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Appearing in "Serpent Rising"

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Synopsis for "Serpent Rising"

With the alarms blaring at Project PEGASUS, Quasar -- the head of security -- leads staff to the source of the alarm. He arrives at the secure room where the Serpent Crown was being stored since the Thing brought it there. Opening the security door, Quasar is horrified to discover that the crown is no longer in the stasis field that was keeping it secure. As Quasar puzzles who had the authorization to get at the crown, the hero is suddenly attacked by the guards. Despite his efforts to fight them off, one of the guards manages to secure the Serpent Crown on Quasar's head. This instantly puts him under the thrall of the ancient demon known as Set.

Meanwhile, at the Baxter Building, the Thing has the evening to himself and plans on spending it eating snacks and watching a boxing match. Just as he is sitting down the phone begins to ring. When he answers it there is no answer, but suddenly the image of Quasar projects itself over the phone before the line is cut out. Finding this suspicious, the Thing decides to use the Fantastic Four's communicator to reach out to Project PEGASUS. Quasar answers the call and assures the Thing that there is nothing wrong. The Thing tries to go back get into the boxing match but can't shake the idea that there is something fishy going on. Unable to think of anything else the Thing decides to make a personal visit to Project PEGASUS instead. At that moment, Spider-Man rounds up some thieves who have stolen a bunch of video games. As he webs up the crooks, he suddenly sees the image of a large serpent sliding into the nearby alley. He goes to check it out but finds nothing there. Confused by what he has seen, Spider-Man suspects that it was some kind of mystical vision he decides to go see Doctor Strange.

At Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, Spider-Man is greeted by Wong who takes him to see Doctor Strange. After hearing about Spider-Man's strange vision, Doctor Strange agrees to probe his mind with the Eye of Agamotto. There he sees an image of Spider-Man with a great serpent wrapped around him. Strange explains that Set has made a claim for Spider-Man's soul. Strange explains that after their recent encounter with the Serpent Men. When Spider-Man was bitten by one of the Serpent Men, it put the wall-crawler in tune with Set. Fearing that Set may be attempting to return to Earth, Doctor Strange tracks the point of origin with the Orb of Agamotto. This alerts them to the situation going on at Project PEGASUS. He tells Spider-Man that his presence is pivotal to the battle ahead and invites him to come along. Elsewhere, the Scarlet Witch and her husband the Vision are watching a movie when suddenly, Wanda sees an image of a serpent. Rushing out of the theater, Wanda is followed by her husband who asks what's wrong. Wanda explains that her past encounter with the Serpent Crown. Telling him that she needs to investigate this alone, the Scarlet Witch tells her husband to rally the Avengers if he doesn't hear from her in 24 hours.

Elsewhere, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man go to a car rental place to get a car to drive to Project PEGASUS. When Spider-Man asks why Strange doesn't just teleport them there, Strange explains that he needs all of his mystical strength to battle Set. Using his mystical powers to cast an illusion that makes them look like normal customers so they can rent a car. Along the way, Doctor Strange sends his astral form into the past to learn. He returns moments later with everything they need to know. He explains that Set was one of the Elder Gods that was born eons ago and dominated the world. When the new gods came to destroy the old, Set was among the few that managed to flee into another dimension. He fathered other demons such as Demballah, Sligguth, Jormangand, and the lowliest of his progeny, the mortal Serpent Men. He goes on to say that when mankind came into dominance, the Serpent Men were driven back by the warrior king known as Kull. In response, the followers of Set created the Serpent Crown, which allowed Set to take control of those who wore it. The first known person to wear the Serpent Crown was the alchemist known as Atra. However, Atlantis and Lemuria sank beneath the sea in a fiery cataclysm before Atra could use the crown to conquer the world. Some of the Serpent Men survived but the last of them were later vanquished by Conan the barbarian, who slew their leader Thoth-Amon.

This was not the end of the Serpent Crown however, it was recovered centuries later by members of the water-breathing Atlantean race. The crown soon fell in the hand of Naga who used it to subjugate the people of Lemuria. However, a rebellion stole the crown from Naga, encased it in metal and hid it in the ice of the Antarctic. There is was recovered in the 20th Century by the man known as Destiny, who used it to attack Atlantis, however, the Crown's true form was revealed and got back into the hands of Naga. From there it passed on to Warlord Krang, to Viper, then to Roxxon. By this time, the Avengers had discovered that there was a Serpent Crown in every reality in the multiverse. After disposing of a second Serpent Crown in the ocean, it was recovered by the Serpent Squad and merged with the one worn by Roxxon's Hugh Jones. Set's scheme, in this case, was foiled thanks to the Thing and the Scarlet Witch. After that, the Thing turned the Serpent Crown over to Project PEGASUS for safe keeping, leading to the current crisis. With the explanation over, Spider-Man is sure they can stop Set again, but Doctor Strange warns the wall-crawler not to get too confident.

Meanwhile, the Thing arrives outside Project PEGASUS in the Fantastic Four's Pogo-Plane. From there he forces his way into the facility where he is confronted by a Serpent Crown possessed Quasar. A battle breaks out, but despite his strength, the Thing is easily overpowered by Quasar's energy bands. By this time, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange arrive at the scene. Exiting the car, Strange sends his astral form into the facility to track down the crown, asking Spider-Man to watch out for his physical body. No sooner is Strange's essence gone are the pair attacked by an army of Project PEGASUS guards. Spider-Man easily defeats this horde, but once the battle if over he notices that someone has made off with Doctor Strange's body. Before he can begin his search he is joined by the Scarlet Witch and the pair steal into the facility to find Strange and the Serpent Crown. Inside, they find a massive room where PEGASUS head, Myron Wilborn uses the facilities dimensional cannons to extract Serpent Crowns from across the multiverse. Many of the staff, as well as the captured Thing and Doctor Strange, have been forced to wear these Crowns, making them thralls of Set. Set's scheme is to force the human race to become Serpent Men or perish. Spotting Spider-Man and the Scarlet Witch, Quasar approaches them with two crowns. Directed by the spirit form of Doctor Strange, the two heroes attempt to prevent their possession by Set. However, the Scarlet Witch is captured and a crown placed on her head. Spider-Man manages to slip away to regroup and figure out how stop Set's goals for world domination.

By this point, the Set thralls begin removing their crowns and placing them into a pile until it forms a massive Serpent Crown of immense power. Doctor Strange's astral form uses his magical powers to destroy the crown placed on the Thing's head and set him free. He does the same to the Scarlet Witch. However, both are consumed by Set. Meanwhile, Spider-Man manages to pull the Cosmic Cube, which is being used to power the dimensional cannons. Spider-Man is swallowed as well. However, the three heroes manage to unite in the massive Serpent Crown and use the Cosmic Cube to destroy it. However, Set's essence is still free to continue his conquest. This is quickly stopped when Doctor Strange adds his power to his comrades and the Cosmic Cube. Through sheer force of will, they banish Set back to his dimension and free all those under his thrall. In the aftermath of the battle is over, but it came at the price of draining the Cosmic Cube of its power.

Notes

Continuity Notes[]

  • Doctor Strange goes through a great deal of Set's history over the eons. The facts are:
  • Strange's account of the Serpent Crown's creation is a revision of its first origin from Sub-Mariner #10 when Karthon told Namor how the crown had been created for Naga by the Royal Alchemists of Lemuria who were water-breathers like Naga. However, in the years since that origin was presented, several stories (including Captain America #181 and Marvel Two-In-One #66) had described the crown as having come from the Lemuria that had existed on the surface.
    • This issue's revised origin confirmed that the Serpent Crown had been created in Pre-Cataclysmic Lemuria, revealed that human alchemists and Serpent Men had worked together to create it, and introduced the alchemist Atra as the first person to ever wear the crown. However, it did not include any mention of the fact that the Lemuria that sank had been ruled by the Deviants, as had previously been established in Eternals #2.
    • A more detailed origin of the Serpent Crown, one that included the Deviants and the Celestials, would not be presented until Chapter 4 of the Saga of the Serpent Crown was presented in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #23.

Trivia

  • "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was the movie that Wanda and Vision were watching in the New Yorker movie theatre when she had her premonition of a snake-related evil.
  • A poster advertising that "Conan" would soon be showing could be seen in the lobby.

See Also

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References

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