Sidewinder (character)

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Sidewinder is the name of three different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original version was Seth Voelker. A second version appeared in 1998 but was killed during his attempt to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. A third version, Gregory Bryan, was given powers similar to the original Sidewinder by the Brand Corporation.

Contents

Seth Voelker started out as an Economics professor before Roxxon Oil Company chemically mutated him and gave him the power to teleport, starting his criminal career as Sidewinder. He initially worked as hired henchman alongside Anaconda, Death Adder and Black Mamba. He later organized the Serpent Society, a group of snake-themed criminals for hire, with the Serpent Society working like a trade union. At one point, Sidewinder was deposed as leader by Viper as several members of the Serpent Society had infiltrated the group to help Viper from within. While Viper was defeated, Sidewinder chose to leave the Serpent Society with King Cobra taking control of the Serpent Society. He later retires from being a criminal.

Gregory Bryan was given his powers by the Brand Corporation and became a member of the Serpent Society later on. He later became a member of Serpent Solutions when the Serpent Society was reorganized.

Publication history

The original Sidewinder, Seth Voelker, first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One #64 (Jun 1980), and was created by writers Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio and artist George Pérez. [1]

Fictional character biography

Seth Voelker

Sidewinder
Sidewinder-Cap310-Paul-Neary.jpg
Sidewinder, as he appeared in Captain America #310 (October 1985).
Art by Paul Neary.
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Marvel Two-in-One #64 (June 1980)
Created by Mark Gruenwald
Ralph Macchio
George Pérez
In-story information
Alter egoSeth Voelker
SpeciesHuman mutate
Team affiliations Assassins Guild
Serpent Society
Serpent Squad
AbilitiesTeleportation

Seth Voelker was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin and grew up to become an economics professor. He failed to make tenure and was hired by the Roxxon Oil Company as an economic analyst. He discovered their criminal schemes and they permitted him to apply for mutagenic alteration. [2] [3] As the professional criminal Sidewinder, he was originally hired by Roxxon to retrieve the Serpent Crown. Alongside the third incarnation of the Serpent Squad, Sidewinder was able to return the crown to company president Hugh Jones, after a battle with the Thing, Stingray, Triton, and the Scarlet Witch. [4] However, after his stint working for Roxxon, he decided to form his own criminal organization, the Serpent Society. He organized the Serpent Society, conducted initiation tests, and contacted potential clients. In the Society's first mission, Sidewinder dispatched them to kill MODOK on behalf of A.I.M. [5] With the ability to teleport, Sidewinder promised his recruits they would never be imprisoned. This attracted several snake-themed villains, and the Serpent Society was quite successful, much to Captain America's frustration. He also had a romantic relationship with Black Mamba.

Sidewinder was betrayed by his organization after Viper infiltrated the group. After being poisoned, he was aided by Diamondback and the two survived. [6]

Sidewinder retired from villainy to allow Captain America to help him get money for his daughter who was ill with cancer. [7]

Some time later, Sidewinder was seen in an interview after his retirement from villainy. [8]

Sidewinder was brought out of retirement when he was among the villains contracted by the Assassins Guild to target Elektra's allies. [9]

Infiltrator

Sidewinder
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Iron Fist #1 (July 1998)
Created by Dan Jurgens
Jackson Guice
In-story information
Alter egoUnknown
SpeciesHuman mutate
AbilitiesTeleportation
A second Sidewinder is hired by Death-Sting and Sharyd to infiltrate a S.H.I.E.L.D. station and retrieve the Zodiac Key as an early test mission. Sidewinder makes it past the neural shock unit and defeats the S.H.I.E.L.D. guards, but is killed after teleporting past an electric shield and being electrocuted. [10]

Gregory Bryan

Sidewinder
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Captain America #31 (September 2004)
Created by Robert Kirkman
Scot Eaton
In-story information
Alter egoGregory Bryan
SpeciesHuman mutate
Team affiliationsSerpent Solutions
Army of Evil

Gregory Bryan had been turned into the new Sidewinder by the Brand Corporation under the orders of Hugh Jones and was a member of the Serpent Society. After Gregory left, Cobra used the Brand Corporation's equipment (which had been long stolen by the Serpent Society) to create more Sidewinders. [11]

Upon being improved, Sidewinder later sprung the other Serpent Society members from their cells. [12] After the group had captured and chained Captain America and Diamondback (who was really an L.M.D.) in this underground New York headquarters, the pair escaped. Sidewinder was knocked out by Diamondback. S.H.I.E.L.D. subsequently took Sidewinder and the rest of the Society into custody. [13]

During the Secret Invasion storyline, Sidewinder re-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. [14]

In the All-New, All-Different Marvel publishing line, Sidewinder appears as a member of Viper's Serpent Society after it is rebranded as Serpent Solutions. [15]

During the Secret Empire storyline, Sidewinder and the members of Serpent Solutions join Helmut Zemo's Army of Evil. [16]

Powers and abilities

Sidewinder possesses a cloak, created by scientists at the Roxxon subsidiary Brand Corporation's mutagenics laboratory and based on Nth Projector technology, which contains electronic circuitry that enables the wearer to open an aperture into another dimension. Sidewinder activates the cloak mentally through a device implanted in his body, enabling him to travel "sideways" through interdimensional space, taking with him whatever and whomever he drapes his cloak over. This allows him teleport up to 50 miles (80 km) away in a single "jump". A cybernetic control chip implanted in Sidewinder's brain allows him to control it with pinpoint accuracy, and activate pre-programmed coordinates if he is knocked out or badly wounded. He has taken the precaution of implanting locator chips in his allies, allowing him to teleport to their location. Sidewinder can teleport anything that his cape can cover, up to the approximate size and shape of another human being. Sidewinder's armor provides protection against small-arms fire and a rebreather unit allowing him to survive underwater for extended periods. [2] He also has the ability to emit energy tendrils, which he calls his "Side Effects" from his forehead. It is not clear if this is a natural ability or a function of his armor. [17] Seth Voelker possesses no actual superhuman powers. He is a skilled financial expert, business planner, and strategist. He has an advanced degree in economics.

Other versions

An alternate universe version of Sidewinder from Earth-1610 appears in All-New Ultimates . This version is a member of the Serpent Skulls gang and lieutenant to Diamondback. [18]

In other media

Seth Voelker / Sidewinder appears in Captain America: Brave New World , portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito. This version is the leader of the Serpent Society. [19]

References

  1. ↑ Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 223. ISBN   978-1465455505.
  2. 1 2 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10 (October 1983)
  3. ↑ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains . New York: Facts on File. p. 316. ISBN   0-8160-1356-X.
  4. ↑ Marvel Two-in-One #64 (June 1980)
  5. ↑ Captain America #308-313 (August 1985 - January 1986)
  6. ↑ Captain America #341-342 (May - June 1988)
  7. ↑ Captain America #424 (February 1994)
  8. ↑ New Thunderbolts #7 (June 2005)
  9. ↑ Elektra (vol. 4) #6 (November 2014)
  10. ↑ Iron Fist (vol. 3) #1 (July 1998)
  11. ↑ The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Teams (May 2005)
  12. ↑ All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update #2
  13. ↑ Captain America (vol. 4) #31 (November 2004)
  14. ↑ Nova (vol. 4) #19 (January 2009)
  15. ↑ Captain America: Sam Wilson #4 (February 2016)
  16. ↑ Captain America: Steve Rogers #16 (June 2017)
  17. ↑ Captain America #318 (June 1986)
  18. ↑ All-New Ultimates #2 (July 2014)
  19. ↑ Vejvoda, Jim (July 28, 2024). "Giancarlo Esposito's Captain America Role Revealed to be Leader of the Serpent Society | SDCC 2024". IGN . Archived from the original on July 28, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
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