The Purifiers, also known as the Stryker Crusade, are a force of Christian fundamentalists led by the ruthless Reverend William Stryker, the Purifiers see themselves in a holy war against mutants, believing them to be the children of the Devil and thus worthy of extermination. The Purifiers work to fulfill much of Stryker's plans, abducting Professor X and several of the X-Men, killing mutant children and defending Stryker's church against the X-Men and Magneto. Eventually, one of the guards, horrified that Stryker would attempt to kill the young mutant Kitty Pryde, shot the fundamentalist pastor and ended his genocidal plans. With Stryker arrested and sent to prison, the Purifiers disband in his absence.
However, the Purifiers would eventually re-emerge, stronger than ever. Following his release from prison, Stryker found the highly advanced Sentinel Nimrod in his church, having teleported there using its advanced time-travel technology. Accessing the damaged Sentinel's memory core, Stryker saw the effects of Decimation months before M-Day actually occurred, enabling him to lay the groundwork for a renewed campaign against mutants. Using the knowledge of the future contained within Nimrod, Stryker was able to save numerous people from untimely deaths, accrediting his interventions as miracles from God, allowing him to substantial increase the ranks of the Purifiers. The use of the Nimrod visions also allowed Stryker to gain the support of prominent political and business leaders, as well as the veteran assassin Matthew Risman.
The Purifiers also contacted the branch of the Weapon X program known as the Facility, and commissioned its scientists to construct Predator X, in order to hunt down a mutant Stryker saw as the Antichrist. Finally, the Purifiers obtained advanced weaponry included fully-automatic rifles, anti-tank weapons and Vibranium-based weaponry to aid them in their crusade, and specially targeted Wallflower and Dust, the two mutants the Nimrod data showed would be instrumental in the defeat of the Purifiers.
When M-Day struck and over ninety-eight percent of the world's mutants were rendered powerless, the Purifiers were more than ready to begin their campaign. Their first attack against the Xavier Institute destroyed a bus carrying over forty-five depowered students, killing them all. As Risman assassinated Wallflower per Stryker's instructions, the vicious pastor was able to deceive the mutant Icarus into betraying his teammates, giving them another avenue of attack.
The Purifier's crusade culminated in an all-out attack against the Xavier Institute, in an attempt to eliminate the New X-Men. With the majority of the X-Men on patrol and searching for the Purifiers, and the O.N.E. Sentinels disabled with the hand of Nimrod, the Purifiers were able to breach the grounds and mansion with determined fighting. While one force of Purifiers assaulted the encampment of the 198, the rest converged on the mansion itself, wounding numerous students, along with Emma Frost and Cannonball, and killing the Institute student known as Quill. Despite the extensive damage and injuries caused in their attack, the death of Stryker at the hands of Elixir and the return of the X-Men forced the Purifiers to withdraw, having taken numerous casualities in the process.
With Stryker's death, Matthew Risman has taken command of the Purifiers, vowing not to cease "until the world has been purified." Since the attack on the Institute, the Purifiers have been laying low and rebuilding their strength for another offensive, as well as trying to find and recover the missing Predator X.
Members:
Matthew Risman
Reverend William Stryker
Eli Bard
Bastion
Bolivar Trask
Donald Pierce
Cameron Hodge
Reverend Craig
Leper Queen
Steven Lang
Graydon Creed
Nimrod
Typical Purifier Agent
Former Members:
Rictor
