VIPER
Real Name: Jordan Dixon
(legally changed);
Jordan Stryke (birth name)
Identity/Class: Human technology user
Occupation: Professional criminal, advertising agency executive
Group Membership: Serpent Solutions (Asp, Black Mamba, Black Racer, Boomslang, Bushmaster/Quincy McIver, Coachwhip, Copperhead/Davis Lawfers, Cottonmouth/Burchell Clemens, Death Adder/Theodore Scott, Eel/Edward Lavell, Fer-de-Lance, King Cobra, Princess Python, Puff Adder, Rattler, Rock Python, Sidewinder/Gregory Bryan) formerly Committee to Regain America's Principles (Quentin Harderman, Moonstone/Lloyd Bloch), Crime Wave, Serpent Squad
Affiliations: A.I.M., Baron Zemo (Helmut Zemo), Constrictor (Payne, son of the original), Hydra, Dr. Karl Malus, Sons of the Serpent;
former Cowled Commander, Quentin Harderman (partner);
possibly Nighthawk, Nuke (both of Earth-712/aka Earth-S), Vakume; (see comments)
briefly Dark Angel/Hell's Angel,
the Guide, the X-Men
(Cyclops/Scott Summers, Psylocke/Betsy Braddock, Wolverine/Logan/James Howlett)
Enemies: Arcade, Black Ant, Captain America (Steve Rogers), Captain America/Falcon (Sam Wilson), Choshin, D-Man (Dennis Dunphy), Eel of Blessed Waters, Falcon (Joaquin Torres), Hunter-Bots, Iron Fist (Danny Rand), Iron Man (Tony Stark), Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff), Misty Knight, Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond simulacrum), Rat of 12 Plagues, Sabretooth (Victor Creed), Taskmaster (Tony Masters), Viper (Ophelia Sarkissian, aka Madame Hydra), Greg Williamson
Known Relatives: Leopold Stryke (brother, Eel, deceased)
Aliases: Jordan Stryke (following legal name change), Jordon Dixon (See Comments)
Base of Operations: Serpent Solutions on Wall Street, New York City;
formerly Super-Hero Dead Zone (Viper's soul fragment);
location of his soul in its entirety (assuming he is truly dead);
formerly mobile;
formerly New York City, New York
First Appearance: Captain America I#157 (January 1973)
Powers/Abilities: Physically, Viper was a good hand-to-hand combatant, quite agile, and possessed the normal strength of a man his age, weight, and height who engaged in intensive regular exercise. Mentally, Viper was calculating and without mercy; besides advertising, Viper also had some skill in chemistry, allowing him to create his venom. He possessed no superhuman physical or mental abilities while alive.
His soul fragment apparently had the psychic powers natural to Dead Zone inhabitants. Of those powers, he exhibited flight. The Management could grant extra unspecified abilities while he was on missions. He couldn't ordinarily sustain a physical form on Earth without outside assistance.
Equipment/Weapons: Viper wore and hurled darts tipped with lethal poison. He also wore razor-sharp fangs on his right wrist (likewise tipped with poison). Besides these weapons, he also wielded from a simple blowgun to the advanced Venom-Firer, a cannon-like weapon, both of which projected his poison, the latter with more range than by blowgun and by hand.
History: (Captain America I#157 (fb) - BTS) - For years Jordan Stryke labored in anonymity selling other men's products, making other men's fortunes, laying waste to values and the environment of a nation from the privacy of his office. Among the campaigns he ran was the marketing of children's toys.
(Captain America I#170 (fb)) - The
superhuman criminal Moonstone met with Quentin Harderman and Viper.
Moonstone wanted to join the Committee to Regain America's Principles,
saying that he could be a distinct asset to them. Viper and Harderman
agreed, and Moonstone joined the operation.
(Captain America I#157 - BTS) - When the Cowled Commander formed his Crime Wave, Viper joined the team alongside his brother, the Eel. Viper exploded a bomb at the 15th Police Precinct in an attempt to kill Captain America.
(Captain America I#157) - Standing on top of a nearby building, Viper watched as Falcon, Cap's partner at the time, came out of the ruins of the police station. Falcon glimpsed the criminal and rushed to see who he was. He met Viper, learning that he was behind the explosion. The two of them began to fight. Viper managed to throw a venom-tipped dart at Falcon, felling him, but suddenly Captain America appeared, having survived the explosion. He attacked Viper, who was surprised that Captain America survived. Captain America managed to defeat the villain, but Viper told him that if he wanted the antidote to the poison to save Falcon, he would have to let him go. Captain America agreed, knowing that he had to make a deal with the villain while not liking it one bit. Viper threw the antidote to Captain America, but when Captain America tried to get the antidote, he turned his back to the Viper. Viper told him, "We have a saying in the advertising game, Captain America! You might do well to remember it: Never turn your back on the competition!" With those words, he threw a Viper dart in the back of Captain America, as well, and escaped.
(Captain America I#158) - While Captain America and Falcon lay on the top of the building, Viper escaped.
(Captain America I#158 - BTS) - After being saved by Captain America, Falcon went to see Boss Morgan in order to find out where Viper was hiding. Boss Morgan told him that he knew where Viper was and that he even knew who the Cowled Commander was, but he wasn't telling him. Falcon left Boss Morgan and went to a place in town where he thought there was a good chance an ad man would live. He went to a drug store and asked the owner who bought chemicals from him. The drug store owner sent him off to see Jordon Dixon, the Viper's secret identity (see Comments).
(Captain America I#158) - In his apartment, Viper was mixing more chemicals for his poisonous darts when the Falcon came crashing through the window, and the two of them began to fight. Viper was about to hit Falcon with a dart, but he was attacked by Falcon's avian partner Redwing, giving Falcon enough time to knock his opponent down. Standing on top of him, Falcon asked Viper who the Cowled Commander was, but Viper told him that he was a fool because the Cowled Commander's identity was a secret, and Viper himself didn't even know. He also told him that he couldn't stop the Crime Wave because he was just a middle-echelon type, and if he didn't report in, Falcon would have to face Plantman (simuloid), Porcupine, Eel and Scarecrow.
(Captain America I#159) - Leaving Viper's apartment to fight the rest of the Crime Wave, Falcon brought Viper with him. Viper begged Falcon not to drop him from the height they were flying. Arriving at the battle between Captain America and the Crime Wave, Falcon threw Viper in Plantman's face. Eel realized that Viper was his brother, and as Viper was about to get up again, Eel used his electro-blast against Falcon. When the police commissioner came, he accidentally gave Viper and the rest of the Crime Wave a chance to escape in a car, and they drove to a secret hideout.
The five of them then
discussed their plans. Eel told Scarecrow that he didn't know that
Viper had joined the Crime Wave, and he believed that Jordan was
playing it straight at Madison Avenue. Viper broke in, telling them
that he was indeed the one who helped them, but Porcupine wasn't
convinced because he shouldn't take credit for being dropped by Falcon.
Suddenly the five were attacked by Falcon and Captain America. Viper
was quickly defeated by Falcon, but Plantman used his plants to capture
the two heroes, and the five of them brought Cap and Falcon to a secret
chamber. When Captain America and Falcon escaped from the chamber, the
Cowled Commander and his Crime Wave fought the two heroes. Captain
America defeated the Viper by throwing Porcupine into him. Viper and
the rest of them were sent to jail. 
(Captain America I#163) - Alongside his brother Leopold (Eel), Viper broke out of prison. The prison guards tried to stop them, but they were helpless against the super-villains. To get over the prison wall, the Cobra helped them, and the three of them escaped in a car and drove to their secret hideout.
They began to plan their revenge against Captain America and Falcon. Viper decided to call his old friend Quentin Harderman, to make him start an ad campaign for him called "the un-selling of Captain America." The campaign's goal was to convince the public that Captain America was a glory-grabbing vigilante, despoiling the name of America. After Viper hung up the phone, Eel told him that he always had some nutty ideas. In response, Viper said, "Wait and see. Never underestimate the power of advertising." After reading the paper, Eel revealed that Captain America was now in Virginia visiting his girlfriend. The three of them decided to go after him and kill him, flying to Virginia in turn.
Together they broke
through the window to the room where Captain America and Falcon were
present, announced themselves as the Serpent Squad, stated that both of
the heroes must die, and attacked the heroes. Viper hurled one of his
lethal darts toward Captain America, but Captain America managed to
evade the dart by using his shield and then knocked down Viper.
Realizing that they needed to regroup, the three villains escaped to
find their weapons. Later at Dave Cox's house, the Serpent Squad made
another attack against Captain America, with Viper wielding his
Venom-Firer. When the villains realized that they couldn't bring
Captain America out in the open, they went down to Cox's house and
broke down the door. Realizing that Captain America was gone, they
tried to get Dave Cox to tell them where Captain America was. Dave
refused to tell them, and Cobra decided to use his Cobra Convulsion
Pistol against Dave, while Viper and Eel looked for Captain America.
Suddenly Captain America came down from the roof, surprising the
villains. Taking out Cobra and Eel with ease, Viper was about to use
his Viper fangs, but Captain America smashed his shield into Viper's
face, knocking him out. After Cobra and Eel were beaten, the three of
them were sent to jail again.
(Captain America I#175) - From jail, Viper watched TV as Moonstone told the media the truth about the Committee to Regain America's Principles.
(Captain America I#180) - On a road in Virginia, Viper was being transported by three US Marshals to appear before a grand jury. Suddenly a bomb was thrown in front of the car, and the US Marshals stopped the vehicle. A dart with gas broke through the bullet-proof glass, and the US Marshals rushed out of the door, only to be gunned down. Viper also got out of the door while still wearing handcuffs. Believing that the Serpent Squad had freed him, he was introduced to the one who actually freed him, the former Madame Hydra. She told him that now she would take the name Viper for herself. Viper replied, "Uh...won't that cause confusion in the marketplace? I mean I'm the Viper too... Say listen if, uh, you'd like me to change my name...well what's in a name after all..." The former Madame Hydra told him to be silent and then gunned him down, taking his costume and name.
(Hell's Angel#2 (fb) - BTS) - Viper's soul split, due to trauma. His soul fragment became an inhabitant of the Super-Hero Dead Zone in Inner Space, waiting in peace hoping one day to be reclaimed by its original soul.
(Hell's Angel#2) - The Viper soul fragment, along with soul fragments of Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond) of Earth-712, Nuke (Albert Gaines) of Earth-712, and Vakume of Salem's Seven, was recruited for a mission by the Guide along with Hell's Angel. The Guide took out a special dispensation from the Management to grant the soul fragments a few extra abilities. They, and Hell's Angel, traveled to Tokyo Japan, to prevent the assassination of Takashei Otomo by Mys-Tech's Psycho-Warriors. The battle was joined by the X-Men, and the Psycho-Warriors defeated all but one. Unfortunately, that last Psycho-Warrior shot Viper's soul fragment. The fragment became an ever dissipating cosmic mist. Nighthawk killed the last Psycho-Warrior, and the remaining heroes pay their last respects with a moments silence.
SECRET WARS III HAPPENED
...he got better...
(Captain America: Sam Wilson#5 (fb) - BTS) - Viper (Jordan Dixon) became the new leader of the Serpent Society and rebranded them as Serpent Solutions, a corporation that sold their services to other big corporation. He had many meetings with influential people and quickly gained many friends in big corporations and on Wall Street by doing their dirty work for them.
(Captain America: Sam Wilson#3) - Serpent Solutions' leader Viper with Puff Adder and Cobra serving as his bodyguards met with representatives of the cosmetics industry to show them a commercial for bio-engineering (mutating of humans into human/animal hybrids) Serpent Solutions offered. One representative wanted to know if Serpent Solutions could still deliver after the destruction of Dr. Malus' lab and Viper assured him that Malus was not the only scientist they had working on bio-enhancements. Regarding the threat Captain America posed Viper asked them not to worry because Serpent Solutions would take care of it while their partners kept getting richer.
(Captain America: Sam Wilson#4 (fb) - BTS) - After a handshake agreement with Roger Viper attended a party on a yacht with him.
At some point Viper denied a business proposal by Sunset Bain because...(no reason was given).
(Captain America: Sam Wilson#5 (fb) ) - Viper approached Diamondback at her current job as a stripper and asked her to join the rebranded Serpent Solutions because he still saw her as one of them and wasn't involved back when the Serpent Society wanted to kill her. Though she got agitated by him talking about her sick boyfriend Constrictor he eventually convinced her to rejoin.
(Captain America: Sam Wilson#5 (fb) - BTS) - Viper came up with a plan to lure Captain America (Wilson), who was temporarily a wolf/human hybrid, into a trap involving Diamondback. She was supposed to contact Cap and ask him for help because she was supposedly threatened by the Serpent Society.
(Captain America: Sam Wilson#4) - Representing Serpent Solutions Viper had a meeting with some of the most influential people on Wall Street. He offered the services of Serpent Solutions to do the dirty work while the rich were getting richer. Senior Vice Preseident for Public Relations and Community Affairs Greg Williams spoke out against Viper, called him a criminal and was going to leave the meeting when he was stopped at the door by Puff Adder and Cobra, the latter apparently killed him. Nobody else at the meeting had a problem with Serpent Solutions' criminal origins and agreed to do business with them.
Viper was golfing with Roger and Jerry, two influential men, and told them about how he told Bain to come back to him in six months. They all had good laugh. Viper asked Roger why had not sent back the contracts to Serpent Solutions and Roger told him about his concerns that came with Serpent Solutions getting in trouble with Captain America. Viper asked him to trust him because he had already taken steps to deal with that problem.
(Captain America: Sam Wilson#4 - BTS) - After Captain America was lured into a trap by Diamondback and caught by her, Black Racer, Copperhead and Cottonmouth he was delivered to Serpent Solutions' offices.
(Captain America: Sam Wilson#4) - Viper mockingly welcomed Captain America (Wilson), who was chained to a chair, when he woke up at a meeting in Serpent Solutions' conference room.
(Captain America: Sam Wilson#5) - Viper revealed how Wilson would remain paralyzed because of Asp's venom-bolt and how Wilson worked right into his hand by contacting Diamondback as soon as he had learned Serpent Solutions were involved in his most recent case. He called out Wilson for destroying America and how Serpent Solutions were helping to make America marvelous again by helping coporations overcome oppressive regulations. Wilson was sure Viper was only doing everything for money and didn't care for the money, but Viper assured him he was only selling was people already wanted, pointing out their work with the Sons of the Serpent. Viper ended his monologue by pushing Cap, still chained to the chair, out a window to fall to his death despite Diamondback's protesting. The new Falcon saved Cap's life, but Viper and many members of Serpent Solutions followed them down to the street to end them.
(Captain America: Sam Wilson#6) - Viper told Falcon the wings he possessed were property of Serpent Solutions and orderd everyone to attack him. Falcon ran from them, but was eventually caught and bitten to death by Cottonmouth. Falcon survived due to his healing factor and joined forces with Diamondback, who turned on Serpent Solutions, and Misty Knight. Viper was going to kill the still paralyzed Captain America when D-Man arrived in his battlecar and stopped him. Captain America finally got his feet again and knocked out Viper with his shield.
Cap and Falcon tossed Viper through a skylight at a secret meeting between some of Viper's former business associates and threatened them with the help of his hacker Whisperer (Rick Jones).
(Captain America: Steve Rogers#13) - Baron Zemo met with Viper's Serpent Solutions to ask them to join his Army of Evil. When the Army of Evil gathered Viper attended alongside Anaconda, Coachwhip, Cottonmouth, Puff Adder, Princess Python, Rock Python and Sidewinder.
(Iron Fist IV#74) – The Serpent Society (Asp, Boomslang, Coachwhip, King Cobra, Puff Adder, Viper) teamed with the new Constrictor (Payne) to arrange a sale of the Book of the Iron Fist to Choshin. Days later, Choshin attacked with his army, including the Rat of 12 Plagues and the Eel of Blessed Waters, at the same time as Iron Fist and Sabretooth did.
(Iron Fist IV#75) – After a massive battle, Constrictor abandoned the team and the members of the Serpent Society were left unconscious.
(Amazing Spider-Man V#20.HU (fb) - BTS) - Viper was among the animal-themed villains captured by Taskmaster and the Black Ant on behalf of Arcade and Kraven the Hunter, then placed inside Central Park after being in stasis for a time.
(Amazing Spider-Man V#20.HU) - Viper, Black Mamba and Cottonmouth were running away from a Hunter-Bot until it was then taken down by Vulture. They joined his crew of villains to fight back against the Hunter-Bots.
(Avengers VIII#55) - One day the members of Serpent Solutions (Anaconda, Asp, Black Mamba, Bushmaster, Coachwhip, Copperhead, Cottonmouth, Death Adder, Fer-de-Lance, King Cobra, Princess Python, Puff Adder, Rattler, Rock Python, Slither, Viper) fell under the influence of Mephisto and went from floor to floor in the building their offices were located and murdered everyone. With dozens of sacrifices stacked up Serpent Solutions prayed to Mephisto to open a portal to Hell for them. Nighthawk (a Kyle Richmond simulacrum created by Mephisto) took them all down single-handedly.
Comments: Created by Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber, Sal Buscema and John Verpoorten.
I guess Viper couldn't keep track of his own aliases-- in Captain America I#158, Falcon learned from the store owner that the man he was looking for is Jordon Dixon, the alias Viper used in the advertising world to keep clean of the Stryke name. In Captain America I#163, he called his old friend Quentin, telling him it was his old friend Jordan Dixon aka Viper. Hmmm, guess he used both Jordon Dixon and Jordan Dixon as aliases, and Jordan Stryke as his real name. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#20 listed his name as Jordan Dixon so I guess Jordon Dixon was a mistake. There's Jordan Dixon, then there's Jordon Dixon.
Whilst doing a big batch of Hell's Angel profiles, I noticed the Hell's Angel summary needed a looking at. I'll give the soul fragments a fuller group profile ASAP. It is interesting that a villain ended up in the Super-Hero Dead Zone. Presumably the soul fragment embodied Viper's "good" side. The soul fragments of Nighthawk and Nuke might not have been intended to be from Earth-712 (yeah, that's weird, since they are from an alternate reality and would have souls in their own afterworlds...but then again, Nighthawk, at least traveled to Earth-616 and had some trauma there, which could have caused some soul fragmentaton; while there are not stories showing Nuke on Earth-616, the Marvel Zombies Supreme series had a zombie version of Earth-712's Nuke present, having been generated from a hard light version of Nuke generated by Dr. Spectrum.--Snood) but the Earth-616 counterparts (in this case, that would be Nuke (Frank Simpson), but still a Kyle Richmond Nighthawk; we have seen certainly seen cases where the writer intended someone, and the artist drew someone else, and no one figured out the error until after the story was published--Snood). Although Earth-616 Nighthawk returned quite alive after Hell's Angel#2, soul fragments are said to be caused by trauma. Trauma isn't necessarily fatal. Perhaps in Nighthawk's case the original soul stayed with his body when a non-fatal trauma caused the soul fragment which ended up in Inner Space. -- Changeling.
There's no unmasked shot - the one time I thought you would be guaranteed one, when he is in prison watching TV with other inmates in Cap #175, hilariously he is still wearing his mask in combination with his prison clothes. Maybe his lawyer blocked them unmasking him until he was convicted?--Loki
He was probably one of the many unidentifiable villains seen at the end of Amazing Spider-Man V#16 (April, 2019) trapped in energy cages on a mountainside in South Africa, but we don't know for sure.
Profile by The Beetle
Profile updated/edited by Kyle Sims.
Hell's Angel info updated by Changeling.
Additional images provided courtesy of Loki.
Serpent Solutions update by Markus Raymond (including improved main by Loki)
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Viper shouldn't be confused with:
The Eel, Leopold Stryke, shouldn't be confused with
Moonstone, Lloyd Bloch, shouldn't be confused with:
images:
Captain America: Sam Wilson#5, p20, pan3 (main)
Captain America I#157, p13, pan4 (full body)
Captain America I#157, p14, pan1 (blowgun & wrist-fangs)
Captain America I#157, p16, pan1 (venom dart)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#20, Viper profile (main image)
Captain America I#180, p4, pan4 (death at the hands of Viper/Madame Hydra)
Captain America: Sam Wilson#6, p1, pan3 (head shot)
Captain America: Steve Rogers#13, p19, bottom right (with Army of Evil)
Appearances:
Captain America I#157-159 (January-March, 1973) - Steve Englehart
(writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), John Verpoorten (inks), Roy Thomas
(editor)
Captain America I#163 (July, 1973) - Steve Englehart (writer), Sal
Buscema (pencils), Tony Mortellaro & John Verpoorten (inks), Roy
Thomas (editor)
Captain America I#170 (February, 1974) - Steve Englehart & Mike
Friedrich (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Frank McLaughlin (inks), Roy
Thomas (editor)
Captain America I#175 (July, 1974) - Steve Englehart (writer), Sal
Buscema (pencils), Vincent Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Captain America I#180 (December, 1974) - Steve Englehart (writer), Sal
Buscema (pencils), Vincent Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Hell's Angel#2 (August, 1992) - Bernadette Jaye (writer), Geoff Senior (pencils/inks), Helen Stone (editor)
Captain America: Sam Wilson#3 (January, 2016) - Nick Spencer (writer),
Daniel Acuņa with Mike Choi (artists), Tom Brevoort with Katie Kubert
(editors)
Captain America: Sam Wilson#4-5 (February-March, 2016) - Nick Spencer
(writer), Paul Renaud (artist), Tom Brevoort, Katie Kubert (editors)
Captain America: Sam Wilson#6 (April, 2016) - Nick Spencer (writer),
Joe Bennett (pencils), Belardino Brabo (inks), Tom Brevoort with Katie
Kubert (editors)
Captain America: Steve Rogers#13 (May, 2017) - Nick Spencer (writer), Ro Stein & Ted Brandt (artists), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Iron Fist IV#74-75 (January-February, 2018) - Ed Brisson (writer), Mike Perkins (artist), Mark Basso, Jake Thomas (editors)
Amazing Spider-Man V#20.HU (July, 2019) - Nick Spencer (writer), Cory Smith (pencils), Mark Morales (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Avengers VIII#55 (June, 2022) - Jason Aaron (writer), Javier Garrón & David Curiel (artists), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 06/04/2003
Last updated: 03/12/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099
Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff,
you should check out the real thing!
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