Riptide (Janos Quested) is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, usually those related to the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

franchise. He was portrayed by Álex González in the film '' X-Men: First Class''.

Publication history

Riptide 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 List of X-Men comics, X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of super ...

'' #210 (as shadow only) in October 1986. He made his first full appearance in ''

'' #211 in November 1986. The character was created by

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is an English-born American comic book writer and novelist. Claremont is best known for his 16-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Clarem ...

and John Romita Jr. The character subsequently appears in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #240-241 (January–February 1989), #243 (April 1989), ''X-Man'' #13 (March 1996), ''Gambit'' #9 (October 1999), ''X-Men and Power Pack'' #4 (March 2006), ''X-Men'' #200-203 (August–November 2007), ''New X-Men'' #44-45 (January 2008), ''X-Men'' #205-206 (January–February 2008), ''New X-Men'' #46 (March 2008), and ''X-Factor'' #27 (March 2008). Riptide appeared as part of the "Marauders" entry in the '' Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition'' #18.

Fictional character biography

Riptide is a member of the Marauders, a team of villains brought together by the mutant thief

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe si ...

at the request of

Mister Sinister Mister Sinister (Dr. Nathaniel Essex) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Marc Silvestri, the character was first mentioned as the employer behind the team ...

. After Sinister dispatched the Marauders into the sewers under New York City to kill the subterranean mutant collective known as the Morlocks, Riptide was responsible for severely injuring

members Nightcrawler and

Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue; colossal statues, are generally taken to mean a statue at least twice life-size ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ...

. Having seen the results of Riptide's actions (Riptide's mutant power to launch barrages of sharp projectiles had enabled him to kill more Morlocks at any given single moment than any other Marauder), Colossus had been pushed close to his emotional breaking point. Colossus was further enraged and grieved when Riptide badly injured Nightcrawler, and finally snapped when

Harpoon A harpoon is a long, spear-like projectile used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other hunting to shoot, kill, and capture large fish or marine mammals such as seals, sea cows, and whales. It impales the target and secures it with barb or ...

maimed his former girlfriend,

Shadowcat Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The character first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #129 (January 1980) and was co-created by writ ...

. Colossus lunged at Harpoon to mete out vengeance, but Riptide got in his way, believing that his power would fell the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...

. He boasted to Colossus that

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

force winds could punch a piece of straw through a solid

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

and that his spinning caused his blades to fly even faster than that. Despite being hit by a deluge of blades which penetrated his armored skin, Colossus managed to reach an incredulous Riptide, seize his throat, and snap his neck. However, Mr. Sinister was able to clone the Marauders thanks to samples of their DNA. Riptide returned to die once more during the event known as the '' Inferno''. Another band of cloned Marauders, including Riptide, later attacked the mutant known as

Threnody A threnody is a wailing ode, song, hymn or poem of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person. The term originates from the Greek word θρηνῳδία (''threnoidia''), from θρῆνος (''threnos'', "wailing") and ᾠ� ...

but were defeated by

Nate Grey Nathaniel "Nate" Grey (X-Man) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Steve Skroce, the character first appeared in ''X-Man'' #1 ...

, the X-Man. A team of Marauders clones also defended one of Mr. Sinister's secret bases against an incursion by Gambit, the mutant Courier, and Sabretooth.

After M-Day

After the events of M-Day, in which a

mentally ill A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

Scarlet Witch The Scarlet Witch is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #4 in March 1964, in the Silver Age of Comic Boo ...

removed the mutant gene from the majority of the world's mutant population, Riptide's clone retained his powers. Riptide's clone returns alongside the new Marauders. Riptide assists Mister Sinister in his attempts to eliminate mutants with knowledge of the future. Riptide kills Quiet Bill while both are in an elevator. Later, during the storyline "

Messiah Complex The messiah complex is a mental state in which a person believes they are a messiah or prophet and will save or redeem people in a religious endeavour. The term can also refer to a state of mind in which an individual believes that they are respo ...

", he is part of the final battle on

Muir Isle The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

. He seems to be aware of the fact his neck had been broken before. He battles the wolf-girl Wolfsbane, knocking her out and giving her superficial wounds before he is rendered unconscious by

Professor X Professor X (Prof. Charles Francis Xavier) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 ( ...

Powers and abilities

Riptide is a mutant with the ability to spin his body at an incredibly fast rate. He also has the ability to generate

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

growth from his bones that protrude through his skin, often taking the form of

shuriken A is a Japanese concealed weapon used by samurai or ninja or in martial arts as a hidden dagger or '' metsubushi'' to distract or misdirect. History The origins of the ''bo-shuriken'' in Japan are still unclear, despite continuing researc ...

s and spikes. When he spins, Riptide can release these growths at will from his skin, the additional velocity that comes from his spinning making them lethal missiles that can even punch through steel.

In other media

* Riptide makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in a flashback in the '' Marvel Anime: X-Men'' episode "Armor - Awakening". This version is a young boy from South America who was trained by

Emma Frost Emma Grace Frost is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne (comics), John Byrne, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''The Uncanny ...

. * Riptide appears in '' X-Men: First Class'', portrayed by Álex González. This version is a member of the

Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a term used to describe several exclusive Club (organization), clubs for high-society Rake (character), rakes established in Great Britain and Ireland in the 18th Century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood, 11t ...

. He assists the group in their plot to instigate the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

and

World War III World War III, also known as the Third World War, is a hypothetical future global conflict subsequent to World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). It is widely predicted that such a war would involve all of the great powers, ...

until they are foiled by

Charles Xavier Professor X (Prof. Charles Francis Xavier) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 ( ...

and

Erik Lehnsherr Magneto (; birth name: Max Eisenhardt; Pseudonym, alias: Erik Lehnsherr and Magnus) is a Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Le ...

's fledgling X-Men and defects to Lehnsherr.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riptide (comics) Characters created by Chris Claremont Characters created by John Romita Jr. Clone characters in comics Comics characters introduced in 1986 Fictional mercenaries in comics Fictional murderers Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Marvel Comics mutants Marvel Comics supervillains