The Adversary is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

, a demonic

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

Publication history

The Adversary first appeared in ''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X ...

'' #187-188 (November-December 1984), and was created by Chris Claremont and

John Romita Jr. John Salvatore Romita (; born August 17, 1956), known professionally as John Romita Jr., is an American comics artist best known for his extensive work for Marvel Comics from the 1970s to the 2010s. He is the son of artist John Romita Sr. Early ...

Fictional character biography

The Adversary is a demon who was initially summoned by the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

member

Forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...

several decades ago and has since come back to antagonize the X-Men and threaten the entire world. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, Forge saw his company slain by the

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

ese. Forge tapped into his long-suppressed

shamanic Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...

heritage to summon the Adversary to destroy the attackers, but then regained his senses and banished the demon. Nevertheless, the Adversary had a foothold on the Earth thanks to Forge's actions. Years later, Forge's mentor Nazé was killed and his form and memories stolen by a

Dire Wraith The Dire Wraiths are a fictional extraterrestrial species appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. The Dire Wraiths are the main opponents of Rom the Spaceknight. Publication history The Dire Wraiths first ...

, an

alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

. The Nazé impostor summoned the Adversary, only to be destroyed by the demon. The Adversary was then able to escape the dimension to which he was bound, capturing Forge and his ally,

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...

of the X-Men, and imprisoning them in the otherworldly stronghold of the goddess

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, whom he subdued. The Adversary then travelled to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and battled the combined forces of the X-Men and Freedom Force during the "

Fall of the Mutants "The Fall of the Mutants" was a comic book crossover event by Marvel Comics spanning January to March 1988. It spanned three issues each of ''Uncanny X-Men'' #225-227, ''X-Factor'' #24-26, and ''New Mutants'' #59-61; unlike most crossovers howev ...

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

. Ultimately, the only way to permanently banish the Adversary was for nine souls to willingly sacrifice themselves in a

magical spell An incantation, a spell, a charm, an enchantment or a bewitchery, is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremon ...

. The X-Men agreed, and Forge cast the spell. The X-Men died, but Roma secretly returned them to life. The Adversary later returned to Earth, having been physically born, but was again banished by Forge, who was at the time affiliated with

X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003) ...

. During the '' Fear Itself'' storyline, Adversary attends the Devil's Advocacy to talk about the

Serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

's actions on Earth.''Journey Into Mystery'' #627 The Adversary possesses Forge in Cable and X-Force - Volume 4, but is trapped in a mind prison inside Dr. Nemesis' subconsciousness.

Powers and abilities

The Adversary is a powerful demon of the highest order and possesses vast supernatural powers. He is virtually invulnerable to anything but the most powerful magic and iron. He has superhuman strength and endurance. He can enter and leave different planes of existence and dimensions at will and has reality-warping powers. He can also summon demons and other supernatural creatures to do his bidding.

References

External links

Adversary
at Marvel.com
Adversary
at Marvel Wiki
Adversary
at Comic Vine {{John Romita Jr. Comics characters introduced in 1984 Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics demons Marvel Comics male supervillains Characters created by Chris Claremont Characters created by John Romita Jr. it:Avversario