THE TRUTH
Reality-19333
Real Name: The Truth
Identity/Class: Alternate reality
(Reality-19333) demon
(at least World War
II-era to modern era, likely much older) magic user
Occupation: Would-be mass murderer
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Marie D'Arqueness, Sylvie
D'Arqueness, la Reine du Rien, Talisman, the X-Men (Colossus,
Cyclops/Scott, Jean, Ororo, Wolverine/Logan);
Earth-616 natives:
Marie D'Arqueness, Sylvie D'Arqueness, Logan, the Truth
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: La Verite (name in French);
"Beast," "Devil" (insults)
Base of Operations: Hell
First Appearance: Marvel Comics Presents III#1 (March, 2019)
Powers/Abilities: The Truth was a demon that
could not be killed by any known means. Because of this, it was driven
to kill any other being that could be killed. It was also capable of
gaining power with each kill it committed.
In its true form, the Truth
possessed superhuman strength and durability, easily shrugging off
wounds that would be fatal to others. If seriously injured in any of
its forms, it could regenerate the damage up to and including missing
limbs. It also had razor-sharp claws and large horns, as well as
goat-like legs.
The Truth had at least some
ability to change its appearance to an unidentified degree. Each time
it appeared on Earth, it appeared in a different form with occasionally
different abilities. For example, in one form, the Truth had leathery,
bat-like wings and in another form, it could project mystic energy from
its hands and reflect energy-based attacks back at their caster. In
another, it was capable of elongating and stretching its arms to reach
for victims. It was unclear if these changes in appearances and
abilities pertain to the Truth in its true form or if they only applied
when on Earth and in those particular forms.
Height: Variable
Weight: Variable
Eyes: Variable
Hair: Variable
History:
(Marvel Comics Presents III#1) - In the 1940s during World War II,
French sorceress Marie D'Arqueness was confronted by Nazi soldiers who
demanded she provide the Nazis a weapon as she had promised and when
they threatened Marie's daughter, she reluctantly agreed to cast a
spell to summon her weapon to Earth.
(Marvel Comics Presents
III#1 / Marvel Comics Presents III#7 (fb)) - While casting the spell,
she was hit in the arm by gunfire from the Canadian military and lost
focus, pulling the demon known as the Truth to Earth.
(Marvel Comics Presents III#1) - Despite her claims
that she controlled the demon, Marie was quickly accosted by the Truth
but the attack was interrupted by the Canadian soldier Logan, who
leaped into battle against the demon. Marie asked for Logan to keep the
Truth busy while she completed a banishment spell and Logan did his
best, taking hit after brutal hit from the demon until Marie managed to
successfully banish the demon back to whence it came. The dying Marie
then warned Logan that the Truth would return in likely ten years or so
at the worst location in the world and she tasked him with guarding her
daughter as she completed a spell to banish the Truth for another ten
years when he returned.
(Marvel Comics Presents
III#2) - By 1954, Logan had mostly forgotten about the Truth but when
the time of the Truth's re-emergence on Earth approached, Marie's
daughter Sylvie mystically transported Logan to the site of the Truth's
re-emergence: the Yangtze River basin in China. As predicted, the Truth
soon emerged from a portal and upon seeing the demon, the terrified
Sylvie teleported away, leaving Logan to battle the Truth alone.
Knowing he likely could not kill the Truth, Logan nonetheless jumped
into battle against the demon, causing some minor flesh wounds to the
creature before it nearly drowned him in the river. Sylvie soon
returned, apologizing for leaving Logan out of fear, and together,
Logan and Sylvie readied themselves to banish the Truth once again. As
the Truth ran at them, Logan asked Sylvie if the Truth could truly not
be killed and when Sylvie replied in the affirmative, Logan replied
with "We'll see."
(Marvel Comics Presents
III#3 (fb) - BTS) - The Truth ultimately failed in its second attempt
to destroy the world and it was banished for another ten years.
Following this defeat, the Truth spent the next several years planning
and plotting for the perfect re-emergence point on Earth.
(Marvel Comics Presents III#8 (fb) - BTS) - The family Clan
D'Arqueness began planning for a child to be created out of a union
between Logan and Sylvie that would be raised to fight the Truth.
(Marvel Comics Presents III#3) - In 1962, the Truth decided on his
re-emergence point: the Nevada desert, where a nuclear bomb test called
Project: Sedan was being conducted. Sensing the Truth's appearance,
Sylvie D'Arqueness and Logan teleported to the site, only to find
themselves at ground zero of the explosion. Immediately erecting a
mystic shield to survive, Sylvie and Logan battled the Truth and the
demon was again banished into the next decade. Unaware of Clan
D'Arqueness' plans to create a child capable of fighting the Truth,
Logan accompanied Sylvie to Paris following the Truth's banishment and
they shared an intimate evening together.
(Marvel Comics Presents III#4) - By the early 1970s, Sylvie had
developed a sense of when the Truth would be reappearing on Earth and
she awoke in the middle of the night sensing that the Truth would
emerge somewhere on the other side of the world. She immediately
teleported to New York City to inform Logan of the Truth's impending
return and the two teleported to the site chosen by the Truth this time
around: the Bhola cyclone in Bangladesh. Soon appearing, the Truth
smiled an evil grin and pointed toward a small beach village, where the
people were attempting and failing to get ahead of a coastal storm
surge. While Logan and Sylvie tried to find a way to save the coastal
village and still stop the Truth, the Truth merely sat down and smiled
at the predicament it had placed his two enemies in. Assuring Logan she
had spent the last decade training, Sylvie opted to battle the Truth
alone while Logan rescued the coastal villagers from the storm.
Successful in damaging the Truth and opening the portal to banish it,
Sylvie was thrilled to have banished it once more. Unfortunately for
Sylvie, mere moments before the banishment portal closed, the Truth
extended his arm outward and viciously slashed its claws across
Sylvie's midsection. It then grabbed Sylvie and pulled her through the
banishment portal as it closed.
(Marvel Comics Presents III#9 (fb) - BTS) - Keeping Sylvie for
himself in Hell, the Truth tortured her by forcing participation in the
Hell of Many Doors, in which Sylvie would open doors leading to a
reliving of the worst moments of her life.
(Marvel Comics Presents III#5
(fb) - BTS) - At some point, Doctor Strange, Earth's sorcerer supreme,
learned of the Truth.
(Marvel Comics Presents III#5 - BTS) - As the years passed into the 1980s, Logan, now the adventurer Wolverine, wondered where the Truth was. Over the years into the decade, Wolverine thought back to how the Truth had seemingly killed Sylvie during its last banishment and wondered who would banish the Truth when it next appeared. He began watching the news to search for the worst places the Truth might re-emerge. As the decade drew to a close, Wolverine decided to meet with sorcerer supreme Doctor Strange to seek his aid in locating where the Truth might emerge and banishing it. Having heard of the Truth, Strange at first worried Wolverine had summoned it but, upon hearing Wolverine's curse and association with the D'Arqueness clan, he advised Wolverine to seek out the D'Arquesnesses on his own. Traveling to the French Alps, Wolverine attempted to speak with the Clan D'Arqueness about the Truth but Sylvie's aunt, Agathe, announced that Wolverine was no longer needed and cast a spell that teleported Wolverine to Australia, warning that he would never again be able to find their village.
(Marvel Comics Presents
III#6 (fb) - BTS) - Wolverine arranged for the mystic Talisman to set
up magical tripwires along the Weirdways that would warn when the Truth
tried to return.
(Marvel Comics Presents III#6) - In 1995, Talisman sensed the Truth's return and immediately contacted Wolverine and his X-Men allies. Knowing the fight that would soon be upon them, Wolverine informed the X-Men about the Truth and how they would need to keep the Truth busy until Talisman could banish it. The Truth soon emerged in Montserrat during a volcanic eruption of Soufriere Hills and the X-Men and Talisman were there to meet it. The Truth quickly blasted Cyclops and when part of the volcanic eruption threatened to hit Jean, Colossus shoved her out of the way, taking the brunt of the eruption. As Talisman was attempting to get the banishment spell from Wolverine, who admitted he didn't know the spell, the Truth went for Talisman, snapping her neck. Ororo then fired a lightning bolt at the demon, who reflected the lightning back through her torso, killing her. La Reine du Rien of the Clan D'Arqueness then appeared on the scene and brandished mystic bone claws. She immediately cut off one of the Truth's arms but the Truth responded by pummeling Reine. Refusing to back down, Reine opened a banishment portal and forced the Truth back through it, promising to be waiting for it when it next appeared.
(Marvel Comics Presents
III#7) - Knowing that Reine du Rien would return in the world's worst
place sometime within the next decade to banish the Truth, Wolverine
left the X-Men and began visiting the worst places in the world, saving
who he could and hoping he could be there to help stop the Truth when
it returned. The Truth ultimately reappeared in Mumbai, India circa
November 2008 but la Reine du Rien was successfully able to banish it
on her own despite Wolverine watching from afar in the shadows. Feeling
as if Wolverine should at least know who she was, la Reine du Rien
revealed how she was born of Sylvie D'Arqueness and Logan but raised to
be nothing more than a soldier against the Truth to repay her family's
mystic debt. When Wolverine remained silent, Reine demanded he speak
and Wolverine revealed that he had not been hunting for her but rather,
for the Truth. He then discussed his plan for Reine and himself to
travel to Hell to kill the Truth for good, freeing them both from the
curse.
(Marvel Comics Presents III#8 - BTS) - When la Reine du Rien refused to go into Hell with Wolverine, Wolverine asked her to just open a portal to where the Truth lived when it wasn't killing people and he would take care of the rest. Reine argued that the Truth couldn't be killed but Wolverine assured he would find a way. Reine ultimately agreed to open a portal to Hell and Wolverine entered but when he became trapped in a holding cell, Reine entered the portal behind him to rescue her father.
(Marvel Comics Presents III#9) - Finding the deceased Sylvie in
Hell, Reine and Wolverine freed her and when Wolverine revealed they
were there to kill the Truth, Sylvie laughed, remarking that the Truth
could not be killed, especially not in Hell. The Truth soon made its
presence known and Reine convinced Sylvie to aid them against it.
Sylvie hit the Truth with a massive mystic blast that slowed it down
long enough for the trio to run for it. Making their way to the Hell of
Many Doors, Wolverine and Logan learned that the Truth had earlier
forced Sylvie to relive the worst moments of her life through each of
the doors and Wolverine came up with a plan to use one of the doors to
travel to the night Sylvie and he first met in the 1940s. The Truth
then reappeared and Wolverine held off the demon until Sylvie and Reine
could open the door to the 1940s. As they cast their spell, the Truth
ripped off one of Wolverine's arms and threw him to the ground. Sylvie
and Reine proved successful in opening the doorway to 1940s Germany and
they arrived as the past incarnation of the Truth was beating the past
Wolverine, mere moments after it had originally been summoned to Earth.
Reine questioned why Wolverine had chosen that particular moment and,
as if to answer, the Truth emerged from the doorway to see its own past
self. Its entire reason for existence to kill anything that lives, the
Truth was driven to attack its own past self. As the two Truths fought,
Wolverine, Reine and Sylvie discussed how neither could truly destroy
the other and they would simply fight for all eternity. Wolverine
admitted he had expected as much from the Truth and Sylvie's mother
Marie soon suggested they would need to seal the two incarnations of
the Truth before they realized they could work together to destroy the
planet. Marie then suggested that the bond forged between Wolverine and
Sylvie could seal the Truths away and both agreed to do so, prompting
Marie, Reine and Sylvie's past incarnation to cast a spell that would
seal both Truths, Wolverine and Sylvie in stone. The two incarnations
of the Truth halted their fight briefly when they realized what was
happening but they were nonetheless sealed in stone, with Sylvie and
Wolverine subsequently turning to stone as well to ensure the Truths
never escaped, their hands forever frozen in each other's grasp.
Comments: Created by Charles Soule, Paulo Siqueira and Oren Junior.
Despite Earth-19333 seeming to diverge from the Earth-616 timeline, it does not appear to have a sliding time scale like most other realities. Strangely enough, the reality it diverged from, Earth-616, does have a sliding time scale. Perhaps when Earth-19333 diverged from Earth-616, there was something magical in nature in regards to the divergence that halted the divergent Earth-19333's sliding time scale. That seems as plausible as any other explanation, as there was lots of magic involved with the Truth.
La Reine du Rien was essentially
trapped in the Earth-616 timeline circa the 1940s at the end of the
Truth storyline. Given that she introduces herself to the Earth-616
Logan at the end of the story, one has to wonder why she has not shown
up in comics since the end of the story in 2019. Maybe the younger
Earth-616 Logan refused to acknowledge her as his daughter and turned
her away? Either way, she's probably still around somewhere due to her
healing factor. I suppose it's also possible she found some way to
return to her proper timeline...
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Reality-19333's Truth should be distinguished
from:
Appearances:
Marvel Comics Presents III#1 (March, 2019) - "The Vigil, Part 1" story
- Charles Soule (writer), Paulo Siqueira (pencils), Oren Junior (inks),
Jordan D. White (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents III#2 (April, 2019) - "The Vigil, Part 2" story
- Charles Soule (writer), Paulo Siqueira (pencils), Oren Junior (inks),
Jordan D. White (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents III#3 (May, 2019) - "The Vigil, Part 3" story -
Charles Soule (writer), Paulo Siqueira (pencils), Oren Junior (inks),
Jordan D. White (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents III#4 (June, 2019) - "The Vigil, Part 4" story -
Charles Soule (writer), Paulo Siqueira (pencils), Oren Junior (inks),
Jordan D. White (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents III#5 (July, 2019) - "The Vigil, Part 5" story -
Charles Soule (writer), Dio Neves (pencils), Oren Junior (inks), Jordan
D. White (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents III#6 (August, 2019) - "The Vigil, Part 6" story
- Charles Soule (writer), Paulo Siqueira (pencils), Oren Junior (inks),
Jordan D. White (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents III#7 (September, 2019) - "The Vigil, Part 7"
story - Charles Soule (writer), Paulo Siqueira (pencils), Oren Junior
(inks), Jordan D. White (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents III#8 (October, 2019) -"The
Vigil, Part 8" story - Charles Soule (writer), Dio Neves (pencils),
Oren Junior (inks), Jordan D. White (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents III#9 (November, 2019) - "The
Vigil, Conclusion" story - Charles Soule (writer), Dio Neves, Paulo
Siqueira (pencils), Oren Junior (inks), Jordan D. White (editor)
First posted: 10/31/2024
Last updated: 10/31/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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