Religion: Sons of the Serpent (leader) 
Name: The Supreme Serpent
Alter Ego: J. C. Pennysworth
Other Names: Pennysworth; J.C. Pennyworth; Supreme Serpent III
Classification:
villain
Publisher(s): 
First Appearance: (as Pennyworth) Defenders (vol. 1) #15 (Sep. 1974); (as Supreme Serpent) Defenders (vol. 1) #23 (May 1975)
Creators: Len Wein, Sal Buscema, Klaus Janson
Number of Appearances: 10
Teams/Affiliations: Sons of the Serpent
Enemy of: Ron Rice, The Defenders
Ally: Kyle Richmond (Nighthawk)
Employer: Richmond Enterprises
Occupation: CEO, chairman of the board
Race: black
Gender: male
Note: posed as a white man to seek wealth, power
J. C. Pennysworth was a black man who posed as a white man and became the leader of the white supremacist organization, the Sons of the Serpent. Pennysworth did not actually share this group's ideology. He simply used his position to obtain power and wealth.
Alternatively, we have seen other sources that describe J. C. Pennysworth as a man who was sincerely ashamed of his own race and became a "race traitor" for ideological reasons.
In Defenders #25 (July 1975), Kyle Richmond (Nighthawk) confronted his old friend and asked him why he - a black man - would work with the Sons of the Serpent. Pennysworth here claimed that he wanted to "escape" his own people.
The Defenders
Suggested links for further research about this character and the character's religious affiliation:
- http://www.comicvine.com/j-c-pennysworth/29-36127/
- http://comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=6491
- http://www.comicboards.com/marvelguide/s5.html
- http://www.marvunapp.com/master/supsuz.htm
- http://www.marvunapp.com/master/pbpep.htm
- http://www.marvunapp.com/master/soason.htm
- https://www.comics.org/issue/27735
- http://comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=36275
- http://www.comicvine.com/the-defenders-panic-beneath-the-earth/37-112435/
- http://marvel.wikia.com/Defenders_Vol_1_15
- http://marvel.wikia.com/Defenders_Vol_1_25