Janos Quested, also known as Riptide, was recruited into the band of assassins known as the Marauders by Gambit at the request of Mister Sinister. Gambit traveled to Riptide's lavish mansion where Riptide warned Gambit that he was "not much of a team player." However, he knew of Mister Sinister's alter-ego Nathaniel Essex and agreed to meet with the team's founder.
After Sinister dispatched the Marauders into the sewers under New York City to kill the subterranean mutant collective known as the Morlocks, Riptide was responsible for severely injuring X-Men members Nightcrawler and Colossus. Having seen the results of Riptide's actions (Riptide's mutant power to launch barrages of sharp projectiles had enabled him to kill more Morlocks at any given single moment than any other Marauder), Colossus had been pushed close to his emotional breaking point. Colossus was further enraged and grieved when Riptide badly injured Nightcrawler, and finally snapped when Harpoon maimed his former girlfriend, Shadowcat. Colossus lunged at Harpoon to mete out vengeance, but Riptide got in his way, believing that his power would fall the Russian mutant. He boasted to Colossus that hurricane-force winds could punch a piece of straw through a solid oak and that his spinning caused his blades to fly even faster than that. Despite being hit by a deluge of blades that penetrated his armored skin, Colossus managed to reach an incredulous Riptide, seize his throat, and snap his neck.
However, Mr. Sinister was able to clone the Marauders thanks to samples of their DNA, and Riptide returned to die once more during the demonic invasion of New York.
Another band of cloned Marauders, including Riptide, later attacked the mutant known as Threnody but were defeated by Nate Grey, the X-Man. Grey used the various Marauders' powers against them, killing all of them except for Riptide. Grey then implanted false memories of the Marauders' having killed Threnody in Riptide's mind, arranging things so that the rejection of that memory would destroy Riptide's mind.
A team of Marauders clones also defended one of Mr. Sinister's secret bases against an incursion by Gambit, the mutant Courier, and Sabretooth.
After the events of M-Day, Riptide retained his mutant powers. Riptide was one of the Marauders, who, alongside old members and several new ones, attacked the X-Men.
Riptide was guarding one of Mister Sinister's vaults when the Jackal invaded it. After being incapacitated, Riptide watched as the Jackal stole some mutant genetic material stored there to be used in his future schemes.
Magneto, wishing to see the Marauders pay for their roles in executing mutants, hunted down and slaughtered Riptide and his teammates. Killing the Marauders activated more clones to surface, and Magneto spent several days killing each of them.
Later, Magneto reprogrammed the Marauders' code to force their loyalty to him. Riptide and the other Marauders assisted Magneto in escaping from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody and later joined him as he investigated various mutant deaths.
Following the foundation of a mutant state in Krakoa by the hand of Charles Xavier and his allies, Riptide and the other Marauders remained in the clone farm where they had been reborn. They were enslaved and held captive by the Goblin Queen, who planned to use them as foot soldiers for an invasion of Krakoa. Riptide's former teammate Greycrow and his new team the Hellions destroyed the clone farm and killed Madelyne. Riptide was killed in the battle, freeing him to be resurrected by the Five.
-Marvel Fandom
Key Issues & Appearances
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Significant comic book appearances featuring Riptide
