Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #3 impressions — The many faces of Set’s evil are revealed at last

Evil never truly dies; it merely evolves. Or in the case of the serpent god Set, it adopts new faces to continue its unholy mission across the eons. Sometimes quite literally, as shown by the shapeshifting disciples that have plagued multiple eras of the Howardverse across various Titan titles and are currently plaguing King Kull in the Thurian Age. But these are not the only faces of Set’s evil, as Conan and John Kirowan are about to learn in their respective timelines…

*Mild spoilers ahead for Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #3*

Picking up from where Jim Zub left us in issue 2, events begin to escalate greatly for our three heroes. 

Conan finds himself on the search for the real murderer of Kallian Publico, who has killed once more whilst the Cimmerian was occupied with the city guard. Though he could use this moment to escape, as all those who sought to arrest him are dead or dying, he chooses instead to sate his curiosity about the night’s events. What he finds, however, is not some conspirator attempting to frame him for a heinous crime, nor another would-be thief attempting to steal one of the museum’s other treasures. Rather, he finds himself confronted by an inhuman monstrosity: a massive snake with the head of a woman and small serpents for hair, its slitted eyes filled with as much menace as ancient cunning. Conan scarcely has time to raise his defense before the enormous monster attacks, intending to add the Cimmerian to the night’s body count. 

Untold eons in the future, Professor Kirowan finds himself similarly in mortal danger, as Evelyn Gordon fires upon him with a revolver, her eyes now yellow and snakelike as her mind and body are overtaken by a supernatural force. It is only after her husband Jim is wounded by a stray bullet that she is freed from whatever force had possessed her, at least for the moment. Convinced that the serpent ring she was wearing is a conduit rather than the source of her possession as he’d originally suspected, Kirowan utilizes magic of his own to uncover the true evil lurking in the room, using poor Evelyn as its blade. To his shock, the true culprit is revealed to be a familiar face from his past, one who he’d believed to be long dead. 

In the distant Thurian Age, King Kull broods on the menace facing his kingdom as he looks out over a banquet being held in his palace. All around him are faces familiar to him, yet now he finds himself questioning the true identities hiding beneath their smiling visages, whether that identity be a serpentine menace or merely the ill intentions of conspiring men. Even his own identity comes into question as his thoughts race, as he finds himself questioning which part of him is his “true face.” Brule the Spear-Slayer alone stands above his suspicions, as the Pict warrior wears a dragon circlet that supposedly cannot be worn by the shapeshifting disciples of Set. After a time, Kull and Brule go to meet with the council of Valusia, where Kull plans to reveal to them the threat plaguing their kingdom. These are men whom Kull knows intimately, who would never betray him or the kingdom. Surely they can be trusted, right? Such hopes are dashed before the king can even speak, however, as Brule abruptly speaks the ancient words that will reveal the shapeshifters’ true forms, revealing that the entire council has been replaced by the snake god’s followers. 

Where issue 2 failed to move the story forward as much as I’d hoped—especially in Conan’s case—issue 3 does so in spades. All three characters now find themselves facing the various forms of Set’s evil, rather than just King Kull, helping the story to feel more connected, rather than like I was reading partial issues of three separate comics, as the last issue did. Conan’s sections in particular have largely felt like I was reading a completely separate book until now, as beyond a brief connection made regarding a particular symbol in issue 2, there hasn’t seemed to be much connection to Set or his disciples. I had expected Publico’s nephew—who hired Conan to steal an item from the museum—to be revealed as one of the snake-like shapeshifters after Conan killed him in the last issue, but this proved not to be the case. In fact, the only real connection his story has had to the overarching menace of Set thus far has been a connection made to a symbol on an artifact in the museum, and the Cimmerian hearing the words spoken by Brule. Having him finally come face-to-face with the serpentine creature responsible for the death of Publico makes it feel as if he’s finally a part of the adventure as well. 

Speaking of the monster, I appreciated that each character’s threat is different, rather than simply having each of them face the shapeshifters. Not only does this add some variety to the story, but it also gives each protagonist a threat that seems to correlate with who their character is at the moment. Kull, being king of Valusia, is confronted with the prospect that his kingdom has been invaded by an enemy force lurking behind familiar faces, a threat all rulers have faced; Conan, a brash young warrior at this point in his life, finds himself faced with a foe who can challenge his physicality, perhaps even surpass it; and Kirowan is faced with a foe from his past who can challenge his knowledge and skill with the occult. Whether these are the only enemies each will face or something greater awaits them remains to be seen, though the ending of the issue seems to be hinting at the latter (and that their separate stories will soon be joined).

The book jumps back and forth between the three storylines at a more frantic pace than the previous issues, heightening the sense of chaos and conflict filling its pages. This also serves to make the three storylines feel more connected as tensions are mirrored between them, culminating in a shared experience at the end of the issue.

To sum it up, Scourge of the Serpent #3 is exactly what I'd hoped the previous issue would be. It pushes the plot forward both for the individual storylines and the overarching threat without leaving any character's plotline feeling like an afterthought. The fast, almost chaotic pace really makes the threats they're facing feel daunting, and the final pages appear to be leading us to something big that will bring the three separate storylines together at last. 

Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #3 is available now from Titan Comics.