Copperhead is the name of a number of fictional characters in the Marvel Universe. The first two are similar characters that mimicked old pulp magazine heroes, wearing a suit of copper armor and shooting paralyzing or lethal darts, while the third is a member of the Serpent Society.
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| Copperhead | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Daredevil #124 (Aug 1975) |
| Created by | Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and Gene Colan |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Lawrence Chesney |
| Team affiliations | Gang of Four |
| Partnerships | agent of unnamed demon |
Copperhead first appeared in Daredevil #124-125 (August-September 1975), and was created by Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and Gene Colan.
The character subsequently appears in Human Fly #9 (May 1978), Daredevil #1/2 (1998), and Daredevil/Spider-Man #1-4 (January-April 2001).
Copperhead received an entry in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3 (2006).
Lawrence Chesney grew up hearing the tales of a pulp fiction hero named Copperhead from his father. As an adult, he became a vigilante, assuming the Copperhead guise, and leaving his calling card of copper pennies on the eyes of his victims as a payment for the “fare across the River Styx”. His murders of New York City’s petty criminals brought him the attention of Daredevil. As he fought Daredevil, Copperhead was struck by lightning and was killed by electrocution.[1]
After death, Copperhead became the agent of a demon. He was sent back to Earth to retrieve Spider-Man’s soul, but failed after battling Spider-Man and Daredevil.[2]
| Copperhead | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Human Fly #8 (Apr 1978) |
| Created by | Bill Mantlo and Frank Robbins |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Arthur Reynolds |
The second Copperhead appeared in Human Fly #8-9 (Apr-May 1978), and was created by Bill Mantlo and Frank Robbins.
Arthur Reynolds discovered that his former co-worker at the museum, Lawrence Chesney, had been Copperhead, and had been killed. Reynolds broke in to Chesney’s apartment and stole a spare Copperhead costume, assuming the identity. His plan to rob the museum were defeated by White Tiger and the Human Fly.
| Copperhead | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Captain America #337 (1988) |
| Created by | Mark Gruenwald Ralph Macchio and Tom Morgan |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | David Lawfers |
| Team affiliations | Serpent Society |
| Abilities | Skilled in hand-to-hand combat, Gauntlets grant: Energy blasts |
Copperhead (Davis Lawfers) is a fictional supervillain from Marvel Comics. He was a member of the Serpent Society. Very little has been revealed about Copperhead's past and his origins.
Davis Lawfers was born in Rochester, New York. He was a civil servant before becoming an agent of the Viper and professional criminal. Copperhead was the leader of the fourth Serpent Squad, consisting also of Fer-de-lance, Black Racer, and Puff Adder. The quartet robbed a Las Vegas casino and battled Captain America, Falcon, Nomad, and D-Man in order to attract the attention of Sidewinder, then the leader of the Serpent Society.[3] The Serpent Squad was freed from jail by the Sidewinder,[4] and were inducted into the Serpent Society. In truth, they were sent by the Viper so she could infiltrate the organization and take over as its new leader.[5] After the coup was staged, Copperhead was assigned by the Viper, along with the Cobra and Boomslang to put a mutagenic agent into the water supply of Washington D.C. During that mission, he and Cobra had personality conflicts and did not get along, and battled Captain America and Diamondback.[6] After the Viper's plot was foiled, the Society re-organized with Cobra was the new leader. Copperhead did not stay long and quietly disappeared from the ranks of the Society.
In Secret Invasion, Lawfers rejoined the Society. The Society held a number of civilians hostage in a compound in the American Midwest claiming they were protecting themselves from the Skrulls. However, they were easily defeated by Nova and his new Nova Corps.[7]
Copperhead has no superhuman powers. He has moderate experience in hand-to-hand combat and street fighting techniques, but mainly relies on his weaponry.
He wears finger-shooters on his gauntlets which project electrical discharges ("poison-blasts"); a spring-loaded, telescoping, rapid-retracting, wrist-mounted, titanium steel alloy grapping hook ("shooting fang"), with 30-foot (9.1 m) cable line; exploding magnesium flare-bombs stored in his snake-head helmet compartment ("copper-bursts"); micro-suction cups in gloves and boots, enabling adhesion to walls and ceilings. His equipment was designed by technicians hired by the Viper. His gauntlets need to be recharged regularly using the spare poison-blast cartridges in his belt.
For protection, Copperhead wears a copper suit of scale mail, which functions as light body armor made of micro-mesh chain-mail covered with reinforced synthetic chain-mail tunic.