Serpent Society

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Lore & Background

The storyline was first announced by then-Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, Executive Editor Tom Brevoort and X-Men group editor Axel Alonso at a press conference held at Midtown Comics Times Square on December 21, 2010. Quesada explained that like the 2006 storyline "Civil War", the storyline of "Fear Itself" was inspired by the real world, in particular the perceived malaise and fear evoked by late 2000s events such as terror alerts, oil spills, the Great Recession and partisan politics. The story's antagonist is the Serpent, an Asgardian being who sows doubt and fear among the superheroes of the Marvel Comics Universe. During this conflict, which is referred to among the characters as the Serpent's War, the Serpent is revealed to be Cul, Odin's brother, who assumed the throne of Asgard following the death of their father. Born at the dawn of time, Cul was subsequently banished and imprisoned by Odin following Cul's corrupt rule, and a prophecy by Yggdrasil that cost Odin his right eye, and which revealed that Cul's madness could only be cured by the death of Odin's son. Brevoort explained that all major characters are featured in the storyline, which involve a number of unconventional alliances, with even Marvel's version of Dracula participating in the event.

In Their Own Story

In Fear Itself: Book of the Skull, the Red Skull performs a ritual during World War II, on orders of Adolf Hitler, which causes the Hammer of Skadi to fall to Earth where it lands in Antarctica. Traveling to Antarctica, the Red Skull finds the hammer but is unable to lift it. Red Skull has Adolf Hitler's Thule Society seal it away and put it under their guard. Many years later, Red Skull's daughter Sin, with the help of Baron Zemo, retrieves the Book of the Skull that contains the location of the hammer. In the core miniseries, while Tony Stark holds a press conference announcing that his company, Stark Resilient, will help rebuild Asgard in Broxton, Oklahoma following the "Siege" storyline, Sin finds the Hammer of Skadi, and after lifting it becomes Skadi, Herald of the Serpent. She then frees the Serpent from his underwater prison, after which seven celestial objects fall from the sky around the globe. Learning of the Serpent's escape, Odin withdraws his people from Earth against the protests of his son Thor. The seven celestial objects are revealed to be divine hammers that contain the essences of the Serpent's seven generals known as the Worthy. Coming into contact with four of the hammers, Juggernaut, Hulk, Titania, and Attuma are respectively transformed into the first of these beings: Kuurth: Breaker of Stone; Nul: Breaker of Worlds; Skirn: Breaker of Men; and Nerkkod: Breaker of Oceans. Along with Skadi, the Worthy go on a rampage all over the Earth for the Serpent. Among their targets are Washington, D.C. and the New York City superhuman prison known as the Raft, from which a number of imprisoned superhumans escape. In the tie-in books, Grey Gargoyle, the Thing, and the Absorbing Man find the other hammers, and are transformed into the remaining three Worthy: Mokk: Breaker of Faith; Angrir: Breaker of Souls; and Greithoth: Breaker of Wills, respectively. During their battle in Washington, D.C., Skadi mortally wounds the current Captain America, Bucky Barnes. In Asgard, Odin prepares his people to raze Earth completely in order to destroy the Serpent. Thor opposes this and returns to Earth. After Steve Rogers again assumes the mantle of Captain America, Thor confronts the Serpent, who reveals himself to be Odin's brother and claims to be the rightful bearer of Asgard's throne, before dispatching Thor. Thor then fights Angrir and Nul (the transformed Thing and Hulk) simultaneously, killing Angrir (who is revived by Franklin Richards) and knocking Nul halfway around the world, after which Thor collapses from exhaustion. Iron Man requests from Odin the use of his workshop to make weapons to fight the Worthy. Skadi and the Serpent easily repel resistance by Captain America.

Reader's Guide

The Fear Itself prologue book, which was published in March 2011, features Captain America and Namor, and is produced by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Scot Eaton. The main Fear Itself miniseries, which debuted the following month, is written by Matt Fraction, and features illustrated interiors by Stuart Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger and covers by Steve McNiven. Fear Itself #1 is priced at $3.99 USD, and was projected to be about 45 pages long, according to Brevoort. (The first issue, when published, was 56 pages long.) Brevoort also indicated that the final issue would also be oversized, as is typical with such event miniseries. (The final issue was 64 pages long, 16 of which were devoted to epilogues that set up subsequent spinoff books.) To promote Fear Itself: Fearsome Four #1, one of the tie-in books, writer Brandon Montclare and artists Michael Kaluta and Ryan Bodenheim appeared at Midtown Comics Downtown on June 8, 2011, where they signed copies of the book. Writers Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente and editor Mark Paniccia later held a signing at the same store on June 18 for Alpha Flight #1, which is also part of the storyline. A 12-issue, biweekly spinoff miniseries of "Fear Itself" titled The Fearless, debuted October 19, 2011. The series, which depicts Captain America, the Avengers and others dealing with the aftermath of the events of "Fear Itself", is written by Fraction, Cullen Bunn and Chris Yost, and is illustrated by Mark Bagley and Paul Pelletier. Other aftereffects of the crossover are explored in a series of one-shots under the title Shattered Heroes, in a manner similar to how the 2010 "Heroic Age" storyline served as a follow-up to the 2008-2009 "Dark Reign" storyline. Shattered Heroes is part of "Battle Scars", a rebranding of the Marvel Universe books most affected by "Fear Itself".

Did You Know?

• The storyline's title is a reference to Franklin D. Roosevelt's quote, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
• The Serpent is revealed to be Cul, Odin's brother, who claims the throne of Asgard was usurped by Odin.
• The core miniseries consists of seven issues, with the first issue being 56 pages long and the final issue being 64 pages long.
• Critics gave the overall storyline an average score of 7.4 out of 10 at Comic Book Roundup, with the core miniseries holding a 6.5.
• A 12-issue, biweekly spinoff miniseries titled The Fearless debuted on October 19, 2011, dealing with the aftermath of the event.