Serpent Crown - Early History of The Crown

Early History of The Crown

Although the crown first appeared in 1969 in Sub-Mariner #9 (which is set in contemporary times) various subsequent stories expanded and developed its earlier history in the Marvel Universe.

In the prehistory of the Marvel Universe Earth, Set exiled himself from Earth's dimension and used his influence to spawn a race of humanoid, sentient reptilian beings that became known as the Serpent Men.

The Serpent Men are depicted as a race which devoutly worships Set and are in constant conflict with the human race. As human societies developed, the Serpent Men began to falter and eventually their race dwindled when King Kull became ruler of Valusia and launched a campaign against them.

Five centuries after the time of Kull, their numbers dwindling even further, a group of Serpent Men ally themselves with some human alchemists from Deviant-dominated pre-cataclysmic Lemuria to create the Serpent Crown, a device which gives them access to some of the enormous mystical power of their "god" Set. However, just as the alchemists and Serpent Men were about to exploit the power of the Crown, the Great Cataclysm occurred. This event was a worldwide natural disaster which brought about the sinking of both Atlantis and Lemuria and leads to the deaths of most of the surviving Serpent Men and the loss of the Serpent Crown for centuries.

A mystical object with many similarities to the Serpent Crown - the "Cobra Crown" - is shown to have existed during the Hyborian Age that followed the Great Cataclysm. A follower of Set called Thoth-Amon allies himself with some surviving Serpent Men and briefly wields this second Crown. Another receptacle of Set's vast power, the Cobra Crown also enables its wearer to control the minds of others. However, it appears that it was much inferior to the Serpent Crown as its abilities eventually burn out and it is apparently destroyed during the course of a conflict between Thoth-Amon and Conan the Barbarian.