Hugh Jones (comics)

Hugh Jones is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe who first appeared in Captain America #180 (Dec 1974) and was created by Steve Englehart and Sal Buscema.

Fictional character biography

Hugh Jones was the son of a Texas oil millionaire, and inherited his company, which would become Roxxon Oil, after his father’s death. Hugh also attempted a takeover of Stark Industries after the murder of Tony Stark's parents. Hugh had been arrested several times for various offenses but has never been convicted to date.

The rebel Atlantean Warlord Krang had recovered the Serpent Crown, and delivered it to the superhuman criminal Viper. Viper, at this point leader of the original Serpent Squad, then kidnapped Hugh Jones, and placed the Crown on his head. Jones immediately fell under the mental control of Set. The police, along with Captain America (then known as “Nomad”) and Namor the Sub-Mariner, interrupted the Squad's plan, however and Krang reclaimed the Crown and fled.

Jones became obsessed with the Crown, and he worked hard to locate it. Once he recovered it, he began wearing it invisibly. With the power of Set, he was able to make psychic contact with a group of businessmen called the Serpent Cartel, who were acolytes of Set from the alternate universe known as Earth-S. This Earth is where the superhero group the Squadron Supreme resides, and that universe's version of the Serpent Crown has managed to gain control of the minds of many of the leaders of America's largest corporations and even that alternate America's President, Nelson Rockefeller.

When the Avengers broke into a Brand Corporation facility, Jones used an interdimensional transporter to bring the Squadron Supreme to his Earth, and they captured the Avengers. When the Avengers escaped, they and the Squadron Supreme were sent back to Earth-S with the interdimensional transporter when the police came to investigate. There, the Avengers freed many of that planet's people from the dominance of the Crown, during the course of which they briefly fell under its influence themselves. The Avengers then brought the Serpent Crown from that alternate world back with them to their own Earth, eventually losing it when it was dropped into the Pacific Ocean.

Still under Set’s control, Jones sought to retrieve the Crown from Earth-S yet again. Sidewinder, in his employ, retrieved it for him, and now Jones had two Crowns. He was able to mystically merge them to create a new Serpent Crown, identical in appearance to the others, though now possessing the combined power of the original two Crowns. He acquired a scaly appearance from such a strong connection to Set.

Using this power, Jones then took control of the minds of the entire population of Washington, D.C., including most of the federal government of the United States. He then came into conflict with a group of super-heroes including the Thing, Stringray and the Scarlet Witch. Jones conjured up "spirits" of the Crown's past wearers (including Naga) to do battle with the Scarlet Witch on the Astral Plane. The Thing took the advantage of Jones’ distraction to take the opportunity to snatch the Crown from Jones’ head, severing his link with Set.

This traumatic separation from the Crown drove Jones insane. He has remained in a mental hospital ever since. He was succeeded as Roxxon president by John T. Gamelin.

References

External links

Hugh Jones at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe