Rock Python (M'Gula) is a fictional character, a

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. The character is usually depicted as a member of the

Serpent Society The Serpent Society is an organization of snake-themed supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The society is a continuation of the original group the Serpent Squad and was later changed into Serpent Solutions. ...

. He first appeared in ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' vol. 1 #341 in May 1988, created by writer

Mark Gruenwald Mark Eugene Gruenwald (; June 18, 1953 – August 12, 1996) was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler known for his long association with Marvel Comics. Biography Early career Gruenwald got his start in comics fa ...

and artist

Kieron Dwyer Kieron Dwyer (born March 6, 1967) is an American comics artist. He is best known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics as well as for his creator-owned projects. Biography During his career, Dwyer has worked on such comic book titles as ...

. He has super hard bones, skin and muscles, and uses specially designed hand grenades that entangle his opponents in steel ribbons. He was first introduced as a henchman of

Viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...

as she took control of the

, deposing Sidewinder as the leader of the Society. Viper's ploy to take control of the United States was foiled by

and members of the Society still loyal to Sidewinder. Rock Python was allowed to remain with the Society after Viper was defeated. He became a member of Serpent Solutions when the Society was reorganized.

Publication history

Rock Python first appeared in ''

'' vol. 1 #341 in May 1988, created by writer

and artist

Fictional character biography

M'Gula was born in Viceroy, Rudyarda, South Africa. As Rock Python he first joined the Serpent Society when the villainous

invaded, and battled

Nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

. After she abandoned them, he took a test to prove his worthiness of being in the Society; he tried to steal

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

's uniform, but wound up battling Falcon and Battlestar instead. He also later battled the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

's Rogue, Havok, and

Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * ''Col ...

with the rest of the Serpent Society, but quickly surrendered when he realized his opponents were much more powerful than him. He battled

later. His greatest accomplishment was nearly killing

after he,

Anaconda Anacondas or water boas are a group of large snakes of the genus ''Eunectes''. They are found in tropical South America. Four species are currently recognized. Description Although the name applies to a group of snakes, it is often used to re ...

, and

Puff Adder The puff adder (''Bitis arietans'') is a viperinae, viper species found in savannahs and grasslands from Morocco and western Arabia throughout Africa except for the Sahara and rainforest regions.U.S. Navy. 1991. ''Venomous Snakes of the World'' ...

were attacked. He dropped him from a rooftop, but was ordered by King Cobra to flee so as to not have their base revealed. He, along with Anaconda and Puff Adder, attacked Bad girls INC and was successful in capturing them, only to be attacked and thrown from their craft by MODAM. He and Puff Adder survive, but are injured. Subsequently, M'Gula has also appeared with the Serpent Society as they battled Jack Flag, but was defeated by

Force Works Force Works was the name of different fictional superhero teams appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The first version of Force Works first appeared in the comic book series ''Force Works'' #1 (July 19 ...

. He was next seen with the organization as they captured Diamondback and Captain America, intending to hold them for ransom. The pair soon escaped and, in the ensuing battle, Rock Python was defeated. He appeared in " Brand New Day" as one of the villains in the bar. As part of the "

All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline "Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched w ...

," Rock Python appears as a member of

's Serpent Society under its new name of Serpent Solutions. In a prelude to the " Hunted" storyline, several members of the Serpent Society were captured by

Kraven the Hunter Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Кравинов) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #15 (August 1964) as an adversary to ...

, Taskmaster, and Black Ant, and forced to participate in a murderous hunt set up by

Arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

. Black Mamba, Cottonmouth, Bushmaster, Black Racer, Puff Adder, Rock Python, and Fer-de-Lance were placed in electric cages to wait for the hunt to commence.''Amazing Spider-Man'' Vol. 5 #16. Marvel Comics.

Powers and abilities

Rock Python has skin, muscle and bones that are rock-hard, much like a rock python

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

. He is impervious to high-caliber arms fire, powerful explosions, intense heat and deadly impacts. He carries little gimmick "snake eggs" which, upon impact, release various substances such as smoke bombs, acids, plastic explosives and "snake wrap", which are explosive-launched inch-wide, razor-sharp steel alloy metallic ribbons designed to ensnare opponents, like bolas, and immobilize them, and are approximately in length.

References

External links

Rock Python
at Marvel.com * {{Captain America Characters created by Mark Gruenwald Comics characters introduced in 1988 Marvel Comics mutants Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics supervillains