Purifiers (Marvel Comics)
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The Purifiers / Stryker Crusade | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Marvel Graphic Novel #5: X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills (1982) |
Created by | Chris Claremont Brent Anderson |
In-story information | |
Type of organization | Terrorist |
Leader(s) | Reverend William Stryker (founder) Matthew Risman (successor) Bastion Jason Stryker (successor) |
Agent(s) | Nimrod Rictor (Mole for the X-Men) Reverend Craig |
The Purifiers, also known as the Stryker Crusade, are a fictional paramilitary/terrorist organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are usually depicted as enemies of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Brent Anderson, they first appeared in the 1982 graphic novel X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills.
A force of
The Purifiers appear in the television series
Fictional organization biography
In the 1982 graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills, the Purifiers are first seen aiding their vicious leader Rev. William Stryker in his plans to annihilate the mutant race. The Purifiers work to fulfill many of Stryker's goals, abducting Professor X and several of the X-Men, killing mutant children, and defending Stryker's church against the X-Men and Magneto. Eventually, one of the guards, horrified that Stryker would attempt to kill the young mutant Kitty Pryde, shoots the secular fraud of a "pastor" and ends his genocidal plans. With Stryker arrested and sent to prison, the Purifiers disband in his absence.[1]
Stryker resurfaced in a strange location at a haven for mutant children. He was possessing
However, the Purifiers would eventually re-emerge, stronger than ever. Following his release from prison,
When M-Day struck and over ninety-nine percent of the world's mutants were rendered powerless, the Purifiers were more than ready to begin their campaign. Their first attack against the
The Purifiers' crusade culminated in an all-out attack against the Xavier Institute, in an attempt to eliminate the New X-Men. With the majority of the X-Men on patrol and searching for the Purifiers, and the
With Stryker's death, Matthew Risman has taken command of the Purifiers, vowing not to cease "until the world has been purified."[volume & issue needed] Since the attack on the institute, the Purifiers have been lying low and rebuilding their strength for another offensive, as well as trying to find and recover the missing Predator X.
During the Messiah Complex storyline, The Purifiers are one of the three factions, along with the X-Men and Marauders, searching for the first mutant baby born since M-Day.
All three groups were alerted to the baby's birth more or less simultaneously[
Shortly after the events of Messiah Complex and the dissolution of the X-Men, the Purifiers raided a heavily defended
After the salvaging of Magus, the Purifiers, acting on Bastion's orders, seek out a number of prominent anti-mutant leaders. They forcibly recruit
Meanwhile, the Purifiers use a brainwashed
Archangel later attacked the Purifiers in an attempt to reclaim the wings that were stolen from him, killing every member of the Choir. During that point, Matthew Risman is shot in the head by X-23 around the point where Matthew tried to kill Bastion. Wolfsbane ends up killing Reverend Craig under her brainwashing.[5]
Bastion leads the Purifiers in an even more
During the Second Coming storyline, Bastion was seen with Stephen Lang, Bolivar Trask, William Stryker, Graydon Creed and Cameron Hodge stating that their forces are assembled and at his disposal. Bastion tells them that the Mutant Messiah has returned and gives them orders to kill her. Later, Bastion attempts to kill Hope on his own, but he is confronted by Rogue and then damaged when Nightcrawler sacrifices himself to save Hope. Bastion would later confront Hope, again defeated, and then destroyed by her.
During the 2011 "Fear Itself" storyline, the global chaos caused by Skadi and the Worthy leads a splinter group of Purifiers to believe that the world is coming to an end and that an appearance by the Devil is imminent, spurring them to "save" as many people as they can. Purifiers member Jonathan Standish also kidnaps a young superhero and uses his webcam stating that the superhumans are the reasons behind the current chaos in the world. X-Force ends up having to track down Jonathan Standish as he pulls the trigger on the superhero.[6] Wolverine and X-23 learn from Deadpool and Fantomex that the young superhero was identified to be Daniel Chilton. They also state that about 3,000 people have committed suicide following that global broadcast. Wolverine and Archangel then interrogate Benedict Ryan on what he knows about Jonathan Standish.[7]
Following the
They later re-appeared during the All-New X-Men series where they were targeting an amnesiac X-23 to whom the past X-Men have to protect.[9] It was later revealed during this encounter that, William Stryker's son Jason Stryker who at one point was believed to have been killed as an infant by his father for being a mutant is still alive. He was secretly sent to A.I.M. by his father as a child to have his powers suppressed and has replaced his late father as the new leader of the Purifiers.[10] Jason was defeated and arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D.[11]
Membership
Current members
- Jack Abrams[12]
- Anne [1][13]
- Brother Paul McGuinness[14]
- Rocco [13]
- Sister Mary[15]
- Jonathan Standish[6]
- Benedict Ryan[6]
- Jason Stryker[16] - Current leader
Former members
- Joaquin Murrieta (Rictor) - Requested by Cyclops to work as spy since he was depowered.
- Taylor - Expelled for the infiltration of Rictor.
- Nimrod - Blasted out of the timestream by Surge.
- Dustand later shot in the head by X-23.
- Reverend Craig - A fanatically hostile Scottish pastor who previously raised (and was secretly the father of) Wolfsbane. Mauled to death and eaten by Wolfsbane.[5]
- Eli Bard- Left the Purifiers after getting himself infected by the transmode virus and joined with Selene to ignite the Necrosha event.
- Leper Queen - Shot and killed by X-23.
- Adam Harkins[18] - A member of the Facility who is the creator of the Choir.
- Gabriel[18] - Leader of The Choir. Killed by Archangel.
- William Stryker - Founder and first leader. Killed by Elixir and reanimated by Bastion.[19] Later cut in two by Archangel.
- Cameron Hodge[19] - Killed when his lifeforce and the lifeforces of the Smileys are forcibly absorbed by Warlock via their shared connection of the technorganic Transmode virus.
- Donald Pierce[19] - Destroyed by an optic blast from Cyclops. Though later revived, he does not rejoin.
- Bolivar Trask[19] - Killed himself after escaping from Bastion's control.[20]
- Graydon Creed[19] - Resurrected in Weapon X #27 (2017) by Azazel.
- Bastion[22] - Returned to life by the Purifiers. Ultimately destroyed by Hope Summers during the final battle of Second Coming.[21]
The Choir
In X-Force #4 using a brainwashed Wolfsbane, the Purifiers obtained Angel's wings. Using the blood from them, they were able to extract Apocalypse's techno-organic strain and grafted the strain into a group of Purifiers, some willing and some not. Those that received the grafts grew techno-organic wings very similar to Angel's Archangel wings. This group was dubbed "The Choir" and was created to "strike down Satan's spawn with God's own might". One of the Purifiers known only as "Gabriel" is the first to receive the graft and does so willingly and is appointed leader of the Choir by Father Risman.[18] Gabriel and two other members of the Choir escaped Archangel's massacre of the Choir.[23]
Powers and abilities
Being baseline humans, the Purifiers possess no superhuman abilities to speak of, relying on superior technology in their genocidal campaign against mutants. The Purifiers possess a variety of deadly armaments and munitions, some more conventional weapons like
The Purifiers are all highly trained, and have been shown to be capable of holding their own against both O.N.E. troopers and the X-Men. The group also possesses links to allied churches all over the world, and their membership includes corporate elites, political figures and intelligence personnel. This allows the Purifiers to avoid reprisals from law-enforcement agencies for their
Other versions
Ultimate Marvel
The Ultimate Marvel version of the Purifers appear following the "Ultimatum" storyline.[24][25] The Purifiers were a radical group of mutant-hating extremists that emerged after the Ultimate Wave destroyed New York, led by Reverend William Stryker Jr. Equipped with stolen weapons and Sentinel technology, they hunt the remaining X-Men led by Kitty Pryde as Shroud.[26]
In other media
Television
- A loose organization of Purifers appear on Blink's car on fire. The Purifers appear in season two with their history revealed as being founded by Matthew Risman while he planted his sister Madeline into Trask Industries. They are led by TV personality/anti-mutant advocate Benedict Ryan (portrayed by Peter Gallagher) and in collision with the Inner Circle. The Purifiers also eventually induct ex-Sentinel ServicesAgent Jace Turner into their group.
Films
- Reverend Craig makes an appearance as an illusion come to life in the 2020 film Rahne killed him after he had brandedher.
Video games
- The Purifiers make an appearance as antagonists in X-Men: Destiny. They are present during an anti-Mutant rally where hostilities emerge. One of the playable characters, Adrian Luca, is in fact the son and member of the Purifiers when his Mutant power activates during the rally. Purifiers are shown to be equipped for a war with hi-tech weaponry and formed an alliance with the U-Men to replicate Mutant powers. Ultimately, it's revealed that the entire alliance and conflict had been orchestrated by Bastion to promote hostilities.
- The Purifiers appear in the video game Mutant Townwhen there is an increase of mutant population in New York City.
References
- ^ a b Marvel Graphic Novel #5: X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills (1982). Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Treme X-Men #25. Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Treme X-Men #27. Marvel Comics.
- ^ New X-Men (vol. 2) #34. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b X-Factor (vol. 3) #6 (October 2008). Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b c Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Men #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #2. Marvel Comics.
- ^ New Avengers (vol. 2) #30. Marvel Comics.
- ^ All-New X-Men #19. Marvel Comics.
- ^ All-New X-Men #20-21. Marvel Comics.
- ^ All-New X-Men #21
- ^ New X-Men #21. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b "Anne (Purifiers member, X-Men foe)". www.marvunapp.com. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ New X-Men (vol. 2) #42. Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Force (vol. 3) #3
- ^ All-New X-Men #20. Marvel Comics.
- ^ New X-Men (vol. 2) #22. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b c X-Force (vol. 3) #4. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b c d e f X-Force (vol. 3) #3. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Second Coming Revelations: X-Factor #206. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b X-Force (vol. 3) #28. Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Force (vol. 3) #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Force (vol. 3) #6. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Ultimate Comics X-Men Vol 1 2
- ^ Ultimate Comics X-Men #3
- ^ Ultimate Comics X-Men #4
External links
- The Purifiers at Marvel.com