Cottonmouth (Cornell Stokes) is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The character was portrayed by

Mahershala Ali Mahershala Ali ( ; born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore on February 16, 1974) is an American actor. He has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Fi ...

in the first season of the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

television series ''

Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...

''.

Publication history

The character first appeared in ''

Luke Cage, Power Man Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Afri ...

'' #18 (June 1974) in a story written by

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine (character), Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel sup ...

and drawn by

George Tuska George Tuska (; April 26, 1916 – October 16, 2009),George Tuska
at the New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was involved in the events that led to

gaining super powers and becoming "Power Man". Cottonmouth tried to recruit Cage to his organization, but was ultimately knocked out and turned over to police by Cage. During the " Shadowland" storyline, Cottonmouth returned as part of

Nightshade Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

's gang, Flashmob where they come into conflict with Daredevil as well as a new

Power Man Power Man may refer to: * Luke Cage, a Marvel Comics superhero, originally called Power Man * Erik Josten, a Marvel supervillain later known as Smuggler, Goliath and Atlas * Victor Alvarez, the current Power Man introduced in the mini-series ''Sh ...

, who, like his predecessor, knocked Cottonmouth out and turned him over to police.

Fictional character biography

Not much is known about Cornell Cottonmouth's history except that he has established himself as a drug lord in New York. When

Willis Stryker Diamondback (Willis Harold Stryker) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is primarily an enemy of Luke Cage and is notable for being the first major supervillain that he faced. The character w ...

wanted to frame Carl Lucas, he stole a shipment of heroin from Cottonmouth's organization. Upon changing his name to Luke Cage, Carl decided to track down the drugs that were used to frame him. Cage used a number of informants in his search. The informant Flea was successful in his search yet his investigations were discovered. Before dying from the poisons inflicted on him by Cottonmouth's men, Flea managed to inform Cage of his discovery. Upon learning who sent Flea to infiltrate his organization, Cottonmouth got the idea of recruiting Cage to his organization. He sent his trademark snakes to Luke's office "to show him that he means business." Cottonmouth then sent his henchmen Mike and Ike to make an offer to Luke. Luke managed to take out the snakes and defeat Mike and Ike. Mike ended up snitching to Luke where Cottonmouth was located. Luke agreed to join Cottonmouth's organization (to learn where his records were kept). Cottonmouth then began to test Cage's loyalty by sending him to steal a shipment of heroin from the rival crime boss, Morgan. After Cage's success, he earned Cottonmouth's trust and began working for him until Cottonmouth caught Cage attempting to steal his records. Cottonmouth attacked Luke and was assisted by his henchman Slick. Cage then knocked Cottonmouth into Slick who fell out a window to his death. When Cottonmouth stated that the supposed records were in Slick's mind, Luke slammed Cottonmouth into an oak desk where Cottonmouth fell unconscious. Cage then called the police to come pick up Cottonmouth. During the 2010 " Shadowland" storyline, Cottonmouth appeared as a member of

's gang called the Rivals. Cottonmouth established a section of turf where he sold drugs and hired out prostitutes only for him to be attacked by

Hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the Koala#Characteristics, koala (which has two thumb#O ...

ninjas that were sent by Daredevil. However,

arrived dispersing the Hand ninjas and then Power Man broke Cottonmouth's teeth. Cottonmouth later had his broken teeth replaced by gold-capped sharp teeth. When Power Man was apparently beaten and defeated by five corrupt police officers, Cottonmouth prepared to bite off a part of Power Man's face only to be leashed by Nightshade. At first, Cottonmouth was surprised when Nightshade offered Power Man to become her enforcer. Cottonmouth then became pleased when Nightshade had set up Power Man to fight Iron Fist. To Nightshade's surprise, Power Man managed to side with Iron Fist and knocked out Cottonmouth while Nightshade escaped. During the 2011 "

Spider-Island ''Spider-Island'' is a 2011 comic book storyline starting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and crossing over into other comic books published by Marvel Comics, most of which were limited series or one-shots specifically for this storyline. The m ...

" storyline, Cottonmouth alongside Nightshade and Flashmob (consisting of

Chemistro Three characters have taken the moniker of the supervillain Chemistro appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Curtis Carr incarnation of Chemistro first appeared in '' Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #12 an ...

, Cheshire Cat, Commanche, Dontrell "Cockroach" Hamilton,

Mr. Fish Mr. Fish is the name of two fictional supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Both versions are brothers who have gone up against the street-level heroes in New York City. Publication history The Mortimer Norr ...

, and Spear) tried to leave a spider-infested Manhattan by crossing a bridge only to be stopped by

Misty Knight Mercedes "Misty" Knight is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jenny Blake Isabella and Arvell Jones, the character was first mentioned in '' Marvel Premiere'' #20 (January 1975) and first appear ...

and her

Heroes for Hire Heroes for Hire are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #54 (December 1978), and was created by Ed Hannigan and Lee Elias. The team continued to appe ...

(consisting of

Black Cat A black cat is a Cat, domestic cat with black fur. They may be a specific Purebred, breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular or mixed breed. Most black cats have golden iris (anatomy), irises due to their high melanin pigment content. Bl ...

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

Gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...

Paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers (), are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, wh ...

, and

Silver Sable Silver Sable (Silvija Sablinova) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, Silver Sable first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #265 (June 1985). She is usually depicte ...

). Cottonmouth next appears as one of the competitors in an underground fight club that is broken up by

Deadpool Deadpool is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (December 1990). In his comic book appearances, Deadpool is ...

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe si ...

, and Fat Cobra. Cottonmouth was at some point arrested and imprisoned in Ryker's Island, which he escapes from during a riot that occurs during "

Civil War II ''Civil War II'' is a 2016 comic book crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in June of that year, it is the sequel to 2006's "Civil War" and consists of a nine-issue eponymous core limited series, by writer Brian Michael Be ...

". With all of his assets either seized by the FBI or appropriated by

Tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

, a desperate Cottonmouth reaches out to Piranha Jones for help, and is convinced by Jones to side with him and Black Cat in an upcoming war for control of Harlem. Unimpressed by the duo's plans, Cottonmouth abandons them in favor of joining

Alex Wilder Alex Wilder is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is introduced in the series ''Runaways''. Alex Wilder was portrayed by Rhenzy Feliz in the Hulu television series ''Runaways'', whic ...

's New Pride.

Powers and abilities

Cottonmouth has super-strength that rivals Luke Cage. He also has sharp teeth that he had sharpened to resemble fangs; combined with his jaw-strength they are capable of piercing Cage's "unbreakable" skin. Cottonmouth also has a good knowledge of different poisons.

Other versions

Cottonmouth appears in the

Marvel Comics 2 Marvel Comics 2 was an imprint from Marvel Comics whose comic books depict an alternative future timeline for the Marvel Universe. The imprint was spun off from the events of '' What If?'' #105 (February 1998), which was the first appearance of t ...

series ''The Amazing

Spider-Girl Spider-Girl is the code name of several fictional Character (arts), characters in American comic book, comic books published by Marvel Comics. The most prominent version and first to receive an ongoing series is Mayday Parker from the Marvel Co ...

'' as the head of

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

branch of

Black Tarantula Black Tarantula is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Carlos LaMuerto version of Black Tarantula first appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #419 (January 1997), and makes his f ...

's criminal empire. When a new villain called the

Crime lord A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...

acquires and attempts to sell the Kingpin's files, Cottonmouth attends the auction for them in Black Tarantula's stead. The auction being crashed by the

Hobgoblin A hobgoblin is a household spirit, appearing in English folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his '' A Midsummer Nigh ...

and Spider-Girl leads to Cottonmouth and most of the other criminals present being arrested by the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

In other media

Cornell Bertram "Cottonmouth" Stokes appears in ''

'', portrayed by

as an adult and

Elijah Boothe Elijah Boothe is an American actor best known for his role in Netflix's Luke Cage (TV series), ''Luke Cage'' where he plays the young Cottonmouth (Cornell Stokes), Cottonmouth. Boothe has appeared in numerous television shows and feature films in ...

as a teenager. This version despises his nickname, which was derived from a childhood incident wherein several of his teeth were knocked out, is capable of killing people bare-handed, the grandson of Harlem crime lord Maybelline "Mama Mabel" Stokes, cousin of city councilwoman Mariah Dillard, and was part of a gang in his youth alongside barbershop owner, Robert "Pop" Hunter. In the present, Stokes publicly operates as the owner of the Harlem's Paradise nightclub while secretly working as a private arms dealer alongside Dillard, his assistant Shades, and several corrupt police officers on his payroll. While attempting to kill a group of street thugs who interrupted a deal he was conducting, Cottonmouth runs afoul of

and Pop is killed in the crossfire of a botched hit on the last thug. Cage retaliates by attacking Cottonmouth's stash houses and depleting the arms dealer's fortune, but NYPD Detective

Rafael Scarfe S'Byll S'Byll (sometimes spelled S'byll) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. S'Byll is a Skrull that was raised on the planet Satriani. She was responsible for curing Super-Skrull of his disease. Si ...

sells out Cage to Cottonmouth, who makes several failed attempts to kill Cage or drive him out of Harlem. Meanwhile, after internal affairs starts to investigate his actions, Scarfe attempts to blackmail Cottonmouth, who shoots him and leaves him for dead. Before he dies, Scarfe tells Cage and

Claire Temple Claire Temple is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a medical doctor primarily affiliated with the superhero Luke Cage and is one of his early love interests. Starting in 2015, a version of the char ...

everything he knows about Cottonmouth's operation. Cottonmouth is subsequently arrested, but the Stokes' family lawyer Benjamin Donovan bails him out. While addressing the fallout, Stokes gets into an argument with Dillard over their upbringing, during which he invokes memories of their uncle raping her as a child, leading to her killing him and framing Cage for it.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cottonmouth (Cornell Cottonmouth) Characters created by George Tuska Characters created by Len Wein Comics characters introduced in 1974 African-American characters in comics Marvel Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics supervillains Fictional crime bosses Luke Cage African-American characters in television