Stryfe is the clone of Nathan Christopher Summers, alias Cable, the son of Cyclops of the X-Men. Nearly two millennia in an alternate future, the aged mutant Mother Askani, alias Rachel Summers, led the Askani cult which opposed the rule of Earth by the long-lived mutant tyrant Apocalypse.
In need of a powerful warrior who would oppose Apocalypse, Mother Askani sent a female member of the cult back to the X-Men's own time period. The Apocalypse of that time infected the infant Nathan Christopher Summers with a techno-organic virus that was rapidly spreading through his body and, if not stopped, would kill him. The Askani cult member persuaded Cyclops to let her take the infant to the far future, where advanced medical science could save his life.
