Captain America: Brave New World - The comic history of Giancarlo Esposito's mysterious villain Sidewinder

Sidewinder in comics and in the MCU
(Image credit: Marvel Entertainment)

Actor Giancarlo Esposito is making his MCU debut in 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Captain America: Brave New World as one of the film's villains, the notorious ⛄terrorist known as Sidewinder. And as you might expect, Sidewinder comes straight from comic books – but as is often the case with the MCU, the Marvel Comics version ওof the character is quite different, with a vastly different look.

We don't actually know much about Esposito's version of Sidewinder just yet, except that he'll serve as a villainous foil fo🌠r Anthony Mackie's S🐲am Wilson/Captain America. On the other hand, Sidewinder has a long comic book history that could potentially inform how he fits into Brave New World.

Sidewinder in Marvel Comics

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Sidewinder was originally cre🧔ated by beloved writer Mark Gruenwald, legendary artist George Pérez, and editor Ralph Macchio (no relation to the Karate Kid) in 1980's Marvel Two-In-One #65. In his civilian guise as economist Seth Voelker, he's hired by the villainous Roxxon Corporation as an analyst. But things take a turn when Voelker disco💛vers Roxxon's secret genetic experiments.

In a strange twist, rather than following the standard supervillain origin of being experimented on against his will, Voelker actually volu❀nteers to be part of Roxxon's program. Roxxon's scientists implant a cybernetic chip in his head that controls a specially designed cloak which allows him to teleport.

Taking the name Sidewinder, Voelker joins the criminal mercenary group known as the Serpent Squad, a team of Captain America villains dating back to the '70s. Later, Voelker's version of the group evolves into the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Serpent Society, a vast team𝓰 of snake-themed supervillains who all operate under Sidewinder's leadership, with the villain using his teleportation powers to keep them out of prison while also providing his recruits with a guarant𒐪eed salary and even health insurance like a legitimate job.

Sidewinder and the Serpent Squad

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Voelker later retired from being a supervillain (at l♒east temporarily – he's since become Sidewinder again a few times), with another villain (whose real name has never been revealed) briefly taking up the Sidewinder identity before dying on his first mission.

A third Sidewinder, Gregory Bryan, also joined the Serpent Society before taking the team in a new direction as the corporation-style villain group Serpent Solutions. This version of the team became enemies of Sam Wilson early in his career as Captain America, potentially suggestin♚g the movie version of Sidewinder will be Gregory Bryan.

Bryan appeared as Sidewinder in the recent comic limited se✱ries Aveng🌠ers Assemble, which released its final issue on January 22, so Sidewinder is very much a part of the current Marvel Universe in comics.

Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder in Captain America: Brave New World

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Though we don't know much about Captain America: Brave New World's version of Sidewinder, we do know that he seems to be quite different from his comic book counterpart. The most obvious differenc🤡e is their appearance, with Giancarlo Esposito's version dressing like a more normal looking mercenary, with splashes of the color palette of the original comic version's gaudy outfit.

At the same time, the MCU version of Sidewinder also seems to be a weapons master with an arsenal of guns and🌳 explosives. In comics, while Sidew🌞inder is certainly willing to use deadly weapons, he more often relies on the powers of his costume, especially his teleportation cloak, than run-of-the-mill firearms and bombs.

We're only weeks away from the February 14 release of Captain America: Brave New World, so we won't have to wait long to find out how Sidewinder 🐻will fit into the plot. Though he seems like a supporting character, with a powerhouse actor like Giancarlo Esposito in the role, who fans have been hoping will join the MCU for years, we're betting that his role will wind up bigger than it seems.

While you wait for Captain America: Brave New World, check out our guide on how to watch the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Marvel movies in order and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Marvel timeline.

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (൲They/Them)