Captain America: Brave New World's Serpent Society Explained
Among the many supervillains who have challenged and fought Captain America, the snake-themed mercenary group known as the Serpent Society includes some of his most venomous foes. Debuting in 1985's "Captain America" #310, by writer Mark Gruenwald and artist Paul Neary, the Serpent Society was formed by Sidewinder to sell their criminal services to evil organizations such as Hydra, Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), and the Maggia.
The Serpent Society has gone through several incarnations, appearing in comic books, video games, animated shows, and even a novel. In 2025, they made their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in "Captain America: Brave New World," but this high-profile appearance only came after a long, strange journey to the big screen. Diehard MCU fans may remember that in 2014, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige teased a third "Captain America" film subtitled "Serpent Society." However, this was a misdirection for 2016's "Captain America: Civil War."
"Captain America: Brave New World" introduces Seth Voelker, aka Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), as the gun-toting leader of a deadly special ops team known only as "Serpent," who clashes with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), the second Captain America. Serpent is notably toned-down from its comic counterpart, missing colorful costumes, outrageous technology, and even some critical team members (Rosa Salazar filmed scenes as the pink-haired mercenary Diamondback, but they were cut from the final film). For anyone curious about the team's comic book history, here is the story of the Serpent Society, explained.
They began as a supervillain labor union
While other supervillain teams like the Legion of Doom and the Masters of Evil pursue nothing less than world domination, the Serpent Society was intended to be something rarely seen in the world of superhero comics: a labor union. In "Captain America" #310, Sidewinder invites over a dozen supervillains — all with snake-related codenames, costumes, or super powers — to unionize, promising salaries, medical insurance, pensions, and even prison escapes via Sidewinder's teleportation cloak.
The Serpent Society soon proves its criminal capabilities and assassinates the maniacal M.O.D.O.K. on behalf of A.I.M. Despite this success, their membership remains in flux — Princess Python deserts the team due to her lack of superpowers, Death Adder is murdered by the villain-killing Scourge of the Underworld, and the terrorist Viper (aka Madame Hydra) takes over the organization as part of her greater plan to turn Washington D.C. citizens into mutated reptiles.
The team reaches a breaking point in "Captain America" #380. They discover that the free-spirited mercenary Diamondback has secretly begun a star-crossed romance with Steve Rogers and, accusing her of consorting with the enemy, put her on trial. Diamondback escapes her scheduled execution thanks to her friends Asp and Black Mamba, who break ranks and summon their former leader, Sidewinder, for help. The Serpent Society soon splinters, with most members either apprehended by Captain America, operating as solo mercenaries, or, like Diamondback, attempting to reform.
The Serpent Society later worshiped Mephisto
What remains of the Serpent Society sheds its skin and rebrands itself as Serpent Solutions, under the new leadership of Pit Viper (as the Marvel Universe has a seemingly endless supply of snake-based supervillains). Posing as a more legitimate business, this purely capitalistic incarnation of the team does the dirty work for billionaires and big corporations, and it inevitably tussles with the new Captain America, Sam Wilson.
An even darker path lies ahead for the former Serpent Society. In 2022's "Avengers" #55, Serpent Solutions falls under the corrosive power of the demon Mephisto, whom they worship as the "Great Red Serpent." Possessed by a supernatural bloodlust, they kill every civilian in their office building and offer them as human sacrifices to Mephisto, though the ritual is interrupted by the Avengers.
In the 2024 "Avengers Assemble" miniseries, Pit Viper's team — still under Mephisto's influence — commits several heists to gather the ingredients for the Serpent's Tears, a deadly and supernatural poison. Pit Viper exposes Steve Rogers to the Serpent's Tears, transforming him into a mutated and feral "Cap-Snake," but the Serpent Society falls under the combined might of the Avengers. Captain America is healed and the Serpent Society is sent to the Hague — an ignoble fate for an organization once formed for the dubiously honorable purpose of giving super-villains labor rights.