Serpent (character)

Serpent
The Serpent as depicted in Fear Itself #5 (October 2011). Art by Stuart Immonen and Wade Von Grawbadger.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Fear Itself #1 (April 2011)
Created by	Stuart Immonen Matt Fraction
In-story information
Full name	Cul Borson
Species	Asgardian
Place of origin	Asgard
Team affiliations	Worthy
Notable aliases	Serpent, God of Fear
Abilities	Superhuman strength, speed, agility, stamina and durability Healing factor Shapeshifting Magic manipulation Longevity Fear consumption

The Serpent (Cul Borson) is a fictional 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.^[1]

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,^[2] 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,^[3][4] 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, sending him to Manhattan, which lies in ruins following an attack by Skadi and two of the Worthy, Nul and Angrir, who then attack Thor.^[5]

The Serpent himself later 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, and as Nul,^{[6][clarification needed]} 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 transport themselves to Asgard. They are confronted by the heroes of Earth, who stage a last stand to prevent them from doing this.^[7]

When the healed Thor appears, the Serpent transforms into a giant serpent and battles his nephew 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.^[8]

During and after the Original Sin storyline, Odin resurrects the Serpent, who reforms and becomes Asgard's Royal Inquisitor and Minister of Justice.^[9][10] He attempts to take Mjolnir from Thor, but is defeated by her, Thor Odinson, and Frejya.^[11][12][13]

Following the destruction of Asgardia, the Serpent travels to Svartalfheim to uncover how Malekith's forces travel undetected.^[14]

In War of the Realms, the Serpent discovers that Malekith is using the Bifrost. He frees Malekith's Dark Elf slaves before being killed by his guards. After the Swamp Mines' destruction, the Elves fight the other Dark Elf soldiers in his honor.^[15]

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.^[6] He possesses the ability to manipulate magic as he was able to tele-transport, revive the dead and transform into a giant serpent.^[8] As the God of Fear, he could consume the fear of other people to empower himself.^[5]

Reception

In 2020, CBR.com ranked Cul 9th in their "10 Marvel Gods With The Highest Kill Count" list.^[16]

In other media

• The Serpent appears in Guardians of the Galaxy, voiced by Robin Atkin Downes.^[17] This version planted the World Tree before he was imprisoned in the Darkhawks' realm. Throughout his appearances, he escapes his imprisonment, attacks Asgard, and poisons the Tree before Groot uses the Dragonfang sword to kill him and purify the Tree.^{[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]}
• The Serpent appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.^{[citation needed]} This version leads the Worthy: Spider-Woman as Kuurth: Breaker of Stone, Luke Cage as Nul: Breaker of Worlds, Mockingbird as Nerkkrod: Breaker of Oceans, She-Hulk as Skirn: Breaker of Men, the Black Knight as Mokk: Breaker of Faith, Ghost Rider as Greithoth: Breaker of Wills, and Daimon Hellstrom as Angrir: Breaker of Souls.

See also

• Nidhogg

References

1. DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 319. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
2. Fraction, Matt (w), Immonen, Stuart (p), Von Grawbadger, Wade (i). "The Serpent" Fear Itself, no. 1 (June 2011). Marvel Comics.
3. Fraction, Matt (w), Immonen, Stuart (p), Von Grawbadger, Wade (i). "The Worthy" Fear Itself, no. 2 (July 2011). Marvel Comics.
4. Fraction, Matt (w), Immonen, Stuart (p), Von Grawbadger, Wade (i). "The Hammer that Fell on Yancy Street" Fear Itself, no. 3 (August 2011). Marvel Comics.
5. Fraction, Matt (w), Immonen, Stuart (p), von Grawbadger, Wade (i). "Worlds on Fire" Fear Itself, no. 4 (September 2011). Marvel Comics.
6. Matt Fraction (w), Stuart Immonen (p), Wade von Grawbadger (i). "Brawl" Fear Itself, no. 5 (October 2011). Marvel Comics.
7. Matt Fraction (w), Stuart Immonen (p), Wade von Grawbadger (i). "Blood-Tied and Doomed" Fear Itself, no. 6 (November 2011). Marvel Comics.
8. Fraction, Matt (w), Immonen, Stuart (p), Von Grawbadger, Wade (i). "Thor's Day" Fear Itself, vol. 1, no. 7 (December 2011). Marvel Comics.
9. Original Sin #5.4. Marvel Comics (New York).
10. Thor vol. 4 #5. Marvel Comics.
11. Thor vol. 4 #6. Marvel Comics.
12. Thor vol. 4 #7. Marvel Comics (New York).
13. Thor vol. 4 #8. Marvel Comics (New York).
14. Thor vol. 5 #10. Marvel Comics (New York).
15. Aaron, Jason (w), Del Mundo, Mike (a). "The Ballad of Cul Borson, God of Fear", Thor vol. 5 #13 (2019). Marvel Comics.
16. England, Matthew (June 28, 2020). "10 Marvel Gods With The Highest Kill Count, Ranked". CBR. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
17. "Cul Borson / The Serpent Voice - Guardians of the Galaxy (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 17, 2024. 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.
18. "Paranoid". Guardians of the Galaxy. Season 3. Episode 20. May 26, 2019. Disney XD.
19. "Darkhawks on the Edge of Town". Guardians of the Galaxy. Season 3. Episode 21. May 26, 2019. Disney XD.
20. "Holding Out for a Hero". Guardians of the Galaxy. Season 3. Episode 22. June 2, 2019. Disney XD.
21. "With a Little Help From My Friends". Guardians of the Galaxy. Season 3. Episode 23. June 2, 2019. Disney XD.
22. "Breaking Stuff is Hard to Do". Guardians of the Galaxy. Season 3. Episode 24. June 9, 2019. Disney XD.
23. "Killer Queen". Guardians of the Galaxy. Season 3. Episode 25. June 9, 2019. Disney XD.
24. "Just One Victory". Guardians of the Galaxy. Season 3. Episode 26. June 9, 2019. Disney XD.

External links

• Serpent at Marvel Wiki
• Serpent at Comic Vine