Roland Burroughs underwent surgery thanks to the Roxxon Oil company, giving him gills, claws, and a bionic tail, as well as certain other physiological changes. As a result of a mistake during the surgery to give him gills, Burroughs was rendered mute. He was also given a special costume and the alias Death Adder and joined the Serpent Squad along with Sidewinder, Anaconda, and Black Mamba. The Serpent Squad's first mission was to get the Serpent Crown, and once this mission was complete, the four of them became freelance mercenaries and criminals.