Fictional supervillain from Marvel Comics
Death Adder
is the name of two
supervillains
appearing in
American comic books
published by
Marvel Comics
. The original Death Adder (Roland Burroughs) first appeared in
Marvel Two-in-One
#64 (June 1980), created by writers
Mark Gruenwald
and
Ralph Macchio
. The second Death Adder (Theodore Scott), first appeared in
Civil War Files
#1 and was based on the concept of the original Death Adder.
Burroughs was a hired criminal that was given his powers by the
Brand Corporation
that gave him razor sharp claws, gills and a long tail, but also left him mute. After a failed mission to steal the
Serpent Crown
Death Adder joined up with
Sidewinder
as Sidewinder created the
Serpent Society
. During the Society's first mission, Death Adder killed
MODOK
using his poisoned talons. During a mission he was shot and killed by the vigilante known as the
Scourge of the Underworld
. He was later briefly reviewed to be part of the
Legion of the Unliving
and then brought back to life by the
Hood
to fight the
Punisher
.
Theodore Scott, the second Death Adder, first appeared during the
Civil War
storyline in 2005-2006 as one of the criminals forced to join the
Thunderbolts
army. He would later join the Serpent Society just like his predecessor, he also became part of Serpent Solutions when the group was reorganized during the
All-New, All-Different Marvel
relaunch of several Marvel comic books.
Publication history
[
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]
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The first Death Adder first appeared in
Marvel Two-in-One
#64 (June 1980), and was created by
Mark Gruenwald
and
Ralph Macchio
. His identity was revealed by
Rick Remender
during an interview for ComicBookResources as the Death Adder who had been resurrected.
[1]
Fictional character biography
[
edit
]
Roland Burroughs
[
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]
Comics character
Roland Burroughs was born in
Rochester, New York
. A small-time thug, Death Adder is chosen by
Roxxon Oil Company
to participate in a covert operation to retrieve the powerful
Serpent Crown
from the Atlantic Ocean. At Roxxon's Mutagenic Laboratory, Roland is surgically given gills and a bionic tail, as well as poison-tipped claws, to help him in his endeavors. An accident happens during this process which renders Death Adder mute. During the mission, he and his group, the third
Serpent Squad
, came into direct conflict with the heroes known as The
Thing
,
Stingray
, and
Triton
. The Serpent Squad is successful in finding the Serpent Crown, but are defeated by the heroes and taken into custody.
[2]
He and his former teammates,
Black Mamba
and
Anaconda
, joined with him again to infiltrate a
zoo
to sabotage Tony Stark's automatic animal-feeder and find a valuable weapon known as the "microscanner". This device scans and disrupts various body functions. They are ambushed and defeated by
Iron Man
, but were able to escape.
[3]
They later receive an invitation to join
Sidewinder
's
Serpent Society
.
[4]
All three attended the first organizational meeting of the Serpent Society.
[5]
It was there in the Serpent Society that Death Adder was able to shine, killing
MODOK
during their first mission by scrapes of his poisoned talons. He encounters
Captain America
during this mission.
[6]
He also participates in a mission to kill Captain America, whom the retired
Porcupine
had ostensibly captured. This ruse is actually devised by the Captain, and it eventually leads to a battle which Death Adder (along with
Cottonmouth
and
Rattler
) lost; the three of them are after a time bailed out by Sidewinder, however.
[7]
When ordered to bring the failed
Princess Python
back to her original group, the
Circus of Crime
, Death Adder's serpent saucer crashes in the South
Bronx
after it gets hit by an unknown weapon. Leaving Princess Python where she was and attempting to take a cab back to the base, he is shot and killed by the vigilante known as the
Scourge of the Underworld
, who is posing as the cab driver.
[8]
His body is later found by Sidewinder, and his closest friends Anaconda and Black Mamba were able to mourn his death.
[9]
It is later revealed that it was apparently also the Scourge who shot Death Adder out of the sky in the first place.
[10]
Death Adder, among other villains, was revived by the
Grandmaster
and as part of the
Legion of the Unliving
was pitted against the
Avengers
. He eventually poisoned and killed
Tigra
, but after
Death
was freed from her imprisonment, she reverted the world back to the way it was before The Grandmaster's meddling.
[11]
Death Adder was later among the seventeen criminals, all murdered by the Scourge, to be resurrected by
Hood
using the power of
Dormammu
as part of a squad assembled to eliminate the
Punisher
.
[12]
He will be teamed up with the
Basilisk
.
[13]
The Hood hosts a meeting for the resurrected criminals and explains to them that they have to kill the Punisher, telling them it was the Punisher who acted as the Scourge who killed them, and that if they do not kill the Punisher after one month the spell will end. Death Adder and Basilisk hold
G.W. Bridge
's family hostage to make him tell them where they can find the Punisher.
[14]
Death Adder is one of the few villains to survive the battle against Punisher and Bridge, with it being implied in his next appearance
[15]
that the Hood, in spite of his failure to kill the Punisher, performed the necessary spell required to ensure Death Adder's normal life span was restored. Along the way, Death Adder underwent surgeries provided to him via the Hood to undergo a major physical transformation. No longer does Death Adder wear a mask, as his face now resembles a chicken/lizard hybrid with a beak for a mouth and a fin much like his original mask possessed.
[
volume & issue needed
]
Death Adder later appears as part of the new
Crime Master
's syndicate that serves as the main antagonist in the 2010
Venom
series.
[16]
He later becomes a member of Crime Master's
Savage Six
, a super-powered team to do his bidding.
[17]
Death Adder is later killed by Venom.
[18]
Theodore Scott
[
edit
]
Comics character
A new Death Adder appeared during
Civil War
.
[
volume & issue needed
]
He is seen alongside many others criminals in the
Thunderbolts
army.
[
volume & issue needed
]
Death Adder has been identified as one of the 142 registered superheroes who appear on the cover of the comic book
Avengers: The Initiative
#1.
[19]
During the
Secret Invasion
storyline, the new Death Adder joined the
Serpent Society
. The Society held a number of civilians hostage in a compound in the
American Midwest
claiming they were protecting themselves from the
Skrulls
. However, they were easily defeated by
Nova
and his new
Nova Corps
.
[20]
As part of the
All-New, All-Different Marvel
event, Death Adder appears as a member of Viper's Serpent Society under its new name of Serpent Solutions.
[21]
During the "Opening Salvo" part of the
Secret Empire
storyline, Death Adder was with Serpent Solutions at the time when they are recruited by
Baron Helmut Zemo
to join his Army of Evil.
[22]
Later, Death Adder joined
Belladonna
's Assassins Guild. Alongside several other assassins, Death Adder confronted Deadpool. Before the battle began, Deadpool killed Death Adder by throwing a shuriken into his skull. After realizing it hit Death Adder, Deadpool joked that he was aiming for
Lord Deathstrike
.
[23]
Powers and abilities
[
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]
Through mutagenic experimentation by the
Brand Corporation
, the first Death Adder's strength, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes were artificially enhanced. He also became amphibious which allows him to breathe underwater through artificial gills as well as on land through his nose. His anatomy was bionically bolstered to be able to withstand the ocean depths. His eyes were augmented to be able to see clearly in the murky depths of the ocean. He had a bionic tail which he could control like a fifth limb. He was able to swim at superhuman speeds. Death Adder wore lightweight full body armor supplied by the Brand Corporation, which included special spike-studded casing for his tail and titanium talons on his gloves. He sometimes filled the reservoirs in each of his gloved fingers with snake venom which could be squeezed through a tiny hole in each of his talons. These fingers could be pneumatically elongated from 8 to 15 inches (380 mm) in length. Roland Burroughs had a college degree in engineering.
Other versions
[
edit
]
Ultimate Marvel
[
edit
]
Death Adder appeared in the
Ultimate Marvel
universe, though this version is actually female and was portrayed as a normal female who wore civilian clothing and had green lizard-like skin, along with her tail and claws. She works alongside the
Serpent Squad
and battles the
Fantastic Four
while searching for the
Serpent Crown
.
[24]
She later reappears with the Serpent Squad, having escaped prison and once again searching for the Serpent Crown inside Project Pegasus. She was defeated by Spider-Man, the Human Torch, Iceman, and Rick Jones.
[25]
A second, male Death Adder appears much later as a member of the street gang called the Serpent Skulls. He commanded his own punk-themed underlings. He was killed by the bloodthirsty vigilante Scourge during the final showdown with the All-New Ultimates.
[26]
The female Death Adder most recently appeared alongside the Serpent Squad, once again stealing the Serpent Crown. This time, they were defeated by Spider-Man and the All-New Ultimates.
[27]
Earth-33900
[
edit
]
In the Avengers series dedicated to the
American Armed Forces
, Death Adder appears as a member of the Serpent Society. Unlike the original Death Adder, this version was not mute (which may indicate he is the Theodore Scott version).
[28]
In other media
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References
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External links
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