Anaconda (comics)

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caption=Anaconda, art by Mark Gruenwald & Josef Rubinstein.
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Anaconda
real_name=Blanche Sitznski
species=Mutated Human
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Marvel Two-in-One" #64 (June 1980)
creators=Mark Gruenwald
Ralph Macchio
alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
alliances=Six Pack
Serpent Squad
Serpent Society
Femizons
aliases=
powers=Ability to elongate limbs,
Superhuman strength,
Ability to breathe underwater,
Accelerated healing|

Anaconda (Blanche Sitznski) is a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe who was created by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio and first appeared in "Marvel Two-in-One" #64 in June 1980.

Fictional character biography

Blanche "Blondie" Sitznski was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She worked as a steelworker until executives at the Roxxon Oil Company selected her to become a special agent in covert operations. She was already well adjusted to villainy, as she was the calisthenics instructor at Taskmaster's Academy. It was there that she trained several women in hand-to-hand combat, most notably Diamondback and Snapdragon. She was eventually taken to Roxxon's Mutagenic Laboratory and bioengineered by Roxxon's Mutagenics Division to have various permanent serpentine features. Her entire skeletal structure was laced with an artificial adamantium, giving her the ability to elongate her arms and legs, which she uses to constrict her enemies. She has also been surgically given gills, which allows her to breathe underwater. She has tiny scales on her face, neck, chest, and back, and small fins on her lower cheeks. Though Anaconda's trade characteristic is her blonde hair, she is actually a natural brunette. [Captain America #403] Anaconda loves to listen to show tunes, and is particularly fond of "Thoroughly Modern Millie".

Her first mission as part of the second Serpent Squad grouped her with three other snake-themed villains: Sidewinder, Black Mamba, and Death Adder. They were given the task to retrieve the Serpent Crown for the Roxxon company president, Hugh Jones. During the mission, the group came into conflict with the Fantastic Four's Thing, Stingray, and the Inhuman Triton. Anaconda jumped at the opportunity to battle the Thing, and was able to apprehend him with ease. They found the Serpent Crown, but the Thing and Triton retaliated, defeating Anaconda, Black Mamba, and Death Adder, trapping them underwater. ["Marvel Two-in-One" #65]

Anaconda freed herself and her teammates from their underwater captivity using her brute strength, and they were sent on another mission -- this time, to search for a powerful weapon known as the micro-scanner. After battling Iron Man, Anaconda and the others were defeated and presumably taken to prison. ["Iron Man" #160] They somehow escaped, and sought out Sidewinder for payment from their first mission together. He gave them their money, plus more, inviting them to join his new criminal organization, the Serpent Society. ["Captain America" #308] Anaconda eagerly accepted the offer in hopes of earning a healthy sum of money. At the orientation, Sidewinder grouped Anaconda together with Cobra and the Rattler to perform an initiation test. Their job was to steal equipment from the bankrupt Brand Corporation. Constrictor, annoyed with the whole idea of the Serpent Society, spied on Anaconda's group and called the Avengers hotline to tip them off. Captain America showed up just as Anaconda and the others were pulling their heist, and Anaconda ordered Cobra and Rattler to return to Sidewinder with the apparatus. After an intense battle with the Avenger, Anaconda was able to wrap her arms around Captain America. She started to crush his bones, but one well-placed hit of his shield knocked her out, and she was taken to jail.

Teleported out by Sidewinder, Anaconda paid a visit to Constrictor, thoroughly thrashing him and leaving him for dead. Anaconda also participated in the mission to murder M.O.D.O.K., but was knocked out with a mind-blast early on in the fight. However, her teammates Cottonmouth and Death Adder were able to slaughter him, and Anaconda carried his corpse to A.I.M. for the large sum profit they were promised. ["Captain America" #318] Soon after, Anaconda's best friend, Death Adder, was murdered by the Scourge of the Underworld. She vowed to find the murderer and avenge his death.

When Viper invaded the Serpent Society, Anaconda willingly switched sides and attacked Diamondback when she brought Captain America and D-Man to help, but was defeated by Diamondback's acid-tipped diamonds. ["Captain America" #342] Later, Cobra took over leadership and he and Anaconda had a mutual respect for each other, having worked together on many missions in the past. Anaconda assisted the Serpent Society on a mission against the X-Men, and fought Colossus. ["X-Men Annual" #13] Anaconda also took time out to help Diamondback's date with Captain America (though she didn't know it at the time) go smoothly. ["Captain America" #370] Upon learning that Diamondback knew the true identity of her sworn enemy, Captain America, Anaconda turned on Diamondback. Anaconda serves as bailiff during her trial where she voted guilty, ["Captain America" #380] and battled Captain America after the trial. ["Captain America" #381]

Anaconda eventually became romantically involved with one of the new recruits, Puff Adder. They, along with Rock Python were sent to retrieve Diamondback, who had escaped her death sentence. They eventually crashed their Serpent Saucer into Diamondback's apartment, where she, Black Mamba, and Asp were hiding out. The girls were easily taken out by Anaconda and her boys, but their kidnapping attempt was interrupted by an invitation to join Superia's all-female villain group, the Femizons. Diamondback, Black Mamba, and Asp accepted, as did Anaconda, reluctantly. While on Superia's ship, Anaconda caused quite a ruckus with the villainess Quicksand. She also took part in the attack on Captain America and Paladin, but fled when the Femizons disbanded. She reappeared with the Serpent Society when super hero undercover, Jack Flag, attempted to join the group to replace a retired Cobra. Anaconda battled Jack Flag and his partner Free Spirit until Force Works showed up and put an end to the battle.

Much later, Anaconda took part in the Bloodsport tournament in hopes of winning the prize money. She easily took out her first opponent, Forearm, but got her neck slit by her second opponent, Puma. Her ability to heal quickly proved useful, as she survived the attack and returned to the Serpent Society for their mission to exact revenge on Diamondback once again. She then joined S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new espionage team, the Six Pack. She eventually turned on them, along with Constrictor, Solo, and Domino, to join forces with Cable, who was trying to create a sanctuary with his newfound powers. She was also warped into Cable's mind, where she saved Cable's life by grabbing onto him before he could get sucked into a techno-organic virus. She continued to work with the Six Pack as they committed acts of terrorism in Rumekistan to diminish Cable's reputation. Cable exacted revenge on the Six Pack by defeating them all and returning them to the United States.

Anaconda was later seen as one of the supervillains defeated by the New Warriors and was tied up and gagged with a form of Spider-Man's web fluid.

Powers and abilities

Anaconda has the superhuman ability to elongate her limbs and constrict her opponents. Her arms and legs are able to elongate to about one and a half times their normal length (though most artists show her greatly exceeding that length), while her muscles engorge with blood, giving the appearance of massive, snake-like limbs. Once she has entwined her limbs around a human-sized foe, there are very few human beings able to break free of her grip. She has also been surgically given gills, which allow her to breathe underwater, and modified lungs for extracting oxygen from water. Due to all the bio-engineering performed on her, Anaconda has incredible recuperative abilities and she is able to heal non-fatal wounds several times faster than a normal human being. Her strength is enhanced beyond normal human levels and she is an excellent swimmer.

Her entire skeletal structure is laced with an adamantium alloy-based substance, increasing her durability.

Anaconda is a skilled combatant, using street-fighting techniques to accommodate her elongating arms.

Other versions

Ultimate Anaconda

Anaconda appears in the Ultimate Universe as a member of the all-female Serpent Squad. Searching for the Serpent Crown, the girls are attacked by the Fantastic Four and a battle ensues. Mr. Fantastic is able to take out Anaconda, and she is later taken into custody. She looks significantly different from her Earth-616 counterpart, depicted as much thinner and less masculine, though she retains her scales.

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/blondieblanche Blondie: An Anaconda Fansite]
* [http://www.marvel.com/universe/Anaconda Anaconda on the Marvel Entertainment Character Bio Wiki]
* [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/anacondass.htm Anaconda (Serpent Society member)]

References