Boss Copperhead

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Boss Copperhead (铜头老大)
Species/Race	Ork 383
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Screw Clan; Sneaky Boss’s Kill Team 193 227
Occupation/Role	Warboss; elite Nob; fleet commander; captain of the Waaagh Upheaval Team 140 227
Status	Alive; fighting Abaddon on Terra in his latest documented appearance 475
First Appearance	Chapter 140, “Could any Old Ones still be alive?”—earliest appearance in the supplied passages 140

Power Progression

Copperhead’s development is recorded through Ork ranks, physical growth, psychic abilities, and equipment upgrades rather than numbered cultivation realms.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Growth through the Necron tomb campaign	140 167	Began becoming stronger while following Sneaky Boss through the Necrons’ underground tombs. His reputation included leading a few hundred Boyz through an entire tomb.
Mega Boss	169	Fought alongside other Mega Bosses against Space Marines. Iron Claw was substantially weaker and followed behind him like a subordinate.
Elite Nob	227	Ranked among the Screw Clan’s top two hundred Bosses, who were designated Nobs. Commanded a thousand-warship fleet.
Waaagh!-amplified strength	228 229	Grew stronger throughout his duel with Vorda as the Waaagh! Field intensified, eventually bursting the Daemon Prince’s head with a punch.
Strongest Nob	256	Explicitly described as the strongest of the Nobs when he intercepted a Norn Assassin in close combat.
Nearly nine-meter stature	351	Became the Screw Clan’s tallest Ork after Sneaky Boss. Little Sneaky judged him at least twice as strong during the Slick Cup final.
Combat use of shared Waaagh! experience	384 385	Drew both power and battle experience from the field against Jaghatai Khan. Waaagh! energy also healed his damaged arms and legs.
Demonstrated telekinesis	386	Worked out how to pull objects remotely with Waaagh! energy and drew his arm bracer onto his arm.
Enchanted demigod-bone enhancement	388 389 397	Received a trophy granting lasting speed and agility increases, with a stronger battle boost. Later defeated Little Sneaky with its help.
Further physical growth through belief	414	Spectators’ confidence visibly made him taller and bulkier. His bone-enhanced combat state could double his speed for ten minutes.
Direct empowerment by Sneaky Boss	439	An influx of Waaagh! power broke his stalemate with Daemon Calamity. Combined with his bone trophy’s speed boost, it let him destroy the daemon within a minute.

Background / History

Copperhead traced his rise to following Sneaky Boss through a Necron tomb campaign. That experience shaped his preferred approach to enemies: charge straight through them. By his earliest documented appearance, he was already a celebrated warrior and sports captain, credited with hundreds of undefeated matches for the Waaagh Upheaval Team 140 167.

His loyalty outlasted the departures of many other Ork leaders. After a year of preparations in the Starting Point System, he remained among the two hundred members of Sneaky Boss’s Kill Team who stayed. He later became a major Screw Clan commander, leading fleets, planetary assaults, and campaigns through the Webway 193 227 383.

Appearance

Copperhead has an enormous, heavily muscled body covered in scars from dangerous battles 347.

• Height: Nearly nine meters during the Slick Cup final; described as nine meters tall when confronting Jaghatai Khan 351 383.
• Musculature: His bare-chested tournament appearance emphasizes muscles that look chiseled into shape 347.
• Tusks: Uses his jaws as a weapon, including attempts to bite off Jaghatai’s head 385 386.
• Armor: Wears custom black Power Armor made from Necron living metal, though he removes it when seeking a more challenging fight 383 440.
• Back-mounted trophies: Carries a Boss Rack and a large enchanted bone painted with Gork striking an enemy with a wrench 229 389.

Personality

Copperhead is straightforward, savage, and exceptionally loyal to Sneaky Boss. His ambition is not to replace his leader, but to become strong enough to give him a satisfying fight. He openly declares that he hopes one day to catch up to Sneaky Boss’s strength 347 352.

A worthy opponent matters more to him than an effortless victory. He encourages Little Sneaky to keep getting up during their brutal tournament fight and removes his advanced armor before dueling Jaghatai to avoid making the contest unfair. Conversely, weak enemies and disorganized resistance quickly bore him 351 369 383.

His appetite for battle can override his orders. During the search for Hols, he kills Daemon Calamity, mounts its head, and immediately attacks another daemon instead of continuing the rescue. A reminder that Sneaky Boss might stop taking him along finally brings him back to the mission 439 440.

His apparent simplicity is not a lack of intelligence. His intellect eventually qualifies him for the Genius Boyz Association, and he is described as capable of independently ruling an Ork realm—a “Philosopher King.” The Necrons’ gene virus has instead left him disinclined to use his brain 471.

Abilities & Skills

Physical Strength and Resilience

Copperhead’s unarmored strength exceeds a Primarch’s, while his durability allows him to survive injuries that would destroy most combatants 384 386.

• Slices a centipede several hundred meters long into two pieces in less than two seconds 368.
• Pushes a giant Hrud Warrior Bug’s lightning attack back into its head before crushing it 353.
• Overpowers the untransformed Jaghatai Khan with one hand 384.
• Survives an incident that tears flesh from half his body and destroys most of his internal organs 386.
• Stops Abaddon’s Chaos-charged sword with his armored hand and sends him flying with a punch 475.

Close-Combat Expertise

Although his duel with Vorda is initially characterized as brute force without finesse, Copperhead later demonstrates exceptional defensive technique and rapid adaptation 228 384.

• Matches Jaghatai’s fast scimitar attacks with his enormous Killer Axe 384.
• Uses weapon recoil to adjust his position during free fall and turns an opponent’s force against them 384.
• Applies experience from an earlier airborne fight with Little Sneaky to defend against Jaghatai’s aerial assault 384.
• Combines axe blows, punches, headbutts, and bites in close combat 229 385 386.

Waaagh! Field Manipulation

Copperhead draws strength from the collective excitement and belief of the Greenskins 228 385 414.

• Strength and healing: The field enhances his physical power and repairs injuries. Jaghatai interprets its potential amplification as having no upper limit 385.
• Shared experience: Accesses battle experience within the field to improve his fighting 384.
• Telekinesis: Pulls an arm bracer onto himself and later snatches a Rokkit Boy from the ground 386 398.
• Trophy preservation: Seals Daemon Calamity’s head with Waaagh! energy to prevent it from burning away 439.
• Emotional influence: His despair over losing a prospective trophy spreads through his followers and turns their normally healthy green field energy gray-green 386.
• Limit: Greater power does not protect him from deception; an illusion makes him mistake Little Sneaky for an enemy 414.

Mechanical Aptitude

Copperhead is a capable improvisational engineer despite professing that fighting is all he knows or likes 354 370 471.

• Builds motorcycles from battlefield wreckage with Sneaky Boss’s assistance 370.
• Orders Canoptek Scarabs to install a Gorkanaut stabilizer because its shaking makes him dizzy 398.
• Assembles machinery using components from his Power Armor and an Ork Battle Fortress while considering a Webway route to Terra 471.
• Operates the Gorkanaut’s weapons while Little Sneaky pilots it 400.

Leadership and Languages

• Command: Leads a thousand-warship fleet and coordinates Rok landings and mass teleportation 227.
• Unification: Wins over Abyss III’s local Orks after destroying several resistant ships and confronting them through a towering psychic projection 227.
• Languages: Initially cannot understand human speech because he has not bothered to learn it; later addresses Jaghatai in High Gothic 167 384.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Axes — Uses the Man-Slayer Axe specially commissioned by Sneaky Boss against Vorda. Later passages call his weapon the Killer Axe, while his celebration of Sneaky Boss’s awakening mentions a gifted Phase Axe 228 254 368.
• Custom living-metal Power Armor — Built by Sneaky Boss for Legendary Bosses. Includes a warship-strength Force Field Shield, melee and ranged weapons, and two arm-mounted converters that turn Waaagh! energy into weapons or blasts 383.
• Enchanted bone trophy — Taken and enchanted by Sneaky Boss after the giant psychic eagle encounter; later identified as a piece of Jaghatai’s demigod bone. Provides permanent speed and agility enhancements and a stronger temporary combat boost 388 389.
• Boss Rack — Displays trophies, including the Chaos Space Marine helmet taken from Vorda and Daemon Calamity’s preserved head 229 439.
• Battleship-class Gargant — Rams the World Devourer while continuing to fire into its armor 203.
• Ork Battle Fortress — Leads the vehicle column that reaches Terra through a concealed Webway Gate 474.
• Pet Gretchin — Keeps the Gretchin briefly inhabited by Sneaky Boss’s consciousness in case his leader speaks through it again 430.

Relationships

• Sneaky Boss / Cheng Mingrui / Boss Slick — Leader, patron, and personal ideal. Copperhead remains loyal, guards him while he sleeps, receives custom equipment from him, and hopes eventually to match his strength 193 246 352 383.
• Little Sneaky / Little Slick — Sneaky Boss’s avatar, Copperhead’s close friend, and recurring rival. Copperhead treats him as an equal after their fight, protects him when badly injured, and later rescues him from Drukhari fire. Their reunions can begin with punches rather than embraces 352 353 354 389 470.
• Rottooth — Fellow elite Nob. They cooperate to protect the sleeping Sneaky Boss and clear Tyranid boarders; Copperhead later overpowers him in the Slick Cup semifinal 251 351.
• Iron Claw — Battlefield ally whose strength falls well below Copperhead’s during the fighting on Euronia III 169.
• Kuka — Fellow defender of the sleeping Sneaky Boss and participant in the Screw Clan’s response to the Necron invasion 246.
• Hols / Big Mudball — Sneaky Boss’s companion and a rescue target. Copperhead sometimes neglects the search in favor of fighting, but resumes it when reminded of his responsibility 435 439 440.
• Jaghatai Khan — A prized opponent whose awakened Warp powers give Copperhead a genuinely exciting duel. Copperhead attempts to claim his head for the Boss Rack 383 384 385.
• Daemon Prince Vorda — A worthy enemy defeated and banished by Copperhead; his disappearing body leaves only a helmet trophy 228 229.
• Daemon Calamity — Empowered Keeper of Secrets killed with Sneaky Boss’s assistance. Copperhead preserves its head as a trophy 439.
• Abaddon — Opponent in the Terra dueling realm. Copperhead stops his opening attack and mocks his claims to supreme power 475.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Euronia and the Starting Point Campaign

• Copperhead’s viewpoint supplies the recording of Sneaky Boss knocking Iron Claw down, which is broadcast across Euronia III to establish Sneaky Boss’s supremacy 169.
• Remains with the Kill Team while many other Ork leaders leave the Starting Point System 193.
• Demonstrates his loyalty during the World Devourer battle by ramming it with his battleship-class Gargant 203.

Conquest of Abyss III

• Arrives under orders to subdue Abyss III and eliminate its enemies. After forcing the local Orks into submission, he unites them with the Screw Clan and launches the assault against Khorne’s forces 227.
• Claims Vorda as his opponent under Sneaky Boss’s first-strike rule, which the other Warbosses respect 228.
• Wins the duel by bursting Vorda’s head, banishing him to the Warp. He takes the helmet from Vorda’s waist because the daemon’s body cannot remain as a trophy 229.

Guarding the Sleeping Boss

• Opposes the Screw Clan’s slide toward infighting and guards Sneaky Boss during his prolonged sleep 246.
• Helps defend the clan against the Necrons and fights Tyranid creatures boarding Sneaky Boss’s Ship 246 251.
• Celebrates Sneaky Boss’s awakening and personally engages a Norn Assassin. He is among the Orks protected when Sneaky Boss shares ranged-damage immunity through the field 254 256.

Slick Cup and Entry into the Webway

• Drives the Waaagh Upheaval Team into the final by breaking Rottooth’s defense and forcing the enhanced Bitey Squig into the goal 351.
• Faces Little Sneaky in a match that becomes a sustained brawl rather than a contest for the Squig. The spectators’ excitement strengthens the Waaagh! Field and both fighters 351 352.
• Protects the badly injured Little Sneaky from Hrud attacks and urgently finds a Painboy once the battle line is secure 352 353.
• Accompanies Little Sneaky on a high-speed attack through concealed Hrud passages, helping destroy a Norn Queen and her guard 368 369.

Jaghatai Khan’s Duel

• Encounters Jaghatai during his Webway conquest and removes his armor to make the duel more satisfying 383.
• Forces Jaghatai to awaken his Warp essence, then withstands his aerial attacks and nearly takes his head 384 385.
• Fails to break Jaghatai’s protective cocoon. Its departure leaves Copperhead severely wounded and devastated by the loss of his intended trophy 386.
• Receives an enchanted bone as consolation from Sneaky Boss 388.

War Against the Duke of Shadow Blades

• Saves Little Sneaky after Tzeentch’s repeated message causes his mind to crash, then arranges Painboy treatment 389.
• Joins the improvised aerial assault in a Gorkanaut, installing a stabilizer before enthusiastically operating its weapons 398 399 400.
• Falls victim to the Duke’s illusion and fights Little Sneaky as an apparent enemy. Even after Little Sneaky kills the caster, Copperhead’s continuing axe strike cuts his friend in two before he recognizes him 414.

Commorragh Rescue Mission

• Accepts Sneaky Boss’s orders to rendezvous with Big Blade and invade Commorragh to rescue Hols 430.
• Is dropped from Daft’s aircraft directly into battle with Daemon Calamity 435.
• Kills Calamity after receiving Sneaky Boss’s empowerment, but becomes distracted by further fighting. Daft’s reminder returns him to the search around the ruined sacrificial altar 439 440.

Arrival on Terra

• Reunites with Little Sneaky and begins working toward a Webway route to Terra 470 471.
• Leads the Ork vehicles through a gate beneath the Mariana Trench 474.
• Faces Abaddon in the dueling realm created by Khorne and the Emperor. Copperhead effortlessly stops his sword and punches him away while proclaiming Sneaky Boss the universe’s strongest being 475.

Notable Quotes

“One day, I'll catch up to Sneaky Boss! One day! I'll be just as badass as him!” 352

“Traps and more enemies! That's proper Waaagh! What're we waiting for?” 368

“I'm Copperhead! I'm gonna keep fightin'! I'm gonna get stronger and get more Waaagh!” 389

“Now that's real power!” 475