Synopsis
Origin[]
Set with Gaea, Oshtur, and Chthon, Set was an Elder God, created at the dawn of life on the planet Earth by the sentient bio-sphere known as the Demiurge. Set learned that by devouring his fellow Elder Gods, he could add their power to his own. Thus, in this way, Set became the first murderer. Other Elder Gods followed suit, and soon the majority of the Gods had become corrupt, degenerating into demons. Set and his "brother", Chthon of the dark forces, were among the worst.[1][2]Gaea wept for her brothers and sisters and conceived a child with the Demiurge known as Atum. Atum had a secondary form known as Demogorge, the God-Eater, and he went to work destroying the corrupted Elder Gods. Set and his children, Damballah and Sligguth, fled the Earth into a pocket dimensional space to escape the wrath of Demogorge.[1][2]
Dinosaurs[]
Set formed a bond with the reptiles of the world, especially the dinosaurs and attempted to prevent the ascendancy of mammals. Through the essence of the dinosaurs, Set was able to merge several dinosaur bodies and reincarnate himself on Earth, taking on a serpent incarnation for the first time. Atum intervened, and at the end of an eons-long battle, the dinosaurs underwent extinction. Set was forced back into his dimensional exile.[3]
Early Man[]
Set brought upon the emergence of the Serpent-Men.[4]
The godlike entity Sise-Neg originally created a Haven for two creatures belonging to be the borderline between apes and men:[4] A tribe descended from those two, and in the course of that tribe's migration every year, their leader and his mate would return to the Garden. One year, those two encountered in the Paradise the "Tribe of Mighty Set", Serpent-Men in disguise, offering them a better life in exchange for their obedience, the murder of their tribe and help to approach the Space Gods bringing gifts. The Wanderers rejected the offer and truth were revealed. Retreating, the Wanderers reached their tribe and returned into battle to drive the Serpent-Men out of the Garden. As the battle finished, the Wanderers could witness the First Host of the Celestials arriving in their starship, escorted by Gaea who smiled to the tribe, urging them to accept the gifts of the aliens.[4]
On behalf of Set, they attempted to receive the genetic gifts of the Celestials in lieu of early man but failed. Mankind grew strong thanks to the Celestials and recognized the Serpent-Men as demons. By the time of pre-Cataclysmic Atlantis, King Kull had killed most of the Serpent-Men.[4]
Cataclysm[]
The Serpent Crown was created in the final days of pre-Cataclysmic Lemuria. Trapped in a pocket dimension since before the time of man, the Elder God Set influenced the Earth through his Serpent Men and the spread of his worship. The famed human alchemist Atra was instructed by the Serpent Men on how to create a vessel for Set's power, which Atra hoped to use to overthrow Deviant emperor Phraug and their totalitarian rule of the humans of Lemuria. Set corrupted Atra's mind over time, however, so he turned to evil and killed his own daughter for standing in his way. When he confronted Phraug, Atra was surprised to learn the Deviant was also a Set-worshipper; they had simply manipulated Atra into creating the Serpent Crown for them. Atra and Phraud fought over the Crown as Lemuria fell before the assault of the Second Host of the Celestials, and the Crown was lost in the Cataclysm.[5][6]
14th Century[]
The Serpent Crown was lost until six hundred years ago when it was discovered by Naga. One of the water-breathing people who founded a new Lemuria under the seas, King Naga discovered the Crown in cursed waters and used it to declare himself God-Emperor of Lemuria and representative of Set himself.[7]
Naga had the Crown alchemically treated so that wearing it made his lifespan virtually immortal. However, a revolt against his tyrannical rule eventually came from a pact of telepathic Lemurians, who stole the Crown in the dead of night and carried it to Antarctica. Establishing a colony eventually known as the Ancients (Lemurians), the rebels encased the Crown in a metal to lessen its hypnotic influence. Over time, however, one of the brothers who founded the colony, Psycatos, succumbed to its influence and was transformed into the almost mirror image of Naga himself. After murdering his returning brother Bekkit, though, Psycatos had a moment of clarity and tossed aside the Crown. He triggered an explosion that destroyed the city of the Ancients and committed suicide before Set could reclaim his mind.[8][9]
20th Century[]
In the early 20th century, the City of the Ancients was uncovered by Paul Destine and Leonard MacKenzie. Destine turned on MacKenzie and was trapped in the buried city by his own actions, but he discovered the Serpent Crown, still in its disguised shell. Calling it his Helmet of Power, Destine augmented his own natural psychic abilities with the Helmet, and survived for decades in the buried city, passing in and out of suspended animation. It was through his actions (and the Crown's) that old Atlantis fell to a series of explosions and Leonard MacKenzie's son, Prince Namor, lost his memory for several decades. Destine, now calling himself Destiny, eventually escaped from the City of the Ancients with the Helmet of Power, but became completely mad and died while under the Helmet's influence.[10][11]
Namor recovered the Helmet of Power, unaware of its true origins. When he brought it back to Atlantis for study, the true Serpent Crown emerged and corrupted the minds of Dorma and the Atlantean people. The strong-willed Namor removed the Crown from Atlantis but was attacked by Karthon the Quester, a soldier of Lemuria who served the still-living mad-king Naga. The Crown was brought back to Naga, but as he fought the Sub-Mariner, Karthon realized how insane his emperor was and turned against him. The Serpent Crown was buried deep in a crevice after Naga's death.[12]Issues
See Also
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Thor Annual #10
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Silver Surfer Annual #2
- ↑ Iron Man Annual #10
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 X-Men Annual #13
- ↑ Marvel Team-Up Annual #5
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man Annual #23
- ↑ Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #9
- ↑ Sub-Mariner #10
- ↑ Daredevil Annual #4B
- ↑ Avengers Annual #18
- ↑ Sub-Mariner #1–8
- ↑ Sub-Mariner #9–13