.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:200:[[Franchise/GIJoe COOOOOOBRRRRRRA]]]]

* StrawNihilist: Some of the Night Slasher's followers.

* StrawNewsMedia: The whiny, liberal reporters who hassle Cobra after he guns down a criminal during a standoff. None of the journalists seem to care that said criminal had taken hostages and was threatening to kill them all.

* DisproportionateRetribution: In order to silence one witness who saw them, the Night Slasher's New Order goes on a week-long explosive rampage in two cities, in broad daylight and in full view of hundreds of new witnesses. Of course, it doesn't really matter in the end, since [[CowboyCop Cobra]] happens to be one of those witnesses.

* EmbarrassingFirstName: Lt. Cobretti's first name is Marion. [[LampshadeHanging He jokes about it, too.]]

* GenericDoomsdayVillain: For all we know about his serial killer tendencies and his Social Darwinist motives, we know nothing about the Night Slasher's backstory, and thus have no explanation for either of them. Heck, we don't even learn ''his real name.'' Same goes for the New Order; we never learn why they're all motivated to work for a serial killer. He and his gang may as well have popped in out of thin air so Cobretti could have criminals evil enough to slay by the dozen.

* KillAndReplace: The Night Slasher murders a janitor at the hospital and takes his place.

* OpeningNarration / [[SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou Sylvester Stallone Is About To Shoot You]]

* AwardBaitSong: While not played in the end credits, the movie has two: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqKlkVk7d4U Loving On Borrowed Time]] by GladysKnight & BillMedley; and [[Two Into One]] by Bill Medley & Carmen Twillie.

* GenericDoomsdayVillain: For all we know about his serial killer tendencies and his Social Darwinist motives, we know nothing about the Night Slasher's backstory, and thus have no explanation for either of them. Heck, we don't even learn ''his real name.'' He and his New Order may as well have popped in out of thin air so Cobretti could have bad guys to fight.

* MoreDakka: OK, cops have been known to use submachine guns, but hand grenades?

-->'''Mook''': I'm a hero of the new world!
-->'''Cobra''': You're a disease... and I'm the cure.

** There are also more subtle ones, such as Cobra taking a drink of Coor's beer

** A CoincidentalBroadcast gets a full-length commercial prelude courtesy of Toy-R-Us.

* StrawNihilist: Some of the Night Slasher's followers

* FollowTheLeader: Cobretti clearly went to [[DirtyHarry Harry Callahan's]] Boy Scout Camp as a child, and apparently loved the mentor so much that, once he grew up, he took Callahan's partner Reni Santoni, and even once again named him Gonzalez. He took Dirty Harry's villain Andy Robinson as well, though the latter is now merely a well-meaning jerk and a compulsively ByTheBookCop.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: The AxCrazy cult is after Ingrid's blood because she's the only one who knows how the [[BigBad Night Slasher]] looks like.

* InternalAffairs: Robinson's character

* LaserSight: While in a factory Cobretti uses the sight to distract some mooks by detaching it and leaving it switched on in a dark room. While the mooks are sneaking up on where they think Cobretti is, he jumps them from behind.
** Cobra's laser sight is an ''actual'' laser sight - when he assembles his Jaki and tests it, it's a proper tiny red dot, instead of [[HollywoodScience a long visible beam]]. Still a rarity in action movies.