Abyss (comics)

Abyss is a name used for three distinct characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Production history

The first Abyss is Nils Styger, a mutant who is the son of Azazel and the half-brother of Nightcrawler. An alternate universe's counterpart of the character first appeared in X-Men Alpha, and the heroic Marvel Universe version of the character first appeared in Cable vol. 2, #40. He was created by Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, Roger Cruz, and Steve Epting.

The second Abyss debuts in Nova Vol. 4 #8. He was created by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Wellinton Alves.

The third Abyss debuts in Avengers Vol. 5 #1. She was created by Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opeña.

Fictional character biography

Nils Styger

Nils Styger first appeared as a protector for Genoshan researcher Renee Majcomb whom he had been assisting with research into the Legacy Virus from which Abyss suffered.^[1] However, he did not die due to the actions of Colossus, who sacrificed himself to release an airborne cure to the virus which had taken his little sister Illyana's life several years prior.

Abyss was later seen in Berlin, Germany battling the former Gene Nation member known as Fever Pitch. Both mutants were captured by Banshee's mutant militia known as the X-Corps.^[2] While being held by the X-Corps, Abyss witnessed Sunpyre's murder.^[3] When the terrorist Mystique revealed herself and her intentions to use the X-Corps, the wounded Banshee freed Abyss from his confinement. Abyss then sucked Mystique through his interdimensional void, and, unable to shut off his power, almost swallowed Banshee also. The timely arrival of some other members of X-Corps stopped that however. Abyss admitted that he had no idea where Mystique was transported to or if she would ever return.^[4]

Abyss later resurfaced when his father Azazel psychically summoned his many children to attempt to release his army from the Brimstone Dimension that he had been banished to hundreds of years before. In an attempt to free himself and his comrades, Azazel had traversed the dimension barrier many times and sired children in the hopes that one of them would be able to breach the dimensional barrier. Abyss joined forces with the X-Men to avert Azazel's attempt to bring his army into Earth's dimension and succeeded in foiling his father's efforts. He was subsequently revealed to be Nightcrawler's half-brother, as both were sons of Azazel.^[5]

Abyss is one of scores of mutants who lost their powers after the events of the House of M as he was shown to be among a list of other mutants who lost their powers in New Avengers.^[6]

Abyss is currently a member of the X-Cell (a group of ex-mutants who blame the government for the power-loss of mutants). He was repowered by Quicksilver. When the side effects of the Terrigen Mist began to take effect, he flung Fatale and Reaper into the Brimstone Dimension and followed them.^[7]

It was later discovered that the three of them were frozen within the Brimstone Dimension. A.I.M. scientist Dr. Terrence Hoffman later used a machine to extract Abyss, Fatale, and Reaper from the Brimstone Dimension and drained them of their energies.^[8] After the three ex-mutants were rescued and Dr. Hoffman was defeated, Abyss stayed silent as Fatale and Reaper vowed to make Quicksilver pay for their near death through the Terrigen Crystals.^[9]

Sorcerer

The second Abyss is a sorcerer who is the archenemy of the Luminals of Xarth Three (who are Xarth Three's version of the Avengers). The Luminals have thwarted Abyss's plans many times and he always returned. In a last ditch effort to rid themselves of Abyss, the Luminals used a spell that casted Abyss to the ends of the universe. Abyss ended up sealed away in Knowhere, a small city contained below the severed head of a dead Celestial. When Abyss was threatening to break out, he managed to make a crack in his prison where his magic started to turn its inhabitants into zombies that obey his every command. A high-grade telepathic dog named Cosmo who serves as the chief of security on Knowhere ordered any survivors to get into the dimension envelope on his tab. Cosmo managed to seek out Nova and tell him of Knowhere's plight.^[10]

Cosmo tells Nova all about Abyss and what he can do. While evading Abyss' zombies, Nova and Cosmo head towards Knowhere where they find Abyss' prison slowly breaking down. While Cosmo projects a psychic barrier to block off the incoming zombies, Nova dealt with Abyss. Nova used the Transmode Virus in his possession to interface with Abyss' prison which repaired it and sealing Abyss away once again. Once Abyss was sealed away, the zombies disintegrated and life on Knowhere returns to normal.^[11]

Marvel NOW!

The third Abyss appeared during the events of Marvel NOW!. This version is a female who is the ally of a mysterious and powerful being called Ex Nihilo and assisted in a plot to bring a breathable atmosphere and vegetation to Mars.^[12]

In a prelude to the Infinity storyline, Ex Nihilo, Abyss, Nightmask, and Star Brand join the Avengers.^[13]

Powers and abilities

The first Abyss is a mutant who can unwind his body into highly tensile strands that can be stretched or used to ensnare a victim. While holding them he can absorb anything within the shadowy confines of his form, akin to what the superhero known as Cloak does. His body is actually a portal to the same dimension that Nightcrawler temporarily enters when he teleports, later dubbed the "Brimstone Dimension" from the side-effect of Nightcrawler's powers. He is able to drain the lifeforce of the captives he holds in his form and can deposit them in this dimension permanently, but it is unknown if anything can survive there. He has limited psionic empathy, able to feel the emotions of people contained within him and those in his immediate vicinity. Artists often differ in the way that they portray Abyss (in fact his appearance has drastically changed within single story arcs, though no other character seemed to think this was odd). Sometimes Abyss will have a green face and a black body, while other times he will be blue and have a body structure similar to Flatman. During the storyline "The Draco", Abyss appeared very similar to Nightcrawler, though he was depicted as being the age of a young teenage boy.

The second Abyss can turn anyone into zombies that obey his every command, fire energy blasts, and summon ghost-like beings.

The third Abyss is composed of living gas and is invulnerable to harm. She also has the ability to suggest ideas and manipulate certain beings into acting the way she wants.

Other versions

Age of Apocalypse

Before his introduction in the mainstream Marvel universe, a variant of Abyss appeared in the alternate timeline of the "Age of Apocalypse". He was one of Apocalypse's Horsemen, a nihilist with a warped sense of humor. This Abyss has a slightly different appearance but essentially the same powers.

Abyss was rumored to have been a prisoner of Sinister's Breeding Pens, from which he broke out. But instead of rebelling against Apocalypse, he joined his forces, attaining the rank of Horseman after killing Bastion. Abyss became attached to the religious institutions of Apocalypse's regime: the Brotherhood of Chaos and The Madri. He joined them in their attack against refugees escaping from North America and was defeated by Quicksilver and Storm. Seeking revenge, Abyss faced Banshee and Quicksilver at the Temple of the Madri, though Abyss died when Banshee sacrificed himself by flying inside of the Horseman's void and activating his powers.

In other media

Video games

• The main antagonist in the video game Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes goes under the name Abyss, although the two bear no real similarities apart from the name.
• Abyss appears as one of Apocalypse's Horsemen in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse voiced by Quinton Flynn. There is no mention of him being Nightcrawler's brother and he sucks the players into the Brimstone Dimension at the end of the fight.

References

External links

• Abyss at the Marvel Universe wiki
• Abyss (Age of Apocalypse) at the Marvel Universe wiki
• Abyss I at Marvel Wiki
• Abyss II at Marvel Wiki
• Abyss III at Marvel Wiki
• UncannyXmen.net Character Profile on Abyss