X-Men ‘97has been one of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe projects in years. The series resurrects the simple, pure joy of the classic cartoons that made Marvel iconic for several generations. While nostalgia draws the audience, the series has much more to offer as an evolution of the beloved show.X-Men ‘97introduces several fan-favorite characters from the comics, including the haunting chaos deity known as the Adversary.
TheX-Menhave several excellent comic book villains who never reached the big screen.Magneto remains an inarguable standoutin his field, but lesser-known figures deserve a chance at the spotlight. Some, like Apocalypse, deserve a second opportunity.X-Men ‘97affords Marvel a stage to try several underrated antagonists before their first glimpse of a theater screen. The Adversary could be a breakout example.
Chris Claremont and John Romita Jr.
Last Appearance
Phoenix Song: Echo#5 (February 2022)
The Adversary is an ancient demon who routinelyfought the X-Men. He’s a playful, cruel figure who hails from a dimension of endless chaos. He wields his seemingly limitless magical powers to reshape the world to his ineffable whims. Some elements of the observable universe sprung forth from his will, but he grew bored with his creations, prompting him to wipe his work away. The Cheyenne people of the Great Plains discovered the Adversary. They called him the Great Trickster and devoted much of their cultural mythology to preventing him from achieving his goals. Their beliefs wouldinfluence the mutant Forge, changing the world forever.
Forge grew up under the watchful eye of a shaman named Naze. Naze dedicated his life to fighting the Adversary, once defeating him in pitched combat. Forge shirked Naze’s wishes and left the Cheyenne to join the US Army. He fought in Vietnam, where enemy soldiers killed his men. Forge used the nine souls of his soldiers to open a portal to the Adversary’s home dimension, summoning forth demons to defeat the Viet Cong. This allowed more demons to escape to Earth. One possessed Naze, allowing the Adversary to control him from afar. He usedNaze to convince Storm, who’d recently been depowered by one of Forge’s inventions, to attack Forge. He pushed both into a distant dimension, where Forge restored Storm’s powers. They escaped, reached the X-Men, and performed a ritual to seal the Adversary away again.
Like most comic villains, the Adversary returned. Haven summoned him, only for the Adversary to kill her. Forge sent him away again. He returned to possess Navid Hassan, an apprentice of the Sphynx, but the Howling Commandos defeated him and sent him away again. The Adversary once earned worship as Sefako, Twice-Risen God in Wakanda. When he returned to that nation, the Black Panther and Storm defeated him yet again. His stories follow a pattern. Finally, he possessed Riverwalker, a telepath who lives on a Native American reservation waiting for Echo. Riverwalker did what he could to keep Echo from her home. The Adversary intended tosteal the Phoenix Forcefrom Echo, who recently won it in a tournament. When the Adversary struck, Echo trapped him in the White Hot Room, a nexus that exists outside the multiverse, immediately destroying him.
Who is the Adversary inX-Men ‘97?
The Adversary plays out a substantially truncated version of his first arc in the comics inX-Men ‘97. Storm loses her powers in the second episode when an anti-mutant terrorist shoots her with a technologically advanced beam weapon. The loss hits her hard, prompting her toleave the X-Men. She travels to Forge’s ranch in the fourth episode, undergoing a series of experiments to restore her powers. When they fail, Forge admits that he made the weapon that stole her gifts. Furious, Storm rides her horse away. A mysterious owl following Storm forces her back to the ranch, announces himself as the Adversary, and poisons Forge to further hurt Storm. This storyline will likely lead to Storm regaining her powers, but the struggle to achieve that goal will likely push her into dark places.
The Adversary is one of the most powerful enemies the X-Men have ever faced. He’s been absent from the films and shows, but his debut inX-Men ‘97demonstrates his power and chaotic nature. The Adversary’s cruelty is a nightmarish force multiplier and a newheight for Forge’s narrative. This series has done incredible things by letting villains enjoy specific rivalries with X-Men members. The Adversary is an all-powerful chaos demon who will drag Storm and Forge through his madness in the next episodes ofX-Men ‘97.
