Dark Riders (comics)

Origins

Apocalypse's first assembled team were known as "The Riders of the Dark", human soldiers and warriors, gathered from all over the Earth during the fifteenth century. This army was so strong and powerful that some were led to believe that they were just a myth to scare soldiers before their first battle. They disbanded centuries ago when Cable first defeated Apocalypse. The most recent reincarnation of the Dark Riders is a group of mute, techno-organic or cybernetic warriors who guard Apocalypse's tomb. The creatures never speak and don't seem to have any personality beyond complete loyalty to the strongest.

First modern incarnation

When Apocalypse conquered the city of Attilan, home of the Inhumans, he enslaved part of its population. He selected six Inhumans among them: Gauntlet, HardDrive, Tusk, Foxbat, Psynapse and Barrage. They became the Riders of the Storm, rechristened after Apocalypse's earliest army. Apocalypse sent them to Earth to battle his enemies X-Factor and infect the infant Nathan Christopher Summers and Ship with a techno-organic virus. Ship launched and self-destructed, but the AI that controlled Ship was saved. X-Factor made it to the Moon, where Atillan was then located, and joined with the royal family of the Inhumans in their battle against Apocalypse. Apocalypse was defeated, seemingly killed, and the enslaved Inhumans were freed. Despite this loss, the Riders of the Storm remained loyal to Apocalypse, and took his body back to Earth to regenerate in his base.

Stryfe's leadership

Several months later, the Horsemen, another team serving Apocalypse, kidnapped Cyclops and Jean Grey, two members of the X-Men who had been members of X-Factor during the battle for Attilan. This was done at the behest of Mister Sinister, who was using his shapeshifting powers to pose as Apocalypse. The Riders, now calling themselves the Dark Riders, raised Apocalypse from his regenerative sleep and told him that somebody was impersonating him. Soon afterwards, Stryfe attacked Apocalypse and his Dark Riders, seeking revenge against Apocalypse. He managed to defeat Apocalypse, but Apocalypse escaped. The Dark Riders, following Apocalypse's tenet of survival of the fittest, now followed Stryfe.

Apocalypse allied himself with the X-Men, and they fought Stryfe and the Dark Riders. While the X-Men pursued Stryfe, Apocalypse fought the Riders and was fatally wounded by them. After their new leader Stryfe and Cable seem to die in a battle, the Dark Riders escape from the moon in a stolen spacecraft.

Leaderless

Following Apocalypse's apparent demise, the Dark Riders would still follow his teachings and try to 'test' mutants, eliminating all they considered unworthy. They targeted the mind-controlling Mesmero and seemingly killed him, but in fact he used his hypnotic powers to escape. For his weak performance during this fight, the Riders apparently killed one of their own, Psynapse. Their next target was Cyclops, who at the time was in discussion with Sinister. Sinister proved himself to be far more powerful than the Riders and warned them not to kill Cyclops, but added that he didn't object to them 'roughing Cyclops up.' Sinister teleported away and the Riders fought Cyclops, who managed to keep the fight to a draw. HardDrive appeared and told Cyclops that he was the first to pass their test. Cyclops tried to convince the Riders to stop with their useless actions, but they teleported away to continue their quest.

Genesis

Genesis became the new leader of the team and even added new members to the Dark Riders in the form of the mutants known as Deadbolt, Hurricane, Lifeforce and Spyne. They soon began testing themselves to see if they’re worthy to stay on the team, unfortunately, that wasn't the case for Foxbat, who was considered unworthy and was apparently killed by Lifeforce. Soon afterwards Caliban, a former Horseman of Apocalypse, was also targeted, but he was saved by Cable, Domino and Storm. They captured one of Tusk's Underlings, who claimed that the Riders had killed Tusk Prime and the other Underlings. The Underling led them to the Dark Rider's base, but it turned out to be a trap. Genesis appeared and revealed himself as Cable's son, Tyler. Genesis told them that he wanted to replace Apocalypse. Cable and his friends fought the Dark Riders and Cable tried to save his son, but Tyler and the Riders teleported away again, not having the slightest idea that the fortress that they eventually destroyed was actually the place where Apocalypse was regenerating. Genesis and the Dark Riders later battled Mister Sinister, Jean Grey and the Beast after kidnapping Sinister's former lover, Faye Livingstone, in an attempt to crush Sinister's spirit. Although the Riders were defeated, Livingstone died.

Genesis then decided to recruit the X-Man Wolverine to his cause. To further this goal, the Dark Riders broke Wolverine's adamantium-skinned foe Cyber out of prison. Although Genesis led Cyber to believe that he was being recruited to Genesis's cause, Tyler instead fed Cyber to flesh-eating beetles and melted down Cyber's adamantium carapace. Genesis tried to turn Wolverine into one of his soldiers by using this adamantium to replace Wolverine's adamantium skeleton, which had been forcibly removed by Magneto some months earlier. Dirtnap, a parasitic lifeform that absorb the bodies of others into himself by manifesting an absurdly large mouth and “swallowing” them, allowing him to take on their appearance, memories, and special attributes while marking himself with a red, smiley face symbol, is revealed to be the new inclusion to the Dark Riders. Wolverine's body forcibly rejected both Genesis's brainwashing and the adamantium which is expelled from his body in the form of shrapnel, killing Lifeforce and Hurricane. Wolverine becomes a feral, noseless savage and hunts down and kills Spyne, Deadbolt and Genesis himself. Gauntlet was also hunted down but managed to survive, while Dirtnap escaped.

Stryfe again

Several months later, the surviving Dark Riders, joined by a very alive Psynapse (his apparent death was in reality an illusion created by him as the minds of the Dark Riders were already weakened from Mesmero's attack), worked again for Stryfe, who returned from death without any explanation. Stryfe ordered them to kill all other telepaths but when Gauntlet, Barrage and HardDrive attacked Jean Grey, Madelyne Pryor showed up and used her powers to defeat Barrage and HardDrive, leaving them for dead, although their status remains unconfirmed. The other Dark Riders attacked Nate Grey, but Psynapse's attack only reactivated Nate's lost psychic powers, apparently killing Psynapse in the feedback, although he would soon reappear without explanation once more. Nate also discovered that Tusk is really a small, wormlike creature within Tusk Prime's large shell, although whether this was the true Tusk remains unknown.

Solo Work

With the apparent demise of the team, the only two Dark Riders who are not incapacitated or dead are Dirtnap and Gauntlet. Dirtnap is later seen fighting both Wolverine and the anti-hero Venom. In a later battle with the X-Men's mutants-in-training, Generation X, Dirtnap apparently reformed, and seemingly sacrificed himself to save the young heroes.

Gauntlet showed up as a mercenary, secretly contracted by Blaquesmith to hunt down the merged being of Cyclops and Apocalypse, only to find Apocalypse killed when Phoenix rescued Cyclops from the merger. Gauntlet did not reveal to Cable the identity of his client.

Necrosha

Spyne, Deadbolt, Hurricane, and Lifeforce were resurrected by Selene during the Necrosha storyline.

All New, All Different Marvel

The Dark Riders have recently resurfaced again in the aftermath of the Terrigen Mists being released across the Earth. Seeing this as a sign of natural selection, the Dark Riders have been targeting mutant healers around the world for execution so they do not interfere with natural selection. According to Gauntlet, mutants have had their chance at survival and delaying the end of mutantkind would be an affront to nature. They succeeded in killing Josh Foley, also known as Elixir and have also targeted Triage and Shen Xorn for death. However, Triage is currently under the protection of Magneto and his team of X-Men, while Xorn fended off an assassination attempt made on him by several of the Dark Riders. It is assumed that the Dark Riders are dead, since Magneto tied them up in steel and then set off a bomb that blew them up and the entire island of Genosha.

Ultimate Marvel

Hard Drive was a member of Magneto's Brotherhood. He was tortured and killed in the Savage Land.