Brave New World Ruined The Serpent Society

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had its fair share of villain misfires, but Captain America: Brave New World may have committed one of the biggest sins in its long history of adaptations. The Serpent Society, one of Captain America’s most unique and formidable enemy groups, was seemingly reduced to a forgettable afterthought. What was once a powerful team of killers with distinct snake-inspired abilities was boiled down to a single, unremarkable character—Sidewinder, a guy with a rifle.

The decision to strip away everything that made the Serpent Society an intriguing and dangerous group raises questions about Marvel’s commitment to faithfully adapting its source material. While the MCU has taken creative liberties before, this particular move felt less like a necessary adjustment and more like a dismissal of what made these villains so compelling in the first place. By watering down the Serpent Society, Captain America: Brave New World lost an opportunity to bring one of Cap’s most unique villain teams to life in a way that could have thrilled fans.

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Why Ruin These Captain America Villains?

The Serpent Society is one of the most interesting villain organizations in Captain America’s rogues’ gallery. Unlike standard supervillain teams, which often feature characters with overlapping abilities, the Serpent Society’s members all have distinct powers and weapons inspired by different types of snakes. These include deadly assassins like Cobra, who could contort his body unnaturally, and Bushmaster, a cyborg with bionic enhancements that mimicked a snake’s movements. Others, like Black Mamba and Death Adder, had their own unique abilities that made them formidable foes in their own right.

Instead of bringing this diverse group of villains to life, Captain America: Brave New World gave fans a drastically stripped-down version of the Serpent Society. Sidewinder, one of the group’s original leaders in the comics, had the ability to teleport short distances, making him a dangerous and elusive adversary. However, in Brave New World, he was nothing more than a generic soldier with a gun. This decision is baffling, considering how much potential the Serpent Society had to be a memorable part of the film.

Marvel’s reluctance to embrace the more fantastical elements of the Captain America comics has been a recurring problem. While the MCU’s more grounded approach worked well in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the franchise has since introduced enough sci-fi and mystical elements that a faithful version of the Serpent Society wouldn’t have felt out of place. Yet, instead of using CGI or practical effects to bring these villains to life, the film’s creative team discarded their defining traits altogether.

It’s frustrating because the Serpent Society isn’t just a random collection of villains; they represent a unique and cohesive threat that forces Captain America to think and fight differently. Their mix of cunning, brutality, and specialized abilities sets them apart from the usual mercenaries or Hydra agents Cap has battled in the past. By reducing them to a single, forgettable gunman, Brave New World failed to do justice to one of the most creative villain groups in Marvel Comics.

A Nod To The Captain America Comics With No Respect To The Fans

By including Sidewinder in Brave New World but removing everything that made him special, Marvel essentially told fans that they recognized the Serpent Society’s existence but had no interest in adapting them properly. This half-hearted attempt at fan service felt particularly disappointing because it ignored what fans loved about these characters in the first place. If Marvel wasn’t willing to fully commit to the Serpent Society, why even include them at all?

The MCU has proven time and time again that it’s capable of bringing outlandish comic book characters to life in spectacular fashion. Guardians of the Galaxy turned obscure characters like Rocket Raccoon and Groot into household names. Thor: Ragnarok embraced the cosmic weirdness of Marvel Comics and delivered a visually stunning adventure. So why, when it came to the Serpent Society, did Captain America: Brave New World decide to strip them of everything that made them interesting?

It’s a missed opportunity on multiple levels. The Serpent Society could have been a thrilling group of antagonists, each with their own unique powers and personalities. Their inclusion could have brought a fresh and exciting dynamic to the film, forcing Captain America to face a different kind of challenge. Instead, fans were left with a generic villain who lacked any of the flair or danger that made the Serpent Society special in the first place.

While the film may have had other strengths, its treatment of the Serpent Society will likely remain a sore spot for longtime Captain America fans. Marvel has proven it can bring bizarre and larger-than-life characters to the big screen, but for some reason, it refused to do the same here. The result? A Captain America: Brave New World movie that acknowledged one of Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson’s best villain teams but ultimately showed no respect for what made them great.

Captain America: Brave New World

Release Date

February 14, 2025

Director

Julius Onah

Writers

Dalan Musson, Malcolm Spellman

Prequel(s)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War

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  Anthony Mackie

  Sam Wilson / Captain America

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  Harrison Ford

  Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross / Red Hulk

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