Cerise (comics)

For information about the color, seeCerise (color).

Ceriseis a fictionalsuperheroappearing inAmerican comic bookspublished byMarvel Comics,in particular those featuringExcaliburand other books of theX-Menfranchise. Created byAlan Davis,the character first appeared inExcalibur#47 (March 1992).

Cerise
Panel fromExcalibur#57 Art byJoe Madureira
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	(cameo)Excalibur#46 (Jan 1992) (full)Excalibur#47 (Feb 1992)
Created by	Alan Davis
In-story information
Alter ego	Cerise
Species	Shi'ar
Team affiliations	Excalibur Graces
Abilities	Superhuman strength and stamina Red spectrum light force manipulation: Solid energy constructs creation Concussive blasts Flight

Publication history

Cerise first appeared inExcalibur#47 (March 1992), created byAlan Davis.Visually the character was a reuse of a design for a proposed series calledWarpforce,pitched toDC Comicsby Davis andPaul Neary.When DC passed on the series Davis decided to refine the design and include it inExcalibur.

Fictional character biography

Cerise is anextraterrestrialfrom the planet Shaskofrugnon in the Shi'ar Empire. As she has revealed in her first appearance, she is the gene stock of Subruki, Zarstock, and Kuli Ka. She was accidentally transported to Earth after deserting the empire's brutal army, the Ghrand Jhar, refusing to fire upon innocents and as a result causing the death of her crew. She became a member ofExcaliburupon encountering them,and later became romantically involved withNightcrawler.

Alongside Excalibur, she battled theAnti-Phoenix's rock creatures.She also foughtNecromalongside Excalibur.She later encountered the Crazy Gang.Alongside Excalibur, she was attacked byJamie BraddockandSat-Yr-9,but the team managed to overpower their attackers.She next aided Excalibur and theX-MenagainstTroll Associates.Cerise and Nightcrawler then encountered theKnight Errant.She was then attacked by theSentinelsand captured byNigel Orpington-Smythe.She then metKhaos,and alongside Khaos and Excalibur she battled his foe Ghath on their planet Irth, and invited Khaos to join Excalibur.

During the "Warpies Saga", wherein superhuman children were being manipulated, Cerise was baffled with the concept of "children".Shadowcattried to explain to her how infants are born and grow up to become adults. Cerise reveals that she "emerged from the source" as she is.

Eventually, Cerise was taken into custody by theStarjammersfor her crimes against the Shi'ar Empire.She was sent to the pan-dimensional prison Krag, where she was revealed to have destroyed the Shi'ar recruitment vehicle (Ghrand Jhar) to prevent it from carrying out further acts of genocide.She was forced to kill the second Fang in personal combat. The Shi'ar empressLilandrapardoned Cerise for her crimes, given their circumstances, and allowed her to serve out her prison sentence as a personal aide. Cerise's role in the Shi'ar Empire is to investigate reports of brutality and violence among Shi'ar officials.

During 2000's "Maximum Security" crossover, Nightcrawler professed at one point that he still loves her, but at the time he was planning to become aCatholic priest,and thus could not rekindle their relationship.

Cerise appeared in the 2006 storyline "Annihilation"as a member of the Graces, a group of female warriors, led byGamora.

Powers and abilities

Cerise is a member of the alien Shi'ar race, making her physical abilities somewhat more powerful than an Earth human.

She also has the ability to generate and psionically manipulate energy fields of coherent red spectrum light force. She can project the light as simple brightness, or as concussive blasts, or use it to form "solid" objects such as swords, force fields, shields, funnels, and more. She was even able to make a light armor covering Nightcrawler as he trained with Captain Britain.Cerise can create a bubble of coherent light around herself which she can levitate through the air. She once even used this energy to fly a whole brokenSentinelholding her friends within, across theAtlantic Oceanas a means of disguise. She can also fly naturally (without use of her energy fields), and hold her breath for six or seven minutes.

Cerise wears gloves that contain broad-bandsensor arrayswhich allow her to search for specific life-forms, energy, and temporal/dimensional abnormalities in a surrounding area. She also wore a "transit suit" permitting travel through hyperspace. Her equipment was designed by Shi'ar scientists and craftsmen.

Cerise is a superb warrior, having received intensive combat training in the Shi'ar military, and is a trained starship navigator.

Reception

Accolades

• In 2019,CBRranked Cerise 7th in their "10 Most Powerful Members Of Excalibur" list.
• In 2020,Scary Mommyincluded Cerise in their "Looking For A Role Model? These 195+ Marvel Female Characters Are Truly Heroic" list.

Other versions

X-Men: The End

In the future timeline seen inX-Men: The End,Cerise an elite member of the Imperial Guard is sent by her Empress Lilandra undercover as a blue slaver to rescueJean Grey.While she completes her mission in rescuing Jean, her cover was blown by Mr. Sinister and she is killed by his agent, Shaitan.In the years following her sacrifice would be remembered by former lover andExcaliburteammateNightcrawlerwho would honor her death by naming his own daughter, Cerise Wagner, after her.

External links

• UncannyXmen.net Character Profile on Cerise