Recruited by the Viper to join other villains with a snake-motif, Puff Adder first appeared as a member of her Serpent Squad. As part of her plan to take over the Serpent Society, Puff Adder and the others infiltrated the group in order to betray them. The Society was aided by Captain America, and the Viper was ultimately defeated by the Cobra. When Cobra reorganized the Society, Puff Adder was among their number. He has participated in many of the Society’s subsequent activities, such as retrieving Lemurian artifacts for the priest-lord Ghaur and kidnapping Diamondback to stand trial according to the Society.

Once, Puff Adder was recruited to be a member of Doctor Octopus's version of the Masters of Evil. The group attempted to storm the mansion headquarters of the Avengers when the team was away on a mission. Unknown to the villains, this feat was made easier due to the fact that many of Earth’s super-powered individuals were being replaced by monstrous doppelgangers of themselves. The Masters of Evil were thwarted by the Guardians of the Galaxy who were visiting the mansion, but both teams were forced to band together to fight their doppelgangers. After defeating them all, Doctor Octopus hoped to continue the battle against the Guardians, but Puff Adder and the others refused to turn on the heroes who had helped them survive and disbanded after forcing Doctor Octopus to flee.

Puff Adder apparently had romantic designs on his teammate Princess Python, although the details of their relationship are not fully known. When Princess Python’s friend set up a date for her with her brother, Jack Truman, Puff Adder intervened out of jealousy. Truman revealed himself to be Deathlok, and the two scuffled briefly until Python put a stop to it.