Warning: SPOILERS for Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown #1
Conan’s legendary powers are more than a match for nearly any terrain, but in writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Luke Ross’s Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown #1, the Cimmerian finds that he might need another skill set to survive in the modern world. Fortunately, one of Daredevil’s former teachers arrives just time to teach him some of the same lessons she taught Matt.
Conan is taking up a new battle against snakes – this time for the Serpent Crown. After the time warps of Conan: Serpent War, Conan is not done dealing with allies outside of his timeline. The adventurer takes on his next (but perhaps not strangest) challenge in a whole other age: modern Las Vegas. Not one to be overwhelmed, Conan is immediately focused on funding his mission the best way he knows how: taking what he needs. Wherever he is, Conan may know how to “plunder a city,” but the modern world has some technological tricks that might best even Conan.
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Luckily for Conan, Nyla Skin has also made her way to Las Vegas, and she is happy to share a couple of tricks with a guy she takes to be a fellow thief. While Conan may have the upper hand when it comes to combat, Nyla not only knows what technology is, she knows how to block it. After rescuing Conan from a taser gun, she also teaches him about safe cracking and the value of a roll of cash. It’s quite generous of her given that Conan unintentionally poached her target. Though Picking up strange, disoriented men off the street and teaching them to steal seems to be a bad habit for the thief (Maybe her skills as an “empath artist” give her a certain insight).
Nyla’s rescue of Conan follows some pretty strong parallels with the thief’s first comics appearance. Back in the 90s, Nyla debuted in Ann Nocenti’s Daredevil #285 as an unexpected ally to Daredevil after he lost his memory. She took the confused Matt Murdock off the streets and attempted to give him a job (as her partner in crime). She even taught him several tricks of the trade. Unfortunately, this business relationship was doomed to fail as even without his memories Matt had a strong compulsion against stealing. Matt and Nyla were more successful in other areas, however.
Conan does not have the same moral compunctions about stealing, or rather pillaging. He is more than ready to learn any lessons the thief is ready to teach him (despite the fact that paper money seems rather ridiculous to him). Additionally, both Conan and Nyla are also in Las Vegas to pursue their own personal vendettas as well as grab a little treasure. As luck would have it, this unlikely team-up might be more fate than coincidence as their targets seemed to be aligned. First, they will have to handle Marvel’s trickiest cat burglar: the Black Cat herself.
It seems like Conan will be continuing his mission in the company of some of Marvel’s finest female thieves. If anyone can help him navigate sin city, these ladies actually might be his best bet. Fans will just have to see if the Conan can navigate the fine art of pillaging within an entirely new set of rules.
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