The Serpent Squad is a fictional mercenary group composed of snake-themed criminals appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. Most often antagonists of
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
, the roster has changed through various incarnations.
Publication history
The original team first appeared in ''
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
'' #163, and was created by
Steve Englehart.
Fictional group history
The Serpent Squad was founded by the original
Viper after escaping prison with his brother, the
Eel, and
Cobra. Their plot involved ruining
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
's reputation using false advertisements. Captain America soon caught on to their scheme, and along with the
Falcon defeated the trio and sent them back to prison.
Madame Hydra later assassinated the original Viper and took his alias. She then reunited the Serpent Squad, urging the Eel to avenge his brother's death. At this time,
Princess Python joined the group. Cobra was not willing to serve Viper and challenged her to a battle, but he was easily defeated. Working with the warlord
Krang in an attempt to raise the lost continent
Lemuria, the Serpent Squad were ambushed by Captain America, then in his Nomad identity, who defeated the Eel and Princess Python. After Cobra eventually turned on Viper, she shot him in the back and managed to escape, while Nomad rushed Cobra to the hospital.
A third Serpent Squad appeared much later, under the employ of
Roxxon Oil executive
Hugh Jones Hugh Jones may refer to:
*Hugh Jones (bishop) (1508–1574), bishop of Llandaff
*Hugh Jones (archdeacon of St Asaph) (c. 1816–1897), British religious leader
*Hugh Jones (archdeacon of Essex) (1783–1869), Welsh churchman
*Hugh Jones (runner) (b ...
. The field leader
Sidewinder, along with his teammates
Anaconda,
Black Mamba
The black mamba (''Dendroaspis polylepis'') is a species of highly venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. It is native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. First formally described by Albert Günther in 1864, it is the second-longest ...
, and
Death Adder, was ordered to retrieve the
Serpent Crown and return it to Jones. After a battle with the
Thing and
Stingray
Stingrays are a group of sea rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae ( ...
, the Serpent Squad accomplished their task. However,
Triton joined the battle, and the three heroes were able to defeat Anaconda, Death Adder, and Black Mamba and trap them under the sea. Sidewinder escaped and handed the Serpent Crown over to Hugh Jones. Anaconda freed herself and her teammates from the silt, and the trio worked as freelance mercenaries, eventually battling
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
. They were then invited by Sidewinder to join the criminal organization, the
Serpent Society, which they accepted. Former Serpent Squad members Cobra and Princess Python also joined the Society.
While the Serpent Society was active, a new Serpent Squad suddenly appeared in Las Vegas. The members,
Copperhead,
Fer-de-Lance,
Puff Adder, and
Black Racer, committed acts of terrorism and theft in various casinos. Sidewinder noticed the group, and after they were defeated by Captain America, he freed them from prison and invited them to join his group. However, they were actually in the employ of the Viper, and she used them to commence her takeover of the Serpent Society. The mission was a failure, but Copperhead, Fer-de-Lance, Puff Adder, and Black Racer decided to stay with the Serpent Society. Copperhead soon left after a conflict with the Cobra.
Most recently, a new Serpent Squad surfaced with
Sin as the leader, a new
Viper, the
Eel, and the Cobra. They attacked the White House under the orders of the Red Skull, but Bucky, the new Captain America, attacked and defeated them all except for Sin.
Other versions
Exiles
Another alternate version of the Serpent Squad appeared in ''Exiles'' #89. The Exiles team had to restore Earth-27537. The Exiles had a hard time defeating the Squad, who were working together with Diamondback, but eventually the Exiles did manage to win and moved over to another reality. What the Serpent Squad was doing on this Earth exactly was never revealed.
Ultimate Marvel
The Serpent Squad appears in the
Ultimate Universe as a group of female mercenaries searching for the
Serpent Crown. The Squad consists of
Anaconda,
Black Mamba
The black mamba (''Dendroaspis polylepis'') is a species of highly venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. It is native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. First formally described by Albert Günther in 1864, it is the second-longest ...
,
Asp
Asp may refer to:
Places
* Asp, part of Densbüren, Aargau, Switzerland
* Aspe (''Asp'' in Valencian), Alicante, Spain
* Asp Lake, a lake in Minnesota
Animals
* Asp (fish)
* Asp (snake), in antiquity, one of several venomous snakes
** ''Cera ...
,
Princess Python, and a female
Death Adder. While searching for the crown, they came into conflict with the
Ultimate Fantastic Four. Anaconda was apprehended by
Mr. Fantastic
Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace ...
, while the
Thing was able to blast Black Mamba away, and
Human Torch got the best of Asp. However, Princess Python eventually knocked a piece of the Thing's body off of his upper arm. That, paired with Black Mamba's insulting the Thing over how he will "die alone," began the crossover
Ultimate Power
''Ultimate Power'' is a nine-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics.
The series is a crossover that ties the Supreme Power universe into the Ultimate Marvel universe and was written by Brian Michael Bendis, J. Michael Straczyn ...
.
The Serpent Squad later reappeared in ''Ultimate Comics Spider-Man'' again hunting for the Crown. A third encounter with Spider-Man also brought them into conflict with the All-New Ultimates.
[''Ultimate End'' #1]
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Serpent Squadat the Marvel Universe
*
{{Captain America
Marvel Comics supervillain teams