Captain America #310
Captain America #310 is the founding document of one of Cap's most enduring villain rosters: the Serpent Society, a supervillain organization deliberately structured as a labor union — complete with salaries, medical coverage, pension plans, and guaranteed extraction from prison via Sidewinder's teleportation cloak. The concept was a deliberate piece of social commentary by writer Mark Gruenwald, who built each new Captain America antagonist around a facet of contemporary American culture, with the Serpent Society representing the mid-1980s discourse around trade unions. The issue simultaneously delivers the first appearance of Diamondback (Rachel Leighton), who would evolve from Serpent Society villain into Cap's primary love interest across Gruenwald's entire decade-long run — one of the more complex villain-to-partner arcs in the Bronze Age. Decades on, the Society's debut here remains the origin point every adaptation, from animated series to the MCU's Captain America: Brave New World, traces back to.
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Mark Gruenwald took over as writer on Captain America with issue #307 (July 1985), having previously served as the book's editor for three years. His stated goal upon assuming the writing role was to rebuild Cap's thin rogue's gallery by creating villains that embodied specific cultural pressures of Reagan-era America. In a 1988 interview with Comics Interview (#54), Gruenwald explained that the Serpent Society was his fictional riff on the labor-union landscape, noting in particular the wave of union mergers following the dissolution of PATCO. Artist Paul Neary penciled the issue, with Dennis Janke on inks, Ken Feduniewicz on colors, and Diana Albers on letters — the same core creative team Gruenwald launched his run with.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Serpent Society — a snake-themed supervillain collective organized as a mercenary labor union, founded in-story by Sidewinder (Seth Voelker) and including Anaconda, Asp, Black Mamba, Bushmaster, Cobra, Cottonmouth, Death Adder, Princess Python, and Rattler as charter members alongside Diamondback.
- First appearance of Diamondback (Rachel Leighton), who would become Captain America's primary romantic partner throughout Gruenwald's run and later reform as a hero, co-founding BAD Girls, Inc. with Asp and Black Mamba.
- Created by writer Mark Gruenwald and penciler Paul Neary; Dennis Janke (inks), Ken Feduniewicz (colors), Diana Albers (letters). Published October 1985 by Marvel Comics; cover-titled 'In the Arms of Anaconda!'
- The Serpent Society was Gruenwald's deliberate allegorical take on 1980s trade-union culture — a concept he confirmed in a 1988 Comics Interview, explaining he designed each new Cap villain around a contemporary American social issue.
- Constrictor (Frank Payne) appears in this issue attempting to betray the newly formed Society to the Avengers — a character beat that underlines the group's internal tensions from its very first outing; he is beaten by Anaconda for the attempt.
- Steve Rogers' civilian subplot begins here: he decides to pursue a career as a comic book artist, a recurring character thread woven through Gruenwald's early issues.
- Starfox (Eros) and the Black Knight (Dane Whitman) appear in cameo, providing brief Avengers-mansion framing that grounds the story in the broader Marvel Universe of the era.
- The Serpent Society has since appeared in the animated series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (Disney XD, 2010–2012), Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, and in the MCU film Captain America: Brave New World (2025), making this issue the source material for multiple adaptations across four decades.
Cast · 32 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Sidewinder forms the Serpent Society but the Constrictor rejects the proposal and decides to rat on them to Captain America. The Serpent Society deliver a beating to Constrictor to silence him.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).