Seth Voelker (Earth-616)

Early Life[]

Seth Voelker, born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, had humble beginnings that eventually led him to a career in academia. After earning his credentials, he became a college economics professor. It was during this time her met and married Donna and the two had a daughter named Amy. However, despite his academic background, he struggled to secure tenure and was dismissed from his position, this lead to a divorce from his wife. Seeking new opportunities, Voelker was soon hired by Roxxon Oil Company, a powerful and secretive corporation, as a financial analyst. While working there, he discovered evidence of Roxxon's illegal activities. In an effort to protect himself and gain an advantage over his employers, Voelker agreed to go through a radical surgical procedure. The operation implanted cutting-edge technology within him, enabling Voelker to control miniaturized Nth Projector technology embedded in a specially-designed cloak. This advanced piece of equipment allows him to teleport himself and others across long distances. Now working as a Roxxon operative he took the name "Sidewinder".^[1]

Recruiting Operatives[]

Voelker helped the company recruit some potential operatives. He visited Quincy McIver in the hospital after the criminal was severely injured in an accident with underwater propellers. Having lost all four of his limbs, McIver was seen as an ideal candidate for Roxxon's latest experiment in prosthetics. For a week, he was treated at Roxxon's Brand Corporation labs, where Voelker played a direct role in overseeing the process. When Quincy regained consciousness, he discovered that, in Voelker's words, he had received "Roxxon's idea of an improvement." Rather than traditional prosthetics, McIver's legs had been replaced with a prosthetic serpent's body calling him "Bushmaster".^[2]

Serpent Squad[]

Voelker helped outfit and train a specialized team called the Serpent Squad which included Death Adder, Anaconda and Black Mamba. There first mission was to find the legendary Serpent Crown. The team used an oil derrick in the Pacific Ocean as their base of operations, where they initiated a series of underwater explosions in an attempt to bring the Crown to the surface. However, the explosions had an unintended consequence, damaging the derrick in the process. When the hero Stingray investigated the disturbance, Anaconda threw him back onto the derrick, and the Serpent Squad's mission escalated.^[3]

The Serpent Squad soon revealed themselves to the Thing, demanding that he surrender at the Pacific oil derrick.^[4] When the Thing came to check on Stingray, Anaconda snuck up behind him, landing a punch that incapacitated him, while Death Adder seized Stingray. Sidewinder used the threat of Death Adder's venomous toxins to force the Thing into submission, chaining him and Stingray to a pylon. The team then descended into the water, where Anaconda located the Serpent Crown and handed it to Sidewinder. As the Thing and Stingray, now joined by the Inhuman Triton, returned to confront them, Sidewinder teleported himself and his teammates into their air-submarine and fled, inadvertently dropping a depth charge that buried the rest of the squad.^[3] They took the Crown to Washington, D.C., resisting the temptation to try it on himself. Upon arrival, he handed it over to Roxxon president Hugh Jones, who was already wearing a second Crown. Terrified of Jones' newfound powers, Voelker quickly departed.^[5]

Serpent Society[]

Geoffrey Wilder hired Voelker new team that included Diamondback, Puff Adder, Rattler, Cobra, and Anaconda, with the mission to assassinate Tony Stark in Los Angeles. The group launched their attack at a scrapyard, but Stark managed to evade their initial assault and quickly fashioned some makeshift weapons to defend himself.^[6] Voelker and Society cornered Stark in a secluded hut, surrounding it in an attempt to trap him. However, they were caught off guard when Stark detonated the hut, knocking out all but Anaconda and Voelker. As Stark emerged from the wreckage, Sidewinder threatened him while Anaconda attempted to crush him with her immense strength. The attack was thwarted when Stark activated an electrical charge from his chestplate, incapacitating them.^[7]

The Squad members Anaconda, Black Mamba, and Death Adder broke into Voelker's apartment looking for him. When they found he wasn't home, they decided to wait for him.^[3] While rummaging through Voelker's belongings, Black Mamba discovered files on themselves and other snake-themed criminals, such as Princess Python, Asp, Constrictor and Cobra. Voelker returned, teleported away, donned his costume, and came back. Anaconda demanded the $10,000 he owed them from their previous job. He retrieved the money from his safe, including 20% interest from his investments, and proposed forming a criminal organisation to earn significantly more.^[8] Voelker infiltrated Ryker's Island prison and teleported Cobra out.^[9]

At a high-end Manhattan hotel, Sidewinder invited several serpent-themed criminals, including Black Mamba, Death Adder, Princess Python, Cottonmouth, Diamondback, Bushmaster, Cobra, Asp, Rattler, and Anaconda, to form the Serpent Society. He offered them guaranteed pay, insurance, medical benefits, pensions, and prison escape services using his teleportation ability. Constrictor declined and left, but the others agreed. To assess their teamwork, Voelker divided the group into teams for separate tasks. Anaconda, Rattler, and Cobra were sent to recover equipment from the abandoned Brand Corporation complex. Anaconda was captured, but Sidewinder teleported her out of jail, and she later subdued Constrictor.^[10] With the group established, Sidewinder sent teams to contact criminal organisations, including the Kingpin, AIM, and Hydra. Asp and Cottonmouth contacted the Kingpin, while Diamondback and Bushmaster convinced AIM to hire them to assassinate M.O.D.O.K..^[11]

While Voelker coordinated operations from the Serpent Citadel, the group located M.O.D.O.K. off the New Jersey coast. Though Bushmaster was severely injured, Sidewinder rescued him. The Serpent Society ultimately cornered and killed M.O.D.O.K. in a mall, despite Captain America's efforts to stop them.^[12] To retrieve M.O.D.O.K.'s corpse for AIM, Voelker sent Anaconda, Black Mamba, Asp, and Cobra to the Monmouth County morgue. They secured the body and received $100,000. Voelker then used Princess Python as an example to deter betrayal, erasing her knowledge of the Citadel before ransoming her to the Circus of Crime. Their success was interrupted by a call from Porcupine, who offered to sell his Porcupine Armor. Voelker dismissed him but sent a team to investigate when Porcupine later claimed to have captured Captain America. The mission turned out to be a trap and Captain America captured three of the group, though Diamondback escaped. Voelker quickly teleported them out of jail, but Captain America observed his methods and confronted him during the escape.^[13]

Voelker had Princess Python's memories erased to protect the Society's secrets, a calculated move to safeguard its operations.^[14] He later assigned Death Adder to return her to the Circus of Crime for a $10,000 ransom.^[15] When Death Adder's Serpent Saucer crashed, Voelker dispatched Rattler and Cobra to search the wreckage. Unable to find clues, he redirected the entire Society to locate Death Adder. Ultimately, Voelker discovered the body in a morgue and prioritised finding the killer. He assigned various members to specific tasks: Cobra and Bushmaster pursued AIM loyalists, Asp and Anaconda investigated the Circus of Crime, Black Mamba contacted Death Adder's parents, Rattler and Cottonmouth sought information from Kingpin's underlings, and Diamondback probed the Foolkiller's activities in Indiana.^[16]

Voelker decided to then secretly embedded tracking chips into all Society members' skulls, allowing him to monitor and teleport to their locations. He later disclosed this to Diamondback and the X-Men.^[17] Voelker learned that Fer-de-Lance, Black Racer, Puff Adder, and Copperhead were arrested after a string of Las Vegas casino heists. Teleporting into their cell, he began freeing them but was confronted by Captain America in disguise as "The Captain." In a tense standoff, Voekler threatened to kill Fer-de-Lance, forcing Cap to release him.^[18] During this time Voekler and Black Mamba began a romantic relationship. Diamondback, though intrigued by Captain America, made advances toward Sidewinder but was warned off by Black Mamba, who had already claimed him. Diamondback also had a brief fling with Rattler, whose vibrating tail reportedly had unique benefits. Sidewinder introduced the four new Serpents to the charter members as probationary members. That night, Viper infiltrated the Society disguised as Black Mamba and poisoned Voelker. Barely escaping, he teleported to Diamondback, who administered an anti-toxin. Together, they witnessed Viper's forces and defecting members including Boomslang, Coachwhip and Rock Python attacking the Citadel. Weak from the poison, Voelker collapsed, and Diamondback contacted Captain America's Hotline for help.^[19] Diamondback used Voelkers teleportation cloak to evade capture, dropping both herself and him into a pond where they met Captain America, Nomad, D-Man, Falcon, and Vagabond. Vagabond took Sidewinder to a hospital, but Black Racer ambushed them in the ambulance. Vagabond managed to defeat Black Racer and escape.^[20] After recovering, Sidewinder teleported to Diamondback's cell following her arrest for Viper's terrorism in Washington, D.C. At her request, he also freed Nomad, though D-Man declined the escape, and Vagabond chose to stay behind.^[21]

Retirement[]

Following betrayals within the Serpent Society, Voelker resigned from leadership in exchange for a 25% cut of the group's future earnings. He transferred the Society's assets to Cobra, who became the new leader.^[2] Shortly after, Ghaur and Llyra offered Voelker a commission to steal mystical items, unaware he no longer led the Society. Redirecting the task to Cobra, he plotted with Diamondback, who infiltrated the Society to steal the items. After gathering all four, Sidewinder teleported to the mystic Mr. Jip's location, retrieved the items and Diamondback, and delivered them to Ghaur and Llyra. He kept the payment but generously sent a 10% commission to the Society.^[22]

It was revealed his sister owned Maggie Voelker owned an Upper East Side boutique, Collette's Fashion Boutique, where Diamondback occasionally worked.^[23] When Diamondback faced execution by the Society; he teleported her out of the New York Citadel at the last moment and brought her to his townhouse.^[15] Though Diamondback urged him to save Black Mamba as well.^[2] Voelker refused, feeling no obligation after settling his debts with her. He prepared to flee, expecting retaliation from the Society.^[24] Attempting retirement, Voekler remained wary of Cobra, who had become King Cobra. Believing it prudent to mend their relationship, Voelker teleported into the high-security prison, The Vault, to rescue Cobra. However, an injury during the escape left him weak, forcing him to abandon Cobra mid-rescue. Misinterpreting the act as treachery, Cobra vowed revenge.^[2]

Later, Voelker faced a moral crisis when his daughter, Amelia, required an expensive brain operation. With no viable insurance, he approached Captain America for help but was refused. Turning to robbery, he targeted drug dealers to fund the surgery but was confronted by Diamondback. Despite her warnings, Sidewinder continued, ultimately signalling for help when a gunfight ensued. Rescued by Diamondback and Captain America, he accepted Captain America's deal: surrender and full cooperation with the authorities in exchange for medical coverage for his daughter. Three weeks later, from prison, he communicated with Amelia, who was recovering after her successful surgery.^[25]

Voelker was eventually paroled and appeared in a televised interview as a recognised expert on posthuman affairs, specifically discussing the Thunderbolts. Following this, he chose to retire from public life.^[26]

Assassins Guild[]

Later, the Assassins Guild hired Voelker and the Serpent Society to hunt down it's former members Elektra Natchios, Kento Roe Matchmaker and Cape Crow.^[27] During the mission Voelker maintained psychic communication with a telepathic member of the Assassins Guild who gave him orders.^[28] In the Himalayas they tracked their targets to the Quiet Refuge, a forgotten Inhuman memorial near the site of Attilan. Sidewinder, frustrated with Kento, remarked to Mamba that this was the reason they never had children. Their primary objective was to focus their attacks on Elektra, hoping to draw the others to Cape Crow's hideout, where Lady Bullseye was waiting to kill him. However, Elektra managed to break Voelker's jaw before taking down the rest of the Serpents and following her allies to the hideout.^[27] After defeating Lady Bullseye, who had killed Matchmaker, Elektra returned to Sidewinder and forced him to lead her to the guild. He teleported her to New Orleans, where they were ambushed by and Tiger Shark, Jack O'Lantern and Whiplash. Voelker fled with his contact from the guild, but Elektra pursued them and killed everyone except Voelker, who promised to retire if she spared his life.^[28] Eventually, Sidewinder and the other guild members were ordered to meet their new leader on Isla de las Munecas in Mexico. Elektra revealed herself as the new leader, but she had no intention of leading the guild; rather, she vowed to destroy it.^[29]

Billionaire Think Tank[]

Voelker and the Serpent Society hosted a biennial "think tank" for billionaire investors at Voelker Castle. Captain America, disguised as "Darrel Whitaker," a crypto billionaire, infiltrated the event and discovered Tony Stark undercover on a mission to retrieve a flash drive.^[30] After Captain America provoked a fight with a guest, he used the chaos to access the Serpent Society's saferoom, where he found Stark held at gunpoint by Voelker.^[31] A battle ensued, with Voelker and other Serpent Society members attacking. Stark summoned his Iron Man Armor, incapacitating the villains with a blinding light. However, when the pair returned to retrieve the flash drive, they found Mockingbird had already secured it.^[32]

• Business Acumen: Voelker is a highly skilled financial expert and strategist with an advanced degree in economics. He successfully built the Serpent Society into one of the most efficient and profitable criminal organisations in the world, demonstrating exceptional leadership and planning abilities.^[1]
• Tactical Expertise: A seasoned tactician, Voelker excels at devising complex strategies and contingency plans, ensuring operational success even in high-stakes scenarios.^[1]
• Hand-to-Hand Combat: While not a natural fighter, Voelker has undergone training in hand-to-hand combat, equipping him with the skills necessary to defend himself in close-quarters situations.^[1]
• Manipulation: As a leader, he is adept at recruiting and managing skilled operatives, maintaining loyalty, and negotiating alliances to further his objectives.^[1]
• Technological Proficiency: Voelker demonstrates advanced proficiency in utilising and maintaining the sophisticated Nth Projector-based technology in his cloak, as well as cybernetic implants to maximise its potential.^[1]

• Sidewinder's Teleportation Cloak: Voelker wields a specialised cloak designed by scientists at the Roxxon subsidiary Brand Corporation's mutagenics laboratory, based on advanced Nth Projector technology. This cloak contains sophisticated electronic circuitry that enables the wearer to open a portal to another dimension. By mentally activating the cloak through a device implanted in his body, Sidewinder can traverse "sideways" through interdimensional space, carrying with him anyone or anything covered by the cloak. This allows him to teleport up to 50 miles (80 km) in a single "jump."^[1]

• Control Chip: A cybernetic control chip implanted in his brain enhances his precision, allowing pinpoint accuracy in teleportation and enabling him to activate pre-programmed coordinates even if incapacitated. To further secure his operations, Voelker has embedded locator chips in his allies, letting him teleport directly to their locations if needed. The cloak's capacity is limited to objects or individuals roughly human-sized and within its coverage area.^[1]

• Sidewinder Suit:' offers protection against small-arms fire and features a rebreather unit, enabling him to survive underwater for extended periods. He can also project energy tendrils, which he refers to as his "Side Effects," from his forehead.^[1]