Cottonmouth (Cornell Cottonmouth)

Cottonmouth is a fictional villain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist George Tuska, the character first appeared in Power Man #18 (June 1974).

The character is portrayed by Mahershala Ali in Netflix's Luke Cage, which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Publication history

Cornell Cottonmouth first appeared in Power Man #18 (June 1974) in a story written by Len Wein and drawn by George Tuska. Cornell Cottonmouth, or just Cottonmouth, started out as a drug kingpin in New York City, involved in the events that led to Luke Cage gaining super powers becoming "Power Man". Cottonmouth tried to recruit Cage to his organization, but ultimately Cage knocked Cottonmouth out and turned him over to police. During the Shadowland storyline Cottonmouth returned as part of Nightshade's gang Flashmob where they come into conflict with Daredevil as well as a new Power Man, who, like his predecessor, knocked Cottonmouth out and turned him over to police.

Fictional character biography

Not much is known about Cottonmouth's history except that he has established himself as a drug lord in New York. When Willis Stryker wanted to frame Carl Lucas, he stole a shipment of heroin from Cottonmouth's organization.^[2]

Upon changing his name to Luke Cage, Carl decided to track down the drugs that were used to frame him. Cage used a number of informants in his search. The informant Flea was successful in his search yet his investigations were discovered. Before dying from the poisons inflicted on him by Cottonmouth's men, Flea managed to inform Cage of his discovery.^[3] Upon learning who sent Flea to infiltrate his organization, Cottonmouth got the idea of recruiting Cage to his organization. He sent his trademark of snakes to Luke's office "to show him that he means business." Cottonmouth then sent his henchmen Mike and Ike to make an offer to Luke. Luke managed to take out the snakes and defeat Mike and Ike. Mike ended up snitching to where Cottonmouth was located. Luke agreed to join Cottonmouth's organization (to learn where his records were kept). Cottonmouth then began to test Cage's loyalty by sending him to steal a shipment of heroin from the rival crimeboss Morgan. Luke succeeded in that. Cage earned Cottonmouth's trust and began working for him until Cottonmouth caught Cage attempting to steal his records. Cottonmouth attacked Luke and was assisted by his henchman Slick. Cage then knocked Cottonmouth into Slick who fell out the window to his death. When Cottonmouth stated that the supposed records were in Slick's mind, Luke slammed Cottonmouth into an oak desk where Cottonmouth fell unconscious and then called the police to come pick up Cottonmouth.^[4]

During the Shadowland storyline, Cottonmouth appeared as a member of Nightshade's gang called the Rivals. Cottonmouth established a section of turf where he sold drugs and hired out prostitutes only for him to be attacked by Hand ninjas that were sent by Daredevil. However, Power Man arrived dispersing the Hand ninjas and then Power Man broke Cottonmouth's teeth.^[5] Cottonmouth later had his broken teeth replaced by gold-capped sharp teeth. When Power Man was apparently beaten and defeated by five corrupt police officers, Cottonmouth prepared to bite off a part of Power Man's face only to be leashed by Nightshade. At first, Cottonmouth was surprised when Nightshade offered Power Man to become her enforcer. Cottonmouth then became pleased when Nightshade had set up Power Man to fight Iron Fist.^[6] To Nightshade's surprise, Power Man managed to side with Iron Fist and knocked out Cottonmouth while Nightshade escaped.^[7]

During the Spider-Island storyline, Cottonmouth alongside Nightshade and Flashmob (consisting of Chemistro, Cheshire Cat, Commanche, Dontrell "Cockroach" Hamilton, Mr. Fish, and Spear) tried to leave a spider-infested Manhattan by crossing a bridge only to be stopped by Misty Knight and her Heroes for Hire (consisting of Black Cat, Falcon, Gargoyle, Paladin, and Silver Sable).^[8]

Cottonmouth next appears as one of the competitors in an underground fight club that is broken up by Deadpool, Gambit, and Fat Cobra.^[9] Afterward, Cottonmouth is arrested and imprisoned in Ryker's Island, which he escapes from during a riot that occurs during Civil War II. With all of his assets either seized by the FBI or appropriated by Tombstone, a desperate Cottonmouth reaches out to Piranha Jones for help, and is convinced by Jones to side with him and Black Cat in an upcoming war for control of Harlem.^[1]

Powers and abilities

Cottonmouth has super-strength that rivals Luke Cage. He also has sharp teeth that he had sharpened to resemble fangs; combined with his jaw-strength they are capable of piercing Cage's "unbreakable" skin. Cottonmouth also has a good knowledge of different poisons.

Other versions

Cottonmouth appears in the Marvel Comics 2 series The Amazing Spider-Girl as the head of The Bronx branch of Black Tarantula's criminal syndicate. When a new villain called the Crimelord acquires and attempts to sell the Kingpin's files, Cottonmouth attends the auction for them in Black Tarantula's stead.^[10] The auction being crashed by the Hobgoblin and Spider-Girl leads to Cottonmouth and most of the other attendees being arrested by the NYPD.^[11]

In other media

Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes appears in the Netflix TV series Luke Cage, where he is portrayed by Mahershala Ali.^[12] He appears as the main antagonist for the first half of the season. His nickname "Cottonmouth" comes from an incident in his childhood when several of his teeth were knocked out. He despises this nickname, snapping with rage at its merest mention, and insists upon being addressed as by his legal name. In public, Cottonmouth is the owner of the nightclub Harlem's Paradise, but in private is a major arms dealer, working with his cousin, city councilwoman Mariah Dillard. As a baby, he was raised by his Aunt "Mama" Mabel and cousin Mariah after his parents left him. He has musical talent and was encouraged to become a pianist by his uncle, Pete Stokes. However, Mama Mabel forced him to grow up in the family mob and shoot Pete after he made deals with rival criminal organizations and raped Mariah. Cottonmouth has a benefactor named Diamondback, who sends his herald Shades to help Cottonmouth and Mariah.

Cottonmouth attracts the attention of Luke Cage after his henchman Tone kills Luke's mentor Pop during a botched hit on Wilfredo "Chico" Diaz, a street gangster involved in the shooting of several men during an arms deal between Cottonmouth and fellow crime boss Domingo Colon. In response, Luke hits several of Cottonmouth's stash houses, including his main stash at Crispus Attucks Community Center. Upon learning Luke's identity from Misty Knight's corrupt partner Rafael Scarfe, Cottonmouth tries to kill Luke by firing a bazooka into Genghis Connie's, but Luke survives. His attempt having failed, Cottonmouth then attempts to drive Luke out of Harlem by having his gang shake down local business owners for protection money, until the business owners begin hiring Luke to retrieve their possessions. Ultimately, Cottonmouth is arrested for shooting and killing Scarfe, after Scarfe attempts to shake him down for money, but manages to secure bail. This causes unwanted media attention for both himself and Mariah. The tensions between Mariah and Cottonmouth escalate into a confrontation in the club, wherein Cottonmouth accuses Mariah of seducing Pete, rather than her being raped by him. This angers Mariah, who pushes Cottonmouth out of his office window and then beats him to death with a microphone stand. Mariah and Shades use Cottonmouth's death to frame Luke Cage for murder, and later shift the blame to Diamondback after Luke is exonerated.

References

External links

• Cottonmouth I at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe