Set
AKA: The Serpent God
What's His Problem? After getting banished to an alternate dimension during the early days of Earth, Set had it in for mammalian life forms, and hopes to rule an earth full of serpent-men. He's kind of like the Lizard, but on a much more cosmic scale.
First Appearance: Tales to Astonish 101
Died in: Thor Annual 14. Set didn't actually die, but Thor, powered by the Demogorge, ripped him apart and tossed each head into a different dimension. Dr. Strange predicted it would be centuries before Set could pull himself together again.
Favorite Quote: An Elder God, Set "influences" people without really saying anything to them. As Ben Grimm said "Frankly, after some'a the blabbermouths I've tackled, that's a welcome relief...but how in blazes are we gonna know if he cries uncle?"
Powers: Being a god, Set had pretty much all the powers you would expect a hundred foot long 7 headed-serpent god to have. Being stuck in another dimension, Set was limited to influencing people through the Serpent Crown, a powerful artifact that would grant its wearer near-unlimited psychic powers.
Heroes He Keeps Running Into: The first hero Set encountered was Atum, the son of Gaea (Mother Earth), who transformed into Demogorge, the God-Eater. Since then, he's been limited to fighting people via the Serpent Crown, everyone from Conan to Namor. He's also encountered Thor, the Scarlet Witch, the Thing, Spider-Man, Quasar and Dr. Strange in his own dimension. They all kicked his scaly butt.
People Who Don't Think He's So Bad: The only people who don't think Set a nasty cuss are his followers, including the Viper, Lumerian despot Naga, Paul Destine (the original Destiny), Roxxon Oil president Hugh Jones, Lady Llyraof Lemuria, and Deviant Lord Ghuar. Of course, most of these people were pretty rotten before they discovered the Serpent Crown.
Most Despicable Act: Through the Serpent Crown, Set has caused misery and pain for thousands of years. One of the most awful acts was the destruction of Atlantis by Paul Destine, a.k.a. Destiny. Namor's mother and grandfather were killed, and Namor was sent wandering by Destiny for years. Set was also responsible for the sub-standard Atlantis Attacks crossover, which was supposed to celebrate the Sub-Mariner's 50th anniversary, and just wound up a series of disconnected stories in search of a crossover (Namor only appeared in 2 chapters!).
by Bobby Coakley
Back to the Threats on a Cosmic Scale page
Back to the Bad Guys page
