Forces of Evil

So is it just us, or does it feel like there's something slightly inappropriate about calling the black guy "Cottonmouth"? Like some really obscure racial epithet. Unnaturally strong and relentlessly brutal, these harbingers of destruction are bad to the core. Cottonmouth is, unsurprisingly, a member of the Serpent Society, a group of Captain America foes who obviously have a snake motif going on (and were written as sort of a supervillain labor union). Not much is known about him before he joined their ranks - he lived in Mobile, Alabama, and was given his powers by the Roxxon Corporation. That's it. He, along with Puff Adder, serve as the muscle for the group, but since the Serpent Society as a whole is sort of a "space filler" villain group, it's not like any of the members are really fleshed out. Cottonmouth is built on the large body, which suits him - he's been drawn various sizes over the years, but he mostly trended large. They probably could have gotten away with using the medium body for him, and saving this bigger one for Puff Adder, but it's not so uncommon a size for CM as to be considered wrong. Just a matter of preference, but either mold would have worked for him. He's got the same clawed hands as Tiger Shark, not the ones that Venom has - you can tell by the sculpted wrinkles that make them look like gloves. His costume is completely created by paint, but since his outfit in the comics is just colorful spandex, that's perfectly fine. His boots and gloves have yellow spikes sticking up from them, and his purple suit is broken up by a sylized face on the torso: yellow eyes and a gaping white mouth. It's usually shown lower on his chest, but this way, you can make it look like it's biting when he bends over. All his articulation is standard for these lines: swivel/hinge rocker ankles, swivel boots, double-hinged knees, swivel thighs, balljointed hips, swivel waist, hinged torso, swivel/hinge wrists, double-hinged elbows, swivel biceps, swivel/hinge shoulders, hinged neck and a balljointed head. Which brings us to the figure's head. It's a new sculpt, with a smiling human face sticking out of a scaly skull mask, which means this is very quickly going to be turned into any number of 6" Serpentor customs. The scales fade slightly as they near the back of the skull, in an attempt to blend into the perfectly smooth body, but it's insufficient. It's also a missed opportunity. Hasbro's been great about giving us alternate heads recently, and Cottonmouth's powers include a cybernetically enhanced jaw that can open wide enough to bite off a human head with his steel teeth. It's fine if they didn't want to just give him that weird, distended look, but he should have come with a second head showcasing his abilities. Both these "Forces of Evil" figures come with one of the arms for the Red Onslaught Build-A-Figure: Whirlwind has the left arm, while Cottonmouth has the right. If they both had the same piece, you'd have to reload this page to read about the other character. And if they both had the same piece, Cottonmouth would a much slower seller. Other than Viper, there are no other members of the Serpent Society; there have never been any members of the Serpent Society. If we get more in the future, his star might rise, but a solo member of a group that only ever works together is just weird. -- 03/28/16

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