Respect and Tremble in Fear before Set!

The Great Serpent aka Set, Lotan, Leviathan, Apocalypse, Tiamat, Apep, Ophion

Notes -
I'll be breaking this up into the usual (and some unusual): Origin (on panel and Handbook info), Mystic Affinity, Fights/Feats, Object of Power. Set, like all the Elders, doesn't have a lot out there. Most of the time he's a "behind the scenes" type guy (like Chthon). Even the other non evil Elders (Gaea and Oshtur) don't really have a lot of on panel stuff. But this guy is so cool, his history so rich, I felt the need to create this respect thread.

I'm purposely avoiding the "Conan" era stuff because it just gets too complicated since Set is literally involved in almost all the stories either as the main villain or pulling the strings behind the scenes (plus I don't have the issues). Having said that, let's begin!
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Origin

As some of you may know, he came into existence BILLIONS of years ago when the Demiurge seeded the world with his power. Set was already among the most powerful of the creatures that arose on Earth but he hungered for more power. He set out to increase his own power by consuming his siblings and hence became the world's first murderer! All his brothers and sisters started to follow his example, except for Gaea, and all hell broke loose on Earth. Gaea begged Demiurge to intervene, and he did by creating in her the first of a new generation of Gods. Eventually she gave birth to Atum who would consume the corrupted Elders and transform into Demogorge, the God Eater. He cleansed the planet of all the Elders except Set and Chthon (and Gaea but she wasn't fallen, Oshtur left the planet before this went down). Chthon created the Darkhold as his touchstone to Earth and then fled the wrath of Demogorge. Set and his spawn observed how Chthon did it and they too fled but not before leaving behind their "skins" to delay and confuse the God Eater. He slew the decoys and his job completed he took to the Sun.

Set wasn't done with the Earth!

Origin - Handbook

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Some interesting info here. Set is among the most powerful demons in existence (not exactly news 😄), his creation, the Serpent Crown, grants it's user vast power; enough to enslave entire countries or even worlds (on panel proof of this coming later), it's unsure if he can be permanently destroyed and Set may in fact be a multiversal entity (more on this below). Nice!

Set as a multiversal entity :

The Scarlet Witch's astral self traveling in the "void between worlds" spots him, a vast serpent entity coiled around myriad Earths (this was stated on panel not once, but twice). Set's status as a multiversal entity wasn't even in dispute until some moron wrote the now infamous What If : Earth's Superheroes lost Atlantis Attacks and some other genius referenced a scene from it in an issue of Quasar (Quasar 30). Now there's confusion on Set's status. If he's a multiversal entity, he should not have alternate universe selves. Set's entire history points to multiversal status (see Serpent Crown section coming soon) vs this one scene in one issue of Quasar!

Mystic Affinities

Part I :

Set has a strong affinity to the element Water, the Emperor card in the Major Arcana and the Cups suit in the Minor Arcana. His Cornerstone of Creation (four objects that control all magic in the Marvel Universe) is the Crown (Serpent Crown) and corresponds to the Ace of Cups in the Minor Arcana. He is known throughout almost all cultures on the planet as the Serpent entity that plays some significant roles in their myths. Each of his heads has a specific name and each head possesses to a specific deadly sin : Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Gluttony, Envy (eat your heart out Mephisto!).

Part II:

Ages ago, he and his surviving siblings, created their own home planes with Set's being the "Serpent's Sea". Together with his siblings they created the Crossroads, that allows travel between the Earth and the Inner (home planes of the Elders) and Outer Realms. Notice, that at the height of Set's power, he made crossing through his realm impossible!

In addition to his home plane, Set is a pocket universe himself :

Part III:

Set is the literal and "spiritual" Father of many an abomination! His list of b@st@rd spawn is so long, even website dedicated to cataloging them (Marvel Appendix) can be overwhelmed! It's been prophesied that soon, one of his worshipers will give birth to a Dark Prince that will usher in a new golden age for the Serpent Men.

Fights/Feats

VS Gaea

Lol, home girl lost her mind. She "challenged" Set to a fight and then quickly realized she was NO match for him so she calls in the big guns. She KNEW he was powerful enough to kill her!

VS Atum/Demogorge (Second Encounter)

This is perhaps THE SINGLE BEST showing vs Classic Atum/Demogorge by any God.........ever! Atum couldn't kill Set so he went into Demogorge mode. For each head he destroyed, another grew in it's place till Set had 7 heads. The battle lasted MILLIONS of years and wiped out the dinosaurs. Set wound up retreating but he survived a one on one vs Classic Demogorge and gave him a fight that lasted a hella long time. Compare this to how long Mephisto and crew last vs Classic Demogorge and you'll see why it's a big deal. PS, you may be thinking : "Second Encounter? What happened to the first?!" Well that was told in Set's origin story up top.

VS Gaea (Second Encounter) BTS

Thor runs to mommy for help and finds out she's already been pwned by Set (behind the scenes)! He has her trapped ("helpless before him"😉 and unable to call out for help to Atum. Thor is awed by this, unable to believe that Set can imprison a fellow Elder with impunity!

VS Atum/Demogorge (Third Encounter)

You may be thinking? WTH? That blows. But not really. Once again, Set is beaten but NOT destroyed! Keep in mind he was holding Gaea down (imprisoned by his power) WHILE fighting Atum/Demogorge. Set cannot be destroyed unlike Atum (he's dead now, so he who laughs last laughs best 😆 ) And for all the hyperbole and talk surrounding "mighty" Chthon, he NEVER dared face Demogorge in a fight (after their initial encounter). So don't come in here with Chthon > Set talk! 😠 And we've seen how the other Hell Lords fared against Atum/Demogorge (hint they were slaughtered like flies).

Fights continue below......

Fights/Feats

VS West/East Coast Avengers

As you can see, they were literally powerless against him. Thor ran for his life for help 😆 Quasar and crew were battling inside Set, notice how Quasar describes it "the vastness...the void..I would never have gotten back". This is INSIDE Set!

Fights conclude below.....

Fights/Feats

VS Classic Strange/Scarlet Witch/Spiderman/Thing and Cosmic Cube!

This is the BIG one. The possessed scientists at Project Pegasus launch a plan to collect 777 Serpent Crowns from across the multiverse to create one big HUGE crown and then use that crown to get ALL the Serpent Crowns in the MULTIVERSE and use their power to summon Set to Earth. Spiderman, Scarlet Witch, Thing, and Classic Strange try to stop them. But they fall one by one. Even Classic Strange is about to be overwhelmed and admits it's hopeless until Spiderman snags the Cosmic Cube. Dr. Strange joins his will with the other three heroes and together they use the Cube to back Dr. Strange's exorcism spell with power. They succeed but the CUBE IS BURNT OUT! It was drained powerless dealing with Set!

Also notice how there is ONE Set across the multiverse otherwise why would Set from Earth-S (or any other Earth) allow Set from Earth 616 to steal his crown and use it to break into the Earth dimension? Up until that Quasar issue 30 nonsense, that's what Set was seen as : a multiversal entity.

Intermission

I'm going to take a break for a day or two before I begin the "Object of Power" section. The Serpent Crown has MANY appearances and I want to sort them out. There's even a disputed appearance concerning both it AND Set that took place in Secret Avengers issues 1-4. I'm leaving that out for now or I'll include it and add that it's in dispute? I don't know yet.

Before I take a breather, I want to leave you with a few more scans that didn't really fit anywhere but I feel they add to this thread because they give you an idea of how powerful Set is (even though it's neither a feat or a fight) :

Behold! The Dreaming Celestial, aka Tiamut, shuddering at the coming of Set!

Notice how the narrator makes it clear that just a few weeks ago, when Kang attempted to free him from his imprisonment, the Dreaming Celestial didn't even stir. Yet now he shudders and moans at the thought of Set's ascension!

great thread i have to steal some of your scans man lol

Well done thread 🙂

so all of the power of a cosmic cube was needed to banish set? to the point the cube was usless after. this is great stuff 👆

a bunch of green ink on paper, im not trembling.

btw set vs dormammu, id kinda like to see that.

Object of Power

As stated earlier in his Mystic Arcana entry, Set's object of power is the Serpent Crown. As one of the "Cornerstones of Creation" it's one of the most power mystic objects in the universe! Each crown is blessed with a fraction of Set's power but even that is more than enough to make the wearer powerful enough to take on beings like Namor and Nova Prime, enslave entire nations, and tackle accomplished wizards like Professor Imam (Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-S).

The first attempt at at Crown was during the Age of Conan and it was a failed attempt. Know as the Cobra Crown , it still was powerful enough to make a complete NOVICE hold his own vs that era's most powerful sorcerer (on panel proof at link)!

The Crown sometimes disguises itself. It was known as the "Helm of Power" when it was in the possession of Paul Destine (Mr. Destiny) but after he lost it, it assumed it's true form (see above scan).

In the following posts, I'll show put up some scans of wearers of the Crown vs various opponents.

The Crown in action
Note : Not all of these are fights

Bearer : Paul Destine Vs Namor

As you can see, Destine had Namor at his mercy. Then things went down hill when he became so insane with power he believed he didn't need the Crown to kill Namor and jumped down the skyscraper after him. He then splatters all over the pavement. LOL 😄 Set tried talking sense into the fool but some people are beyond help. Talk about Darwin Award winner 😛

Bearer : Serpent Cartel of Earth-S vs Professor Imam and Arcanna

Well that was fast 😄 Owning the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-S and the second most powerful mystic on Earth-S, Arcanna. Mentally seizing control of the Squadron Supreme AND enslaving the entire United States population.

Next up, the "disputed" fight vs Nova Prime!

The Crown in Action
Continued

Bearer : Richard Ryder vs Steve Rogers (Nova Prime) part 1

A possessed Nova is digging up an ancient evil trapped beneath the surface of Mars. Since he as BOTH the power of the Nova Force AND the Serpent Crown, he's too much for the team or the Archon (robot guardians created by the Watchers meant to guard against the Martian Serpent Crowns falling into the wrong hands). Captain America convinces World Mind to take the Nova Force from Richard and give it to him, to give the team a fighting chance. World Mind is hesitant at first because that much power flowing into him at once might kill him but decides to do it anyway since that's their only chance. Steve gets the full Nova Force, survives and sets out to confront the possessed Richard.

The Crown in Action
Continued

Bearer : Richard Ryder vs Steve Rogers (Nova Prime) part 2

Richard Ryder sans Nova Force is just a NORMAL human being, yet he was laughing off attacks by a high herald because of the Crown! The only way the Crown bearer lost was, the Avengers succeeded in destroying the machine digging out the Darkest Child trapped underneath Mars. This caused some kind of backlash and distracted Ryder long enough for Steve to rip the Crown off his head. With the Crown off his head, Ryder collapses and the Archon warns Steve to not even look at the Crown and hand it to him for safe keeping.

This "disputed" (one forum poster here argued that this isn't a Set powered Crown) fight is listed under the Serpent Crown section of Marvel Wikia. So if you want to argue it, take it up with them.

The Crown in Action
Continued

Planetary level feat : Creating an oxygen rich atmosphere on Mars

Some workers trying to dig up the Darkest Child trapped underneath Mars have their oxygen units destroyed. The Crown Bearer then creates an oxygen rich atmosphere across the entire planet............INSTANTLY. This is confirmed by the Archon and he even states the Crown can restore Mars to it's former Earth like glory!

Massive TP feats

Complete mental control over the entire city of Washington DC on 616 reality. In Earth-S reality, complete mental domination of the US (confirmed by the Watcher)! Remember, the Crown's power is dependent on the skill level of the bearer. So the greater the bearers skill the more power they can exploit from the Crown (mentioned in the Handbook entry too).

Miscellaneous Stuff

Here's some info that doesn't fit anywhere but I feel is important enough to add to the thread. This information is Set and Crown related.

Hyperbole :
With the power of the Crown, Naga was considered by the Watcher as "the most dangerous man alive!"

Crown "Fusing" :
Apparently, you can keep "fusing" Crowns together and the result is a more powerful Crown. Keep fusing enough of them and you get a ginormous crown capable of opening a gate powerful enough to transport Set into your reality.

The Power of Set :
What does it take to free your world from his influence? Well apparently a spell cast by the it's Sorcerer Supreme and it's second most powerful mystic backed by the power of another Elder God (in this case Gaea). And that only worked because the Avengers took the Serpent Crown of Earth-S to 616 reality so Set had no touchstone to Earth-S to resist their spell! Otherwise, Earth-S would have been screwed!

The "disputed" Martian Crown :
Even a blind man can see that's a 7 headed Serpent Crown sitting on Nova's head! 🙄

Out of curiosity, who was disputing that the Mars crown wasn't a crown of set lol?

You've got a 403 forbidden error in the second Gaea battle section

Originally posted by dmills
Out of curiosity, who was disputing that the Mars crown wasn't a crown of set lol?

Originally posted by Endless Mike
You've got a 403 forbidden error in the second Gaea battle section