Riptide is a member of the Marauders, a team of villains brought together by the mutant thief Gambit at the request of Mister Sinister. 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, 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 fell 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 which 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 event known as the Inferno. Another band of cloned Marauders, including Riptide, later attacked the mutant known as Threnody but were defeated by Nate Grey, the X-Man. 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, in which a mentally illScarlet Witch removed the mutant gene from the majority of the world's mutant population, Riptide's clone retained his powers. Riptide's clone returns alongside the new Marauders. Riptide assists Mister Sinister in his attempts to eliminate mutants with knowledge of the future. Riptide kills Quiet Bill while both are in an elevator. Later, during the storyline "", he is part of the final battle on Muir Isle. He seems to be aware of the fact his neck had been broken before. He battles the wolf-girl Wolfsbane, knocking her out and giving her superficial wounds before he is rendered unconscious by Professor X.
Powers and abilities
Riptide is a mutant with the ability to spin his body at an incredibly fast rate. He also has the ability to generate calcium growth from his bones that protrude through his skin, often taking the form of shurikens and spikes. When he spins, Riptide can release these growths at will from his skin, the additional velocity that comes from his spinning making them lethal missiles that can even punch through steel.
In other media
Television
Riptide is briefly seen in the third episode of Marvel Anime: X-Men. He is shown in a flashback as a young boy from South America. Emma Frost tutored him on how to control his whirlwind powers.
Film
Actor Álex González portrays Riptide in the 2011 film . In the film, Riptide is a mutant with the ability to create powerful whirlwinds with his hands and also by spinning his body at great speed. He is seen as a follower of Sebastian Shaw and a member of the Hellfire Club. After Sebastian Shaw is killed by Magneto, Riptide side with Magneto forming the Brotherhood of Mutants.
