William Stryker
Reverend William Stryker
Created by Chris Claremont, Brent Anderson
First Appearance
Marvel Graphic Novel #5: God Loves, Man Kills (1982)
Appearances
53
Primary Team
—
Debut Era
1980s
A fundamentalist preacher who believes mutants are abominations against God, Stryker is the X-Men's most terrifying human villain because he needs no powers — only conviction and a platform. Chris Claremont created him for the landmark God Loves, Man Kills graphic novel, and he has since led the Purifiers in multiple crusades against mutantkind. His ideology represents the real-world hatred the X-Men were created to allegorize.
Appearances Over Time
Series
Most Appearances By Series
Age of Apocalypse (2012) 14 issues
New X-Men (2004) 11 issues
Weapon X (2017) 11 issues
X-Force (2008) 7 issues
Astonishing X-Men (2004) 3 issues
All-New X-Men (2013) 2 issues
Uncanny X-Force (2010) 2 issues
X-Men: Hellbound (2010) 1 issues
X-Men: Second Coming (2010) 1 issues
House of M (2005) 1 issues
Events
Event Participation
First Appearance
Marvel Graphic Novel #5: God Loves, Man Kills
1982
Real Name
Reverend William Stryker
Created By
Chris Claremont, Brent Anderson