The Adversary is an ancient mystical entity, possibly demonic in origin, whose ultimate objective is the destruction of the current universe and the creation of a new one in its place. Among the Cheyenne people, he is known as the Great Trickster, a title reflecting his reliance on deception and manipulation to advance his designs. His native realm is a dimension of pure chaos, which he both cherishes and seeks to impose upon Earth’s ordered reality. Viewing existence as a game, the Adversary toys with cosmic fate purely for his own amusement.
The Adversary has likened himself to a weaver dissatisfied with the pattern of his creation and indifferent to the fate of any single thread. He seeks to unravel and reweave the fabric of reality repeatedly until it suits his tastes, regardless of the countless sentient lives that must be extinguished in the process. Cheyenne belief holds that all things are composed of energy, and the Adversary intends to annihilate the universe by igniting all of that energy simultaneously. The full extent of his power remains unknown, as does whether he is capable of creating a universe himself. It is also unclear whether he predates the current cosmos or played a role in the destruction of a previous one. In his true form, the Adversary is non-corporeal, making him vulnerable to magical forces but largely immune to conventional physical attacks. Notably, he is susceptible to cold iron, and therefore to weapons forged of steel or adamantium.
The Cheyenne have long been aware of the Adversary’s existence. Their shaman, the mutant Forge, was trained from birth to oppose him under the guidance of the elder shaman Naze, who had himself confronted the entity in the past. Forge ultimately rejected his spiritual calling, however, and instead enlisted in the United States Armed Forces, serving in the Vietnam War. When Forge’s entire unit was massacred, his grief and rage drove him to perform a forbidden ritual, using the spirits of nine fallen soldiers to open a dimensional gateway that unleashed demons upon the enemy forces.
Years later, Forge became an inventor employed by the U.S. government. When alien Dire Wraiths attacked his headquarters at Eagle Plaza in Dallas, Texas they were seeking to prevent him from developing weapons against them, Naze and several members of the X-Men, including Storm, came to his aid. During the battle, Naze was killed, and one of the Dire Wraiths assumed his form. That impostor subsequently fell under the mystical possession of the Adversary.
Months later, Storm, whose mutant abilities had been suppressed by one of Forge’s devices, traveled to Eagle Plaza seeking his help. Forge was absent, but she encountered the Adversary masquerading as Naze. The false Naze deceived Storm into believing that Forge had fallen under the Adversary’s influence and was attempting to destroy the Earth. He led her to a mountain in the western United States, described as the “heart of his magic,” claiming he could not accompany her due to mystical wards placed by Forge. In truth, those defenses were meant to bar the Adversary himself. Storm battled demonic forces along the way and ultimately stabbed Forge, only to discover that he had been attempting to seal the dimensional gateway from which the demons emerged. As the battle escalated, Forge and Storm fell through the gateway and were transported to a parallel Earth devoid of humanity.
With his two greatest threats removed, the Adversary offered Forge and Storm the chance to become the guiding spirits of the new world he intended to create and the progenitors of its future human race. By this time, the Adversary had also captured Roma, the goddess charged with safeguarding the known dimensions, imprisoning her within her own Starlight Citadel. Forge restored Storm’s powers, and together they escaped their exile, only to be captured by the Adversary and confined within the Citadel.
On Forge’s native Earth, the Adversary unleashed further chaos by merging elements from multiple time periods at Eagle Plaza. The X-Men struggled to contain the resulting upheaval as it was broadcast worldwide by reporter Neal Conan. Eventually, the X-Men, their ally Madelyne Pryor, and Conan were drawn into another dimension, where they assaulted the Starlight Citadel. As the X-Men engaged the Adversary—who discarded Naze’s guise and revealed his true form—Forge and Storm were freed.
To stop the Adversary once and for all, the X-Men and Pryor willingly sacrificed their lives so Forge could complete the spell necessary to seal the Great Gate. In casting the spell, Forge transformed them into beings of pure energy, which he hurled at the Adversary, forcing the entity through a mystical portal that sealed shut behind him. According to Forge, this sacrifice ensured that the Adversary would be imprisoned for all time. Forge and Neal Conan then returned to Earth, where Conan’s broadcast of the battle and the apparent deaths of the X-Men were witnessed across the globe.
However, Roma later restored the X-Men and Madelyne Pryor to life. She explained that the Adversary could not be confined forever, as the chaos he represents can also give rise to growth and positive change. Nevertheless, she confirmed that Forge’s spell had bound the Adversary “for an age.” Whether the entity will remain imprisoned indefinitely remains an open question.
