Marvel’s New Captain America Design Changes How I See One MCU Villain

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Avengers Assemble #4!Captain America is a character whose design literally predates Marvel Comics, making it as timeless as it is iconic. That legacy is felt with every addition to Captain America’s personal lore, including and especially in the MCU, as the films took that comic book design and brought it to life. But now, Captain America’s design has changed drastically thanks to the hero’s newest MCU foe – and it totally changed my opinion of that upcoming villain.

In Avengers Assemble #4 by Steve Orlando and Valentina Pinti, Captain America, Shang-Chi, and the other Avengers are investigating a series of heists committed by the villainous group, the Serpent Society. Shang-Chi noticed that every mission the Avengers have gone on recently has coincided with a heist, as if the Serpent Society was using the Avengers’ missions as cover. So, this Avengers squad assembles to take the fight to the Serpent Society and put an end to their crime spree once and for all. Unfortunately, the Serpent Society was more than ready for them.

When the Avengers launch their attack against the Serpent Society, the villains counter by throwing an explosive at the Avengers’ feet. As expected, Captain America jumped on the grenade, using his body as a shield to protect his fellow heroes. However, the bomb wasn’t actually a bomb at all, but a canister filled with a mutagen toxin. After Captain America breathed in the fumes, his body began to mutate, and his mind slowly slipped into a rage-filled madness. Steve Rogers had been transformed into an anthropomorphic mutant snake, forever becoming Cap-Snake.

The Serpent Society will be Featured in Captain America: Brave New World

Honestly, when I heard that the Serpent Society was actually going to be in the MCU, I wasn’t very excited – especially since the Serpent Society was teased as the main villain of “Captain America 3” before Civil War was announced, which was played up as a huge joke. The Serpent Society has never been taken seriously in the past, with even the MCU itself essentially making fun of them during Phase 3. So, why should I care that the Serpent Society is going to be in Captain America: Brave New World?

Well, after reading this issue of Avengers Assemble, I’m convinced. The Serpent Society can add a layer of gross mutant fun to the MCU akin to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and even Toxic Avenger. They’re total wildcards, utterly over-the-top supervillains who just turned Captain America into a snake mutant, and that’s something I want to see more of. I don’t want the MCU’s Serpent Society to be a hyper-realistic version of its absurd comic book counterpart, I want to see Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder hit Sam Wilson with a mutagen bomb that turns him into a snake mutant.

While my wish more than likely won’t come true, this issue still has me excited about seeing the Serpent Society brought to the big screen for another reason: they understand Captain America. The only way the Serpent Society was able to mutate Cap is because they knew he’d jump on the grenade to save everyone else, and they used that knowledge to their advantage. That level of understanding will make them formidable villains in the MCU, even beyond Captain America: Brave New World, as they’ve proven they know how to horrifically exploit Captain America’s weaknesses.

What’s Next for Cap-Snake in Future Captain America Comics?

Is Captain America’s New Cap-Snake Form Actually Permanent?

Serpent Society’s leader, Pit Viper, says that Captain America’s transformation into Cap-Snake is permanent, and that the Steve Rogers the Avengers knew is gone forever. Could he be telling the truth? Honestly, I hope so. Human/animal hybrid mutants are one of my favorite things in comic books, and to see someone as iconic and legendary as Captain America become one himself was a lot of fun. I don’t want this to just be a one-off, I want Cap-Snake to be a form that actually lasts through more than a single story arc.

Captain America’s redesign is definitely reminiscent of Saturday Morning Cartoons of the ‘90s, but that’s what I love about it, and I hope the same thing will happen to Sam Wilson in the MCU. But, even if it doesn’t, the fact that the Serpent Society was able to mutate Captain America like this at all in the comics makes me very excited about the evil organization’s inclusion in the MCU, as they’ve proven themselves a genuine threat to Captain America.

Avengers Assemble #4 by Marvel Comics is available now.