The Sting of the Serpent

The racist organization known as the Sons of the Serpent has been revived by a new leader. Its members are once again ready to stoke the flames of racial conflict in the name of white supremacy. Meanwhile, the Black Panther is returning to the United States after an extended stay in his native Wakanda. As he flies back to Avengers Mansion, he begins to feel that New York is more home to him now than Africa, little knowledge about the activities that will see race relations in the US take a turn.

That evening a firebomb goes off at an office building that headquarters an organization that provides equal employment opportunities to African-Americans. Montague Hale, the host of the Black World television series soon becomes the most vocal critic denouncing the Sons of the Serpents. The following night, the Sons of the Serpent ambush Hale as he is walking home and give him a beating as a message to those who stand against him. The controversy surrounding the attack leads to Hale’s show getting canceled. With racial tensions growing higher, Montague agrees to appear on Dan Dunn’s television show. Dunn is a far-right television host who believes that Hale is fabricating his attack, and believes that the Sons of the Serpent are true patriots who love their country. When Dunn is called a racist, he tries to prove the contrary by bringing on his musical guest, Monica Lynne, an African-American singer. After her performance, she is invited to join a round-table with Dunn and Hale. When pressed on issues of race, Monica tells the audience that it is not her place to to tell people what they believe.

After the taping, Montague gives Monica a drive home and tries to convince her to join his cause. However, his pressure tactics upset her and she asks to be let out. Later that evening, the Sons of the Serpent make Monica their next target.

Meanwhile, at Avengers Mansion, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are monitoring the situation with the Sons of the Serpent. They take this time to bring the Vision up to date on their previous encounter with the racist group. Goliath and Yellowjacket explain how the original group tried to force the Avengers into joining them by kidnapping Captain America and replacing him with an impostor. Ultimately, the Avengers defeated the Sons of the Serpent and exposed their leader as General Chen, a Chinese agent trying to destabilize the United States by instigating racial strife.[1][2] Hearing all this, the Vision asks the question on everyone’s mind: If General Chen was deported, who is leading the Sons of the Serpent now?

At that same moment, Monica Lynne is out for a walk when she is ambushed by three members of the Serpents. However, before she can be harmed the Black Panther arrives to save her. As the Black Panther fights the Serpents, Monica wonders where the police are. Ultimately, the Serpent Supreme decides to liquidate his own men before the Black Panther can get any information from them. To this end, a kill switch is engaged that kills the Serpents out in the field. By this time, the police arrive but Monica is deeply upset that they were not around when she was in danger. The experience has made her realize that Montague Hale might be right after all.

When the Black Panther returns to Avengers Mansion to tell them what happened, they become concerned that the Sons of the Serpents’ emboldened attacks will tip things over into full-on race riots. They then tune in to that evening’s edition of Dan Dunn’s show. Dunn has both Montague Hale and Monica Lynne back as guests on his show. This time, Lynne is on Montague’s side. Viewing this, the Avengers all agree that sensationalizing the attack on Monica is just going to inflame things even worse. However, when the group prepares to search for the Sons of the Serpent, the Black Panther intervenes. A black man himself, the Panther asks for the opportunity to take down the Sons of the Serpent his own way. Yellowjacket agrees to give the Panther 24 hours to do so, saying that is all the time they can give him.

After that evening’s broadcast, Hale drives Monica Lynn home. There she is greeted by the Black Panther, who assures to her that — as a black person himself — he will put a stop to the Sons of the Serpent once and for all. Stalking the city, the Black Panther finds a group of Serpents using an abandoned warehouse on the waterfront as their hideout. Jumping one of them and stealing his costume, the Black Panther joins the others as they return to their primary headquarters, a massive submarine shaped like a snake. There, the new arrivals are stopped by security who asks them to recite the Serpent Oath. Sure enough, the Black Panther doesn’t know it and his cover is quickly blown.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Yellowjacket, Wasp, Goliath, Black Panther, the Vision), Sons of the Serpent (Dan Dunn, Montague Hale), Monica Lynne

Continuity Notes

1. The Avengers first clashed with the Sons of the Serpent in Avengers #32-33. General Chen’s full name is revealed to be Tai Chen in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #10.

2. This flashback also addresses the changes in identity of both Clinton Barton and Hank Pym between Avengers #33 and this issue:

   • Clint Barton was Hawkeye at the time while Hank Pym was Goliath. Barton was Hawkeye from his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #57. More recently, he took on the power and identity of Goliath in Avengers #63, a role he will continue to play until going back to being Hawkeye again in Avengers #98.

   • At the time of their first battle with the Sons of the Serpent, Pym was going under the identity of Goliath since he adopted the name in Avengers #28. Pym later abandoned the identity when his growing powers became too dangerous. He later reinvented himself as Yellowjacket. See Avengers #59-60.

Topical References

• The building that the Sons of the Serpent set on fire is stated as being the location of the Equal Employment Bureau. This organization is now better known as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

• The members of the media are depicted using old-fashioned cameras with telescoping lenses and flashbulbs, while the TV crews are all using equipment that was commonplace in the late 60s.

• Dated pop-culture references: Captain Video

• The narration of this story states that there were more people tuning in to watch The Dan Dunn Show than there were that watched the moon landing. 53 million Americans saw the moon landing, which was impressive for 1969. However, we’re living in a day and age where nearly 100 million watch the Super Bowl every year.