Serpent Men
Serpent Men are a species that feature in the Cthulhu Mythos.
Contents |
History
Serpent Men were a race of snake-like beings that were worshippers of a deity known as the Great Serpent.
The seat of the First Empire of the Serpent People, during the Paleozoic era, is Valusia. Valusia is a fictional country in the Kull stories of Robert E. Howard and his stories tell, among other things, of the Serpent Men trying to conquer the world once again, around 20,000 years ago, where Kull from Atlantis reigned over the Valusia Kingdom, located on the west coast of the main continent of Thuria. The ancient Serpent Empire was based on sorcery and alchemy, but collapsed with the rise of the dinosaurs about 225 million years ago during the Triassic era. The Serpent Men originally ruled over humans in Valusia, but were defeated and almost wiped out in humanity's battle for survival against the "elder things", which predated even them. Over time, humans dominated Valusia and the Serpent Men became a legend. The Serpent Men, one of the few surviving "elder things", infiltrated human society and ruled from behind the scenes for a time, but were again discovered, defeated, and cast out in a secret war. However, they later repeated this tactic. Soon, they added the front of a Snake Cult religion, which gained power and influence within Valusia while the Serpent Men used their abilities of disguise to murder or replace each reigning monarch. Their power is eventually broken by King Kull, formerly an Atlantean barbarian who had recently conquered Valusia, and the Pict Brule the Spear-Slayer, whose society was aware of the Serpent Men's infiltration.
Overview
Notes
- The Serpent Men were created by H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard where they made their first appearance in Weird Tales v1 "The Shadow Kingdom" (August 1929).
In other media
Television
- In Conan the Adventurer, the Serpent Men appeared as the primary antagonists in the setting of the 1990s animated television series. They were shown as followers of Set and followed the dark wizard Rath-Amon who worked to free their master from the Abyss dimension. It was revealed that they were vulnerable to Star Metal and if in direct contact with it the metal caused the Serpent Men to be sent back to the Abyss.
Video games
- In Marvel Heroes, the Serpent Men appeared as antagonists in the setting of the MMORPG video game. This version of the Serpent Men had a snake tails instead of legs.
- In Conan: Exiles, the Serpent Men appeared as antagonists in the setting of the video game. It was said that long ago they ruled the world and dined on mankind where they worshipped their god Set. However, by the Hyborian Age, they were shown to be a dying race with remnants hiding within the depths of a volcano. The Serpentmen were once widespread and inhabited many places throughout the world, including the kingdom of Valusia before the Thurian Age. In the heyday of their race, they enslaved humans and worshipped their patron god, Set. They, and they alone, mastered the art of forging obsidian into a usable material. However, the humans rose up and began a genocide of immense proportions. The serpentmen were nearly wiped out except for a few outposts. They were then devastated again by King Kull of Valusia. The history of the ruins in the volcano remains a mystery, but the last remnant of the snake people dwell here. Due to the mass genocide of their people, the serpentmen were forced to begin mating with lesser reptiles to preserve their species. They have slowly devolved into simpler, impure creatures. Only one pure-blooded member of the race still lives and he is doomed to die if you are to escape the Exiled Lands. All serpentmen are hostile to the player and thralls.
Comics
- In Kull the Conqueror v1 #2 (1971), the Serpent Men were adapted into the universe of Marvel Comics. In Earth's earliest history, the leader and his mate discovered their sacred land occupied by another tribe, the Serpent-Men in disguise. The strangers were free from the signs of care and hardship that marked the members of their own tribe, as if all their needs and desired were sated. The leader of the strangers communicated with them telepathically. Informing them that they were the tribe of Set, cared for, fed, given warmth, and kept healthy and alive by their patron god. He invited the leader and his mate to join their rank promising them a happy life, if they introduced them to the Space Gods, killed their original tribe and feed them to Set. The couple themselves would safely survive. The two wanderers realized the stranger was evil and reacted violently, killing him. In death, the Serpent-Man reverted to his true form. The wanderers escaped back to their tribe and led them to attack the Serpent-Men, driving them away from the garden. Just as the battle was finishing, the First Host of the Celestials arrived, escorted by Gaea who beckoned the victorious tribe forward to accept the gifts of the space gods. Gammenon the Gatherer collected the wanderers and transported them to the Celestial ship. The envious Serpent-Men attempting to approach the ship were driven away by Arishem the Judge. Within their ship, the Celestials altered the genetic make-up of the wanderers, creating three races of humanity namely the virtual immortals Eternals, genetically unstable Deviants and ape-men who let to evolve naturally into humans but with latent genes that would someday produce superhumans.
Appearances
- Weird Tales v1: "The Shadow Kingdom" (1929).
Links
Internal Links
External Links
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