Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown

In 2020, Marvel brought Saladin Ahmed and Luke Ross together for a five-issue miniseries pitting Robert E. Howard’s iconic Cimmerian against a mystical artifact with a storied Marvel history: the Serpent Crown. As Conan navigates a world of sorcery and political intrigue, the crown’s corrupting power forces him into an uneasy alliance with a familiar Hyborian foe. Ahmed’s sharp scripting and Ross’s gritty, atmospheric art capture the brutal sword-and-sorcery tone while weaving in a clever callback to Marvel’s own cosmic mythology. It’s a tight, self-contained adventure that honors Conan’s pulp roots and the crown’s legacy as a Marvel touchstone.