Viper

Real Name
Ophelia Sarkissian

Occupation
Ruler of Madripoor, HYDRA leader; former terrorist, mercenary, subversive, smuggler

Citizenship
Hungary; criminal record in the USA and Bulgaria

Place of Birth
Székesfehérvár, Hungary

Known Relatives
Unidentified parents (deceased); unidentified sisters (presumably deceased); James Howlett (Wolverine), ex-husband

Group Affiliation
HYDRA; formerly H.A.M.M.E.R.; Hellfire Club (Inner Circle); ally of the Red Skull; servant of Chthon; employer of Silver Samurai and Boomerang; leader of Fangs, Serpent Society, and Serpent Squad

Education
Unrevealed

Height 
5'9"

Weight
140 lbs.  

Eyes
Green

Hair
Black, often dyed green

Powers
As a result of her pact with the Elder God Chthon, the Viper has slowed her aging process.

Abilities
Viper is a superb athlete and adept in martial arts, marksmanship, and the use of a bullwhip. She is proficient in the use of toxins and poisons, often creating her very own poisons for whatever a given situation dictates. Viper herself is immune to most toxins and has always found interesting and different ways for spreading her toxins, such as hollow fangs or poisoned lipstick. She herself has built up an immunity to most forms of venom and toxins.

Other Info
Ophelia Sarkissian was born in Hungary during the 1920’s. At a young age, Ophelia was orphaned due to her parents' death in a political revolution. In escaping the war-torn country, an unspecified accident scarred the right side of Ophelia's face; therefore, to compensate, she began wearing her hair so that it hid her disfigurement. As she struggled for survival in Europe, she found crime to be her only means of survival. (Viper's slightly disfigured face can be seen in the last picture posted.)

At some point, Ophelia entered into a pact with the Elder God Chthon, who was trapped in the mountain of Wundagore. This pact greatly slowed Ophelia's aging process, allowing her to become a fearsome mercenary and criminal as the years passed. (To learn about the character and/or place, just click on their highlighted names.)

Later, on the island of Madripoor, Ophelia found a mentor in Seraph--an adventurer and guardian against the ninja clan the Hand. The two once helped rescue Logan (aka Wolverine) from his arch-nemesis Sabretooth. Afterward, Logan also became one of Seraph’s pupils. However, before Seraph passed away, she made Wolverine swear an oath of loyalty to Ophelia. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the characters and/or team.)

Eventually, Ophelia was recruited into the terrorist organization called HYDRA. She quickly worked her way to the highest ranks. When the Supreme Hydra, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, was believed to have died in the destruction of Hydra Island, the organization fragmented. Acting on this opportunity, Ophelia seized control of the faction operating out of New York City and now referred to herself as "Madame Hydra." Her first major operation as Madame Hydra was the attempted contamination of New York City's water supply; however, she was thwarted by Captain America and Rick Jones. For revenge, she launched a series of heat-seeking missiles at Captain America; but, Madame Hydra failed to kill him, seemingly dying herself. (To learn about the team, characters, and/or place highlighted above, just click on their names. Note: Beware of the revealing outfit worn by one in the background on Rick Jones' bio page.)

However, instead of dying, Ophelia was actually taken by one of the alien Space Phantoms. The alien took on Madame Hydra's physical form and appearance and transported Ophelia into the extra-dimensional Limbo. When her form had served its purpose, the Space Phantom returned to Limbo and Ophelia was returned to Earth, although she had since lost her position as HYDRA's leader. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the race and/or place.)

Wanting to regain her place with the international criminal elite, Ophelia reorganized the Serpent Squad and killed the original Viper and adopted his alias "Viper." Her new team joined Krang, in recovering the Serpent Crown (an ancient artifact that is mystically tied to the evil Elder God Set.) Viper tried to use the Crown (wanting to link to Set's essence and mind to gain great magic power and use the power for world domination); however, she was defeated by Captain America (as Nomad) and seemed to perish as the building collapsed around her. (To learn about the above highlighted team, characters, place, and/or item, just click on their names.)

Once again surviving a seeming death, Viper went on to organize her own international terrorist organization. Upon doing so, she hired the Silver Samurai as her personal bodyguard. In this position, she was opposed by many superheros such as Spider-Man, Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Captain America, Black Widow (Natasha Romanov), Shang-Chi, S.H.I.E.L.D., the X-Men, and the New Mutants. One time, she even tried to take over and crash the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier into the United States Capitol Building during a presidential address to Congress, but the government officials were saved by Spider-Man teaming up with Nick Fury. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the different characters, team, and/or vehicle. Note: Beware of the very form-fitting/revealing outfits on Spider-Woman, Black Widow, and the background on Nick Fury's bio pages.)

At one point, when the throne of Madripoor was left without an heir, Viper brainwashed many of the women in the life of Wolverine in order for them to capture him and bring Wolverine to her. She reminded Wolverine of his old debt to Seraph, their mutual mentor. Following his code of giri (or honorable debt), Wolverine agreed to marry Viper. The Viper had gambled that Wolverine's respectability in Madripoor would enable her to seize the throne. She also used him, along with Sabretooth and Shadowcat, to foil both HYDRA and the Hand's attempts to control the island. Soon after, the Viper was installed as the ruling princess of Madripoor. (Click on the highlighted name above to learn about Shadowcat.)

Later, the demonic ninja spirit named Ogun attacked and, after failing to possess Wolverine, possessed Viper. In order to exorcise the spirit, Wolverine seriously wounded Viper. In return for ensuring Viper receive medical treatment, Wolverine made her agree to divorce him. (Click on the highlighted name above to learn about Ogun.)

After some time, Viper has seen working for HYDRA once again. She tried to place Spider-Woman as a double-agent within S.H.I.E.L.D.--using HYDRA resources to restore the powers that she lost some time ago. Spider-Woman agreed to the exchange, but grew uncomfortable with the arrangement. When Spider-Woman was later offered membership in the Avengers, Viper urged her to accept the offer and continue being a double-agent for them as well. The situation came to a head when the Avengers captured Viper when she was attempting to restore the Silver Samurai in a position of power to take over the Japanese underworld. Viper forced Spider-Woman to help her escape from the plane. In the end, the escape endangered Captain America, who was tossed from the plane, and Spider-Woman helped save him. This resulted in Viper escaping unseen. (To learn about the Avengers, click on the highlighted name above.)

After this, Viper was briefly a member of one incarnation of the Hellfire Club, and was also associated with the Hand and resumed her ties with the Silver Samurai. However, she later betrayed him for the HYDRA cause. (To learn about the Hellfire Club, click on the highlighted name above. Note: Beware of the revealing outfits worn by some on the Hellfire Club's bio page.)

When HYDRA decided to go in a new, more aggressive direction towards world domination, Viper met and planned with the other five heads of HYDRA: Baron Strucker, Kraken, Hive, Gorgon, and the new Madame Hydra (Contessa). Soon, Viper and Gorgon were attacked by a rival organization known as Leviathan, and she was taken captive. It was then revealed that the traitor within HYDRA was the new Madame Hydra, who then shot and killed Viper. However, just a few hours after her death, the remaining HYDRA leaders discovered Viper's body and the Hive brought her back to life with one of his spawned creatures, giving her a new monstrous, tentacled form. Now, she once again called herself "Madame Hydra." (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the different characters. Also, Viper in her tentacled form is shown as the fifth picture posted above.)

More recently, Norman Osborn orchestrated a breakout from prison and gathered a new roster of Dark Avengers, including Gorgon. Like the first team, this new squad targeted the Avengers to tarnish their reputation. Norman Osborn appointed Madame Hydra as a H.A.M.M.E.R. leader. In addition, he facilitated her to undergo a procedure to remove her tentacles and restore her former human appearance. Herself again, Madame Hydra aided Osborn in a mission to bring down Captain America; however, her true goal became apparent when Osborn failed and she took charge of his soldiers, turning them into a newer HYDRA with herself as the sole head. (To learn about the character and/or teams, click on the highlighted names above. Note: Beware of the skin-tight/revealing outfits worn by some on the Dark Avengers' bio page.)

To learn a little bit more about Viper, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Viper.

The Viper that appears in the film The Wolverine has more mutant abilities than the one that appears in the comics. In the movie, the Viper does have toxin immunity (like the comic version); however, in the movie she can also elongate her fingernails, has a snake-like tongue, and can heal from her injuries by shedding her skin.