Oh look- a villain proved his might by breaking Cap's Shield. Must be Thursday.
CUL- THE SERPENT
Created By: Matt Fraction & Stuart Immonen
First Appearance: Fear Itself #1 (June 2011)
Role: Odin's Long-Lost Brother
Group Affiliations: Asgard
PL 17 (455)
STRENGTH 18
STAMINA 19
AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 14
DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4
AWARENESS 4
PRESENCE 5
Skills:
Deception 4 (+9)
Expertise (History) 10 (+14)
Expertise (Asgard) 6 (+10)
Insight 2 (+6)
Intimidation 12 (+17)
Perception 3 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Godly Blasts) 5 (+13)
Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Fast Grab, Extraordinary Effort, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed, Blasts) 2, Improved Hold, Fast Grab, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Startle, Takedown 2
Powers:
"Immortal God"
Regeneration 8 (Feats: Regrow Limbs) [9]
Immunity 9 (Aging, Starvation & Thirst, Heat, Cold, Disease, Drowning & Suffocation, Poison, Pressure) [9]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
Power-Lifting 6 (200,000 tons) [6]
Impervious Toughness 15 [15]
Flight 10 (2,000 mph) [20]
Morph 4 (Any Form) (Extras: Metamorph) [24]
Senses 6 (Detect Magic- Ranged, Acute, Analytical, Counters Illusion) [6]
"Allspeak" Comprehend (Languages) 3 [6]
"Skyfather Might"
"Skyfather Power" Variable 14 (98) -- [113]
- Dynamic AE: "Godly Beam" Damage 17 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Magic) (Extras: Area- 250ft. Line +4) (88)
- Dynamic AE: "Explosive Blast" Blast 17 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Magic) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (70)
- Dynamic AE: "Skyfather Blast" Blast 21 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Magic, Extended Range 2, Indirect, Penetrating 14) (41)
- Dynamic AE: Force Field 2 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Affects Others 12, Impervious 6) (21)
- AE: Movement 3 (Dimensional Travel 3) (Feats: Increased Mass 5) (12)
- AE: Teleport 10 (Feats: Increased Mass 5) (Extras: Extended, Accurate) (46)
- AE: Illusion (Vision & Hearing) 10 (30)
- AE: Communication 5 (Mental) (Feats: Dimensional) (Extras: Area) (Flaws: Limited to Asgardians) (21)
- AE: Move Object 14 (Extras: Perception Range) (42)
- AE: "Molecular Transformation" Transform 10 (Anything to Anything) (50)
- AE: Healing 10 (Extras: Resurrection) (30)
"Raise the Dead" Summon Zombies 3 (Extras: Horde, 32 Minions +10) [39]
"Mystical Hammer" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [6]
Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Penetrating 8) (10 points)
Offense:
Unarmed +14 (+18 Damage, DC 33)
Hammer +14 (+20 Damage, DC 35)
Godly Attacks +17 Area (+17 Damage, DC 32)
Blast +13 (+21 Ranged Damage, DC 36)
Initiative +3
Defenses:
Dodge +14 (DC 24), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +19 (+8 Impervious), Fortitude +19, Will +12
Complications:
Enemy (Odin)- Cul wishes to destroy Odin in revenge for being unseated millennia ago.
Power Loss (All Powers)- Cul requires fear in order to use his powers- a "fear eater", he loses powers and his youthful appearance if people around the world aren't afraid. He also loses powers if he himself is afraid.
Total: Abilities: 138 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 22 / Powers: 255 / Defenses: 19 (455)
-Matt Fraction is such an odd writer. His
Immortal Iron Fist (with co-writer, Ed Brubaker) is considered one of the greatest of the modern comics. His
Hawkeye was phenomenal stuff, too- both hilarious and heartfelt. And then he goes and writes his shit
X-Men run and THIS piece of garbage. Like... how can someone be so hit and miss? Is he just amazing at weird, outside-the-box thinking, but his generic superhero stuff is just crap-awful? Is his hatred for "standard" superhero tales so deep that he just can't even muster the effort? It's the damndest thing- I've seen hit-or-miss writers (Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns), but nothing like THIS- this guy either hits the stratosphere or makes Chuck Austen look like a close contemporary.
-So with
Fear Itself, Fraction reveals that Odin has a THIRD long-lost brother, the monstrous Cul, son of Bor and Bestla. Cul was badly injured by Giants, but managed to crawl to their domicile and slaughter them while they slept, drinking their blood. The fear the remaining giant felt gave birth to the "God of Fear". Cul became King of the Gods upon the death of Bor, but broke a promise to his three brothers, taking the council of only his "Worthy" over Odin, Vili and Ve. Cul became a despot who spread fear all over the Nine Realms, leading Odin to defeat him, sealing him beneath the ocean.
-Cul of course returns in modern times, creating new "Worthy" with a series of weapons that empower Earth supervillains (Attuma, The Absorbing Man, Titania, The Grey Gargoyle, Sin and the Juggernaut) and heroes (The Thing & The Hulk), seeking to spread more fear, as he is now called "The Serpent". Odin is unrealistically terrified of something that shouldn't be any scarier than Surtur or an Elder God, and decides that Earth is doomed and that no Aesir should challenge him- he fears that Thor will die (the prophecy of Thor dying of the serpent's venom is apparently about Cul- not Jormungand). With Odin fleeing, Thor fights at the side of the Avengers (complete with Uru-powered gear designed by Iron Man), eventually slaying Cul with the Odinsword, before dying in his father's arms.
-This story landed with a resounding "MEH" from the comic book universe- it was pretty well reviled as a generic "Event Story" with a one-note evil villain, a bunch of action set-pieces based around baddies gaining Super-Gear, and a HELL of a lot of "filler" comics featuring talking heads going on about various things (one
Avengers story was literally just talking heads going on about how awesome the Red Hulk was for standing up to an empowered Ben Grimm, as though that wasn't something superheroes ALWAYS did, often with much less power than Rulk had). And Matt Fraction decided to get all butthurt over it and whine about how his special story was being blamed for things like "Event Fatigue" (which was a thing even in 2005, much less 2011; never mind TODAY's market), and he got mad at comic fans for rejecting it.
-Cul himself was soon resurrected, along with Thor (who'd spent a while on the shelf around
Civil War anyway)- he repented his sins and Odin even PARDONED him, making him Minister of Justice. Odin sent Cul to defeat the new lady Thor, and nearly beat her until Odinson (ie. ThorThor), Freyja and an army of women held him back, and Freyja insulted Odin.
-Cul has a lot of "Standard Modern Super-Villain Stuff", such as the ability to break Captain America's Shield with his bare hands (something that's become depressingly common these days). He's basically Skyfather-level, meaning that he can defeat PL 14s like Thor with very little trouble, and "New Villain Stink" makes him almost unstoppable.