Eli Bard
Encyclopedia
Eli Bard is a fictional character
, a comic book
supervillain
from the Marvel Comics
universe
. He is a member of the Purifiers
and an enemy of the X-Men
.
to the rest of X-Force
in X-Force #11 (2009). Warpath obtained this knowledge through a vision with the help of Ghost Rider
.
Eli Bard was born "Eliphas" at the height of the Roman Empire
. He was recognized as an outstanding soldier until a spear injury ended his military career. For a while he worked unsuccessfully as a poet until he met Aurelia, one of the most powerful women in Rome. He soon married her and achieved a position in the Senate. As a well-respected senator, he was known as a great orator and a friend to the army. His wife left him for a general named Mascius and conspired to give Mascius his seat in the senate.
Left with nothing, Eliphas was approached by Selene
, who offered him immortality in exchange for helping her kill and absorb every soul in Rome. Eliphas drew pentagram
s and performed rituals at several locations in the city, but warned a small girl to get her family out. The girl's father alerted the authorities and Eliphas and Selene were captured before the spell could be carried out. Just before they were burned at the stake
, Selene killed the guards. She cursed Eliphas for his perceived betrayal with an eternal life of torture, turning him into a vampire-like creature. Eliphas was buried alive for 700 years until a farmer discovered him in his field. Eliphas killed the farmer with a swift bite to the jugular. He spent the next several hundred years searching for Selene. He ran into the ancestral Apache
tribe of Warpath
. They recognized him as a vampire but could not stop him from wiping out almost the entire tribe.
Eliphas, having at some point in time changed his name to "Eli Bard," finally located Selene in Nova Roma
, where she was worshiped as a god. Still in love with her despite her curse, Bard realized that he must make an offering to her before approaching her.
Bard later joined the Purifiers, an anti-mutant terrorist group. During this time, he worked diligently to further the Purifiers goals. Secretly however, he had hoped to sacrifice thousands of Purifiers souls using the same ritual from Rome in order to gain Selene's attention. He assisted in the resurrection of Bastion
but the android was suspicious of him, as he had no record on him. After seeing Bastion reprogram an offspring of Magus, he changed his plan and instead re-animated the corpses in the burial grounds of the Apache tribe that he decimated decades earlier using the Technarch transmode virus
he had absorbed from an offspring of Magus
. Among the bodies reanimated was that of the mutants Caliban
and Thunderbird
. He presented Caliban to Selene and stated that he intends to use Caliban's mutant tracking abilities to track down deceased mutants and reanimate them to form an army for Selene, an offer which she accepted.
Eli Bard is shown with Caliban
and Wither
by the grave of Doug Ramsey in X-Force
#18 (2009).
He uses the virus to resurrect a variety of mutants, including Cypher, Banshee
, the original Hellions
, Risque
, Pyro
, and Destiny
.
In X-Force #21, Selene's plans culminates when Bard uses the virus to resurrect the entire deceased mutant populace of Genosha.
When Bard returned to Proudstar's tribe's burial grounds to resurrect Caliban and Thunderbird, the spirits of the tribe rose to protect those buried there. Bard attacked them with Selene's mystical knife, transforming them into a Demon Bear. After fleeing the battle, Bard leaves the blade behind, unaware it was pivotal in Selene's plans. He is then dispatched to Utopia to retrieve it, taking Warpath hostage in the process. When he returns to Selene with the blade and the hostage, Selene kills him by stabbing him in the heart with the blade, reducing him to bones.
, Bard seems to be of the more traditional blood sucking variety. As such, he has increased speed and strength, and is difficult (if not impossible) to kill. Bard also has limited knowledge of magic. He also demonstrated deadly skills in hand to hand combat, managing to overpower and nearly kill X-23
Bard has also been altered at a molecular level by a techno-organic transmode virus taken from the Technarch spawn under the Purifiers' control. The virus gives him the ability to control those he reanimates. The virus has the potential to provide shapeshifting and other superhuman abilities.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
from the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. He is a member of the Purifiers
Purifiers
The Purifiers, also known as the Stryker Crusade, are a fictional paramilitary/terrorist organization in the Marvel Comics universe and enemies of the X-Men...
and an enemy of the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
.
Fictional character biography
Eli Bard's back story was told, through a flashback, by WarpathWarpath (comics)
James Proudstar, previously known as the second Thunderbird but also known as Warpath, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero associated with the X-Men....
to the rest of X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
in X-Force #11 (2009). Warpath obtained this knowledge through a vision with the help of Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)
Ghost Rider is a fictional character, an antihero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and preceding Daniel Ketch.Johnny Blaze was portrayed both in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and...
.
Eli Bard was born "Eliphas" at the height of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. He was recognized as an outstanding soldier until a spear injury ended his military career. For a while he worked unsuccessfully as a poet until he met Aurelia, one of the most powerful women in Rome. He soon married her and achieved a position in the Senate. As a well-respected senator, he was known as a great orator and a friend to the army. His wife left him for a general named Mascius and conspired to give Mascius his seat in the senate.
Left with nothing, Eliphas was approached by Selene
Selene (comics)
Selene Gallio is a fictional character, a comic book supervillainess from the Marvel Comics universe. She is a mutant, and an enemy of the X-Men often associated with the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle.-Publication history:...
, who offered him immortality in exchange for helping her kill and absorb every soul in Rome. Eliphas drew pentagram
Pentagram
A pentagram is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes...
s and performed rituals at several locations in the city, but warned a small girl to get her family out. The girl's father alerted the authorities and Eliphas and Selene were captured before the spell could be carried out. Just before they were burned at the stake
Burned at the Stake
Burned at the Stake is a 1981 film directed by Bert I. Gordon. It stars Susan Swift and Albert Salmi.-Cast:*Susan Swift as Loreen Graham / Ann Putnam*Albert Salmi as Captaiin Billingham*Guy Stockwell as Dr. Grossinger*Tisha Sterling as Karen Graham...
, Selene killed the guards. She cursed Eliphas for his perceived betrayal with an eternal life of torture, turning him into a vampire-like creature. Eliphas was buried alive for 700 years until a farmer discovered him in his field. Eliphas killed the farmer with a swift bite to the jugular. He spent the next several hundred years searching for Selene. He ran into the ancestral Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
tribe of Warpath
Warpath (comics)
James Proudstar, previously known as the second Thunderbird but also known as Warpath, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero associated with the X-Men....
. They recognized him as a vampire but could not stop him from wiping out almost the entire tribe.
Eliphas, having at some point in time changed his name to "Eli Bard," finally located Selene in Nova Roma
Nova Roma (disambiguation)
Nova Roma could refer to:* the concept of New Rome in Western Civilization* Constantinople, which was often considered a second Rome* the town of Nova Roma, Goiás, Brazil...
, where she was worshiped as a god. Still in love with her despite her curse, Bard realized that he must make an offering to her before approaching her.
Bard later joined the Purifiers, an anti-mutant terrorist group. During this time, he worked diligently to further the Purifiers goals. Secretly however, he had hoped to sacrifice thousands of Purifiers souls using the same ritual from Rome in order to gain Selene's attention. He assisted in the resurrection of Bastion
Bastion (comics)
Bastion is a supervillain that appears in the fictional Marvel Universe. The character was created by Scott Lobdell and Pascual Ferry and first made a cameo appearance in X-Men #52 . His first full appearance was Uncanny X-Men #333...
but the android was suspicious of him, as he had no record on him. After seeing Bastion reprogram an offspring of Magus, he changed his plan and instead re-animated the corpses in the burial grounds of the Apache tribe that he decimated decades earlier using the Technarch transmode virus
Techno-organic virus
A techno-organic virus is a fictional virus in the Marvel Comics universe. The virus transforms organic material into techno-organic material. Techno-organic material resembles both machinery and living tissue...
he had absorbed from an offspring of Magus
Magus (Technarchy)
The Magus is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.The Magus is a techno-organic patriarch of an alien civilization, and should not be confused with another character called Magus who is associated with Adam Warlock.-Publication history:...
. Among the bodies reanimated was that of the mutants Caliban
Caliban (comics)
Caliban is a mutant character in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:Caliban's first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #148 , written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Dave Cockrum.-Fictional character biography:...
and Thunderbird
Thunderbird (comics)
Thunderbird is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero who was briefly a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 ....
. He presented Caliban to Selene and stated that he intends to use Caliban's mutant tracking abilities to track down deceased mutants and reanimate them to form an army for Selene, an offer which she accepted.
Eli Bard is shown with Caliban
Caliban (comics)
Caliban is a mutant character in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:Caliban's first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #148 , written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Dave Cockrum.-Fictional character biography:...
and Wither
Wither (comics)
Wither is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He has been a member of the student body at the Xavier Institute, a member of the Hellions training squad, and a supervillain as a part of Selene's Coven.-Early life:Kevin Ford developed his mutant...
by the grave of Doug Ramsey in X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
#18 (2009).
He uses the virus to resurrect a variety of mutants, including Cypher, Banshee
Banshee (comics)
Banshee is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero who operates as a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Werner Roth, Banshee first appeared in X-Men #28 ....
, the original Hellions
Hellions (comics)
There have been several groups of fictional characters in the Marvel Comics universe who have been known as the Hellions. These groups were rivals of various teams of younger mutant heroes in the X-Men franchise....
, Risque
Risque (comics)
Risque is a fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Universe. Her first appearance was in X-Force vol. 1 #51.-Early life:...
, Pyro
Pyro (comics)
Pyro is a fictional character in Marvel Comics and an enemy of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne, he first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #141 ....
, and Destiny
Destiny (Irene Adler)
Destiny is a Marvel Comics fictional character, known as an adversary of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #141...
.
In X-Force #21, Selene's plans culminates when Bard uses the virus to resurrect the entire deceased mutant populace of Genosha.
When Bard returned to Proudstar's tribe's burial grounds to resurrect Caliban and Thunderbird, the spirits of the tribe rose to protect those buried there. Bard attacked them with Selene's mystical knife, transforming them into a Demon Bear. After fleeing the battle, Bard leaves the blade behind, unaware it was pivotal in Selene's plans. He is then dispatched to Utopia to retrieve it, taking Warpath hostage in the process. When he returns to Selene with the blade and the hostage, Selene kills him by stabbing him in the heart with the blade, reducing him to bones.
Powers and abilities
Through Selene's magical curse, Eli Bard became an immortal vampire-like being. Unlike Selene's psychic vampirismPsychic vampire
A psychic vampire is a person or being who claims to feed off the "life force" of other living creatures. Psychic vampires are represented in the occult beliefs of various cultures and in fiction...
, Bard seems to be of the more traditional blood sucking variety. As such, he has increased speed and strength, and is difficult (if not impossible) to kill. Bard also has limited knowledge of magic. He also demonstrated deadly skills in hand to hand combat, managing to overpower and nearly kill X-23
Bard has also been altered at a molecular level by a techno-organic transmode virus taken from the Technarch spawn under the Purifiers' control. The virus gives him the ability to control those he reanimates. The virus has the potential to provide shapeshifting and other superhuman abilities.
External links
- Eli Bard at Marvel.com
- UncannyXmen.net Character Profile on Eli Bard