Riptide (Janos Quested) is a fictional

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 often ...

appearing in American comic books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book 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 Comics'' in 19 ...

, usually those related to the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to ...

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 X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the ...

'' #211 (November 1986), and was created by

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...

, John Romita Jr., and Dan Green. 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 Marauder, marauders, The Marauder, or The Marauders may refer to: * A person engaged in banditry or related activity ** Piracy ** Looting ** Outlaw ** Partisan (military) ** Robbery ** Theft Entertainment * ''Marauder'', the second novel in t ...

, a team of villains brought together by the mutant thief Gambit at the request of

Mister Sinister Mister Sinister (Nathaniel Essex) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont, the character was first mentioned as the employer behind the team of assassins known as the Marau ...

. 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 ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * '' Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * '' C ...

. 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 instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal ...

maimed his former girlfriend,

Shadowcat Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a superhero 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 wri ...

. 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 transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

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 ...

. He boasted to Colossus that

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depe ...

force winds could punch a piece of straw through a solid oak 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, and 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 but were defeated by

Nate Grey Nathaniel Grey (X-Man) is a fictional 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'' ...

, 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 or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

Scarlet Witch Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in ''The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...

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", 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 f ...

. 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 (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-w ...

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 with the 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 t ...

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

shuriken A ''shuriken'' ( ja, 手裏剣; literally: "hidden hand blade") is a Japanese concealed weapon that was used as a hidden dagger or metsubushi to distract or misdirect. They are also known as throwing stars, or ninja stars, although they we ...

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 depicted 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 fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. The character first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #129 (Jan. 1980), and was created by writer ...

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

Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs, ...

. He assists the group in their plot to instigate the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the Unite ...

and

World War III World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use since at ...

until they are foiled by

Charles Xavier Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writ ...

and Erik Lehnsherr's fledgling

and defects to Lehnsherr.

References

External links

Uncannyxmen.net character bio on Riptide
{{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 Superhero film characters