WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Strange Academy #9 by Skottie Young, Humberto Ramos, Edgar Delgado, and VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Strange Academy is host to the offspring of demons, giants, and gods, but the most recent issue brought the parents together to participate in a field day. It's no surprise that Doyle's father, the all-powerful Dormammu, did not receive an invitation, but the even still drew a few famous villains like the Asgardian God of Mischief Loki, and S'ym, a demon that resides in Limbo.
S'ym's daughter, Dessy, was one of the first students to enroll at Strange Academy. He and his daughter are introduced by Dessy's roommate Zoe, whose dad interrupts the conversation to ask if Dessy is the girl that his daughter has a crush on. Zoe is embarrassed but Dessy shrugs it off telling her that it is okay. S'ym then asks his daughter if he can return to Limbo in order to torture minions.
While S'ym and Dessy do not appear during the scavenger hunt, they do compete in the Parent Trap obstacle course. S'ym can be seen helping his daughter away from a fire-breathing dragon. Unfortunately, his heroics are of no use in the race as the father-daughter team still comes in last place. S'ym nor his daughter appears upset when crossing the finish line showing that the demon is there to support his daughter. While Strange Academy shared a lighter side to the demon, this is not the usual S'ym that traditionally appears to plague heroes such as the X-Men and New Mutants.
S'ym first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #160 by Chris Claremont, Brent Anderson, and Glynis Oliver. In this issue, the X-Men travel to Limbo in search of Colossus' younger sister Illyana, who has been in Limbo for 7 years. During her time there, she was an apprentice to the demon Belasco. After defeating the demon, Illyana took control of Limbo. S'ym then challenged Illyana for control of Limbo but is defeated.
S'ym's story is continued in New Mutants #50 by Claremont, Oliver, and Jackson Guice. S'ym revealed to Illyana that he had taken over Limbo and was remade into a techno-organic being. This means that he could infect whoever he touched which was instrumental in his takeover. S'ym ultimately failed in defeating Illyana but he would return once again in an attempt to take over the Earth in New Mutants #72 by Louise Simonson, Bret Blevins, Oliver, and Al Williamson. While his plan inevitably failed, Illyana had to sacrifice herself to stop the demon.
S'ym would eventually lose control of the realm to his former master Belasco before Limbo fell into the hands of Magik and then Witchfire. S'ym would not regain his role in the underworld as he appeared to fall from ranks. Still, his powers were nothing to be scoffed at. While he was a techno-organic being, he had the ability to repair and reform himself from a single molecule. This power made him virtually indestructible. His fights with the X-Men also showed his superhuman strength as he was able to overpower Colossus. Even Wolverine's claws did not affect the demon, and Illyana's Soul Sword was believed to be one of the few weapons that could kill the monster.
Strange Academy #9 shows a completely different side to the demon. He went from being the ruler of Limbo to a Dad just trying to have a good time with his daughter. S'ym's daughter seems to be on a much different path than her father, however, and Strange Acadamy has the potential to give more insight into their relationship.
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