Viper (Madame Hydra)
Ophelia Sarkissian | |
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Viper | |
Abilities |
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Ophelia Sarkissian is a
Since her original introduction in comics, the character has been featured in various other Marvel-licensed products, including
Publication history
Ophelia Sarkissian debuted in Captain America #110 (February 1969),[8] created by Jim Steranko.[9] She appeared in the 2016 Captain America: Steve Rogers series.[10][11] She appeared in the 2017 Secret Empire series.[12][13] She appeared in the 2018 Hunt for Wolverine: Mystery in Madripoor series.[14][15]
Fictional character biography
Ophelia Sarkissian was orphaned as a child in
She eventually severed her ties with HYDRA. Viper was the founder and leader of the elite criminal underworld through sheer ruthlessness, treachery, and the cunning of her black heart.
Viper took over the S.H.I.E.L.D.
Re-employing the Silver Samurai, Viper attempted to coerce
Madame Hydra has also been in conflict with the
Madame Hydra is a professional terrorist and has her own organization. She has come into conflict with many superheroes and supervillains over the years. Her nihilism and tendency to spread death around her has made it hard for other villains to associate with her. Only the Red Skull has found it a charming tendency and pursued a relationship with her for a while. The relationship ended when the Skull found out Viper was using his resources to finance massacres with no apparent financial benefit for either of them.[36]
For a time, Viper employed a team of doppelgängers (known as "Pit-Vipers") to impersonate her. However, acting on her own, Pit-Viper 12[37] became involved with the Punisher during an international crime conference in Las Vegas[38] and later tipped off S.H.I.E.L.D. to the real Viper's attempt to steal Russian nuclear missiles in Moscow.[39] For compromising her anonymity, the Viper personally killed her treacherous double.[40]
Later she blackmailed
Viper was then a member of an incarnation of the
For a time, Viper was the dictator of the nation of
During the
Viper is kidnapped by the mysterious group Leviathan, who are determined to find out the location of a mysterious box that both she and Madame Hydra procured from the Yashidas. Madame Hydra arrived at the Leviathan headquarters and offered the box to its leader, much to Viper's dismay. Madame Hydra then shot Viper to death. However, when HYDRA arrived, the Hive resurrected her, giving her tentacles that stemmed from her head, and she renamed herself Madame Hydra.[47]
Following the Fear Itself storyline, Madame Hydra joins up with H.A.M.M.E.R. after Norman Osborn escapes from the Raft and regains leadership.[48] After the defeat of Osborn and the Dark Avengers, Madame Hydra uses the resources of the now-defunct H.A.M.M.E.R. to begin rebuilding HYDRA.[49] She later tips off Spider-Woman and Hawkeye about a heist Mister Negative is planning on a S.H.I.E.L.D. warehouse. While the Avengers deal with Mister Negative, Madame Hydra attacks a different S.H.I.E.L.D. facility and steals several captive Skrulls left over from the Secret Invasion.[50]
Madame Hydra later led an attack on Avengers Tower while the team is away. She and the rest of her forces are defeated by Angel and his younger self from earlier in the timestream.[51]
In "Death of Wolverine", she was revealed by Nuke as the "Green Queen" and current leader of Madripoor who sent out a contract to capture Wolverine.[52]
Viper is part of the HYDRA High Council that the new Madame Hydra is collecting to assist Steve Rogers who had his history altered by the Red Skull's clone using Kobik's powers to be a HYDRA sleeper agent for years.[53]
During the "Secret Empire" storyline, Viper attends the meeting of the HYDRA High Council and talks about the opening of two new detention facilities to double the amount of Inhumans held in indefinite custody.[54] While doing business with some men, Viper is told by a HYDRA agent that they have apprehended Black Widow. This is part of a diversion so that the Champions can infiltrate a HYDRA base. When Viper figures out that Black Widow is planning to kill Hydra Supreme, Viper tries to persuade Black Widow to join up with her enterprise.[55]
During the "
In the pages of the Ravencroft miniseries, Viper is seen as a member of J.A.N.U.S.[60]
Powers and abilities
Ophelia Sarkissian's strength, speed, reflexes, agility, dexterity, coordination, balance and endurance are on the order of an Olympic athlete. She is a great swordsman and even greater marksman with most long range weapons, and has extensive training in hand-to-hand combat. Viper occasionally employs poisoned weapons with snake-motifs, such as venomous darts or artificial fangs filled with poison.[61] She utilizes experimental weaponry, including a ring that enables teleportation, and in X-Treme X-Men, she made use of razor-sharp claw attachments apparently built into her gloves.[34] A brilliant strategist and tactician with extensive combat tactical experience, Ophelia Sarkissian is highly skilled in the management of criminal organizations and very well connected in the international criminal underworld. She is also a master of stealth and espionage. Perhaps her greatest strengths are her influence, the financial resources at her disposal due to her stature in organized crime, and an uncanny luck which has allowed her to cheat death in situations where lesser people would have died. Ophelia Sarkissian may or may not have supernaturally augmented longevity.
Ophelia Sarkissian is usually armed with various ray pistols and conventional handguns. She has also used various other special weaponry, including poison-tipped throwing darts, knives, and whips. She has sharpened and elongated canine teeth with hollows inside them. She keeps a special poison in them, to which she has an immunity.
Reception
Critical response
Kai Young of Screen Rant called Ophelia Sarkissian "one of the most recognizable villains in the Marvel Universe."[62] Marc Buxton of Den of Geek included Ophelia Sarkissian in their "Greatest Wolverine Villains" list.[63] Jesse Schedeen of IGN ranked Ophelia Sarkissian 21st in their "Top 25 Marvel Villains" list.[64] Comic Book Resources ranked Ophelia Sarkissian 2nd in their "10 Most Powerful Crime Bosses In Marvel Comics" list,[65] 2nd in their "Marvel: The Council Of Hydra Members" list,[66] 7th in their "10 Most Attractive Marvel Villains" list,[67] and 7th in their "Marvel Comics: Ranking 10 Members Of Hydra From Weakest To Most Powerful" list.[68]
Other versions
Age of Apocalypse
An alternate version of Ophelia Sarkissian appears in the Age of Apocalypse reality. Viper was married to the Silver Samurai. She and her husband fought their way from the islands of Japan through hordes of Apocalypse's Infinites. Viper was killed saving Samurai's life, leading to the Silver Samurai accepting Magneto's offer to join the X-Men.[volume & issue needed]
Earth-6160
During the "
Exiles
An alternate version of Ophelia Sarkissian appears in Exiles. One of the alternate dimensions that is visited in Exiles #91-95 has been overtaken by Madame Hydra. This world (Earth-1720) was dominated by Madame Hydra (actually Susan Storm Richards), her lover Wolverine, and their top assassin Slaymaster. However, before the Exiles can exact retribution, Madame Hydra and her lackeys escape into the omniverse to seek out other worlds to conquer.[volume & issue needed]
Ultimate Marvel
An alternate version of Ophelia Sarkissian appears in
In other media
Television
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Madame Hydra appears in the Gauntlet.
- Elements of Viper / Madame Hydra are hybridized with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, voiced by Vanessa Marshall.[73][74] This version is an agent of HYDRA and an associate of the Serpent Society.
- A version of the character,
Film
Ophelia Sarkissian / Viper appears in
Video games
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Madame Hydra appears as a boss in Captain America: Super Soldier, voiced by Audrey Wasilewski.[74]
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Viper appears as the first boss of Marvel: Avengers Alliance.[citation needed]
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Viper appears as a boss in Marvel: Avengers Alliance Tactics.[citation needed]
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Madame Hydra appears in Marvel Heroes, voiced by Tasia Valenza.[74]
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Viper appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes,[80][81][82] voiced by Kari Wahlgren.[citation needed]
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Viper appears in Lego Marvel's Avengers.[citation needed]
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Madame Hydra appears as a boss in Marvel Avengers Academy.[citation needed]
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Madame Hydra appears in Marvel Powers United VR, voiced again by Vanessa Marshall.[74]
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Viper appears as a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight.[83][84]
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Viper appears in Marvel Snap.[85][86]
Merchandise
In 2022, Hasbro released an Ophelia Sarkissian / Madame Hydra action figure as part of the Marvel Legends action figure line.[87][88]
Miscellaneous
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Madame Hydra appears in the Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. motion comic, voiced by Nicolette Reed.[74]
- Ophelia Sarkissian / Madame Hydra appears in Marvel Universe Live!.[89]
References
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- ISBN 9780780809772.
- ^ Erao, Matthew (2017-04-07). "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Madame Hydra Comic Connections & Changes". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
- ^ Young, Kai (July 29, 2023). "7 Black Widow Villains That Never Appeared In The MCU". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
- Marvel.com. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
- ^ Stoute, Scott (October 11, 2012). "New 'Wolverine' Set Images Show The Viper". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
- ^ Schedeen, Jesse (March 26, 2013). "The Wolverine Vine Trailer Breakdown". IGN. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
- ^ Abdulbaki, Mae (October 28, 2020). "'Avengers 5' may feature a deadly spy teased in 'Falcon and Winter Soldier'". Inverse. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
- ISBN 978-1465455505.
- ^ Adams, Tim (March 28, 2017). "Captain America: Hydra Cap's Cabinet of Supervillains Explained". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
- ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
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- ^ "The 15 Most WTF Moments From Secret Empire (So Far)". Comic Book Resources. June 24, 2017. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
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- ^ a b X-Treme X-Men #11. Marvel Comics.
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- ^ a b c d e "Madame Hydra Voices (Captain America)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 28, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ Abrams, Natalie (April 1, 2017). "Madame Hydra to appear on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — first look". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
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- ^ Fink, Richard (March 2, 2023). "X-Men Comics That Inspired the Movies". MovieWeb. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
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External links
- Viper (Madame Hydra) at Marvel.com
- Ophelia Sarkissian (Earth-616) at the Marvel Wiki
- Viper's Profile at The Women of Marvel Comics
- Viper at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Madame Hydra VI at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Values of a Viper at UncannyXmen.net