Snakeman Archenemy: Cipactli (Patreon)

Alright guys! Today's new Snakeman archenemy has been a long time coming. It's the great Titanic beast the Aztec Empire was built on and whom Snakeman swore to protect the world from- Cipactli!

ORIGIN

One of the great titanic beasts that plagued the world before recorded mortal kind, the leviathan Cipactli had been defeated in ancient times by the gods of old and sealed away underground, his remains were what the foundations of the Aztec Empire had been built upon. Cipactli's strength was greater than most titanic beasts of his kind, his defeat one of the few small battles won rather than the great war itself; and it was feared that the return of his kind would bring about the end of the world. It was for this reason that many guardians such as the Snakeman were created by the gods themselves to act as protectors and guardians of these imprisoned beasts, ensuring that the remained sealed away and the kingdoms built upon their remains protected. 

The barriers that sealed Cipactli kinda away were only as strong as the empires themselves built upon their remains. And as Empires rose and fell as time marched forward, the barriers grew weaker as the remains of the great empire fell into history, only kept alive by the memories held on by the descendants of the empires. Many cults who still believed in what history became legend formed to ensure that Cipactli never returned, spilling blood of mortals to strength the barriers, not knowing that these rituals unintentionally strengthened Cipactli as well. If the world was to be saved from the Apocalypse, The Snakeman would need to find a way to strengthen the barriers without empowering Cipactli or - by all impossible standards - find a way to end Cipactli for good.

Powers/Abilities:

Cipactli is a primordial Titan capable of great power and destruction, said to only be capable of being defeated by the gods themselves.

So, Cipactli has been a long time coming since I first created Snakeman and built him around Aztec mythology. For those who might know, Cipactli is a real monster in mesoamerican mythology, sort of the Titans that came before the Aztec gods who was ultimately defeated by said Aztec gods, and his remains are what the Aztec Empire was built upon. And given that the magic system for mythology in my universe is that all gods have been one single pantheon, that's more or less how I built Cipactli for my universe- one of these "titans" who existed before my gods and was defeated by them; kinda like the Kaiju in the new Godzilla films of recent years. I've labeled him as one of Snakeman's main archenemies, but really he's sometime more of a plot device than an actual enemy, kinda like Surtur is to Thor in both Marvel comics and Norse Mythology. So, I guess you could say he's like the final boss of Snakeman's Rogues Gallery, being the reason for his creation and ultimately is what Snakeman is trying to keep sealed away.

Design wise, there isn't a whole lot of modern interpretation of Cipactli to go off of compared to a lot of monsters from Greek or Norse Mythology. His main description is something of a horrible fusion of a toad and crocodile. So that's the main description I gave David for designing Cipactli, the rest I just decided to let him have fun with it and come with whatever ideas he wanted, kinda like he did with NRG's Chupacabra. He definitely has that apocalyptic kaiju feel to him, doesn't he?

Anyway, hope you guys are excited by Snakeman's newest enemy! Let us know what you think with a comment below!

Snakeman: Desperado of the Jungle © NRG Comics

Design by David Velasquez

Art by Danilo Cassonato