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{{Infobox comics character| <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
image =
|caption =
|character_name = Spiral
|real_name = Rita Wayword
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|powers = *Multiple arms
*Spell casting
*Superhuman strength, agility, reflexes, stamina and durability
*Skilled in cybernetics and genetic manipulation
*Skilled hand-to-hand combatant and acrobat
}}
'''Spiral''' ('''Rita Wayword''') is a character appearing in [[American comic book]]s published by [[Marvel Comics]], usually those featuring the [[X-Men]] family of characters. Created by writer [[Ann Nocenti]] and artist [[Art Adams]], the character first appeared in ''[[Longshot (Marvel Comics)|Longshot]]'' #1 (September 1985).<ref>{{cite book |last1=DeFalco |first1=Tom |last2=Sanderson |first2=Peter |last3=Brevoort |first3=Tom |last4=Teitelbaum |first4=Michael |last5=Wallace |first5=Daniel |last6=Darling |first6=Andrew |last7=Forbeck |first7=Matt |last8=Cowsill |first8=Alan |last9=Bray |first9=Adam |title=The Marvel Encyclopedia |date=2019 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-7890-0 |page=350}}</ref> She was established as a lieutenant for that titular character's archenemy, [[Mojo (comics)|Mojo]]. Prior to Longshot joining the X-Men, Spiral also became a recurring adversary of that team and each of the various X-Men subgroups, as well as serving as the [[archenemy]]
==Publication history==
Spiral first appeared in issue #1 of the 1985 ''[[Longshot (Marvel Comics)|Longshot]]'' [[Limited series (comics)|miniseries]] by [[Ann Nocenti]] and [[Art Adams]] (though her alter ego Ricochet Rita did not debut until the second issue of the series), and subsequently appeared
In the final issue of the limited series, Spiral is hinted to be a former lover of Longshot.<ref>Nocenti, Ann (w), Adams, Arth (p), Portacio, Whilce (i). "A Snake Coils". ''Longshot'' #6 (February 1986). Marvel Comics.</ref> [[Chris Claremont]] portrayed her as having a pathological hatred for Longshot, and implied that the two were former lovers during a hallucinatory dream sequence in ''Uncanny X-Men'' #248.
As
In ''X-Factor Annual'' #7, writer [[Fabian Nicieza]] established that Rita and Spiral were the same person, and that her hatred for Longshot was driven by her desire for revenge from being taken prisoner, driven insane, and physically modified by Mojo and his chief scientist Arize. It also stated that after turning her into Spiral (an event that will take place at some point in the future), Mojo sent her back to the past to serve his past self and set forth the chain of events that will lead to Rita becoming Spiral.
==Fictional character biography==
{{
Spiral's real name is Rita Wayword, better known as 'Ricochet Rita'. She was a professional stuntwoman who befriended [[Longshot (Marvel Comics)|Longshot]] when he first appeared on Earth. Rita was attacked by her evil, future self which led to her meeting Longshot and falling in love with him. When Longshot sought to return to his home dimension, the [[Mojo (comics)|Mojoverse]], the lovestruck Rita went with him, only to watch Longshot fail and be captured by the dimension's evil overlord, [[Mojo (comics)|Mojo]]. Longshot was promptly [[mindwipe]]d to forget all about Rita, while a much worse fate was left for her.{{
===Becoming Spiral===
After holding her prisoner for several years (at which point Rita was made to serve as guardian for Mojo's army of "[[X-Babies]]"), [[Mojo (comics)|Mojo]] forced his chief scientist, Arize, to perform extreme physical and mental modifications on Rita to recreate her as a loyal subordinate. These experiments left her with six arms (two of which were robotic), turned her hair white, and drove the young woman insane through forcibly evolving Rita's mind to the point that she could see into other dimensions that were used for time-travel/teleportation. He also trained her in the dark arts of magic and body modification, so that she could use these skills to mutilate others as Mojo had mutilated her. Finally, in a cruel act of manipulation, Mojo sent Spiral back in time to set into motion the events that led to her former self becoming Mojo's prisoner and become Spiral by attacking her past self.{{
===Freedom Force===
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Along with Mojo, Spiral was shown to have played a role in [[Betsy Braddock]]'s physical appearance changing from that of a purple-haired Anglo-Saxon to an East Asian. Originally, it was believed that the two literally transformed Braddock's original European body to an Asian one, but it was revealed that Spiral (without Mojo's involvement) transferred the X-Man's mind into the body of the Japanese assassin [[Kwannon (character)|Kwannon]]. She also merged the two women's minds and genetic structures, giving each of them personality traits and physical characteristics of the other, as well as halving Psylocke's [[telepathy]] between them. This led to much confusion as to which of the two was the real Elizabeth Braddock when Revanche first appeared. Other than malicious intent, Spiral's reasons for doing this (if any) are still unknown.<ref>''X-Men'' vol. 2 #31-32. Marvel Comics.</ref>
Even though she was a loyal servant of Mojo, Spiral deeply resented Mojo's crass manners and cruelty towards her. In particular, Spiral has been known to go against Mojo's orders and attack Longshot out of a psychotic need for revenge for Longshot's seduction of her and how her love for him led to her transformation into the being she is today. As such, Mojo has been known to leave Spiral stranded on Earth without her power, which she needs to travel safely between dimensions.{{
===Crimson Dawn and Viper===
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Spiral alerted Excalibur to the Dragons' plan, and despite the team's initial distrust, teleported the team to Hong Kong. Another entity trying to spoil the plan was Xiandu's spirit, who told Meggan, the only one to sense him, that like him the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn were from the time China was overrun by the barbarian Li-Tzu Ch'eng. They had prayed that the kingdom would be spared the endless bloodshed, but the Ming dynasty ended anyway. Frustrated that their prayers hadn’t been answered, Xiandu and three of his friends, Ra'al, Barak and A'yin, went down the darkest road they would ever travel. In the pitch of night they were initiated into a covenant that promised to repel China’s oppressors. Xiandu underestimated the might of the Crimson Dawn, and only learned that his friends had been corrupted by it in the night they killed him. In the instant his life ended, Barak, A'yin and Ra'al found themselves transformed into the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn. Xiandu's spirit remained on Earth, wandering around to await their inevitable escape from the Crimson realm. The spirit revealed to Meggan that not only her abilities but also her love for Brian was needed to rescue him and stop the two worlds from merging into one.<ref>''Excalibur'' #109. Marvel Comics.</ref> While the rest of Excalibur temporarily held the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn at bay, Meggan helped Brian redirect the power flow, releasing it safely into the atmosphere. While Brian survived, he was Captain Britain no more, his powers gone. The Dragons left by melting into the shadows, vowing that one day they would succeed and rule Earth.<ref>''Excalibur'' #110. Marvel Comics.</ref>
Spiral then returned to the Wildways and Mojo, who purged her of all traces of the Crimson Dawn's influence over her. She then was sent to help the terrorist known as the Viper, who had acquired the long missing younger siblings of the New Mutant Karma and sought Spiral's help in modifying them so as to serve as minions of the villainess. The plan would fail when Spiral and Viper sent the two modified children to attack the X-Men. Beast and Cannonball defeated Spiral and Viper and Spiral was forced to restore the children.{{
==="House of M"===
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==="The Apocalypse"===
In the ''X-Force: Shatterstar'' miniseries, Spiral is revealed to have conquered an alternate timeline and referred to herself as "The Apocalypse". She managed to kill most of that Earth's heroes, and only [[Cable (comics)|Cable]] and some of his X-Force/New Mutants allies were left. Spiral had kidnapped that universe's [[Sunspot (comics)|Sunspot]] and tortured him by
==="Endangered Species"===
Spiral was among the nine criminal geniuses whom [[Beast (comics)|Beast]] seeks out when it comes to reversing the effects of the 2005 storyline "[[Decimation (comics)|Decimation]]". [[Mojo (comics)|Mojo]] himself was another.{{
Later, Spiral teleported to Beast, claiming that Mojo was displeased with the fact mutants are now an endangered species and, while Beast asked for her help, her boss Mojo demanded it. Spiral commented that science was blinding him to find the real solution to answer how to save mutantkind. Spiral tells him that energy dances its way through everything, keeping her out, that it is beyond anything her Body Shoppe can simply fix, and that the death of mutants was not caused by science, and it would not be saved by science.{{
Her last comments before teleporting away were: "Put aside what you know. For where science ends... magic begins".{{
===The Sisterhood of Mutants===
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===''Uncanny X-Force''===
[[File:Spiral_X-Force_uniform.jpg|thumb|left|Spiral in her [[X-Force]] uniform on the variant cover of [[Uncanny X-Force]] Vol. 2 #2. Art by [[Ed McGuinness]].]]
At some point, Spiral was exiled back to Earth by Mojo. For reasons yet to be revealed, Mojo opted to further punish Spiral by way of removing her ability to teleport through dimensions. Furious, Spiral set up shop in Los Angeles where she took in a homeless girl who happened to be a new mutant. She then joined Storm’s incarnation of [[X-Force]] and became a superhero. {{
==Powers and abilities==
Spiral has powerful mystical abilities. When Spiral was first introduced, she was a powerful sorceress and during her first two encounters with the X-Men, singlehandedly defeated the team. She can cast spells to stun, depower, or immobilize her superhuman opponents, as she did to depower and imprison the Avengers and West Coast Avengers once they were lying still long enough for the spells to catch them. On a mission to capture [[Magneto (Marvel Comics)|Magneto]] as part of [[Mystique (comics)|Mystique]]'s Freedom Force, Spiral was able to cast spells to negate Magneto's powers and turn them back on himself, while subsequently casting a spell to bind him. Spiral has been able to [[Psionics|psionically]] detect a speeding [[Super Sabre (comics)|Super Sabre]] approaching Mystique's base of operations and react fast enough to teleport outside the compound and afterwards trip the speedster. In ''[[New Avengers (comics)|New Avengers]]'' #53, she was revealed by the [[Eye of Agamotto]] as one of several magic-users with the potential to be the next Sorcerer Supreme after [[Doctor Strange]].<ref>''[[The New Avengers (comics)|New Avengers]]'' #53. Marvel Comics.</ref> Spiral's spellcasting powers can be triggered through small gestures of her many hands. With the gestures, she can teleport herself and numerous people across great distances. More powerful spells require more complicated dance moves. Spiral can open gateways between dimensions and travel through time, although it has been implied that she sometimes requires Mojo's help to successfully teleport from one dimension to another. At other times, she has independently traversed dimensions and centuries of time, and set herself slightly out of phase with the timestream so as to avoid blows. Spiral often incorporates knives and swords into more complicated spells. Spiral can also disguise herself through her magic.{{
Spiral's mind is apparently immune to possession. When [[Rogue (comics)|Rogue]] attempted to use her power-and-psyche-stealing ability to steal Spiral's mind and powers, Spiral stole Rogue's instead, laughing that she had danced in many people's souls. [[Nocturne (Talia Wagner)|Nocturne]] was fooled by Spiral into thinking Spiral had been possessed while Spiral remained in control.{{
According to Mystique, Spiral is aware whenever a person speaks her name by the usage of "quasi-sentient sensors", which even filters out mundane uses of the word "spiral".<ref>''[[Wolverine (comic book)|Wolverine]] Vol. #2. Issue #51. Marvel Comics.</ref> As a result of being cybernetically enhanced on Mojo-world, she has some limited level of superhuman physical attributes.{{
Spiral is a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant, acrobat, and sword fighter. Her six arms are fully coordinated, giving her great dexterity and athletic ability.{{
Spiral has demonstrated highly developed skills in cybernetics and genetic manipulation which she has used to turn humans into powerful cyborgs at her Body Shoppe. The most notable include [[Lady Deathstrike]] and the cybernetic [[Reavers (comics)|Reavers]], who have since been "upgraded" by Donald Pierce.<ref>''Uncanny X-Men #205''</ref> == Reception ==
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=== Accolades ===
* In 2019,
* In 2020, ''[[Scary Mommy]]'' included Spiral in their "Looking For A Role Model? These 195+ Marvel Female Characters Are Truly Heroic" list.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaye |first=Deirdre |date=November 16, 2020 |title=Looking For A Role Model? These 195+ Marvel Female Characters Are Truly Heroic |url=https://www.scarymommy.com/marvel-female-characters |access-date=February 3, 2023
==Other versions==
===Ultimate Marvel===
[[Image:Ultspiral.jpg|upright|The Ultimate Marvel incarnation of Spiral as depicted in ''Ultimate X-Men'' #55 (March 2005). Art by [[Stuart Immonen]].|thumb]]
An alternate universe variant of Spiral from Earth-1610 appears in the [[Ultimate Marvel]] universe. This version is a citizen of [[Genosha]] and lacks magical abilities.<ref name=Spiral>''Ultimate X-Men'' #57. Marvel Comics.</ref>
===Old Man Logan===
An alternate universe variant of Spiral from Earth-807128 appears in ''[[Old Man Logan]]'' #1.<ref>''Old Man Logan'' Vol. 2 #1</ref>
==In other media==
===Television===
* Spiral appears in ''[[X-Men: The Animated Series]]'', voiced by [[Cynthia Belliveau]].<ref name="btva">{{
** Spiral appears in the ''[[X-Men '97]]'' episode "Motendo", voiced by [[Abby Trott]].<ref name="btva"/>
* Spiral appears in the ''[[Wolverine and the X-Men (TV series)|Wolverine and the X-Men]]'' episode "X-Calibre", voiced by [[Grey DeLisle]].{{ ===Video games===
* Spiral appears as a playable character in ''[[X-Men: Children of the Atom (video game)|X-Men: Children of the Atom]]'', voiced by [[Catherine Disher]].{{
* Spiral appears as a playable character in ''[[Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes|Marvel vs. Capcom 2]]'', voiced again by Catherine Disher.
* Spiral appears in ''[[X-Men: Mojo World]]''.
* Spiral appears in [[
* Spiral appears as an
==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="MTV MVC Cameos">{{cite web | url = https://www.mtv.com/news/2462656/marvel-vs-capcom-3-cameos/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211211014838/https://www.mtv.com/news/2462656/marvel-vs-capcom-3-cameos/ | url-status = dead | archive-date = December 11, 2021 | title = Every 'Marvel VS. Capcom 3' Cameos - Worlds Truly Colliding | author = Cipriano, Jason | publisher = [[MTV]] | date = 16 February 2011 | work = [[MTV News]] | accessdate = 6 November 2021}}</ref>
}}
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[[Category:Fictional roboticists]]
[[Category:Fictional engineers]]
[[Category:Fictional stunt performers]]
[[Category:Fictional assassins in comics]]
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[[Category:Marvel Comics scientists]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics female superheroes]]
[[Category:X-Men supporting characters]]
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