Captain America #163
Beware the Serpents
The Cobra has returned and smuggles the Eel and Viper their costumes so they can break out of prison. With their powers restored, the two villains break out and escape in the Cobra’s getaway vehicle. Although they openly bicker with one another, the trio all agree to form a new group called the Serpent Squad.[1]
Meanwhile, in Virginia, Captain America and the Falcon accompany the Carter family back to their family estate. This is to help Peggy Carter, Captain America’s wartime romance, settle back into a normal life after years in a mental health facility.[2] Sharon is concerned about Peggy finding out about her current relationship with Captain America, as Peggy and Cap were in love during the war, but decides to keep this a secret until Peggy has settled into their new home.
Cap goes on a tour of the mansion with Peggy, who hopes her one-time lover will help her climatize to the present day since he himself had to adjust after decades in suspended animation.[3] However, when Peggy sees her reflection in a nearby pond, the sight of how she has visibly aged deeply upsets her and she begins to cry.[4] Their discussion is interrupted by one of the Carter’s neighbors who is out on a nature walk. His name is Dave Cox and seeing that the young man is missing an arm, Cap asks how he lost it. Dave tells Cap that he lost it in combat and spent time as a prisoner of war. Since getting free and coming home, Dave has comes a pacifist.
By this time, the Serpent Squad have arrived at their hideout to figure out their next scheme. Deciding to focus on destroying Captain America, the Viper calls a friend of his in advertising to create a smear campaign to ruin the hero’s public reputation.[5][6] That’s when the Eel reads about Captain America’s recent battle with Doctor Faustus, and learn how the hero has retired to his girlfriend’s home in Virginia and decide to strike against him there.[7]
The following evening, Captain America can’t get thoughts about Dave Cox out of his head, and thinks about how the whole purpose of being Captain America was to keep Americans safe from its aggressors. The Falcon interrupts his deep thoughts by telling Cap that he wants to return to New York to spend time with his girlfriend, Leila.[8] That’s when the Serpent Squad comes crashing in through the window and attack the pair.[9] Although the pair manage to hold their own against the Serpent Squad, Captain America badly burns his hands on the Eel’s electrified costume. When the sound of battle draw both Peggy and Sharon Carter into the room, the Squad makes their escape. Cap and Falcon are prevented from following when the Eel uses his powers to light a couch on fire, forcing Falcon to put out the flames before they spread.
After his hands are bandaged up by Peggy, Captain America insists on accompany Falcon on the hunt for the Serpent Squad even though his hands have been rendered useless by burns. When the trail runs cold, the agree to split up and try and track down their enemies separately. While wandering the forest, Cap runs into Peggy who decided to come along and lend a hand, reminding Cap that she was part of the French resistance during World War II. The pair eventually come upon the home owned by Dave Cox who invites them in. Soon they are ambushed by the Serpent Squad, who are now armed with cannons created by the Cobra to amplify their powers. Peggy tries to get Dave to use the rifle mounted over his fireplace. However, Dave refuses to fight back reminding her that he is now a pacifist and, besides the point, the rifle is not loaded and serves only as a reminder to Dave’s vow.
When the villains come barging in, Dave runs interference to give Cap time to launch an ambush. As a result, Cox is blasted with the Viper’s convulsion pistol. When Cap does attack, he manages to knock out both the Cobra and Viper despite his bandaged hands. Seeing the tide of battle turning, the Eel starts another fire to cover his escape. Unfortunately for him, he runs into the Falcon who knocks out the fleeing villain in hand-to-hand combat. With the fire under control, Peggy can’t understand why Dave put himself in harms way without raising a hand to defend him. Cap points out that Cox is a man who was willing to protect others without violating his own belief system. Peggy admits that she has a lot to learn about the present day, but Cap assures her that he’ll help her every step of the way.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Falcon, Serpent Squad (Viper, Eel, Cobra), Peggy Carter, Sharon Carter, Amanda Carter, Harrison Carter, Redwing
Continuity Notes
A footnote here reminds readers that the Cobra was last seen in Daredevil #61.
This story states that Peggy is Sharon Carter’s older sister and they both share the same parents. However, the Sliding Timescale has made all of this impossible without drastically aging all the characters involved. My index instead chooses to identify Sharon as a descendant of Peggy Carter and not an immediate family member. For all the continuity and my interpretation go here.
Per Avengers #4, Captain America ended up in suspended animation in 1945 and was thawed out by the Avengers decades later.
This is one of the few unexplained issues with Peggy Carter existing in the Modern Age at this point. Peggy is depicted as a middle aged woman with greying hair, something that is now impossible without some method of slowing her aging process. Once again I direct you to my index’s interpretation in lieu of an official explanation from Marvel.
Here it is reinforced that the Eel and Viper are brothers, as told in Captain America #159. It also reminders readers that the Eel’s real name is Leopold Stryke per Strange Tales #112. It goes further to say that the Viper, aka Jordan Dixon, legally changed his last name when he got into advertising.
This smear campaign will have broader ramifications during Captain America’s clash with the Secret Empire that is chronicled in Captain America #169-175.
The battle with Faustus was chronicled in Captain America #161-162.
Leila’s last name is not identified here. It’s revealed to be Taylor in Captain America #188.
The Cobra mentions here that he got his powers from an irradiated cobras bite. That happened in Journey into Mystery #98.
Topical References
This story depicts the Viper and Eel as being incarcerated at Sing Sing Prison. As of this writing (June 2021) it is still operating as a prison, however, its time will eventually be up. Over the 2 decades there has been talk of converting the prison in a museum or outright selling the property. The prison is over 200 years old so it has more value as a historical building than a prison.
References to World War II happening thirty years prior to this story and claims that Captain America was frozen in suspended animation for twenty of those years should be considered topical references. The Sliding Timescale is such that the gulf of time between World War II and the Modern Age expands with each passing year. Click here for more detail on the matter.
Dave Cox states here that he fought in the Vietnam War. This should also be considered a topical reference. Presumably, per History of the Marvel Universe #2, Dave was instead involved in the Sin Cong conflict, a fictional war created to explain Modern Age characters past military history that would be considered topical.
The newspaper the Eel is reading has an article a headline reading “Nixon Addresses Congress”, needless to say this should be considered a topical reference.
Peggy states that the year is 1973. This is also a topical reference.
