Dark Riders (Marvel)
The Dark Riders are a supervillain team that features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
History
The Dark Riders
In the 15th century, the mercenary Riders of the Dark accompanied En Sabah Nur who led them against the forces of Vlad Dracul. They defeated Dracul's forces, and En Sabah Nur praised them for their role in the battle. (X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula v1 #1)
Thousands of years ago, the Traveler in his battle against Apocalypse was known to had battled the Dark Riders and hacked through their elite ranks. He then fought En Sabah Nur and killed him with the Dark Riders pledging their allegiance to the man as per the mantra of 'survival of the fittest'. The Traveler though refused and instead departed leaving Ozymandias and the Dark Riders bereft of a master at the time. (Cable & Deadpool v1 #26)
In 19th Century England, Apocalypse assembled the Riders of the Storm to assault the castle of Dracula. (X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula v1 #4)
Apocalypse was noted to had found several new recruits to join the Dark Riders where he offered them purpose. (Cable v1 #17) When Apocalypse took over the Inhumans Great Refuge on the Moon, he suborned some of the Royal Family into the cadre of shock troops known as the Riders of the Storm. (X-Factor v1 #67) Apocalypse ordered Harddrive to hack into the database of Ship, the Celestial headquarters that X-Factor was using as their home, and then he downloaded data on the mutants there, severing his link when Ship fought back. The Dark Riders each assessed the threat of the five members of X-Factor as Apocalypse praised them while counseling them to take the mutant threat seriously. Harddrive piloted a ship and crashed it into X-Factor's headquarters, where the Dark Riders savagely attacked the mutants. After a battle, Harddrive put an infection into the Celestial Ship, initiating a shut-down procedure. (X-Factor v1 #65) Harddrive corrupted Ship's protocols, forcing it to lash out at X-Factor, and at the city around them, with electronic attacks, all while Harddrive tried shielding himself from Jean Grey's telekinetic attacks. Foxbat snuck into the nursery, where young Nathan Summers slept, and he grabbed the child, but was easily taken down when the time-travelling Askani attacked him. When X-Factor attacked Askani, thinking she was an enemy, Foxbat used the distraction to grab the child and teleport away. Gauntlet grabbed police officer Charlotte Jones, but Archangel saved her as the Dark Riders teleported away as Ship exploded behind them. (X-Factor v1 #66) After the Inhumans rescued X-Factor and brought them to Attilan, Apocalypse teleported Gauntlet and Foxbat in to taunt them before teleporting them back to the other Dark Riders. X-Factor and the Inhumans fought back against Apocalypse's forces, including many Inhumans who he had corrupted. (X-Factor v1 #67) As X-Factor rushed in to attack Apocalypse and save baby Nathan, Tusk, Barrage, and Gauntlet fought back. X-Factor was briefly overwhelmed when Apocalypse turned Medusa and Crystal against them, as well as his other corrupted Inhumans, but the mutants and Royal Family soon turned the tide against Apocalypse's forces. In the end, Apocalypse was defeated and baby Nathan, who was infected with a techno-organic virus, was taken into the future by the Askani to be raised. (X-Factor v1 #68)
Afterwards, Apocalypse came under attack by the mysterious time traveller called Stryfe who critically wounded him though En Sabah Nur managed to escape. Seeing their master defeated, the Dark Riders teachings meant that they had to follow the survivor who was deemed the fittest and strongest. As such, they began to pledge their allegiance to Stryfe and began to work for him. (X-Force v1 #17)
A time travelling Tyler Dayspring came to the present where his time under Stryfe caused him to feel nothing but hatred for his 'father' Cable. Thus, he decided to take the mantle of Genesis and become the new leader of the Dark Riders where he sought to change the timeline. (Cable v1 #19) Foxbat later went to Egypt after he heard the calling when the Dark Riders gained a new master but the rest of his team ended up killing him as they deemed him not fit for their ranks. (Cable v1 #17)
After the global release of the Terrigen Mists, a disease known as the M-Pox emerged that afflicted the planet's Mutant population. It was during this time that the Dark Riders emerged where they began eliminating healers among Mutants. (Uncanny X-Men v4 #2) They later tried to murder Triage but were stopped by Magneto. Another of their suspected targets was Shen Xorn who was living in isolation in Tibet. (Uncanny X-men v4 #3) They attempted to murder him at the Tibetan temple but he effortlessly repulsed their attack with Barrage being killed forcing the other Riders to escape back to headquarters. Afterwards, Psylocke's team of X-Men tracked the Dark Riders to their base in Egypt and attacked them at the pyramid. With them there, the Riders teleported out and sealed the pyramid to delay them whilst they attacked Magneto who had Triage with him at Genosha. (Uncanny X-Men v4 #4) This proved to be a trap set by Magneto and his X-Men who ambushed the Dark Riders where they eliminated them before Magnus detonated explosives that sunk Genosha. (Uncanny X-Men v4 #5)
During the Krakoan Age, a team of X-Men were established named the Dark Riders who were led by Illyana Rasputin where they first formed to aid the Man-Thing after Ted Sallis discovered his ties to the demon Mephisto. (X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing v1 #1)
Overview
They were also known as the Riders of the Storm who served as a cadre of shock troops. (X-Factor v1 #67) This elite cadre were composed of the best warriors that were gathered from across the world. (Cable & Deadpool v1 #26) It was noted that they were a ruthlessly group of warriors. (Cable v1 #17)
The Riders consisted of militant Inhumans and Mutant terrorists that had long believed in survival of the fittest. They believed that the right to survive was earned through trial and tribulation. (Uncanny X-Men v4 #3) This involved them hunting down those too weak for the deadly game of survival of the fittest. (Cable v1 #17) They honored the code that only the strong survived and that this was the natural order. This went even to the point that members were willing to murder their own kind to achieve their goal. (Uncanny X-men v4 #4) Members were trained to resist telepathic intrusion but this could be weakened if they were distracted. (Uncanny X-Men v4 #3) Under the belief of survival of the fittest, the Dark Riders pledged their allegiance to whoever defeated their master. (X-Force v1 #17)
Members
- Gauntlet :
- Hurricane :
- Barrage :
- Tusk :
- Deadbolt :
- Harddrive :
- Psynapse : a male Inhuman who was a favoured cousin of the Royal Family until he joined the Dark Riders. (X-Factor v1 #67)
- Foxbat :
Notes
- The Dark Riders were created by Chris Claremont, Jim Lee, and Whilce Portacio where they made their first appearance in X-Factor v1 #65 (April, 1991).
- In All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z v1 #3 (2006), the Dark Riders received an entry in the guide book where it said that Apocalypse formed teams of human warriors to serve as foot soldiers in his army, calling them the Riders of the Storm, the Riders of the Dark, and as the Dark Riders.
Alternate Versions
Appearances
- X-Factor v1: (1991)
- Cable v1:
- Cable & Deadpool v1:
- Uncanny X-Men v4:
- X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing v1: (2021)
External Links
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