History[]
- You deserve to be hated and feared -- you're a killer -- forever and ever. Amen.
- -- William Stryker
William Stryker was a reverend living in Manhattan with his wife Kate and son John. Stryker suffered a great tragedy when his family was killed when the "Ultimatum Wave" struck New York. William miraculously survived, but could not come to grips with his grief. He attempted to lead a spiritual congregation of survivors at a special tent set up in Central Park, but was unable to successfully conduct his service. Stryker met a group of men who knew that the mutant Magneto was responsible for the Ultimatum Wave and encouraged his rapidly-growing hatred of all mutants. They provided him with armaments and weaponry acquired from a cache of destroyed Sentinels and Stryker became the leader of an anti-mutant militia.
When he orchestrated a massive attack in Times Square, the X-Men appeared and the Shroud killed him by phasing her arm through his abdomen. With his last breath, he manipulated a wave of Nimord Sentinels to kill every mutant there.
While the numerous waves of Nimrods started hunting mutants around the whole country, others had the command to build a giant Sentinel, where Stryker's mind was transferred.