Serpent Squad Villain Team
VIPER (Jordan Stryke) |
EEL (Leonard Stryke) |
 DIAMONDBACK (Rachel Leighton) |
DEATH-ADDER (Real name unrevealed) |
RATTLER (Klaus, last name unrevealed) |
The Serpent Squad is a team of costumed mercenaries, each of whom has a snake motif.
The Squad is the brainchild of the criminal Jordan Stryke, who had adopted the costumed identity of the Viper. Stryke came up with the idea by observing such teams as the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and the Brotherhood of Mutants, coming to the conclusion that where a single criminal might fail, a team would have a better chance of success.
Viper's first recruit was his brother Leonard, who had earlier taken on the identity of the Eel (while the eel is more properly a fish rather than a snake, Viper figured the general public, who he holds in very low esteem, wouldn't know the difference nor care). He then extended invitations to Death-Adder, Diamondback, and Rattler, all of whom accepted for various reasons.
In their first outing as a team,the Serpents engaged in a raid to gain information from Oscorp's Bronx plant's computer, only to come into conflict with Captain America and his young partner, Bucky. Despite the interference and the capture of most of the team, the Serpents managed to complete the mission. (Their client turned out to be a scientist working for AIM.) Not long after, the captured Serpents were released on bail.
The Serpents then engaged in a series of industrial espionage crimes, attacking and obtaining classified information from a number of defense contractors, which put them under investigation by the FBI, SHIELD, and Homeland Security. SHIELD asked Captain America to investigate, while in the DHS, Val Cooper sent her team, Freedom Force, to do the same.
Freedom Force sent one of their own, the serpentine Slither, to attempt an infiltration of the Serpents. As luck would have it, the meeting was observed by the Captain, resulting in a three-way brawl before Freedom Force's field leader, Crucible, managed a truce with the Captain. At this time, most of the Serpents were captured and arrested. A few were sent to Ryker's Island while awaiting trial.
Several of the Serpents were later released on bail or broke out of Ryker's during the mass prison break led by the Rhino. One, Diamondback, later assisted Captain America and Batroc's Brigade against the Taskmaster.
Viper has since come into contact with a number of other snake-themed criminals, expressing interest in expanding the Squad.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: CAPTAIN AMERICA #
Membership Roster
Viper – Founder and leader.
Eel – First recruit.
Diamondback – Second recruit.
Death-Adder – Third recruit.
Rattler – Fourth recruit.