What is the Serpent Society and How Does it Tie Into ‘Captain America: Brave New World’?

The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson) and the Red Hulk (Harrison Ford) are two of the many supervillains that are introduced in ‘Captain America: Brave New World’, which opens on 14th February. The Serpent Society hasn’t been as well-known in marketing, though. Sidewinder (played by Giancarlo Esposito in the film) formed this evil organization, which made its debut in ‘Captain America #310’. By restructuring earlier snake-themed villains like Black Mamba, Anaconda, Diamondback, and the Rattler into a more formal mercenary organization that functions more like a company than a haphazard gang of criminals, Sidewinder created the Serpent Society.

Serpent Society was transformed into a grounded mercenary gang in Nick Spencer’s 2015 film ‘Captain America: Sam Wilson Run’. ‘Brave New World’ takes inspiration from this version, which fits the mood of the movie. Madripoor, a city notorious for illegal activities with no legal consequences, could be the Society’s base given its prominence in ‘The Falcon’ and the ‘Winter Soldier’.

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Esposito portrays the Serpent Society’s commander, Sidewinder (Seth Voelker), in the movie, but he has switched from his comic book teleportation abilities to a more useful skill set that includes weapons. Voelker is a businessman and tactician who manages the Serpent Society, a very successful global syndicate. He appears to be working with The Leader to plot against President Ross (Harrison Ford) and Captain America (Anthony Mackie).

Another member is Diamondback (Rachel Leighton), who was once supposed to be played by Rosa Salazar but whose part is still unclear following multiple rewrites and reshoots. Whether or not the Serpent Society is fully involved, its contemporary incarnation complements Brave New World’s more realistic tone, which is evocative of ‘Winter Soldier’ and serves as a suitable, grounded foe for Sam Wilson.

–Farheen Ali