Serpent Society
PURPOSE: Form Coalition of Serpent Motif Super-Villains for criminal endeavors.
AFFILIATIONS: Various Cruiminal Organizations, Roxxan, Sidewinder, Krang, Etc
ENEMIES: Captain America, Falcon, Viper, Constrictor, Paladin, X-Men, Avengers, etc
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Formerly in Scottsdale Arizona, Serpent Citadel in NYC
FIRST APPEARENCE: Captain America #310 (1985)
HISTORY : The Serpent Society is a business enterprise whose costumed
identities are based on snakes. The Serpent Society was the brainchild of Seth
Voelker, alias the Sidewinder, who was inspired by three previous coalitions of
criminals styling their identities after snakes; each named the Serpent Squad.
The first Serpent Squad consisted of the original Viper; his brother, the original
Eel (although an eel is a fish, not a snake); and the Cobra, and was organized for
the purpose of destroying Captain America. The second Serpent Squad was organized
by the second Viper (the first known Madame Hydra) and consisted of the Cobra,
the original Eel, and Princess Python. The second Serpent Squad aided the Viper
and the renegade Atlantean Warlord Krang in their use of the Serpent Crown, an
ancient artifact of immense power, and was defeated by Captain America in his
short-lived guise as the original Nomad and by the Sub-Mariner. Hugh Jones,
president of Roxxon Oil Company, organized the third Serpent Squad, comprised
of Sidewinder, Anaconda, Black Mamba, and Death Adder, to retrieve the Serpent
Crown, which had been lost in the Pacific Ocean. In the process of recovering the
Crown, three of the four Squad members were trapped in an underwater rockslide.
Sidewinder managed to complete the assignment and collect the fee from Roxxon.
With that money in the bank gaining interest, Sidewinder began to formulate plans
for the ultimate squad of serpents.
Learning that Anaconda, Black Mamba, and Death Adder had survived the undersea
mishap, Sidewinder convinced them of the sincerity of his intention to help them
better their lot. He then sent them to contact other snake-motif criminals to invite
them to an organizational meeting at a posh Manhattan hotel. The second Viper is
the only individual invited who outright refused to attend. The Constrictor walked
out of the meeting unimpressed by the proceedings and attempted to subvert the group
by informing on them to the Avengers. Sidewinder gave those interested in joining
his new team initiation tasks to test their abilities to work together as well as
to acquire certain technology needed by the organization. The tasks successfully
completed, Anaconda, Asp, Black Mamba, Bushmaster, Cobra, Cottonmouth, Death
Adder, Diamondback, Princess Python, and the Rattler became charter members of
the Serpent Society. Sidewinder escorted them to the group's headquarters,
Serpent Citadel, which was in an abandoned mental hospital he had purchased from
the state of New York.
In the course of the group's early activities, Captain America frequently intervened
but was never able to deal the organization a crippling blow. The Serpent Society's
first paying assignment was a contract on the life of the original Modok, the
renegade former leader of the Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM), taken out by AIM's
new leaders. The Society's success in killing Modok established their reputation
as hired criminal talent of the first caliber.
The membership of the Society has changed considerably over time. Princess Python
deserted the group during the Modok affair. She was captured and brainwashed to
forget Society secrets, and was expelled from their ranks. Death Adder was slain
by one of the vigilantes known as Scourge.
Later, the Viper sent a fourth Serpent Squad consisting of Copperhead, Black Racer,
Fer-de-Lance and Puff Adder to infiltrate the Society with the intention of
assassinating Sidewinder and putting herself as the rightful leader. When the
four were taken to Serpent Citadel by Sidewinder, it was easy for the rest of the
Viper's allies: Coachwhip, Boomslang, Slither, and Rock Python, to assault the
place. Many of the charter members turncoat and supported the Viper whereas the
Asp, Black Mamba, Bushmaster, and Diamondback remained loyal to Sidewinder.
The Viper plotted to take over the
Serpent Society and enlist its members in her scheme to introduce a mutagenic
chemical into Washington, D.C.'s water supply that would turn its citizens into
insane reptilian creatures. Four of her operatives, Black Racer, Copperhead,
Fer De-Lance, and Puff Adder, infiltrated the Society, and the Viper then led a
takeover of the Serpent Citadel, aided by her operatives Boomslang, Coachwhip,
Rock Python, and Slither. Viper poisoned Sidewinder, but Diamondback managed to
escape with him and enlist the aid of Captain America, who was then using the
identity known simply as "the Captain." Anaconda, the Cobra, and Cottonmouth
decided to support the Viper, who imprisoned and poisoned those Serpent Society
members who would not serve her. The Captain, Diamondback, and their allies Nomad
and D-Man succeeded in saving the captive Society members and defeating those
serving the Viper. Disillusioned with the Viper and her plan to mutate innocent
people, the Cobra himself defeated the Viper and turned her over to the Captain.
With the Viper's takeover thwarted, the Serpent Society reorganized at a new secret
headquarters. Bitter over his betrayal, Sidewinder left the Society and Cobra became
its new leader, eventually calling himself King Cobra. With the exception of Slither and
the Viper herself, all of the Viper's agents also joined the Society. The Society
re-located to a new secret headquarters in the Bronx. The membership of the Society
now consisted of Anaconda, the Asp, Black Mamba, Black Racer, Boomslang, Bushmaster, the
Cobra, Coachwhip, Cottonmouth, Diamondback, Puff Adder, the Rattler, and Rock Python.
Shortly afterwards, Diamondback became romantically involved with Captain America
and tried to quit the Society altogether to be with him. Despite the fact that
she was a member of a criminal organization that he desperately wanted to put out
of commission, Cap did not force her to betray her compatriots. The Society,
however, had Diamondback under surveillance and when they realized she has been
seeing Captain America socially, certain members demanded that she should be put
on trial for treason. Diamondback was found guilty of treason. Every member voted
for her death except for Asp, Black Mamba, Bushmaster and Rock Python. The Penalty
was death by injection of poison, but King Cobra said he would commute the sentence
if she would cooperate with them in regards to the true identity of Captain America.
Diamondback refused, but Black Mamba secretly alerted Sidewinder, who teleported in
to save Diamondback at the last moment.
Diamondback, seeking revenge against the Society, sought out the Paladin when Cap
could not guarantee that Mamba and Asp be given immunity from arrest. The two
infiltrated the Society's headquarters only to be captured along with Mamba and
Asp. Cap on the other hand, from his sky cycle, spotted a Serpent Saucer, piloted
by Cottonmouth and Fer-de-Lance heading back to the Society's hideout. Cap entered
the hideout along with the saucer and quickly subdued the two serpents. He quickly
freed Diamondback, Paladin, Mamba and Asp and together they brought down the
Society. All members were taken to prison with the exception of Diamondback, Asp,
and Mamba. Anaconda, Puff Adder and Rock Python escaped capture because they
were not at the headquarters at the time. Boomslang was in the hospital at this
time, a victim of street gang violence.
The Deviant priest-lord Ghaur and the former Lemurian empress Llyra contacted
Sidewinder, thinking he still headed the Serpent Society, to hire them to find
certain mystical objects they needed to reconstruct the Serpent Crown. Sidewinder
had then turned the contract over to the Cobra, but when the X-Men thwarted the
Serpent Society, Sidewinder stepped in to complete the assignment. He turned over
a fraction of the reward money to the Society.
The Serpent Society advertises its services through underworld channels, claiming
no job is too large. When a contract is accepted, the leader decides how many
operatives the assignment requires, selects certain operatives and dispatches them.
Part of the fees for each contract goes to the organization for operating costs,
while the others part goes to the operatives involved. Society members are not
prevented from seeking out their own outside assignments, but they must pay a
percentage of their outside earnings to the group. In exchange for each member's
services and financial support, the Society offers increased job opportunities,
health insurance benefits, safe lodging, and comradeship. Moreover, when Sidewinder
led the group, no member needed to fear imprisonment by legal authorities, for
Sidewinder would use his teleportation abilities to rescue any captured Society member.
After serving time in prison, the Society reformed again, going back to their old
ways. Another encounter with Captain America and the now defunct team called Force
Works seem to have permanently put them out of commission; both Puff Adder and
Mamba later said that the Society had disbanded.
However it seems the Society had reformed yet again in the recent Captain America
/Avengers Disassembled tie-ins.
The Serpent Society remains one of the best-organized, most successful coalitions
of criminals in operation today.
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