| Sons of the Serpents Sons of the Shield | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Avengers #32 (1966) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Don Heck |
| In-story information | |
| Type of organization | Terrorist |
| Base(s) | Atlantic City |
| Leader(s) | Current members:
Former members:
|
TheSons of the Serpent are asupervillain group appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created by writerStan Lee and artistDon Heck, the groupfirst appeared inThe Avengers #32 (September 1966).[1] The Sons of the Serpent is depicted as a racist organization.[2] It experiments on people attempting to cross theAmerican border.[3] SuperheroJoaquín Torres was notably captured by the group, and their experiments resulted in a painful transformation, turning him into ahybrid of avampire and afalcon.[4] The organization is also known under thecodenameSons of the Shield.[5]
The Sons of the Serpent debuted inThe Avengers #32 (September 1966),[6] created byStan Lee andDon Heck. It appeared in the 1972Defenders series,[7] the 1989Captain Marvel series,[8] and the 1996Captain America series.[9]
The Sons of the Serpent made a cameo in the 2008Runaways series,[citation needed] and appeared in the 2010Avengers: Children's Crusade series.[10] It appeared in the 2010Taskmaster series,[11] the 2011Daredevil series,[12] and the 2015Captain America: Sam Wilson series.[13]
The Sons of the Serpent are a subversive organization of costumed American racist super-patriots who oppose all racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.[14] They sought to subvert theUnited States throughhate crimes and organizedprotests, and were opposed by theAvengers and theDefenders. There have been many incarnations of the Sons of the Serpent across history.
The first group calling itself the Sons of the Serpent first appeared inAvengers #32.[15] They were secretly led by General Chen, an agent of Communist China. They attack black scientistBill Foster who is working with Pym, meaning he tells the Avengers to investigate them. As the Supreme Serpent, Chen attempted to control the Avengers by holdingCaptain America hostage and making a member impersonate him.[16] Hawkeye infiltrates the Sons when they launch a recruiting drive.[volume & issue needed]
The second Sons of the Serpent first appeared inAvengers #73.[17] They were led by racist television demagogues Dan Dunn and Montague Hale, and targeted the African superheroBlack Panther.[18][19]
The third Sons of the Serpent first appeared inDefenders #22. They were financed through J.C. Pennysworth of Richmond Enterprises (Nighthawk's company) who was an African-American posing as a white racist in pursuit of power.[20]
A sub-group of Serpent was featured in a back-up story in the nineteenth Avengers annual. Hubie Green is a young boy who idolizes the Avengers and dreams of being a super-hero. He gets the chance in a way he does not enjoy; he must turn his brother, the Serpent leader, over to the Avengers in order to save several cities from nuclear destruction.[21]
The fourth Sons of the Serpent first appeared inAvengers Annual 2000 led by Russell Diabola, a demonicSerpent Man. This incarnation of the group became more involved in mysticism, including references to Set.[22]
Another incarnation of The Sons of the Serpent appear in the miniseriesThe Last Defenders, led by an unidentified Supreme Serpent.[volume & issue needed] They held a meeting inDulwich,London, which was broken up by MI:5 working withSpitfire andUnion Jack.[23]
The Sons of the Serpents made a cameo inRunaways #10 (May 2009).[24] In a game oftruth or dare,Karolina Dean is dared to steal the Supreme Serpent's coiled staff. She does, andNico Minoru inadvertently cracks the coiled staff with a spell from her own staff.[25]
The group returns whenDaredevil finds one of Matt Murdock's childhood bullies, Nate Hackett, facing charges of a previous association with the group, that Murdock determines he is innocent of. When he gets to the courtroom, however, he finds that the judge is a member of the Sons of the Serpent, determined to find out what Nate knows, and then kill him. Daredevil is able to foil the plot, and learns that the Sons of the Serpent have infiltrated a good portion of the New York City justice system. Following this, they take advantage of a racially motivated murder trial, and, using help from theJester, try to start race riots in New York City.[26]
Marvel Comics writerJavier Rodríguez referred to the Sons of the Serpent as a "white supremacist group" spreadinghate speech.[27] George Marston ofNewsarama described the Sons of the Serpents as a "white supremacist militia" team.[28] Samuel Robert ofTechRadar called the Sons of the Serpent a "hate-mongering" and "anti-American" group.[29] Dan Gagnon ofGoCollect argued the Sons of the Serpent mirrors thecivil rights issues the United States faced at the time back when the organization was introduced.[30] Drew Kopp ofComic Book Resources depicted the Sons of the Serpent as a "right-wing anti-immigrant militia."[31] Marc Buxton ofDen of Geek stated, "When the Sons were introduced back in 1966, it was a subversive, underground hate organization dedicated to eradicating all non-white races. Sadly, in 2018, what was once underground is now mainstream."[32] Richard Newby ofInverse compared the Sons of the Serpent to the far-right organizationProud Boys.[33]
Some journalists have described the Sons of the Serpent as a stand-in for the American white supremacist terrorist hate groupKu Klux Klan.[34][35] Scott Harris-King ofLooper namedAvengers #32 (September 1966) one of the "earliest and most powerful stories in mainstream comics history" addressing issues of thecivil rights movement, calling the Sons of the Serpent a "Ku Klux Klan analogue."[36] Bob Darden of theWaco Tribune-Herald stated the Sons of the Serpent is modeled after the Ku Klux Klan, with the difference being their use of modern weapons, stating their objectives remain identical to the KKK, which includes "terrorizing minorities, recent immigrants, the disenfranchised, and sowing discord and hate in the United States."[37]
The depiction of the Sons of the Serpent has been criticized by some conservative journalists with the release ofCaptain America: Sam Wilson #1 (October 2015).[38] Some have stated the organization makesconservatives out to be "villains."[39][40] American conservative channelFox News argued the group serves to negatively depict Americans opposingillegal immigration.[41] Fox News anchorHeather Childers stated that politics should be kept "out of comic books" in consequence.[42]
Jessica Lachenal ofThe Mary Sue said Fox News was justifying a "supervillain’s hare-brained scheme to police" theborders of the United States,[43] while Marc Daalder defended the presence of political and social commentary across Marvel comic books and described it as a "positive step."[44] Alice W. Castle ofMultiversity Comics mocked the interpretation ofFox News and said the TV presenters "align themselves with a fictional racial hate group."[45] Jesse Schedeen ofIGN found "disturbing" how some conservatives can identify themselves to the Sons of the Serpent and therefore defend the actions of the group.[46] Brian Cronin ofComic Book Resources criticized those defending the organization based on its activities.[47] Russ Dobler ofAIPT Comics argued the Sons of the Serpent do not represent conservatives but those who can use an ideology as an excuse to justify their actions.[48]
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw ofThe Daily Dot stated that this segment has sparked a debate regarding whether the new Captain America is "too political," a notion that was deemed "thoroughly shot down by fans of the comic."[49] Petitions have emerged on both sides of the debate, with one calling for the resignation of comic book writerNick Spencer receiving 46 signatures, while another expressing support for him has attracted 792, as of October 20, 2015.[50]
An alternate version of the Sons of the Serpent appears in the alternate future ofMC2.[51] An offshoot organization called the Soldiers of the Serpent appeared inA-Next.[52][53]
An alternate version of the Sons of the Serpent appears onEarth-20051.[54]
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