Serpent (character)

The Serpent (Cul Borson) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Known as the Norse God of Fear, he is the brother of Odin and the uncle of Thor and Loki as well as a foe of both relatives, as well as the Avengers.

Publication history The Serpent first appeared in Fear Itself #1 (June 2011), and was created by Stuart Immonen and Matt Fraction.

Fictional character biography Cul Borson first appears in the 2011 "Fear Itself" storyline, when he is freed from his underwater prison by Sinthea Shmidt / Red Skull, who possesses the Hammer of Skadi. Upon emerging as an old man, the Serpent claims that he is the true All-Father of Asgard, and not Odin. The Serpent prepares Skadi's army and calls the Hammers of the Worthy, which he sends to Earth,Fear Itself #1 (June 2011) transforming a number of superhuman beings into the Worthy, his henchmen who will help him spread fear and chaos across the globe: Juggernaut as Kuurth, Breaker of Stone; the Hulk as Nul, Breaker of Worlds; Attuma as Nerkodd, Breaker of Oceans; Titania as Skirn, Breaker of Men; Grey Gargoyle as Mokk, Breaker of Faith; Absorbing Man as Greithoth, Breaker of Wills; and the Thing as Angrir: Breaker of Souls. As the Worthy attack a number of high-profile cities on Earth,Fear Itself #2 (July 2011)Fear Itself #3 (August 2011) the Serpent is rejuvenated by the fear experienced by the global citizenry, restoring his youth. When Thor appears at his stronghold to confront him, the Serpent confirms to Thor that he is the Serpent destined by prophecy to kill Thor, and not the Midgard Serpent. The Serpent reveals that he is Odin's brother and Thor's uncle. He dispatches Thor to Manhattan, which lies in ruins following an attack by Skadi, Nul and Angrir, who then attack Thor.Fear Itself #4 (September 2011)

The Serpent confronts the Avengers and breaks Captain America's shield with his bare hands before teleporting away. Thor manages to dispatch Nul, who is transformed back into Thing,Fear Itself #5 (October 2011) but is seriously wounded, and transported to Asgard to recuperate. In an attempt to destroy Odin and his followers, the Serpent and his followers appear in Broxton, Oklahoma to use Heimdall's observatory to trave to Asgard. They are confronted by the heroes of Earth, who stage a last stand to stop them.Fear Itself #6 (November 2011)

When the healed Thor appears, the Serpent transforms into a giant serpent and confronts him while the Avengers fight the Worthy with weapons that Iron Man made in Asgard's workshops. Thor sacrifices himself to kill him, fulfilling the prophecy. Following Thor's funeral, Odin takes the Serpent's corpse to Asgard, casts out the other Asgardians, and locks himself alone with the body until the end of time, blaming himself for not preventing Thor's death.Fear Itself #7 (December 2011)

In the 2014 "Original Sin" storyline, Odin resurrects the Serpent, who reforms and becomes Asgard's Royal Inquisitor and Minister of Justice.Original Sin #5.4 (October 2014) He attempts to take Mjolnir from Thor, but is defeated by her, Thor, and Frigga.Thor (vol. 4) #5 - 8 (April - July 2015)

In the 2019 storyline "The War of the Realms", the Serpent discovers that Malekith is using a version of Bifrost. Cul relays this to Odin, and resolves to remain in Svartalfheim to discover how it works. After spending months studying it, Cul steals some explosives from the Swamp Mines and throws them towards the Bridge. He then discovers that Malekith has enslaved Dark Elf children to mine the explosives. After freeing the children, Serpent sacrifices himself by fending off the guards so that the children can escape.Thor (vol. 5) #13 (July 2019)

Powers and abilities Cul Borson possesses all the conventional attributes of an Asgardian god. However, as the son of Bor, many of these attributes are significantly superior than those possessed by the majority of his race. He possesses sufficient superhuman strength to shatter Captain America's shield with his bare hands. He possesses the ability to manipulate magic as he was able to transport, revive the dead and transform into a giant serpent. As the God of Fear, he could consume fear to empower himself.

Reception In 2020, CBR.com ranked the Serpent 9th in their "10 Marvel Gods With The Highest Kill Count" list.

Other characters named Serpent Several unrelated characters have been called Serpent:

Iko Akakowa Iko Akakowa is a spy who worked for Imperial Japan during World War II and was known as Serpent. He possessed poisonous glands underneath his fingernails which he uses to poison others. Serpent fought the Young Allies and committed seppuku with his own poison upon his defeat.Young Allies #7 (April 1943)

Fin Fang Foom Fin Fang Foom was once called "Serpent".Drax #3 (March 2016)

Mephisto Mephisto was called the "original Serpent" by the Serpent Society, who worshiped him.The Avengers (vol. 8) #55 (June 2022)

Symbiote version The Serpent is a Symbiote created after Meridius fused the Symbiote matter left behind by Bedlam's child with melted Promethium. It found its way to where Donald Blake was imprisoned and merged with him.Thor (vol. 6) #28 (December 2022)

In other media The Cul Borson incarnation of Serpent appears in Guardians of the Galaxy, voiced by Robin Atkin Downes. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version planted the World Tree before he was imprisoned in the Darkhawks' realm. In the present, the Serpent escapes his prison, attacks Asgard, and poisons the World Tree. Groot later uses the Dragonfang sword to purify the World Tree, causing the Serpent to age to dust. The Cul Borson incarnation of Serpent appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.

Serpent (character)

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