Serpent Crown - The Super-hero Serpent Crown Sagas

The Super-hero Serpent Crown Sagas

The Crown returns, having been recovered by the rebel Atlantean Warlord Krang, who delivered it to the superhuman criminal Viper. Viper, at this point leader of the original Serpent Squad, then kidnaps the president of Roxxon Oil, Hugh Jones, and places the Crown on his head. Jones immediately falls under the mental control of Set. At the conclusion of the storyline the police and Captain America interrupt the Squad's plan and the Crown is temporarily lost to an underground sewer.

It is shown that in the alternate universe where the superhero group the Squadron Supreme resides, that universe's version of the Serpent Crown has managed to gain control of the minds of many of the leaders of America's largest corporations and even that alternate America's President, Nelson Rockefeller.

The Avengers from the mainstream Marvel Universe Earth travel to the Squadron Supreme’s Earth and free many of that planet’s people from the dominance of the Crown, during the course of which they briefly fell under its influence themselves. The Avengers then brought the Serpent Crown from that alternate world back with them to their own Earth, eventually losing it when it was dropped into the Pacific Ocean after a battle with the Living Laser.

The original Crown native to that Earth is then found by Hugh Jones, who is still under Set’s control. Jones also manages to locate and retrieve the second, alternate universe Serpent Crown, which he mystically merges with the original Crown to create a new Serpent Crown, identical in appearance to the others, though now possessing the combined power of the original two Crowns.

Using this power, Jones then takes control of the minds of the entire population of Washington, D.C., including most of the federal government of the United States. Jones then comes into conflict with a group of super-heroes including the Thing and the Scarlet Witch. The Scarlet Witch engages Set in a battle on the Astral Plane, which allows the Thing to snatch the Crown from Jones’ head, severing his link with Set. The Crown is brought to the US government energy-research facility, Project: PEGASUS, for safe-keeping.

The Crown began to exert Set's influence again at Project: PEGASUS, mind controlling the staff at the complex and eventually overpowering the wills of everyone who works there. These workers then set about transporting other Serpent Crowns from alternate dimensions to the Project, finally amassing 777 such crowns which are then merged to create one giant Crown, which is to be used to facilitate Set’s return to Earth.

Before this happens, however, several superheroes, including Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, the Thing, and the Scarlet Witch intervene to once again disrupt Set's plans. The superheroes use the Cosmic Cube to destroy the massive Crown and reduce it to metallic dust, and Strange casts a spell exorcising Set from the Earth dimension forever. However, with the temporary loss of many of Strange's magical talismans, the spell keeping Set's influence from Earth was greatly weakened.

The Deviant priest Ghaur, a disciple of Set, and his ally, the Lemurian Llyra, attempt to engineer his return once again through the use of another giant Serpent Crown. This one, however was composed of elements that rendered it indestructible. He is briefly successful in bringing Set back to the Earth dimension, as the spirit of the exiled god animates the Crown for a short while, before he was defeated by Thor, Quasar, Thing and Doctor Strange. The Crown itself was pushed into an underground crevice.

Later, Ian McNee recovers the crown from Nagala. Nova is sent to Mars by Steve Rogers to investigate the halting of Roxxon Energy Corporation's mining operations. While fleeing from unknown assailants, he flies into an artificial mountainside, where he discovers, at the top of an ancient staircase, an artifact similar to the Serpent Crown, referred to as the "Thorn Crown". Despite warnings by Worldmind, Nova puts on the crown. It is later removed by Steve Rogers and taken away by its guardian, the Archon.