S'ym
S'ym is a male demonic comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
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Biography
S'ym
S'ym was encountered by Maire O'Connell who was serving as Belasco's first, immortal disciple. (Marvel Super-Heroes v3 #1) When the X-Men of Earth-8280 got stuck in limbo, Belasco let S'ym and his demons have their way with them. They chased and tormented the X-Men for decades. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #160) Over the years, S'ym would repeatedly punish Earth-8280's Illyana for mostly imagined transgressions on her part, hurting the girl but never to the point of actually killing her which was well within his capabilities. During one of those demonstrations, S'ym was attacked by N'astirh, a demon eager to prove his own power. They tore each other apart, but both survived to tell the tale. (New Mutants v1 #71) S'ym continued to terrorize the X-Men. In the end, S'ym was personally responsible for killing Colossus, leaving his steel corpse to decay near Belasco's throneroom. Though he wanted to kill Wolverine, that pleasure was denied him. The feral mutant's dead body was left to rot next to Belasco's throne until only his Adamantium skeleton remained. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #160)
S'ym was pleasantly surprised when the 14-year-old Illyana Rasputin, on the run from Belasco with Earth-8280's Cat (Kitty Pryde), accidentally entered a teleportation circle that brought her to him. He formally introduced himself, proudly showing the stunned girl the rotting corpse of her alternate reality brother. Before he could grab and punish her for running away, Cat arrived and distracted the demon long enough (by slashing his tail) to get Illyana to safety by diving into another circle. Sometime later, S'ym watched how his master Belasco manipulated Cat and Illyana back to his throneroom, easily using his magics to enthrall Cat and force Illyana to form the first bloodstone necessary to free the Elder Gods. (Magik v1 #2) S'ym would watch over Illyana as she began her studies into dark magics under Belasco's tutelage. Once, when she was disobedient, he punished the girl so severely it made her decide she would never again allow herself to be hurt like that. Belasco sent S'ym to collect Illyana, who had used her newfound control of limbo's teleport circles to explore the past of the timeless realm. He was waiting for her when she appeared back in the present on the battlements of Belasco's citadel. He was ready to teach her another lesson, but this time the young sorceress fought back, dazing the demon with a flare spell that caused him to trip over his own feet. She then summoned a teleport circle that carried S'ym to a faraway place. (Magik v1 #3) S'ym returned in time to assist his master Belasco when he was faced by a battle ready Illyana Rasputin, emboldened by the death of her mentor, Earth-8280's Storm. The demon was no match for Rasputin's soulsword, going down after one blow from the mystical weapon. He remained unconscious even as Illyana usurped control of limbo from Belasco. (Magik v1 #4)
Later, S'ym was summoned by Belasco when members of Earth-616's X-Men followed Illyana Rasputin into limbo. S'ym was ordered to take care of them, with the demon casually snapping off one of the Adamantium claws on Wolverine's corpse to use as a toothpick. He went forth to confront Earth-616's Wolverine, catching up with him just as he came across the corpse of Earth-8280's Colossus. He easily defeated him, but before S'ym could strike a killing blow, the mutant was teleported away by one of limbo's seemingly random teleport circles. He was then faced by Colossus, who he wounded with the stray Adamantium claw. He would have killed them both, if not for the intervention of Earth-8280's Storm who used her magics to force the teleport circles to return Wolverine to save Colossus. Together, they forced S'ym into one of the circles that took him to a corner of limbo. He returned in time to head up Belasco's demon forces when the X-Men tried to escape with Illyana. However, even S'ym's strength couldn't break through the protective magical shield cast by the elderly Storm of Earth-8280 who was covering for them. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #160) Subconsciously still traumatized by her time in limbo, the now teenage Illyana Rasputin accidentally reprogrammed the Danger Room during an X-Men training exercise so it displayed Belasco in his throneroom, flanked by Nightcrawler and S'ym. Before the simulations could act, Kitty Pryde shut down the Danger Room. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #171)
Acting on orders from Belasco, S'ym began a search for Illyana with the intent of returning her to limbo. He tracked her to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters but decided to wait for the right moment to grab her. When Illyana and the New Mutants were out to Salem Center with their dance teacher Stevie Hunter, S'ym entered the school and confronted Professor X. His mind blasts didn't affect the demon, who knocked the telepath out with a single blow. S'ym waited around for Illyana to return. As luck would have it, Illyana was the first to enter the school and was stunned to find S'ym waiting for her. Confronted with her old tormentor, she instinctively summoned the New Mutants using limbo's teleport circles to transport the team, as well as Stevie Hunter and her car directly inside the mansion. S'ym had no trouble fighting off Sunspot, Wolfsbane and Cannonball, but proved unable to withstand Danielle Moonstar's mental powers. She summoned and manifested S'ym's worst fear: Belasco and the Darkchild. Serving one would mean the wrath of the other. Terrified, the demon dropped Illyana and staggered off. Stevie Hunter quickly got Illyana to safety while Magma created a volcano that buried S'ym in molten lava. That only briefly stopped him, after breaking free he started to chase Stevie and the barely conscious Illyana. Hunter was trying to get the girl to the underground transit tunnel leading to the hangar. S'ym grabbed on to the elevator, forcing Stevie and Illyana to jump. The fall injured Hunter, causing her bad knee to give out, even as he approached. Fortunately, Stevie had bought Illyana sufficient time to recover. She used her magics to fight back, summoning her Soulsword to prove to S'ym she was now the true leader of limbo. In return for his life, the demon offered to serve her as he once did Belasco, whose return he imagined was unlikely. Satisfied, Illyana teleported S'ym back to limbo, while also using her magic to make sure Stevie did not remember a thing about their exchange. (New Mutants v1 #14)
S'ym caught up with Magik and Danielle Moonstar when Illyana used her light circles to get them to limbo in order to escape the White Queen Emma Frost and her Hellions. S'ym made sure the exhausted Illyana was well taken care of, treating her like a queen of the realm and even making sure no harm befell Dani who realized the lesser demons' biggest fear was indeed S'ym. The demon made sure Illyana and Dani had a change of clothes, though it was hardly an appropriate one. He watched over Illyana during her recuperation, though she soon grew tired of his borish behavior and used a light circle to send him away. (New Mutants v1 #17)
S'ym was essential in extracting information from one of the Arena's henchmen, responsible for kidnapping New Mutants members Sunspot and Magma. Illyana brought the man to limbo and allowed the terrifying demon to intimidate him until he told them all they needed to know. Illyana then left S'ym in charge of the man's well being while she and Sam returned to Earth to try and rescue their fellow mutants. (New Mutants v1 #29)
After an unsuccessful attempt at fighting their former teammate Karma, Illyana managed to escape to limbo with Dani Moonstar in tow. She summoned S'ym and a few other bruiser type demons to her side, ready to return to Karma's villa and rescue their teammates. However, by the time they returned, they arrived hours later due to the time distorting effects of Limbo. By then, Karma had mind-controlled the New Mutants to wreck the villa, murdering the guards and the initial wave of demons Illyana had called up to fight. S'ym and the others returned to limbo as soon as Illyana and Dani realized this was all part of Karma's plan to pin the massacre on them. (New Mutants v1 #32) As part of her plan to defeat the vastly powerful Karma, Illyana took her techno-organic teammate Warlock to limbo where she entrusted him to S'ym's care. The demon showed the impressionable youth the decaying corpse of Earth-8280's Colossus which caused him to freak out. Warlock, fueled by panic, knocked out S'ym and went looking for Magik. When he found her in limbo, she was just lamenting the fact she had sacrificed Ororo to Karma's control as part of her desperate plan. Misinterpreting the situation, Warlock deemed her a traitor and declared Illyana was as evil as Karma and would share her fate. (New Mutants v1 #33) S'ym remained unconscious while Magik was forced to deal with and ultimately calm down Warlock, but not before he infected and absorbed several minor limbo demons through his transmode virus. Illyana couldn't help but be ticked off at S'ym for upsetting her teammate like that. (New Mutants v1 #34)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Powers and abilities
He was stronger than Colossus and easily snapped off one of Wolverine's claws. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #160)
As a techno-organic being, S'ym can repair himself and reform from a single molecule, should he be destroyed. Also due to his techno-organic state, S'ym can infect other organisms and feed off their life energies, or turn them into techno-organic beings as well. (New Mutants v1 #50)
Notes
- S'ym was created by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson where he made his first appearance in Uncanny X-Men v1 #160 (August, 1982).
- The characters name and appearance were a reference to Dave Sim's creator-owned character Cerebus the Aardvark after Sim had previously introduced a character parodying S'ym's creator Chris Claremont in Cerebus #23. Like Cerebus, S'ym referred to himself in the third person whilst speaking.
Appearances
- Uncanny X-Men v1: (1982)
- New Mutants v1:
- Jane Foster and the Mighty Thor v1: (2023)
- Mary Jane & Black Cat v1: (2023)
External Links
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