Serpent Society

Lore & Background

The storyline was first announced by then-Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, Executive Editor Tom Brevoort and X-Men group editor Axel Alonso at a press conference held at Midtown Comics Times Square on December 21, 2010. Quesada explained that like the 2006 storyline "Civil War", the storyline of "Fear Itself" was inspired by the real world, in particular the perceived malaise and fear evoked by late 2000s events such as terror alerts, oil spills, the Great Recession and partisan politics. The story's antagonist is the Serpent, an Asgardian being who sows doubt and fear among the superheroes of the Marvel Comics Universe. During this conflict, which is referred to among the characters as the Serpent's War, the Serpent is revealed to be Cul, Odin's brother, who assumed the throne of Asgard following the death of their father. Born at the dawn of time, Cul was subsequently banished and imprisoned by Odin following Cul's corrupt rule, and a prophecy by Yggdrasil that cost Odin his right eye, and which revealed that Cul's madness could only be cured by the death of Odin's son. Brevoort explained that all major characters are featured in the storyline, which involve a number of unconventional alliances, with even Marvel's version of Dracula participating in the event.

Reader's Guide

The Fear Itself prologue book, which was published in March 2011, features Captain America and Namor, and is produced by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Scot Eaton. The main Fear Itself miniseries, which debuted the following month, is written by Matt Fraction, and features illustrated interiors by Stuart Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger and covers by Steve McNiven. Fear Itself #1 is priced at $3.99 USD, and was projected to be about 45 pages long, according to Brevoort. (The first issue, when published, was 56 pages long.) Brevoort also indicated that the final issue would also be oversized, as is typical with such event miniseries. (The final issue was 64 pages long, 16 of which were devoted to epilogues that set up subsequent spinoff books.) To promote Fear Itself: Fearsome Four #1, one of the tie-in books, writer Brandon Montclare and artists Michael Kaluta and Ryan Bodenheim appeared at Midtown Comics Downtown on June 8, 2011, where they signed copies of the book. Writers Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente and editor Mark Paniccia later held a signing at the same store on June 18 for Alpha Flight #1, which is also part of the storyline. A 12-issue, biweekly spinoff miniseries of "Fear Itself" titled The Fearless, debuted October 19, 2011. The series, which depicts Captain America, the Avengers and others dealing with the aftermath of the events of "Fear Itself", is written by Fraction, Cullen Bunn and Chris Yost, and is illustrated by Mark Bagley and Paul Pelletier. Other aftereffects of the crossover are explored in a series of one-shots under the title Shattered Heroes, in a manner similar to how the 2010 "Heroic Age" storyline served as a follow-up to the 2008-2009 "Dark Reign" storyline. Shattered Heroes is part of "Battle Scars", a rebranding of the Marvel Universe books most affected by "Fear Itself".

Did You Know?

• The storyline's title is a reference to Franklin D. Roosevelt's quote, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
• Critics gave the overall storyline an average score of 7.4 out of 10 at Comic Book Roundup, with the core miniseries holding a 6.5.