Adam Taurus was an antagonist in RWBY. Previously the leader of the White Fang's Vale branch, he became the High Leader of the White Fang after deposing the former leader Sienna Khan in a coup, but was ousted from the White Fang after their defeat in "Haven's Fate". After his failure at the Battle of Haven and his subsequent expulsion from the White Fang, he began relentlessly chasing Blake Belladonna, only to be overpowered and killed by her and Yang Xiao Long in "Seeing Red".
Described both as a mentor and former romantic partner, Adam made his first appearance in the "Black" Trailer as a deuteragonist where he worked together with Blake to attack a train carrying a Dust shipment but was abandoned by her at the end of the trailer. He later made his first proper appearance in the show at the end of "Breach". His weapons of choice were Wilt and Blush, a sword and a rifle that doubles as a scabbard.
During the RWBY panel at 2016's London Comic Con, Arryn Zech and Barbara Dunkelman put Adam's age as early-to-mid 20s, with a guess of about 23.
Personality[]
Blake described him as feeling completely justified in how he went about making the world a better place. However, his vision for a perfect future did not include everyone, and Blake began to believe that Adam himself was becoming a monster in the process of trying to obtain it. In "Necessary Sacrifice", Blake described Adam as such: "At first I thought Adam was the embodiment of 'justice', then I thought he was 'passion'. But over time, I realized... he was 'spite'... He won't accept equality, only suffering for what he feels the world did to him." Unlike Blake, he is shown to have little regard for the lives of innocent people, as he planned to blow up the train with everyone on board.
In "Beginning of the End", he took his cause and the lives of his underlings seriously, rejecting Cinder Fall's initial offer of an alliance, citing the unnecessary risk of dying for a human cause. It was also hinted that he dislikes Huntsmen, sardonically stating she could have gone to one who strayed from their "righteous path". However, after Cinder arrived a second time, this time with an offer of Dust and Lien as well as a death threat, Adam begrudgingly accepted her terms. Furthermore, in "The Next Step", Salem stated that Adam had proven to be loyal to her cause.
In "Heroes and Monsters", Adam's ruthless personality came to light. He was revealed to be an embittered, sadistic and vengeful man, willing to cut down any opposition towards his twisted ideas of justice being dispensed upon humanity. He took great pleasure in tormenting Blake, taunting her by calling her "darling" or "my love" and ultimately promising to destroy everything she loves as punishment for her betrayal of the White Fang and, by extension, him. He exhibited extremely possessive, violent, narcissistic and abusive behavior.
He was also merciless and brutal towards his enemies, slicing off Yang's arm with ease when she rushed him and even attempting to decapitate Blake when she appeared to stand between him and a crippled Yang. This characteristic was implied once more in "Of Runaways and Stowaways" when Lisa Lavender reports that all attempts to apprehend him were met with brutal force.
Adam had also proven to be highly ambitious, as shown when he disclosed to Sienna, the White Fang's High Leader, that he wished to start a war with Humanity and enslave them, before usurping and killing her within the same moment. He expressed delight in taking over the White Fang and felt no remorse in killing Sienna for it, something Hazel Rainart berated him for.
Fennec Albain had noted that Adam's behavior had become increasingly impulsive and unstable both because of the stress of leading the White Fang and his obsession to punish Blake for her perceived betrayal of the White Fang. This is observed when he ordered the assassination of her parents despite the possibility of it alienating the citizens of Menagerie against his leadership due to her father's position as Chieftain of the small nation state, and it becomes increasingly clear in "Downfall" where he began to lose his composure in the face of inevitable defeat. There, he was so desperate after being surrounded as to even press the switch to detonate the bombs planted around Haven without a second thought as to the safety of his soldiers or himself. This was a clear indication that Adam has changed from a justice-seeking revolutionary to a power-hungry, murderous, spiteful, and ruthless sociopath, as he had previously refused to risk the lives of his followers for anyone only to be willing to sacrifice them when he thought victory was out of reach. While once desiring freedom for all Faunus, Adam only sought to fulfill his own desires.
In the "Volume 6 Adam Character Short", Adam was initially seen as being not nearly as antagonistic as he is in the present. He did not initially begin killing humans until he was forced to do so in order to protect Ghira. He showed brief conflict over this action when the latter reprimanded him for it, though Sienna's praise for his action led him to begin killing more frequently. Adam's manipulation of Blake was also shown; after being confronted by Blake for his violence, he lashed out at her by mentioning her parents' abandonment of their cause, and then apologized and professed his fear of losing her support, emotionally shackling her to himself. This exemplifies how Adam legitimately cared for Blake and relied on her for emotional support, but when he feared she would leave him he had no problem manipulating her into staying with him.
Following his defeat in Haven, Adam became even more unstable, cruel, temperamental, and aggressive. Upon his return to the White Fang base in "Argus Limited", he lashed out and killed his fellow White Fang members. His rage had become so great that he even vandalized the throne of the White Fang, slicing off a piece of its seat back, showing his utter disregard for even his own symbol of authority. With the loss of his leadership of the White Fang, Adam was left only with his hatred of Blake. His obsession with Blake had evolved to the point that he stalked her for months just to get a chance to attack her and reflects on his far more aggressive and liberal use of his Semblance. In "The Lady in the Shoe", it is revealed that the reason he was so bent on killing Blake is that she left him alone, her act of abandonment hurting him far more than any physical abuse Humanity had subjected him to. In "Seeing Red" Adam is clearly jealous of Blake's close relationship with Yang and felt Blake had left him because he "just wasn't good enough", despite Blake clearly telling him it was his violent tendencies. In his final moments, Adam showed shock that Yang and Blake had managed to defeat him.
History[]
Little is known of Adam's early history, although at some point in his life, Adam was part of the Faunus labor force that served the Schnee Dust Company. At some point during his service, he was branded with the SDC logo on his face, scarring him and possibly blinding him in his left eye. Possibly fueled by this inhumane treatment, Adam joined the White Fang. Sometime after he joined, he became the mentor of Blake Belladonna, teaching her much of what she knows in the art of battle. Eventually, they became lovers before she decided to leave both him and the White Fang during a raid.
Blake described him as having gradually become a monster. This change started around the time the when the White Fang began using terrorism to further its newer and older agendas under Sienna Khan's leadership. Adam, though initially pensive towards killing, gradually became a merciless and sadistic killer who utterly despises Humans, willing to slaughter anything he perceives as opposition. The night before the raid on the train, Cinder's Faction approached him in his camp with a proposal for an alliance which she believed would help both their groups. He promptly refused, citing the unnecessary risk of his men dying for a Human cause.
After Blake's desertion, Adam decided to cease any pursuit of her and focus on returning to Mistral before being interrupted by Cinder Fall and her underlings returning and injuring most of the White Fang members in the encampment. He was forced to accept the offer, where he received Dust and funding to continue his operations instead of being killed otherwise.
Gallery[]
_Adam_in-game_model.jpg "RWBY (bilibili mobile game) Adam in-game model.jpg (26 KB)")
