Religion: nihilist 
Name: Viper
Alter Ego: Ophelia Sarkissian
Other Names: Viper II; Madame Hydra; White Princess; "Leona Hiss"; "Merriem Drew"; Mrs. Smith
Classification:
villain
Publisher(s): 
First Appearance: (as Madame Hydra) Captain America (vol. 1) #110 (Feb. 1969): "No Longer Alone!"; (as Viper) Captain America (vol. 1) #180 (Dec. 1974): "The Coming of the Nomad!"
Creators: Jim Steranko, Joe Sinnott
Number of appearances: 153
Comic book appearances: 152
TV, film appearances: 1
Teams/Affiliations: Serpent Squad; Serpent Society; Fangs (leader); HYDRA; Hellfire Club Inner Circle
Foe of: Captain America, The Avengers, X-Men
Allies: Wolverine, Seraph, Silver Samurai
Worked for: Red Skull
Nation: Hungary
Gender: female
Note: former servant of Chthon
Tony Stark (Iron Man Annual #1, 2007, page 3): "Other aliases [for Madame Hydra] include The Viper, Leona Hiss, Merriem Drew, and Ophelia Sarkissian, which just might be her real name."
A second incarnation of the Serpent Squad appeared in Captain America #s 180-182, comprised of Viper (Dixon), the Eel, Princess Python, Cobra and Krang. The group tried to use the Serpent Crown to take over the world. In Captain America #180, the original Viper (Jordan Dixon) was replaced by a savage new up-and-comer of a super-villain: Madame Hydra. She fought and killed Viper so she could become the new "Viper," and she assumed his place in the Serpent Squad. Viper also battled Cobra and defeated him (but did not kill him) so that she could take his place as leader of the Serpent Squad.
In Captain America (vol. 1) #419, Viper utilized super-villain team she organized called Fangs. They were essentially pawns in her latest nihilist scheme. The team consisted of Bludgeon, Heatray, Razorblade, and Slither).
This character is in the following 54 stories which have been indexed by this website:
Avengers (vol. 1) #500 (Sep. 2004): "Chaos: Part One of Four" (mentioned)
Avengers: The Initiative #22 (Apr. 2009): "Avengers: The Initiative Dissasembled: Part 2" (mentioned)
Captain America
Captain America: Reborn #4 (Jan. 2010) (1-panel cameo)Captain America: The Legend #1 (Sep. 1996)Daredevil Annual #5 (Sep. 1989): "A Friend In Need"Dark Reign Files #1 (Apr. 2009)Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Annual #1 (Jan. 2008): "Regime Change"The Punisher Annual #2 (Sep. 1989): "Knight Fight"Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #15 (Aug. 1993): "Vipers in Our Midst"Spider-WomanX-Men (vol. 2) #81 (Nov. 1998): "Jack of Hearts, Queen of Death!" (mentioned)X-Treme X-Men
Suggested links for further research about this character:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Hydra
- http://www.comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=1706
- http://www.comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=1797
- http://www.comicvine.com/viper/29-3420/
- http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0159180/
- http://www.comics.org/issue/22526/
- http://www.comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=7897
- http://www.comicboards.com/marvelguide/v.htm
- http://www.marvunapp.com/master/viaviq.htm
- http://www.marvunapp.com/master/mada.htm
- http://www.marvunapp.com/master/seosg.htm
- http://www.marvunapp.com/master/fan.htm