Shiva (Weapon X; Wolverine foe(s); computer program)

SHIVA

Real Name: Shiva

Identity/Class: Terrestrial technology (robot)

Occupation: Assassin

Group Membership: US government;
as a program activating a series of robots, Shiva is its own group;
formerly Project X / Weapon X (multinational version)

Affiliations: Project X (Professor/Truett Hudson), presumably Romulus

Enemies: Jubilee (Jubilation Lee), Team X (Mastodon (aka Elephante), Maverick (Christoph Nord, aka Wildcat), Sabretooth (Victor Creed), Silver Fox, Wolverine (James Howlett, aka Logan), John Wraith (aka Halcon)), unidentified United States Secretary of State

Known Relatives: None; they are a series identical robots activated by a program

Aliases: The Destroyer

Base of Operations: Weapon X facility, Canada

First Appearance: (Mentioned) Wolverine II#48 (November, 1991);
(seen) Wolverine II#50 (January, 1992)

Powers/Abilities: Shiva is a program that activates a series of robots who sole purpose is to assassinate rogue Weapon X subjects.
They could apparently be programmed to target individuals.

The Shiva program activated a robot designed to defeat one of the Project X subjects. Designed for survivability, Shiva had multiple redundancies in its back-up systems. When one robot was destroyed, the program activated another robot, and the next robot had all the memories of the first, enabling it to learn from and counter means that previously were effective against it. As such, Shiva was said to learn from its mistakes, and it alledgedly cannot be fooled/defeated the same way twice. Programmed with a target's features, Shiva units could track them across an unspecified distance.

The number of Shiva robots is unrevealed; the Professor noted that they had a limited number of back-ups, but he considered it quite sufficient to finish off the Weapon X subjects.
John Wraith said there was a small army of Shiva robots.

The Shiva units appeared to vary somewhat in size (between perhaps 8-10' in size; see comments); they each had some degree of superhuman strength (lifting perhaps 2 tons; see comments) and possessed superhuman durability (they were composed of an unspecified metal, presumably a steel alloy; Sabretooth was able to tear one's head off, and they could not withstand Adamantium claws, the Muramasa Blade, or certain explosives placed on the surface), speed, and reflexes. The Shiva units had sharp blades on each finger and could generate fiery heat and or electrical energy (or perhaps plasma) on their hands; at least some of them could project fiery blasts able to instantly kill a normal person. They had sound-dampers they could activate at will.

Most significantly for the Weapon X subject, the Shiva units were armed with triggers to activate the memory implants within the Weapon X subjects; they did this via electronic pulses that activated neuro-synthetic implants. This could result in a painful and disturbing memory backlash, causing victims to relive any and all physical pain, horrific memories, and negative emotions (such as loneliness, heartbreak, and shame). The Shiva units could stimulate specific memories, or could combine them all in a massive assault (Shiva referred to it as a cataclysmic memory backlash).

Height: 12' (see comments)
Weight: 2000 lbs.
Eyes: Red
Hair: None

History:

(Wolverine II#50 (fb) - BTS) - Feeling that the test subjects in the Weapon X program (killing machines they were placing back in the general population) were too dangerous, the program's security committee decided they needed to have safeguards.

(X-Men II#13 (fb) - BTS) - Dr. Kurt Marko, Alexander Ryking, and Brian Xavier also worked on the S.H.I.V.A scenario with and . A new type of assault robot, designed to improve itself after every defeat, uploading its conscious into a new robot until it would become a virtually unbeatable killer.

(Wolverine II#50 (fb) - BTS) - A previous Weapon X subject discovered the vault containing Shiva in the Canadian Weapon X facility; however, he was unable to open the vault, and the Professor and others were "able to reprogram him. Put him back in the pool..."

(Wolverine II#48 - BTS) - As Wolverine investigated an old Weapon X facility, a machine labeled "02 SHIVA" was seen; it was open, and the mold of a human-sized being was seen to be empty.

(Wolverine: Weapon X Files: Shiva entry (fb) - BTS) - Wolverine's investigation of the facility activated the Shiva Scenario.

(Wolverine II#49 - BTS) - While willingly undergoing a mind probe by Professor Charles Xavier and Jean Grey, Wolverine imagined/recalled being back in the Weapon X facility and seeing a panel labeled

SHIVA
NO ACCESS WITHOUT CLEARANCE

Still via the mindprobe, Wolverine heard the Professor and other Weapon X workers noting that they could use memory implants and stimulation to turn on Weapon X (Logan) at will, while Shiva was what they had to turn him off.

Later, the Professor (Truet Hudson) spoke to Carol Hines, telling her that the strings in Wolverine's memory lead only to a dead end called Shiva, and that Shiva's only purpose was to kill him.

(Wolverine II#50 - BTS) - As Wolverine headed back to the Weapon X facility, the Professor and Hines headed there as well, so the Professor could be certain Shiva finished the job.

(Wolverine II#50) - Using a key he had obtained at his previous visit, Wolverine unlocked the vault containing Shiva, who swiftly punched Wolverine to the ground before introducing itself as "Shiva...the Destroyer." Unimpressed, Wolverine leapt at Shiva and dismantled it with his claws. Assuring Hines this was just a temporary setback, the Professor flipped a switch on a panel as he stated, "Now, we shall see what Shiva is all about!"

Soon, a second Shiva activated, also announcing its name, before tracking down and confronting Wolverine. With its sound-dampeners on, it attcked anew, punching Wolverine through a wall and telling him he was first on his list. As it continued to batter Wolverine, it elaborated that that which the Project created it must be able to destroy to balance the scales and restore order.

Having observed Wolverine's assault in their first encounter, Shiva was prepared to counter them, which announced while evading Wolverine's attack and then striking him down with a fiery hand. Wolverine then began using different moves, enabling him to slash across Shiva's chest. Shiva then activated Wolverine's memory implants, causing him to relive every physical and emotional pain he had ever suffered.

Shiva taunted Wolverine as he howled in pain, comparing him to a beast who knew that death was near, but Wolverine -- insisting that he was a man and not an animal -- broke free of the memories and stabbed Shiva in the chest with both claws. Shiva struck back, arguing its purpose, but Wolverine fought back more fiercely tearing off most of Shiva's left side. Shiva asserted that it was a program and not just a robot, but was legion. Wolverine then finished off the robot.

(Wolverine II#50 (fb) - BTS) - Silver Fox (another former subject of the Weapon X project) apparently slew the Professor as his hook prosthesis activated the reset and default switches on the Shiva override.

A number of Shiva robots exited the vault, all chanting Sabretooth, the next Weapon X subject on the list after Wolverine.

(Wolverine II#60) - Shiva confronted Sabretooth as he attended a professional wrestling match in New York City, announcing the feral mutant's impending death. Sabretooth attacked, but Shiva smashed him down, advising him that programs did not die, unlike "puny humans."

As the Shiva robot exhorted the inevitability of its success, Sabretooth got in a good punch and then leapt atop the robot and ripped its head off. Still active, Shiva activated Sabretooth's memory implants.

(Wolverine II#60 (fb) - BTS) - While Sabretooth was lost in a memory, another Shiva robot showed up, as did fellow former Weapon X subject John Wraith. After Wraith helped Sabretooth regain his focus on the present, Wraith advised Sabretooth on the nature of Shiva while placing a shaped charge on this unit's chest; the Shiva robot was destroyed in the subsequent explosion.

(Wolverine II#61) - John Wraith arranged a meeting with Wolverine, showing him the head of a Shiva robot (presumably the one Sabretooth decapitated) and noting that he was 4th on Shiva's list, while Wolverine was first.

    The head activated Wolverine's memory implants until Jubilee threw it to the ground, deactivating it.

(Wolverine II#64 (fb) - BTS) - One of the Shiva robots apparently regenerated an individual module from damaged components. It would its neutralization program re-prioritized to Vole (Psi-Borg/Ferro)

(Wolverine II#64) - As Sabretooth, Wolverine, and John Wraith confronted Psi-Borg (Aldo Ferro) on his island base off Seattle, Shiva appeared before Jubilee and demanged she direct it to "Vole."

    Jubilee advised the Shiva unit that Ferro was down at the bottom tunnel, and when it looked down, she kicked it so that it fell down to the bottom.

    En route, Shiva determined that while Psi-Borg did not match its visual records of Vole, the voice scan was a positive match; it's targeting huds on-line, Shiva smashed into Psi-Borg at the bottom of the tunnel, freeing the others from his psychic onslaught. The Shiva robot was apparently destroyed in the impact, while Psi-Borg's armor was shattered.

(Wolverine: Origins#1) - When Wolverine invaded the White House to learn who the Secretary of State had secretly been working for, unidentified parties (presumably Romulus or one of his agents) had an underwater craft in the Chesapeake Bay launch a cruise missile containing a Shiva robot to land on the White House lawn.

With the the President of the United States (POTUS) and other staff having been evacuated when the power was cut off, Shiva made its way to the Secretary of State. When Wolverine demanded to know from whom she took her real orders, she heard the Shiva smashing through the walls and told Wolverine that "they" saw him coming and that she was not helpless.

    As Wolverine stepped back and drew the Muramasa Sword (a powerful blade forged from Wolverine's own soul by Muramasa) in preparation to fight Shiva. The Secretary of State urged Shiva to kill Wolverine, but it instead targeted and slew her with a fiery blast.

    Realizing Shiva had been sent to silence the Secretary of State before she revealed her true allegience, Wolverine used the powerful blade to slice Shiva in half with his first assault, and the robot collapsed in a shower of sparks. Wolverine spat on the fallen robot's head and departed.

(Wolverine: Origins#1 - BTS) - The fallen "samurai robot" was found lying in two pieces outside the Oval Office.

(Wolverine: Origins#2 (fb) - BTS) - The Shiva robot's halves were taken to the J. Edgar Hoover Building.
    Dr. Redford examined Shiva's remains, determining that the robot was not so much cut in half as "spliced at the molecular level" by some weapon that appeared to have taken some sort of "plasmic form," which he could not explain.

(Wolverine: Origins#2) - When Redford reported his findings to the POTUS, who had the Silver Samurai explain that the Muramasa Sword was the weapon that had been used against the Shiva robot.

Comments: Created by "Lethal" Larry Hama, "Murderous" Marc Silvestri, and "Dangerous" Dan Green.

Shiva's list included, in this order: Wolverine, Sabretooth, Fox (Silver Fox), Kestrel (John Wraith), Vole (Aldo Ferro), Mastodon (real name unrevealed, aka Elephante), Wildcat (Maverick).

We don't know how many Shiva robots there are/were, but I think we've only seen 5 so far. Two in #50, two in #60-61, and the one in Wolverine: Origins#1-2. The one in #64 said something about having regenerated an individual module from damaged components.

12' looks a bit excessive for Shiva's height to me. In Wolverine II#60, it was way taller than Sabretooth, but I don't think it was twice his height...maybe more like 10' tall. In Wolverine II#50, it didn't even seem that tall...maybe closer to 8'. In Wolverine: Origins, the Shiva robot is taller than Wolverine, so that what looks like a strike roughly parallel to Wolverine's shoulder hit Shiva in the abdomen.

Romulus seemed to be behind everything in the Wolverine: Origins series. If there's information that reveals someone else was behind sending Shiva to kill the Secretary of State, let me know.

Honestly, the Shiva robots looked impressive, and there was all this talk about how they learned from their assaults and would become even more dangerous, but they really weren't that much of a challenge for any of the Project X subjects.

Condoleeza Rice was the Secretary of State at the time of this story, and she is African-American like the Secretary of State in this story. I have NO idea what Daniel Way's agenda was in writing that.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Shiva should be distinguished from:

SHIVA - Hindu god of destruction, Council of Godheads/Council Elite, six arms --The Destroyer—Thor I#300, 301
SHIVA (Dr. Si Fan Chung) - see Entity. Nest, astronomer, husband of Karen Lee (Kali)-The Destroyer--Marvel Team-Up Annual#1
Shiva Blue - Avalon Five, saved Cyberspace in 2097--[Doom 2099#6]

images: (without ads)
Wolverine II#50, pg. 22, panel 4 (emerging from vault);
        pg. 27, panel 1 (fighting Wolverine);
            panel 2 (fiery hand vs. Wolverine);
Wolverine II#60, pg. 17, panel 1 (with Wraith and Sabretooth)
Wolverine II#64, pg. 19, panel 3 (flying down pit)
Wolverine: Origins#1, pg. 15, panel 3 (breaking through White House wall);
        pg. 16, panel 3 (slaying Secretary of State with fiery blast);
Wolverine: Weapon X Files: Shiva entry

Appearances:
Wolverine II#48 (November, 1991) - Larry Hama (script), Marc Silvestri (penciler), Dan Green (inker), Bob Harras (editor)
Wolverine II#49 (December, 1991) - Larry Hama (script), Marc Silvestri (penciler), Dan Green & Hilary Barta (inkers), Bob Harras (editor)
Wolverine II#50 (January, 1992) - "Lethal" Larry Hama (script), "Murderous" Marc Silvestri (penciler), "Dangerous" Dan Green (inker -- with help from Hilary Barta & Tom Palmer), Brutal Bob Harras (editor)
Wolverine II#60 (Early September, 1992) - Larry Hama (script), Dave Hoover (penciler), Keith Williams (inker), Bob Harras (editor)
Wolverine II#61 (Late September, 1992) - Larry Hama (script), Mark Texeira (art), Bob Harras (editor)
X-Men II#13 (October, 1992) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Art Thibert (pencils, inks), Dan Panosian (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Wolverine II#64 (December, 1992) - Larry Hama (script), Mark Pacella (penciler), Dan Panosian (inker), Bob Harras (editor)
Wolverine: Origins#1-2 (June-July, 2006) - Daniel Way (writer), Steve Dillon (artist), Michael O'Connor (assistant editor), Cory Sedlmeier (associate editor), Axel Alonso (editor)
Wolverine: Weapon X Files (June, 2009): Shiva entry

First Posted: 05/20/2017 Last updated: 05/20/2017

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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