SET

Real Name: Set

Identity/Class: Demon, Class One; Elder God (see this page for descriptions);
    Distant Past to the present day

Occupation: Would Be Conqueror

Group Membership: Elder Gods

Affiliations: Alexus, Atra, Attuma, Balaal, Black Ring,
    Brides of Set (Andromeda/Andromeda Attumasen, Dagger/Tandy Bown, the Invisible Woman/Sue Richards, Marvel Girl/Jean Grey, the Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff, She-Hulk/Jen Walters, Storm/Ororo Munroe),
    C'harona, Destiny (Paul Destine), dinosaurs, Dorma, Dragon of Set, Dragon Kings of Lemuria (possibly), Eallal, Ghaur, Haasl, Ikthon, Hugh Jones, Khorus, Krang, Kulan Gath, Llyra, Man-Serpents, Midgard Serpent
, Naga, Narcia, possibly Nexxx, Phraug, Priests of Set, Pyscatos, Satha (aspect or incarnation), Satyne, Scully, Serpent Cartel, Serpent Men, Serpent Men of Starkesboro, Serpent Men of Viper and Tyrannus, Set of Earth-712 (see comments), Thoth-Amon, Thugra Khotan, Thulsa Doom, Unliving, the nihilist Viper, Xaltotun; serpent guardians of the Aventurine Stone; unidentified sea serpent (
resmembling a long-necked aquatic dinosaur, such as a plesiosauroid);
    formerly Imus Champion, Quasar (Wendell Vaughn), Myron Wilburn, and anyone else who has worn the Serpent Crown (pretty much the whole population of Project: PEGASUS at some point);
    Set has been worshipped by the Serpent Men, Thulsa Doom, pre-Cataclysmic Deviants, Acheronians and Stygians, Kushites, and degenerate cults in mountains between Nemedia and Aquilonia, as well remnants of Stygian civilization in Shem, and undersea Lemurians and other Homo mermani in Atlantis and elsewhere at various times in history, and invoked by many sorcerers;
    see Ian McNee's Catalogue of Correspondences via the First Tarot;

Enemies: Ancients, Atum, Avengers (Beast, Captain America, Iron Man, Sersi, Vision, Wasp, Wonder Man), Conan, Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange), Hyppus (deceased), Gaea, Gaea of Earth-712, Ibis, Khonshu, Mitra, Neptune, Omm, Ossem, Quasar, Scarlet Witch, Sect of the Red Serpent, Seth, Spider-Man, Spider-People, Thing, Thor, X'Ka'Ak, Wyrm

Known Relatives: Demiurge (father);
     Chthon, Hyppus (brothers), 
Gaea, Issus, Oshtur (sisters), other Elder Gods (siblings);
     Damballah, Dragon of the Moon, Phorcys, Siapep, Sligguth, Yamato-no-Orichi (sons), Ishiti, Tartessus (daughter);
     Echidna, Gorgons (Euryale, Medusa, Stheno), Graea, Ophions, Scylla, Zirnitra (grandchildren);
     Angerboda, Cerberus, Chimera, Ladon, Lernaean Hydra, Maralith, Nemean Lion (great-grandchildren);
     Bolla, Fenris Wolf, Merro, Midgard Serpent, Pegasus, Pressyne, Zmey Gorynych (great-great-grandchildren);
        Llyra (wife of Merro);
     Drang, Hoarfen, Iceworm, Melior, Melusine, Palatine, Sturm (great-great-great-grandchildren);
     Nagala, Yith (great-great-great-great-grandchildren (6th generation descendents));
     Children of Ishiti, Dragon Kings of Lemuria, Man-Serpents, Serpent Men, Simbi, Sirens, Snakes of Many Colors, Wolf Gods of Asgard (descendents)
      see also Chthon and Gaea for more distant relations

Aliases: Apep, Apocalypse, Father Set, the Great Serpent, Lotan, Leviathan, Ophion, Serpent God, Serpent Emperor of the Waters, Tiamat, Flood;
    possibly Satha

Base of Operations: Presumably the Serpent's Sea dimension
    formerly Earth in the distant past, especially prominently worshipped during the Hyborian Age

First Appearance: (Mentioned) "The Phoenix on the Sword", Weird Tales (December, 1932);
    (mentioned in the Marvel Universe) Conan the Barbarian I#7 (July, 1971);
    (seen) Marvel Feature I#6 (May, 1976)

Powers: Possessing vast mystical power, Set is one of the most powerful demons in existence.

    His access to Earth usually limited (he can only physically leave his own dimension under special circumstances), he sends power to sorcerers invoking his name, as well as through various artifacts constructed for him, such as the Serpent Crowns, the Golden Serpent , the Aventurine Stone, and the now powerless  Cobra Crown.
    unidentified Set-charm - CtB74

http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/ramthakarn.htm#snakes

    Aided by such access, he can potentially enslave entire nations or even worlds, grant great psychic powers, and so on.

    Set's true form is ethereal, and he adopts the form of an immensely powerful serpent (currently seven-headed) to interact with the physical world; early images of Set often show him in serpent form for convenience’s sake. Within his own realm, Set manifests in a grotesque form appearing as if he had been turned inside out, with his inner organs outwardly visible.

    It is uncertain whether Set can be permanently destroyed by any means.

    Some sources describe Set as being unique to the multiverse, but other sources show an individual Set in various alternate realities.

    Set's realm, the Serpent's Sea (aka the Coils of Set) was described thusly by Ian McNee: Set's insatiable hunger ripples through this abyss of tears and cold blood. The sea's shores ebb and flow with Set's own power. At it's peak, when Set's wizards and lizards ruled the Earth, the Serpent's Sea was practically impossible to cross. Set's recent defeats have caused the sea to recede considerably.

Height: 50' (variable)
Weight: 25 tons (variable)
Eyes: Red
Scales: Green

 

 

History: (Thor Annual#10, Silver Surfer Annual#2/7, Doctor Strange III#9/2, Doctor Strange III#11/2)
- Set was created by the Demiurge  along with Gaea and Chthon as one of the Elder Gods as one of the first example of terrestrial life. Set sought more power, so he created spawn such as Sligguth and Damballah. To even further add to his power, Set killed his brother Hyppus to absorb energy from him-becoming Earth's first murderer; other Elder Gods imitated Set's tactics, leading to massive slaughter. Gaea, wishing to stop this, gave birth to Atum, who banished many of the Elder Gods. Set and his spawn were among the ones forced to leave Earth.

 seteldergod-sw4-vs-worm

 

(Conan: Serpent War#4) - They Wyrm is an ancient demonic being that exists in a cosmic rivalry with the serpentine Elder God Set, with some realities dominated by Set and others by the Wyrm.


 

 

 

 (Marvel Tarot) - Set's devoted followers know him by seven names, each of which became linked to a mythic serpent or dragon. Quite possibly Set had a "hand" in the development of the prevalent serpent stories in almost every culture. The seven names of the Serpent have also become connected to the seven deadly sins with each of Set's heads possessing a specific deadly sin.

  1. Set - Wrath
  2. Apep - Greed
  3. Ophion - Sloth
  4. Tiamat - Lust
  5. Lotan - Gluttony
  6. Leviathan - Envy
  7. Apocalypse - Pride

 

(Punisher Annual#2/4) - Set created a mystical affinity with the dinosaurs which he used to absorb the life-energies released by their violent deaths. Over millions of years, he amassed an enormous amount of power.

 

 

 

 

 

(Iron Man Annual#10/4 (fb)) - Gaea became aware that the dinosaurs that had evolved on Earth had reached an evolutionary dead end. She also realized that their existence prevented mammals from evolving to their full potential and she shifted her attention to them. Not wishing to lose his power source, Set ordered the dinosaurs to destroy the mammals of Earth. Gaea dared Set to face her, and Set appeared on Earth in a physical form created by the fusion of the bodies of three dinosaurs. It was only after Set appeared Gaea realized that she would need help fighting him and called upon her son Atum for protection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Atum appeared and did battle with Set, cutting off his head in the process. However, Set re-grew two heads for each one severed until he had seven (the number of heads he retained subsequently), but during  the course of the lengthy battle, nearly all the dinosaurs of earth were destroyed except for an isolated few in areas such as the Savage Land. With Set weakened, Atum in the form of Demogorge proved victorious in breaking Set's control on the Earth. Set, due to this battle, could not return to Earth unaided.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89#7, Savage Sword of Conan#192 (fb))
    <@ One million years BC> - Set brought about the emergence of the serpentine race of followers. It remains unclear if they are his literal offspring or he directed the evolution of Terran reptiles or man-apes to bring about their emergence. They are a race either descended from or created by the Elder God Set. For eons, there was a single scaly race, which did Set homage for longer than the human mind can conceive. Then, for reason unknown, it split into two distinct races--the Man-Serpents and the Serpent Men.


(Uncanny X-Men Annual#13/3 - BTS) - One day, before the emergence of homo sapiens, two primate life forms went to a special green haven. This haven had been created for two of their ancestors by the time-traveling sorcerer Sise-Neg. As part of the course of the primate tribe's annual migration, the tribe leader and his mate returned to this special place. This year, the tribe leader and his mate found a strange primate tribe in Sise-Neg's haven. One of these odd primates communicated with the leader and his mate telepathically, saying "We are the tribe of Set". He informed them of how Set fed them, keeping them warm and happy. The tribe leader and his mate were offered membership in Set's tribe on condition that they slew the members of their own tribe as food for Set, and bring Set's tribe to see upcoming "visitors from the sky.". The tribe leader and his mate refused the offer and attacked the Setian tribe. The Setian tribe revealed their true faces-the heads of Serpent Men. The primate tribe drove the Serpent Men from Sise-Neg's garden. Immediately after the battle, the "visitors from the sky"-the First Host of the Celestials-arrived. Gaea was with them, imploring the man-apes to come to the Celestials. Gammenon the Gatherer scooped them up and brought them to the starship.
    The Serpent Men, who thanks to Set had more highly evolved minds than normal, approached the Celestials, asking them for a boon. Arishem the Judge instead fired at them, dispersing them.

(Savage Sword of Conan#39-43? - BTS) - The Serpent Men apparently created the Cobra Crown (which drew on the power of Set) in pre-human ages, to create "an empire of the Earth" from Valusia.
    At some point, the Cobra Crown, which had been worn by the kings of the Serpent Men, was hidden under a black shrine to Tsathoggua, guarded by a living stone idol of the Toad-God. Presumably, Tsathoggua had formed an alliance with Set. In any event, this shrine was located on the Nameless Isle, and would not be found for years, due to the island being located far away from any other land or shipping lanes.

(Official Handbook of the Conan Universe#1, Marvel Team-Up I#111 (fb - BTS), Kull the Conqueror I#2 (fb - BTS), Kull the Conqueror II#1 (fb - BTS), Kull the Conqueror II#2 (fb - BTS), Savage Sword of Conan#192 (fb))
    <Distant Past, Thurian Era, Pre-Cataclysmic Age> - Over the succeeding millennia the Serpent Men harried the emerging homo sapiens. For an epoch, the ancestors of humanity served the Serpent Men. They also vied with other demonic or bizarre races (Elderspawn), such as the Harpies, Spider People, and Wolf Men. Eventually, man became strong enough to defeat them. The Serpent Men became enemies of King Kull of Valusia. In addition, Thulsa Doom also worshipped Set.


(Conan the Barbarian Annual#8 (fb - BTS) - A group of Set-worshipping cultists named the Unliving sought to create a powerful leader through human sacrifice, which they used to generate rapid pregnancy. Under their control, one such pregnant woman gave birth to two children, one male, the other female. However, Kull raided the cult's base, killing them. The two children were to be killed, but Tu (Kull's vizier) gave them to shepherds. These children later gained the names Narcia and Alexus.

 

(Marvel Team-Up Annual#5 (fb), Amazing Spider-Man Annual#23/7 (BTS))
<Around 18000 BC> - Five centuries after Kull's death, the Deviants, an offshoot of humanity created by the experiments of the First Host of the Celestials, had emerged as the first developers of sophisticated technology. Based in Lemuria, they conquered much of the Earth. Atra, a normal homo sapien of Lemuria, wished to unseat the Deviants. To that end, he formed an alliance with the Serpent Men to create the powerful Setian object the Serpent Crown. The Serpent Crown was presumably created as a replacement for the Cobra Crown, which, as would become clear later, had not been manufactured properly.
    Set linked the Serpent Crown with his mind. Though the human alchemists were led to believe that the Serpent Crown would be used to depose the Deviants, in fact Set transferred his allegiance to the Deviants once the Serpent Crown was created. This was much to the chagrin of Atra, who was the first to wear the Serpent Crown. Set refused to allow the power of the crown to be used against his new worshippers, the Deviants.
    Emboldened by their new deity, the emperor of the Deviants, Phraug, ordered an attack against the Second Host of Celestials, who were returning for a follow-up investigation of the human race. The Celestials shrugged off Phraug's attack and caused a massive nuclear explosion that destroyed the Lemurian continent as well as damaging the Atlantean continent. This served as the Great Cataclysm that ended this stage of world history. Atra and Emperor Phraug were dead center under the main explosion and died immediately, but the power of the Celestials caused their skeletal remains to be left preserved, as a warning about pride.

 

 

 

(Official Handbook of the Conan Universe#1, Savage Sword of Conan#192 (fb), Conan the Adventurer#5/2 ( BTS), Giant-Size Conan#1 (article), Savage Sword of Conan#229 ( BTS), Savage Sword of Conan#230 (BTS))
    < Hyborian Age/ age of Acheron> - Some Serpent Men survived the first, Great Cataclysm, which destroyed much of civilization. However, later the Serpent Men were dealt a further blow when humans (who had lived on the eastern coast of the Thurian continent before enslaving and fleeing from the ancestors of the people of Khitai) forging westward took much of the remaining Serpent Men-ruled territory, setting up the kingdom of Stygia in the process, as well as Acheron. Much of the activities of the Serpent Men in the following millennia are unknown.
    Set was worshipped by both the people of Stygia and its related kingdom, Acheron. Eventually, Acheron was toppled, but Stygia survived.

(Conan the Barbarian: The Skull of Set ( fb ) - BTS) < chronology uncertain> - In the city of Eidoran, then a mighty but decadent place, Set worshippers summoned forth demons such as Khorus from an infernal dimension. The first followers of Mitra hired their own sorcerer-who used a crystal skull to focus his powers and bind the demons in stone. After this, the ruins of Eidoran were guarded by the Mitran clergy.

(Marvel Feature Presents Red Sonja I#6 (fb))
    <chronology uncertain> At some point, Set battled the bird-headed god Ibis.

(Conan the Barbarian I#125 (fb) - BTS)
    <chronology uncertain> - Legends tell of Set meeting the dark god Nexxx in Stygia.

(Savage Sword of Conan#65 (fb) - BTS)
    <chronology uncertain> - Set became the foe of the demon Xka'Ahk.

(Savage Sword of Conan#216 (fb) - BTS) - Stygians believed Set had a sister called Isuus.

(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4 (fb) - BTS) <Many millennia ago> - The followers of the serpent god Set spread death and tyranny across Earth. Every sacrifice empowered Set, but for the most zealous followers, this was not enough. In their eyes, the priests of Set had grown fat and complacent, and so they formed their own secret faction, the Sect of the Red Serpent. 

    Basking in the bloodbath as the sect slaughtered temple after temple, Set's rival the Wyrm sought to sow further discord among Set's followers. The Worm began to whisper to the Sect of the Red Serpent. He planted in their minds the notion the notion that a treacherous god such as Set was most truly worshipped by treachery -- by being defied. 

    Wyrm presented Set's traitorous priests with the Serpent Scepter, an artifact that allowed a mortal to unlock untapped powers of the Serpent Crown while still resisting Set's will.
Together, the Serpent Crown and the Serpent Scepter should have been unstoppable. But the Sect of the Red Serpent tried to use their combined power, they found it too much for the frail human frame. 

(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4 (fb) - BTS) - The Serpent Scepter was hidden by the ragged remnants of the Red Serpent. It was to be discovered only by one who had proven himself by bathing in the blood of Set's priests.


(Conan the Barbarian I#144 (fb) - BTS) <chronology uncertain> - The town of Solvantha was menaced by the Dragon of Set. At the edge of Cimmeria, the wizard Rham-Sot, conversant with the "ways of Set", created the Sword of Graven to deal with the monster.

 

seteldergod-sw2-confront_satyne(Conan: Serpent War#4 (fb) - BTS) - The Wyrm (see comments) connected to all of Niord's reincarnations, including writer James Allison, whom he cursed with a wasting disease; via this disease, the Wyrm was spiritually connected to and controlled Allison.

(Conan: Serpent War#1 - BTS) - Circa 1936, in Cross Plains, Texas, the Wyrm contacted James Allison, reviewing his time as Niord and revealing that Satha had been an aspect of Set. Distracting Allison from recalling the struggle after Satha, the Wyrm had Allison contact various warriors across time and showing them visions of Set to unite them against the great serpent: the modern Moon Knight (Marc Spector) in West Chester, New York; 1584's Solomon Kane; 1522's Dark Agnes; and 10,000 B.C.'s Conan the Cimmerian. 

    As each encountered either Serpent Men or Man-Serpents, Moon Knight was transported to join Kane at Dunbar Castle, Northumberland, England; and Dark Agnes was brought to join Conan in the Karpash mountains in western Corinthia.

(Conan: Serpent War#2) - Set warned his Hyborian-era priestess Satyne that a pair of warriors would be coming to destroy the bracelet, and that she must protect it at all costs, body or soul. 

 (Conan: Serpent War#2 - BTS) - The Worm continued to influence James Allison, forcing him to warn Conan and Dark Agnes, and Solomon Kane and Moon Knight of various threats from Set. The Wyrm subsequently complimented James on his use of literary skills to influence them. 

(Conan: Serpent War#2 - BTS) - Via James Allison, the Wyrm led Conan and Dark Agnes to destroy Set's Aventurine Stone and its guardians.

    Back in 1584, Allison/Worm then warned that their next objective was close just before the ship of Kane's ally Basso fired on them. The crew, under the influence of Set, apparently perished when Moon Knight destroyed their ship, but not before one of them told him that the "Wyrm" had his (Moon Knight's) soul and only death could set him free.

(Conan: Serpent War#3 - BTS) - The Wyrm advised James Allison that they must destroy Set's tethers and establish their own power within the land and people of the Hyborian era. They watched across time and space as Conan and Dark Agnes slew a nest of Serpent Men and destroyed a number of urns holding the hearts of the masters of those Serpent Men, extinguishing their immortality and slaying them. 

    Learning of the location of a great vault in Stygia holding more such hearts, Conan and Agnes traveled to and destroyed the vault, along the way locating caches of snake-spawned treasures and shattering the bonds between Set and Earth.

    In 1584, Solomon Kane and Moon Knight similarly slew Set agents and relics in Rotterdam, Luxembourg, Novara, and Italy, where the Wyrm spoke via James Allison, telling the heroes they must destroy the bracelet relic of Set "simultaneously" while its twin in the Hyborian era was destroyed. set-eldergod-sw4-vkhonshu

    Across time, both teams of heroes faced Serpent Men, but Satyne, priestess of Set, used her bracelet to cause a Set-powered snake to bite Conan.

(Conan: Serpent War#3) - Meanwhile, in 1936, the Wyrm noted that Set would fall, and it departed to face Set in Hyborian Stygia.

(Conan: Serpent War#3 - BTS) - His mind clear, James Allison realized that the Wyrm had used him to build its kingdom. He then contacted Moon Knight, telling him that they had been used and that he could achieve victory by donning the bracelet, which allowed him to commune with Set (with Conan and Khonshu apparently in Set's or some other astral realm).

(Conan: Serpent War#4) - Khonshu absorbed the power of the weakened Set to use it to mount a defense against the Wyrm. 

(Conan: Serpent War#4 - BTS) - Via Khonshu's power Moon Knight transported himself and Solomon Kane to Stygia, where they joined with Satyne, Conan and Agnes. Moon Knight explained how they had manipulated by James Allison who in turn had been a pawn of the Wyrm. By following Allison's quest, the heroes had weakened Set and given the Wyrm a foothold to invade their reality.

(Conan: Serpent War#4 - BTS) - The combined efforts and abilties of James Allison, Satyne, Conan, Dark Agnes, Solomon Kane, Moon Knight, and Khonshu seemingly destroyed the Wyrm, driving it from reality.

(Conan: Serpent War#4) - Khonshu restored Set to existence, noting that his presence was needed as a balance to prevent the Wyrm from returning to their realm. 

(Conan: Serpent War#4 (fb) - BTS) - <18,500 B.C.> - A man named Jamus of Lemuria appeared in Valusia, seeking out Tu, the royal advisor to King Kull as if he knew him and spoke secrets which Tu had never told another being.

(Conan: Serpent War#4 - BTS) - Tu brought Jamus to Kull, telling him that his master had fought valiantly but lost a great war in a distant land, and that his master sought allies to reclaim his kingdom. Jamus further noted that his master believed that Kull carried the courage and cavalry required, and that he had been sent as a messenger and to bring him a great gift as a sign of their deep admiration. 

    Kull accepted the chest Jamus carried and opened it, revealing a white crown (which was otherwise somewhat similar in appearance to the Serpent Crown). Jamus noted that while Kull may think it strange that they would gift a king with another crown, they insisted that he take it and know that it carried their great blessing: "Together, the Wyrm and Valusia shall build an age undreamed of..."

 (Conan the Barbarian Annual#8 (fb - BTS) - Narcia & Alexus, immune to aging, achieved positions of power in the city-state of Tarsus in the Border Kingdoms. While Narcia sought only to use her magical powers to help others, Alexus sought power to conquer and destroy. Narcia was forced to slay the physical form of Alexus to save her lover, Conan, from him; and she then had Conan slay her form so that she could stop Alexus, whose non-corporeal form had become immensely powerful. Their true astral forms grappled eternally.

(Savage Sword of Conan#40 - ) - Ninus, a former thief turned Mitraic priest, attempted to sell the map to the Nameless Isle to Conan, but was killed by the Setian priest Menkara and the corsair Zarano, who stole the map. Arriving upon the Nameless Isle, Menkara, ignorant of the existence and location of the Cobra Crown, stole only a copy of the Book of Skelos. Conan, however, followed their trail, destroyed an idol of Tsathoggua, and discovered the Cobra Crown.

(Savage Sword of Conan#41-43, Punisher Annual#2 - BTS) -  The Cobra Crown was stolen from Conan, eventually ending up in the hands of Amazon warriors. Thoth-Amon learned of the near-miss of the Cobra Crown by probing Menkara's mind, after which he located and claimed the Cobra Crown, using it in an effort to usurp the leadership of Zingara from King Ferdrugo. When Thoth-Amon removed the Cobra Crown to accept the crown of Zingara, another would-be usurper named Villagro rushed forward and donned the Crown. Thoth-Amon, with great effort (and assistance from Menkara), managed to overpower and slay Villagro, who was unable to fully tap into the Crown's power. In the process, however, Villagro burnt out the Crown, rendering it useless. Thoth-Amon and Zarono fled Zingara and escaped Conan and its soldiers, while Menkara was killed in the ensuing battle.

(Conan the Barbarian I#147 - BTS) - Set managed to recruit a turncoat Mitraic priestess named C'Harona with promises of power. Set instructed her to free his "most hideous demons" from "the center of the Earth". To that end, C'Harona mesmerized the popular Mitraic  priestess Pelijah Lon and had her persuade the people of D'eim to build a tower to Mitra. In fact, C'Harona used the tower to hide a drill that was being used to burrow into the Earth to free rat-like demons serving Set. C'Harona intended to use these demons to help destroy the Mitraic  religion in D'eim.
    Conan received an image of Pelijah asking for help. Going to D'eim, he investigated and found the truth. Eventually, C'Harona, as promised, was transformed by Set into a powerful "hideous shrieking harpie" (sic), but Conan and Pelijah Lon managed to destroy C'Harona, and the rat-like demons were destroyed when the tower was demolished.

(Supernatural Thrillers#3 (fb) - BTS) - The Aesir Niord slew Satha -- a manifestation, aspect, and/or descendant of Set -- and used the venom from its fangs to slay the Wyrm on Earth.

(Fantastic Four Encyclopedia, Marvel Team-Up Annual#5 (fb) - BTS) <chronology uncertain> - Set influenced the development of the Midgard Serpent.

(Punisher Annual#2) - The Hyborian Age ended. Set worship continued in Stygia (now Egypt). However, an upstart god impersonated Set, convincing Set's worshippers that he was their deity….and that they should call him Seth. Set, watching from his dimension, writhed in frustration, but could do nothing.

(X-Factor I#24 (fb), Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe#1: Apocalypse Entry) - The ancient Egyptians mistook En Sabah Nur, later Apocalypse, for both Set and Seth.

(Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#9/5) <2000 years ago> - Set sought worshippers among Atlanteans enraged at the death of their loved ones at the hands of barbarians of Skarka. Neptune encountered this cult of Atlanteans after speaking with Ossem, and destroyed them. They had attempted to summon Set, and so a part of Set's life-force remained in a golden globe known as the Golden Serpent.

(Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#9/5) <600 years ago> - Naga, leader of the undersea Lemurians who had long ago found the remains of Phraug and Atra but shunned them, told a man to retrieve the Serpent Crown for him. Naga embraced the Crown's power, and the Lemurians were gradually mutated by Set to have a scaly appearance.

(Daredevil Annual#4B/6 (fb) - BTS) - Set showed Naga how to treat the Serpent Crown with material from certain strange undersea life forms, allowing Naga to have an elongated life.

(Sub-Mariner I#10 (fb) / Daredevil Annual#4B/6 (fb) - BTS) - A group of telepathic Lemurians (later called the Ancients) stole the Crown. They went to the Antarctic, finding Atlantean technology left over from the creators of the Savage Land. They encased the Serpent Crown in metal. One of the ancients, Pyscatos, years later gave in to temptation and donned the Crown. Eventually repenting, he killed himself, and set off an explosion.

(Avengers Annual#18/4, Saga of the Sub-Mariner#1 (BTS), Sub-Mariner I#1 (fb - BTS), Tales to Astonish I#101 (BTS), Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner I#1 (BTS), Sub-Mariner I#6-8 ( BTS))
    - Set used his power to preserve a dynamo of the Ancients, hoping that someday someone would again find the metal-encased Crown. In 1920, Paul Destine traveled to the Antarctic with Leonard McKenzie aboard the Oracle ship. Acquiring the Crown, Destine went into suspended animation.

(Avengers Annual#18/4, Saga of the Sub-Mariner#1 (BTS), Sub-Mariner I#1 (fb - BTS), Tales to Astonish I#101 (BTS), Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner I#1 (BTS), Sub-Mariner I#6-8 ( BTS))
    - Emerging in 1958, Destine took the name Destiny, and called the Crown the Helmet of Power. Destiny attacked the Atlanteans who had since relocated to the Antarctic due to Set's prodding. Wiping out Namor's memory, Destiny left him to wander the streets, alleys, and boweries for decades.
    Destiny again went into hibernation.

(Avengers Annual#18/4, Saga of the Sub-Mariner#1 (BTS), Sub-Mariner I#1 (fb - BTS), Tales to Astonish I#101 (BTS), Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner I#1 (BTS), Sub-Mariner I#6-8 ( BTS))
    <Modern era> - Awakening and using his power to run for the presidency, Destiny reached the apex of megalomania when he believed he no longer needed the Serpent Crown for power. Taking it off, he tried to levitate to the street after jumping off of a building. Set, urgently protesting Destine to regain his senses, could not save Destiny from splattering on the sidewalk.

(New Mutants Annual#5/3, Sub-Mariner I#9-10, 12-13 (fb - BTS)) - Namor took the Crown to Atlantis, where it cracked its outer metal shell off, revealing the Serpent Crown. Set used its power to enslave Dorma, Ikthon, and others. Later, Karthon found the Crown and returned it to Naga. Naga died later after a battle with Namor, and the crown was lost in an upheaval. (Much of this was observed remotely by Ghaur.)

(Captain America I#180-182 (BTS), Marvel Team-Up I#84 ( fb - BTS), West Coast Avengers Annual#4/5)   - Krang found the Serpent Crown. Directed by Set, he made contact with the Viper. They kidnapped Hugh Jones, an oil executive, and made him wear the Crown, linking him to Set. The Crown was later lost during a shoot-out between the Viper and the police, falling into a sewer.

(West Coast Avengers Annual#4/5) <chronology uncertain> - The Gregory Hungerford Gideon of Earth-S was presented with the Serpent Crown of Earth-S by his workmen, who had found it while working on an oil rig in the Pacific. Directed by Set (or perhaps his Earth-S counterpart; see comments), they presented it to him. Gideon formed the Serpent Cartel, which included President Nelson Rockefeller.

(Web of Spider-Man Annual#5/4, West Coast Avengers Annual#4/5, Avengers I#141-144, 147-149, 153, Annual#6, 154 (fb - BTS)) Gideon allied himself with Earth-616's Hugh Jones, who was still a thrall to the power behind the Crown. Ordering the Squadron Supreme to assist Jones in defeating the Avengers (the Squadron remained unaware that their president was possessed), the Serpent Cartel saw the Avengers imprisoned within Roxxon's premises. However, the Avengers eventually broke free, traveled to Earth-S, and acquired the Serpent Crown of that world. They brought it with them to Earth-616. The Avengers foe the Living Laser briefly possessed the Serpent Crown of Earth-S after that, but the Vision dropped the Earth-S Serpent Crown into the ocean.

(Marvel Two-In-One#66 / Thor Annual#14/4 ( fb))
    - Hugh Jones, still linked to Set, sent a workman to reacquire the Earth-616 Serpent Crown from the sewer, and sent the Serpent Squad to the Pacific to find the Earth-S crown. Uniting them into one crown, he faced Stingray, the Thing, and Scarlet Witch in Washington, D.C. Set battled the Scarlet Witch on the astral plane, but the Thing managed to remove the Crown from Jones' head.

(Marvel Team-Up Annual#5 / Fantastic Four Annual#22 (fb))
    - The Thing had brought the Serpent Crown to Project: PEGASUS for safekeeping. However, Set started bending the workers at the Project to his will. Finally, one technician donned the crown, and others fell to Setian domination. Quasar, head of security, was also enslaved. The Project began bringing Serpent Crowns from numerous alternate Earths to form one giant crown to summon Set. However, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, the Thing, and the Scarlet Witch arrived to thwart this plot. Before Set could come to Earth, the four of them acquired the Cosmic Cube (also held at the Project) and used it to shatter the immense crown, stop Set, and exorcise his influence on the Earth.

 

(Silver Surfer Annual#1 (fb - BTS)/Fantastic Four Annual#22 (fb - BTS)) - The spell of Doctor Strange was weakened when many of his artifacts disappeared from Earth, taken by Agamotto for safekeeping. As a result, Seth was able to use his power to contact the disembodied Deviant leader Ghaur. Ghaur managed to reincarnate himself by tricking the Silver Surfer. He set about a scheme to return Set to Earth, with Llyra (a priestess of Set) helping him.

(Silver Surfer Annual#2, Iron Man Annual#10, Uncanny X-Men Annual#13, Amazing Spider-Man Annual#23, Daredevil Annual#4B, Avengers Annual#18, New Mutants Annual#5, X-Factor Annual#4, Web of Spider-Man Annual#5, Fantastic Four Annual#22 - BTS) - Ghaur and Llyra arranged a series of plots to gain power to summon Set.

(West Coast Avengers Annual#4/1) - Ghaur and Llyra retrieved the Golden Serpent, having earlier enslaved seven women to form the Brides of Set. Using the Scarlet Witch's power, Ghaur activated the portion of Set's life force in the Golden Serpent to bring Set to Earth.



 

 

(Thor Annual#14) - Doctor Strange had summoned Thor earlier. With Quasar and the Thing, the four of them flew to the scene of the battle and into one of Set's mouths to access Set's pocket dimension. Set withdrew from Earth to battle these four adventurers. Thor briefly returned to Earth to converse with Gaea, but Set had cast a spell to trap her. Thor then went to Atum to try to persuade him to battle Set. Atum refused, but Thor intentionally provoked Atum, causing him to become the Demogorge again. The Demogorge consumed Thor, but Thor managed to assert control over their melded form. Thor returned to Set's realm and severed Set's heads from his body, tossing them to seven different parts of the multiverse. Set's dimension began to collapse; the implosion of Set's dimension caused his body to be destroyed before it could regrow its heads. Set's defeat freed Gaea from Set's spell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Marvel Tarot#1 - BTS) - Ian McNee had read about a prophecy concerning the seventh child of set (a seventh generation descendent) ushering in a new golden age for the Serpent Men. According to McNee's calculations, the mother of the new dark prince could be either serpentine assassin Yith or the Lemurian Nagala.

 (Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch#1/3 (fb) - BTS) - Set transformed Llyra into monstrous form and sent her to the ocean's depths to guard the giant Serpent Crown.

 (Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch#1/3 (fb) - BTS) - From the immense Serpent Crown, Nagala invoked the seven names of Set and obtained new Serpent Crowns.

(Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch#1/3) - Nagala returned to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean where she confronted the now monstrous Llyra, who begrudgingly let her enter the chasm that contained the immense Serpent Crown. There Nagala invoked the seven names of Set and formed a new Serpent Crown atop her head. Ian McNee manipulated Nagala into a battle with Llyra, and he stole the Serpent Crown.

Comments : Created/adapted by Robert E. Howard; adapted to the Marvel Universe by Roy Thomas; first shown on panel by Frank Thorne.

    Set is behind the scenes in probably hundreds of pre-Cataclysmic and Hyborian era stories not referenced here. See also the Serpent Men, the Black Ring, Thulsa Doom, etc.

    So far as is known, Set was never depicted with seven heads or said to have seven heads in any Conan story. It was when the Serpent Crown (which is in the form of a seven headed snake) was tied to Set that Set was described as having seven heads. In Marvel Two-In-One#66, Set was shown with one head. When this story was retold in Thor Annual#14, Set was shown with seven heads.

The deaths of the dinosaurs has been ascribed to:

    These events are not mutually exclusive (and the Earth X and Ultraverse ones are moot). While the presence of Asgardians around 65 million BC doesn't make sense, the meteor fragments could have been magically sent back in time. Also, time may not function the same way in a magical realm like Asgard. Anyway, That Which Endures decision and the struggle between Gaea and Set could have occurred concurrently. The magical energies of the the Mjonlir forge, combined with (and possibly drawn through time to/by) the struggle between Gaea and Set, brought forth either one immense comet or a fierce meteor shower that pelted Earth. Without Set or That Which Endures to back them, the dinosaurs rapidly died off.

    Marvel Two-In-One#66 had Hugh Jones create images of everyone who had worn the Serpent Crown before him, and one of these images was of Thoth-Amon. A later letters page stated that at some point Thoth-Amon wore the Serpent Crown. However, Marvel Team-Up Annual#5 shows that the Crown was lost in 18,000 BC and not rediscovered until long after Conan's time. So, this made it impossible that Thoth-Amon could have ever worn the Serpent Crown. Luckily, Thoth-Amon had worn the Cobra Crown. When Thor Annual#14 retold the story from Marvel Two-In-One#66, Thoth-Amon's image was shown wearing the Cobra Crown.  

    It was unclear for years whether each alternate Earth in the multiverse has its own counterpart of Set or whether only one Set exists in the multiverse. This was somewhat settled in What If II#25 and Quasar#30, which showed an alternate Earth where Set was not defeated by Thor. Presumably, the various counterparts of Set in the multiverse are in communication with each other and work together. Another alternate Earth version of Set is behind the scenes in What If I#39 (granting a boon to Thoth-Amon.)

    The Serpent Crowns exist or existed on hundreds of alternate Earths. Besides Earth-616, and Earth-S, Silvers Surfer Annual#2/1 featured a one-panel came of a wearer of a Serpent Crown of an unnamed alternate Earth. What If I#41 featured an alternate Earth Serpent Crown (as the Helmet of Power). At least 776 Serpent Crowns from alternate Earths were brought to Earth-616 in Marvel Team-Up Annual#5 and destroyed. During Atlantis Attacks, Ghaur and Llyra brought even more Serpent Crowns to Earth-616 to form one giant crown. Allegedly, Ghaur and Llyra brought all remaining Serpent Crowns in the multiverse to Earth-616; however, What If II#25 shows alternate Earth counterparts of Ghaur and Llyra bringing Serpent Crowns to their respective alternate Earth, so the Earth-616 Ghaur and Llyra must have not snagged all Serpent Crowns remaining in the multiverse, or else their alternate Earth counterparts would not have been able to find any.

For the record, wearers of the Serpent Crown (s) include Atra, Naga, Destiny, Dorma, Sub-Mariner, Krang, the nihilist Viper, Hugh Jones, Nelson Rockefeller of Earth-S and all other members of the Serpent Cartel of Earth-S, the Scarlet Witch, the Living Laser, the Thing, Quasar, Myron Wilburn, Pyscatos, the Destiny of an alternate Earth (What If I#41), and an unnamed individual seen in one-panel of Silver Surfer Annual#2 who presumably came from an alternate Earth.  
    Pretty much the whole population of Project: PEGASUS wore Serpent Crowns (777 in total) during Marvel Team-Up Annual#5--Snood
    Of course, Thoth-Amon and Villagro wore the Cobra Crown.
    Nagala has worn the new crown, and the Key was seen wearing a Serpent Crown in an issue of JLA/Avengers. JLX#1 showed the Amalgam Universe had a Serpent Crown.

At one point during Atlantis Attacks, Thor says that he and the Thing had fought Set in the past. The writer of this issue, John Byrne, missed that famous back-up in Punisher Annual#2 where
it was firmly stated that Seth is not Set, as Thor had never faced Set in a recorded encounter before Thor Annual#14; he had rather fought Seth with the Thing in MTIO#23.

Incidentally, Thor noted that Set is older than the Asgardians.
--Per Degaton

According to Quiof Thrul:
    Black Panther: Protectors of Wakanda: A History and Training Manual of the Dora Milaje from the Marvel Universe (2022) by Karama Horne says the Simbi, one of the races of Originators (who lived before humans in the region where Wakanda is located) is descended from of Set.

First Tarot's Catalogue of Correspondences


    In the Marvel Tarot, sorcerer Ian McNee does a reading from the First Tarot, and he puts together a wealth of information on his findings and thoughts. Among these are the "Marvelous Catalogue of Correspondences, which links various beings, objects, and things as being connected and/or related to one of four categories. See the entries on Gaea and Oshtur for additional detail/discussion/categories.

Counterpoint
by Donald Campbell

  1. I think it should have been stressed that Set had created a mystical affinity with the dinosaurs LONG before Gaea decided that they should be replaced by mammals. Set used that affinity to absorb the life-energies released by their violent deaths and, over millions of years, had amassed an enormous amount of power. It was only after Gaea moved to eliminate Set's power source that he directed the dinosaurs to destroy all mammals.
    --Good point. So added. Thanks.
  2.  After Gaea dared him to face her, Set appeared on Earth in a physical form created by the fusion of the bodies of three dinosaurs. Also, it was only after Set appeared that Gaea realized that she would need help fighting him and called upon her son Atum for protection.
    --Ditto
  3. I'm not totally comfortable with the idea that the extinction of the dinosaurs on Marvel-Earth was solely the result of the war between Demogorge and Set. I would prefer that Marvel-Earth's history followed (for the most part) the same path as the real world's history did and in the real world it is believed that the dinosaurs died out during a "nuclear winter" caused by the impact of a large asteroid.
        In trying to reconcile the two theories, I first came up with the idea that maybe Demogorge (or Set) had pulled an asteroid down from space to use as a weapon against his enemy. However, that would mean that, without intervention, that asteroid would have missed Marvel-Earth -- something which would be a significant divergence from real-world history (in which that same asteroid DID hit without any help from Elder Gods). It then occurred to me that maybe, like in the real world, that asteroid was always going to hit Earth...and that maybe that was just something that Demogorge used to his advantage. Suppose that Demogorge was sensitive enough to celestial happenings to detect the approach of the asteroid before Set could and, realizing that it was going to impact on Earth, saw a way to use it to help both himself (in his war with Set) and his mother (with the extinction of the dinosaurs). Suppose that Demogorge used his powers to make the asteroid undetectable to Set and then manipulated the battle with Set until his enemy ended up (unknowingly) right at Ground Zero, the projected point of impact for the asteroid. This theory encompasses both the other two without contradicting either of them. Yes, it was an asteroid impact which doomed the dinosaurs but it was ALSO part of the War of the Gods.
    --Possibly. I listed only that the dinosaurs had mostly died out during the battle, rather than ascribing the battle as the cause. Potential causes of their deaths described in the MU are listed above. I have no opinion in whether how things occurred in the MU match up with what happened in the real world.
    I don't have any problem with the idea that the dinosaurs died out as a result of the decisions reached by both Gaea and That Which Endures combined with the negative environmental effects of the god-war between Set and Demogorge (which may have involved a meteor or comet impact). However, I ABSOLUTELY do NOT accept the idea that the gods of Asgard even existed 65 million years ago and I REALLY dislike the idea that the extinction was caused by sparks from the forging of Mjolnir which had traveled back in time. Don't get me wrong, I (generally) liked the final storyline in THOR II but there were some story elements and/or continuity errors which just made me cringe. The whole idea of hyping the importance of the Asgardians by "revealing" that mankind would never have had a chance to evolve to sentience if not for them was one such "creative choice" that I, well, detest.
    --Your opinion is noted.

  4.  I don't believe that the Cobra Crown was created BEFORE the Serpent Crown. I'm at a bit of a loss in arguing my point since I don't have any of the Conan novels nor any issues of Savage Sword of Conan but I'll do my best. The fifth part of the Saga of the Serpent Crown (in Punisher Annual#2) begins with these two sentences: "I, Uatu the Watcher, saw how the Serpent Crown, talisman of the serpent-demon Set, was lost in the sinking of Lemuria. But Set eventually brought about the creation of another such power object, known as the Cobra Crown, and around 12,000 years ago he saw to it that it fell into the hands of the most sinister figure of the Hyborian Age - - Thoth-Amon, wizard-lord of the land of Stygia!"
        You can take things however you want it, but I say this proves nothing. Set was created like 5 billion years ago, and if he made something 4.975 billion years later, that's "eventually" to me. The sentence structure would seem to hint that the Cobra Crown was created later, but we know that's not the case. So even though it would seem to be saying the untrue, we must go with the alternative interpretation. It doesn't say he created the Crown in 10000 BC, only that it fell into Thoth-Amon's hands then.
         Made Cobra Crown, but found it inadequate, and so it was left hidden while Set made plans to create the Serpent Crown.
    It was later found by Conan, etc
         In general, I like to try to make all stories true and meld them together, but where two things seem to be arguing which came first, I TEND to go with the original. Source over resource.

         I consider Uatu to be about as reliable and impartial observer as you could hope to get and any "fact" that he states should (almost always) be considered accurate. However, if we chose to disregard Uatu's statement, is there any solid proof showing that the Cobra Crown was created first? According to your profile on it, page 91 of Conan the Buccaneer "makes it clear that the Cobra Crown was created when the Serpent Men still ruled Valusia, which would have been before the Great Cataclysm." However, as you pointed out yourself, novels are not generally made a part of Marvel continuity so it is the adaptation of that novel that appeared in Savage Sword of Conan#40-43 that is "in continuity." That leaves me with some questions: Does the storyline in those Savage Sword issues also claim that the Cobra Crown existed BEFORE the Great Cataclysm? If so, what is the nature of the claim and how reliable is the source? For example, if a character simply says that "legends claim" that the Cobra Crown was created during the Serpent Men's rule of Valusia, I would find that statement dubious (even if it was the "omniscient narrative" that made the claim). I would only really consider a Pre-Cataclysmic origin possible if there were a first-hand account of its creation by someone who was there at the time...like Uatu, who says it was created later.
        Also, in his commentary in the Saga of the Serpent Crown chapter in Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#9, Uatu says: "Both the Cobra Crown and the Golden Serpent had been destroyed - - And so, Set decided, he must find a new pawn to wear the first receptacle of his power, the long lost Serpent Crown."
    I don't think that proves anything, for the same reasons. It could be interpreted as first in importance, power level, or primacy.
    Savage Sword of Conan#41 has the smoking gun. The narration says "For hours, Thoth-Amon has searched the astral plane for some clue to the whereabouts of the Cobra Crown, precious relic of the Serpent Men of age-lost Valusia."
    Case closed.
    --I'd go with the original description, and consider the Watcher's description to be as prone to error as any writer's info.


  5. I've always like the idea (first presented in Marvel Team-Up Annual#5) that Jormungand the Midgard Serpent was one of Set's offspring. And while I know that, in Norse mythology, Loki was the father of Jormungand (and Hela and Fenris), I've always felt that Walt Simonson's attempt to make that "fact" from the myths a part of the reality of the Asgardians of the Marvel Universe was misguided. After all, before Walt began writing THOR, there were over twenty years of Marvel stories about the Asgardians which didn't mention any connection between Loki and his three alleged children and so I've tended to discount any references to such a familial connection. My own theory is that Loki has such an enormous ego that he cast a spell which made all the Asgardians believe that he was the father of three of Asgard's greatest enemies. As I see it, Jormungand was one of Set's offspring who lived his own life until one day, thousands of years ago, when he came to interact with the gods of an earlier incarnation of Asgard and (somehow) became trapped in their Ragnarok Cycle, dying and being reborn just like the gods of Asgard and their enemies did.
    --I see no reason to perpetuate that idea which otherwise seems to have been abandoned by Marvel. My FFE entry lists Set as having had a fatherly relationship with the Midgard Serpent, meaning he may have been his mentor. Whether Loki called upon the power of Set in the Serpent's creation is unknown, but the Serpent is Loki and Angerboda's offspring. Sorry.

  6.  I have a problem with the idea that the land known as Stygia during the Hyborian Age is now the country of Egypt. Looking at a map of the Hyborian Age, one can see how the Hyborian continent could be rearranged so as to produce the modern-day continents of Europe, Africa and Asia. After all, the basic shapes are all there, just squished together somewhat. However, it's much more difficult to see how Stygia could go from being on the western edge of the proto-African part of the Hyborian continent to being on the northeast corner of the current African continent. Since Stygia seems to be about where Cameroon is today (about 2,000 miles southwest of Egypt), it would take a massive deformation of the Hyborian continent to get Stygia to where Egypt is today and I just don't buy it. Personally, I prefer the idea that, instead of Stygia and Egypt actually being different names for the same land, ancient Egypt was a land that was settled/conquered by people who left (were forced out of?) Stygia and moved northeast after the end of the Hyborian Age.
    --That's how the information is presented. Sorry.
    "Red-haired Vanir adventurers came into Stygia, where they overthrew the reigning class and built up a vast southern empire which they call Egypt. From these red-haired conquerors the early pharaohs were to boast descent.........And then, another terrific convulsion of the earth hurled all into chaos again, carving out the lands as they are known to us now. Great strips of the western coast sank, and the mountains of western Cimmeria became islands later called British. A vast sea, later called Mediterranean, was formed then the Stygian continent broke away from the rest of the world."

  7.  I'd replace the term "soldiers of Skarka" with "barbarians of Skarka."
    --OK

  8.  According to Marvel Team-Up Annual#5, once a mystical majority of 777 Serpent Crowns were brought to Project: PEGASUS, a spell would be cast which would bring ALL the other crowns remaining in the multiverse to Earth-616 to become part of a new physical body for Set. Since that body DID come into existence (even though it was destroyed just before Set could manifest upon Earth), it seems that that spell MUST have been cast and that ALL the crowns had already been brought to Earth-616 by that time. This is supported by Ghaur's statement (in Silver Surfer Annual#2/1) that "the serpent has never forgiven this Earth for destroying its influence throughout all reality!" I consider the destruction of the Serpent Crowns to be a multiverse-wide event.
    --There are tons of stories showing something to be permanent or complete, only to be shown that some aspect was temporary or partial. I think this point is open, and as discussed in the comments, it is fine as is.

  9.  The idea that Ghaur and Llyra created their massive new Serpent Crown by bringing together Serpent Crowns from alternate Earths is TOTALLY WRONG. It's a mistake which only appears in WHAT IF II#25 as part of Uatu's recap of the events of the "Atlantis Attacks" crossover. If you read the various "Atlantis Attacks" stories themselves, there is NO mention of their new Serpent Crown being made out of other-dimensional crowns. Instead, this Serpent Crown was a totally new creation. However, this is some evidence of a connection to previous crowns. In Fantastic Four Annual#22/1, Llyra states: "The (new) crown partakes of the very essence of all the Serpent Crowns which once existed in many dimensions." While this statement could be interpreted to mean that the new crown was made out of many of the old crowns, I believe that the word "essence" is significant. Here's what I think happened: In MTU Annual#5, ALL the Serpent Crowns in the multiverse were brought to Earth-616 and merged into a single giant crown which was then destroyed. However, the mystical energy (essence) contained within that crown could not be destroyed but only dispersed. The newer crown created by Ghaur and Llyra in "Atlantis Attacks" was designed to gather that scattered essence into itself. This would also explain how Naga could appear and claim that he was "summoned back from oblivion when (Ghaur) created (his) massive new Serpent Crown." Apparently it was as Naga said: lying dead-and-buried with the Earth-616 crown on his brow made Naga a part of it, enough to be brought back when the essence of the previously-destroyed crown was incorporated into Ghaur's new crown. The fact that Naga was brought back could be proof that the new crown was NOT made up of the physical merging of multiple old crowns. Since the crown with which Naga was linked, the Earth-616 crown, was definitely destroyed in MTU Annual#5, that means that it no longer existed physically and thus could NOT have been a part of any new crown created by merging alternate Earth crowns.
    --So Uatu is always right in your above argument, but wrong in this one? It is a debatable point.

  10.  Since Uatu's recap of "Atlantis Attacks" in WHAT IF II#25 was wrong, that means that there's no need to explain how "alternate Earth counterparts of Ghaur and Llyra (could bring) Serpent Crowns to their respective alternate Earth" in WHAT IF II#25. ALL the original Serpent Crowns from across the multiverse were brought to Earth-616 and destroyed in MTU Annual#5 but their combined essence remained on Earth-616 and was replicated throughout the multiverse with each subsequent divergence of the Earth-616 timeline. Thus, both the mainstream Earth and the alternate Earth in What If II#25 had their own "essence of all the Serpent Crowns which once existed in many dimensions" and NONE of the original Serpent Crowns existed on ANY of their respective alternate Earths after the events of MTU Annual#5.
    --You're basing this whole argument on a questionable assumption, which I don't see as certain.

Set has handbook entries in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update'89#7 and Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Other Monstrosities.

Profile by Per Degaton and Snood.

  • The Sons of the Serpent, a modern era hate group, which has had a number of incarnations, starting back in Avengers I#32
  • The Soldiers of the Serpent of Earth-MC2, an alternate future incarnation of the Sons of the Serpent, @ ANext#4
  • The Snakes of Many Colors
  • , which are a large and powerful intelligent, and even magically skilled serpents, many of whom dwelled in the Unknown Land, @ Savage Sword of Conan#193.
  • The Snake Man created by Teyanoga, @ Kull and the Barbarians#2
  • The Lizard Men, a reptilian race, presumably of Deviant origin, @ Tales to Astonish I#24, Marvel Universe#6
  • The Lizard Men of Tok, who dwell in Sub-Atomica, @ Fantastic Four I#16
  • The Lizard People, aka the Saurians, such as Serpentyne, @ Ms. Marvel#20,
      more recently seen in the X-Treme X-Men: Savage Land limited series.
  • The Reptile Men of the Savage Land, @ Marvel Super-Heroes II#19
  • The Dino Men, dinosaurs gene-spliced with Wolverine's DNA, created by Oonagh Mullarkey, @ Codename: Genetix#3
  • The Saur-Lords, dinosaurs evolved by the High Technician, @ Captain America I#414
  • The Dragon Kings of Lemuria, who fought Thongor, @ The Wizard of Lemuria, Creatures on the Loose#26
  • the unnamed three-headed "serpent god" inadvertently summoned from the Outer Darkness of the Dark Dimension by Tyrannus, @ Daredevil Annual#4B
  • Serpent Squad (Cobra, Eel, Viper/Stryke)
  • Serpent Squad (Cobra, Eel, Krang, Princess Python, Viper/Madame Hydra)
  • Serpent Squad (Anaconda, Black Mamba, Death Adder, Sidewinder)
  • All of the better known members of the Serpent Society
  • Serpent's Teeth (Seth's armies)
  • Adder
  • Asp
  • Bushmaster
  • Cobra
  • Copperhead
  • Copperhead(yes, there are two)
  • Cornell Cottonmouth
  • Diamondback
  • Faire de Lain
  • King Kobra
  • Rattler (Old West, Rawhide Kid foe)
  • Rattler (Two-Gun Kid foe)
  • Rattler (Spider-Man foe)
  • Silver Sidewinder
  • Professor Viper
  • and I wasn't going to include these guys, but they are kind of snakey...
  • Snake
  • Snake Marston
  • Morris "The Snake" Diamond
  • Snakebite
  • Snake Dance
  • Snake Eyes
  • Snake Eyes (yes, there are two of them)
  • Snakeskin (2 of them)
  • Snakeroot
  • Serpentyne

  • (I didn't include objects, like the Cobra and Serpent Crowns, or places, like Serpent Valley, or the Warpie Serpents, etc.
    ...and let me know who else I missed.
    Thanks, good luck, and, HEY, let's be careful out there.


    Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe:Update '89#1 (top image)
    Iron Man Annual#10, page 63, panel 2 (vs Demogorge)
    Silver Surfer Annual#2, page 26, panel 1 (creation of Serpent Crown)
    Silver Surfer Annual#2, page 62, panel 1 (slaying Hyppus)
    Marvel Feature I#6, p10, panel 4 (vs Ibis)
    Marvel Two-In-One#66, page 6, panel 4 (encircling worlds)
    Thor I Annual 14, page 13, panel 2 (inside out)
    Conan: Serpent War#2, pg. 2 (visiting Satyne);
        #4, pg. 10, panel 3-4 (Wyrm vs. Set);


    Other Appearances:
    Tales to Astonish I#101 (March, 1968) - Archie Goodwin (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Dan Adkins (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
    Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner#1 (April, 1968) - Stan Lee & Roy Thomas (writers), Gene Colan (pencils), Frank Giacoia (inks)
    Sub-Mariner I#1 (May, 1968) - Roy Thomas (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Frank Giacoia (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
    Sub-Mariner I#6-8 (October-December, 1968) - Roy Thomas (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Dan Adkins (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
    Sub-Mariner I#9 (January, 1969) - Roy Thomas (writer), Marie Severin (pencils), Dan Adkins (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
    Sub-Mariner I#10 (February, 1969) - Roy Thomas (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Dan Adkins (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
    Sub-Mariner I#11 (March, 1969) - Roy Thomas (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), George Klein (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
    Sub-Mariner I#12 (April, 1969) - Roy Thomas (writer), Marie Severin (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
    Sub-Mariner I#13 (May, 1969) - Marie Severin &, Roy Thoams (writers), Marie Severin (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
    Conan the Barbarian I#7 (July, 1971) - Roy Thomas (writer), Barry Windsor-Smith (pencils), Sal Buscema & Dan Adkins (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
    Kull the Conqueror I#2 (September, 1971) - Roy Thomas (writer), Marie Severin (pencils), John Severin (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
    Supernatural Thrillers#3 (April, 1973) - Roy Thomas & Gerry Conway (adaptation), Gil Kane (pencils), Ernie Chan (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
    Giant-Size Conan the Barbarian#1 (September, 1974) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Gil Kane (pencils), Tom Sutton (inks)
    Captain America I#180-181 (December, 1974 - January, 1975) - Steve Englehart (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
    Captain America I#182-183 (February-March, 1975) - Steve Englehart (writer), Frank Robbins (pencils), Joe Giella (#182) & Frank Giacoia (#183) (inks), Len Wein (editor)
    Avengers I#141-144 (November, 1975 - February, 1975) - Steve Englehart (writer), George Perez (pencils), Vince Colletta (#141-142), Sam Grainger (#143) & Mike Esposito (#144) (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
    Avengers I#147-149 (May-July, 1976) - Steve Englehart (writer), George Perez (pencils), Vince Colletta (#147) & Sam Grainger (#148-149) (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
    Avengers I#151 (September, 1976) - Gerry Conway, Steve Englehart & Jim Shooter (writers), George Perez (pencils), John Tartaglione (inks), Gerry Conway (editor)
    Marvel Feature Presents Red Sonja#6 (September, 1976) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Frank Thorne (artist)
    Avengers I#153 (November, 1976) - Gerry Conway (writer/editor), John Buscema (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks)
    Avengers Annual#6 (1976) - Gerry Conway (writer/editor), George Perez (pencils), Mike Esposito, Duffy Vohland & John Tartaglione (inks)
    Avengers I#154 (December, 1976) - Gerry Conway (writer/editor), George Perez (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks)
    Marvel Two-In-One#64-65 (June-July, 1980) - Mark Gruenwald & Ralph Macchio (writers), George Perez (pencils), Gene Day (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
    Marvel Two-In-One#66 (August, 1980) - Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio & Steven Grant (writers), Jerry Bingham (pencils), Gene Day (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
    Savage Sword of Conan#65 (June, 1981) - Michael Fleisher (writer), Gil Kane (artist), Louise Jones (editor)
    Conan the Barbarian I#125 (August, 1981) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Bob McLeod (inks), Louise Jones (editor)
    Marvel Team-Up I#111 (November, 1991) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Tom DeFalco (editor)
    Marvel Team-Up Annual#5 (1982) - Mark Gruenwald (writer/pencils), Jim Mooney (inks), Tom DeFalco (editor)
    Thor Annual#10 (1982) - Mark Gruenwald & Alan Zelenetz (writers), Bob Hall (pencils), Rick Bryant, Joe Rubinstein, Andy Myshynsky, Al Gordon & Kevin Dzuban (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Kull the Conqueror II#1 (December, 1982) - Alan Zelenetz (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Dennis O'Neil (editor)
    Kull the Conqueror II#2 (March, 1982) - Doug Moench (writer), John Bolton (artist), Ralph Macchio (editor)
    Conan the Barbarian I#144 (March, 1983) - Bruce Jones (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Ernie Chan (inks), Louise Jones (editor)
    Conan the Barbarian I#147 (June, 1983) - Bruce Jones (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Ernie Chan (inks), Louise Jones (editor)
    Conan the Barbarian Annual#8 (1983) - Jim Owsley (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Larry Hama (editor)
    Official Handbook of the Conan Universe#1 (1986)
    Conan: The Skull of Set (1989) - Doug Moench (writer), Paul Gulacy (pencils), Gary Martin (inks)
    Silver Surfer Annual#2/1 (1989) - Steve Englehart (writer), Ron Lim (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Craig Anderson (editor)
    Silver Surfer Annual#2/7 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (write), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Iron Man Annual#10/1 (1989) - David Michelinie (writer), Paul Smith (pencisl), Mike Gustovich (inks), Howard Mackie (editor)
    Iron Man Annual#10/4 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Uncanny X-Men Annual#13/1 (1989) - Terry Austin (writer), Mike Vosburg (artist), Bob Harras (editor)
    Uncanny X-Men Annual#13/3 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Amazing Spider-Man Annual#23/1 (1989) - Gerry Conway & David Michelinie (writers), Rob Liefeld (pencils), Tim Dzon, James Brock, Vince Mielcarek & Keith Williams (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
    Amazing Spider-Man Annual#23/7 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Punisher Annual#2/1 (1989) - Mike Baron (writer), Bill Reinhold (artist), Carl Potts (editor)
    Punisher Annual#2/4 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#9/1 (1989) - Gerry Conway (writer), Dave Ross (pencils), Andy Myshynsky & Mike Gustovich (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
    Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#9/5 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Daredevil Annual#4B (1989) - Gerry Conway (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Sam De La Rosa (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
    Daredevil Annual#4/6 (1989) -Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Avengers Annual#18/1 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Avengers Annual#18/4 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    New Mutants Annual#5/1 (1989) - Louise Simonson (writer), Rob Liefeld (pencils), Tim Dzon (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
    New Mutants Annual#5/3 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    X-Factor Annual#4/1 (1989) - John Byrne (writer/pencils), Walt Simonson (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
    X-Factor Annual#4/5 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Web of Spider-Man Annual#5/1 (1989) - Gerry Conway (writer), Javier Saltares (pencils), Randy Emberlin (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
    Web of Spider-Man Annual#5/4 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    West Coast Avengers Annual#4/1 (1989) - John Byrne (writer/pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Howard Mackie (editor)
    West Coast Avengers Annual#4/5 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Thor Annual#14/1 (1989) - Roy Thomas (writer), Al Milgrom (pencils), Don Heck (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
    Thor Annual#14/4 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Fantastic Four Annual#22/1 (1989) - Roy Thomas (writer), Rich Buckler (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
    Fantastic Four Annual#22/4 (1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
    Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Update ‘89#1
    (July, 1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer/researcher), Josef Rubinstein (inker/embellisher), Sara Tutchinsky (assistant editor), Gregory Wright (editor), Mark Gruenwald (executive editor)
    Doctor Strange III#9 (October, 1989) - Roy Thomas & Jean-Marc Lofficier (writers), David & Dan Day (artists), Ralph Macchio (editor)
    Doctor Strange III#11 (December, 1989) - Roy Thomas & Jean-Marc Lofficier (writers), David & Dan Day (artists), Ralph Macchio (editor)

    Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89#7 (December, 1989) - Peter Sanderson (writer/researcher),
    David Wohl & Marcus McLaurin (associate writers/page design), Glenn Herdling, Len Kaminski (associate writers), Ron Frenz (cover penciler), Mark Bagley (Set penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker/embellisher),  Kelly Corvese (assistant editor), Terry Kavanaugh (editor), Mark Gruenwald (executive editor)Savage Sword of Conan#192 (December, 1991) - Dann & Roy Thomas (writes), John Buscema (pencils), Ernie Chan (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
    Savage Sword of Conan#216 (December, 1993) - Roy Thomas & Alfredo Alcala (writers), E.R. Cruz & Alfredo Alcala (pencils), E.R. Cruz & Jon Babcok (inks), Richard Ashford (editor)
    Conan the Adventurer#5 (October, 1994) - Roy Thomas (writer), Audwyn Newman (pencils), Rey Garcia (inks), Richard Ashford (editor)
    Savage Sword of Conan#229 (January, 1995) - Roy Thomas (writer), Mike Docherty (pencils), E.R. Cruz (inks), Richard Ashford (editor)
    Savage Sword of Conan#230 (February, 1995) - Roy Thomas (writer), E.R. Cruz (artist), Richard Ashford (editor)
    Fantastic Four Encyclopedia (2004)
    Marvel Tarot#1 (2007) - David Sexton (writer/designer), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
    Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch#1: Ian McNee story (October, 2007) - David Sexton (writer), Eric Nguyen (artist), Nathan Cosby (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)
    Conan: Serpent War#1 (February, 2020) - Jim Zub (writer), Vanesa Del Rey (penciler & inker; James Allison sequence), Scot Eaton (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Martin Biro (assistant editor), Mark Basso (editor), Ralph Macchio (consulting editor)
    Conan: Serpent War#2 (February, 2020) - Jim Zub (writer), Vanesa Del Rey (penciler & inker; James Allison sequence), Stephen Segovia (penciler, inker), Martin Biro (assistant editor), Mark Basso (editor), Ralph Macchio (consulting editor)
    Conan: Serpent War#3 (March, 2020) - Jim Zub (writer), Vanesa Del Rey (penciler & inker; James Allison sequence), Luca Pizzari (penciler, inker), Martin Biro (assistant editor), Mark Basso (editor), Ralph Macchio (consulting editor)
    Conan: Serpent War#4 (March, 2020) - Jim Zub (writer), Vanesa Del Rey (penciler & inker; James Allison sequence), Ig Guara (penciler, inker), Martin Biro (assistant editor), Mark Basso (editor), Ralph Macchio (consulting editor)
    Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4 (October, 2020) - Saladin Ahmed (writer), Luke Ross (artist), Mark Basso (editor)


    First Posted: 01/22/2005
    Last updated: 03/22/2024

    Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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