Hugh Jones was the son of a Texas oil millionaire and inherited the company Republic Oil & Gas after his father’s death. With Jones's awareness and approval, Republic Oil & Gas' Simon Krieger arranged the murders of Howard Stark and Maria Stark. Jones and Krieger as well as executives John T. Gamelin and Jonas Hale attempted the takeover of Stark Industries. They used surreptitious purchases of stock and the use of superhuman agents Saboteur and the Dogs of War. Following Krieger's arrest, Hale had Krieger killed in jail. To help separate the company from Krieger, Republic Oil & Gas' executives oversaw the company's identity change to the Roxxon Energy Corporation. An ex-lover of Jones tried to shoot him, but either missed or wounded him. Jones later attended the premiere of the Captain America movie at the Strand Theatre in New York. Jones was kidnapped by the Serpent Squad. The rebel AtlanteanWarlord Krang had recovered and delivered the Serpent Crown to Viper. Jones immediately fell under the mental control of Set as he instructs all Roxxon workers to cooperate with any demands. The Serpent Squad then took Jones to a central Pacific Oceanoil derrick where Jones followed Krang's instructions to pump water underneath the sunken city of Lemuria in an attempt to raise the city. The police, along with Nomad and Namor the Sub-Mariner, interrupted the Serpent Squad's plan, however, and Krang reclaimed the Serpent Crown and fled. Jones then reversed the process that was to raise Lemuria. Jones voluntarily maintained a link to Set in the Serpent Crown's absence. Set informs Jones of Nomad's identity. Jones then sent men to recover the Serpent Crown. Jones later sent a message about the Red Skull's location that this paid his debt of Nomad rescuing him from Warlord Krang and the Serpent Squad. Once he recovered it, he began wearing it invisibly. With the power of Set, he was able to make psychic contact with a group of businessmen called the Serpent Cartel, acolytes of Set from the alternate universeEarth-S. This Earth is where the superhero group the Squadron Supreme resides, and that universe's version of the Serpent Crown has managed to gain control of the minds of many of the leaders of America's largest corporations and even that alternate America's PresidentNelson Rockefeller. Following Roxxon's purchase of the Brand Corporation, Jones was at Brand Corporation's facility in Jamaica, Queens. When the Avengers broke into Brand Corporation's facility during their investigation, Jones used an interdimensional transporter to bring the Squadron Supreme to his Earth and captured the Avengers. When the Avengers escaped, the superhero team and the Squadron Supreme were sent back to Earth-S with the interdimensional transporter when the police came to investigate. After deceiving and dismissing the police investigators, Jones used the Serpent's Crown to speak to Rockefeller. When the Avengers again invaded the Brand Corporation facility, Rockefeller informed Jones that the Avengers have overthrown him. Jones sent Orka against the Avengers and defeated some of the Avengers until Orka was defeated by Thor and Moondragon. Jones ordered the other Avengers' execution but the group escaped and Jones was captured. Using Brand Corporation's and Roxxon Energy Corporation's facilities, Jones fashioned his own superpowered serpent for a Serpent Squad to retrieve a second Serpent's Crown which the Avengers brought back from Earth-S and dropped into the Pacific Ocean. Jones was given the Serpent's Crown of Earth-S by Sidewinder. Upon wearing both Serpent Crowns, Jones gained a scaly appearance and used these powers to assume complete control over the residents of Washington DC for the purpose of putting them under Set's control. Jones allowed the Thing, Stingray and Scarlet Witch to enter unopposed so that he can control the mutants and then created versions of the Serpent Crown's recent previous wearers to fight the threesome. While simultaneously fighting Scarlet Witch and Thing physically, Jones was surprised when Scarlet Witch capitulated and Thing took advantage of Jones's memory disorientation to wrench the Serpent Crown from Jones's head. Following his traumatic separation from the Serpent Crown, Jones was driven insane and was hospitalized in a mental hospital. He was succeeded as Roxxon president and would eventually be succeeded by other men.
In other media
Hugh Jones appears in the Agent Cartertelevision series, portrayed by Ray Wise. He is depicted as the President of the Roxxon Oil Corporation. Introduced in season one, he was Howard Stark's former friend until the woman that would be his wife came between the two. In the episode "Bridge and Tunnel", he's visited by Deputy Director Roger Dooley and Agent Jack Thompson of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, revealing important information. Peggy Carter provides him a Vita-Ray Detector to scan his employees. In season two, Jones appears as a member of the Council of Nine. In the episode "A View in the Dark", Jones and Thomas Gloucester tell Calvin Chadwick to shut down the Isodyne Program and focus on a senatorial campaign. Hugh is seen in the episode "The Atomic Job". When Peggy poses as a worker to infiltrate Roxxon's Los Angeles branch, Jones eventually remembered Peggy, causing the agent to keep using the Memory Inhibitor on him in order to find the key to one of Roxxon's facilities which is within Hugh's belt. In the episode "Life of the Party", Jones attends a party with the other members of Council of Nine. When Whitney Frost is brought before the Council of Nine, Jones and the others witnessed Whitney's absorption abilities. After Frost takes over the Council of Nine, Jones is among the ones spared; his only comment is that he looks forward to the collaboration. Jones later does what Whitney says and tells Vernon Masters what happened while scared.
