Adam
| Adam | |
| |
| アダム | |
| Number | 1st |
|---|---|
| Appearance(s) | Episodes 08, 12, 21’, 24’, 26’ |
Adam (katakana: アダム; Hebrew: בראשית ,אדם i:xxvi) is the designation of the First Angel, the first of Earth's two Seeds of Life and the progenitor of the Third through Seventeenth Angels. Adam is also the genetic basis of the Evangelions (with the possible exception of Eva-01).
Profile
Adam's distinct physical features are never clearly shown; in the few available glimpses of Adam's adult form it is either partially covered by ice or just a glowing silhouette – hence the nickname "Giant of Light". It is a giant humanoid, similar in many ways to the Evangelions, although details of its appearance and biology are unknown.
The Giant of Light appears to have shoulder pylons like the Evas when they are wearing restraints, as seen in the above still shot when Adam activated during the Katsuragi Expedition.[1]
The explosion of Adam's body in Second Impact reduced Adam to an embryonic state resembling a tetrapod (complete with four defined limbs) in early development.
Origins & Discovery
Though never expressed in the series, Adam was created by the First Ancestral Race billions of years ago. Adam was sent to Earth within the White Moon to fill the Earth with its progeny, the Angels. However, before Adam could accomplish its mission, the Black Moon containing a second Seed of Life, Lilith, accidentally crashed into Earth. Two Seeds are not meant to exist on the same planet, and in the event that this accidentally occurs, a Spear of Longinus, which comes from the Seed, is to be used to deactivate one of the Seeds to prevent a catastrophe. However, the Spear accompanying Lilith was lost or destroyed in the crash, leaving Adam's Spear the only functional one on Earth. Therefore, Adam was placed into suspended animation by its own Spear of Longinus, and the progeny of Lilith populated the planet instead of Angels.[2] The inert Adam, and the Spear upon which it was impaled, were later discovered by the Katsuragi Expedition, who began researching them extensively.
Contact Experiment & Second Impact
Adam – especially its "S² Engine" – became the subject of intense scientific inquiry. This culminated in the so-called Contact Experiment, of which little is known beyond the involvement of a human "donor" "DNA-diving" into Adam and "physically fusing", and Second Impact being ushered in as a result. It is heavily implied that the experiment produced the being that became known as Kaworu Nagisa.
In the Contact Experiment's aftermath, Adam manifested an Anti A.T. Field which exterminated all life in the area down to microorganisms, altered the local environment, and opened its Doors of Guf – all actions implying the reawakened Adam was attempting to reclaim the Earth for its offspring.[3] The Katsuragi Team's attempt to subdue Adam with the Spear of Longinus either failed or was only partially successful. Adam killed the research team and lost control of its S² Engine, transforming it into the "Giant of Light" and ultimately triggering its own self-destruction. As Adam exploded, four massive wings of light (likened to those of a "devil," akuma, in the script) manifested and extended as high as the stratosphere. This loss of control was possibly due the the Katsuragi Team's use of the Spear. The worldwide annihilation of Lilith-based life was averted, but not without cost: a global calamity known as Second Impact.
The actual effect brought on by the earlier utilization of the Spear caused Adam's reversion into an embryonic or egg state, rather than being destroyed completely.[4] (How it could explode and revert at the same time is never explained, but perhaps most of Adam's tissue was dispersed violently and only a small amount remained in place, which then began to regenerate as Adam.) Adam's soul was separated from its body, presumably when its core was destroyed in the explosion.[5]
Post-Second Impact
Seele retrieved both Adam's soul and what remained of its body from the "Dead Sea" that was once Antarctica. While the former was salvaged into Tabris, the embryo became the subject of the Adam Project and the basis for the "Adam Revival Project", better known as Project E, which aimed to create Adam copies known as Evangelions.
In 2015, the embryonic Adam is clandestinely obtained by Ryoji Kaji, smuggled into Japan via the United Nations Pacific Fleet, and delivered to Gendo Ikari at Nerv Headquarters.[7] Ryoji Kaji says:
- "It's already restored itself this far. It's frozen inside dura-bakelite, but it's still alive. Without a doubt, this is the keystone of the Human Instrumentality Project, isn't it?"[8]
Exactly what Kaji means by "keystone" is ambiguous.
Adam is a crucial element in Gendo's own scenario for Third Impact, wherein he intends to use the "forbidden fusion of Adam and Lilith" as a means to achieve reunion with his wife. At an undisclosed point, Gendo has Adam fused into his right palm, and, in the moments before Third Impact, he inserts his hand into Rei. However, rather than carry out his wishes, Rei severs and absorbs Gendo's arm – fusing with Adam, but rejecting Gendo. The "forbidden fusion" is complete when Rei returns to Lilith.
The resultant "Gestalt entity" is Lilith-dominant, only momentarily splitting into "Adam" and "Lilith" parts (shortly before Eva-01 transforms into the Tree of Life). Adam manifests in the form of a giant, ghostly white Kaworu Nagisa, which, together with subsequent appearances of the Kaworu avatar, implies that Gendo had salvaged Adam's soul back into its body shortly after Kaworu's death.
The conglomerate being of which Adam became part dies when Shinji rejects Instrumentality. In spite of this, Lilith seems to continue existing in some form afterwards. Adam's own fate, however, is unknown.
In Other Continuities
Manga
In Sadamoto's manga, Adam plays the exact same role as in the television series. However, it is shown that Gendo absorbs the Adam embryo orally, and later sprouts an eye on his palm. This grants him the ability to deploy a defensive A.T. Field, something that was never shown in Neon Genesis Evangelion but does appear in the Rebuild's Shin Eva. Kaworu's connection to Adam is also flatly stated.
Rebuild of Evangelion
The role of the giant responsible for Second Impact has been given to multiple Adams, while that of Adam's embryo has been transferred to Nebuchadnezzar's Key. Unlike NGE, Kaworu Nagisa is never directly referred to as an Adam, although this is possible given his origin.
Allusions
The name "Adam" comes from the first man of the Book of Genesis. Much as the Biblical Eve was created from Adam's body, Project E created the Evas "from Adam's flesh" via cloning.
The second book of Enoch refers to Adam being placed on Earth as a "second angel".[9]
Adam is referred to in The Book of Adam and Eve as "The Bright Angel." It may not be a coincidence that Adam appears as a Giant of Light in the series. Similarly, Adam is said to have stretched from "The Earth to the Firmament (Sky)," which may be referenced by the show in that Adam's wings spread to the upper atmosphere during Second Impact.[10]
Notes
- The Gainax series Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water features an enormous humanoid giant called Adam, created by the ancient Atlanteans as the first prototype human.
References
- ↑ This scene originally appeared in the Episode 23' Reiquarium images, but was later moved to the Full OP.
- ↑ See the Classified Information for details on the F.A.R., Adam's and Lilith's purpose, and the Spear and its duties.
- ↑ See: Theory and Analysis: Second Impact and the Classified Information for details.
- ↑ From the Evangelion Chronicle.
- ↑ See the Classified Information.
- ↑ Under the text labeling for the Adam embryo are three lines in cursive writing and some Kanji under the label reading "Caution". It is debatable what the first cursive line is supposed to say, but it looks like "whoisyour" (…daddy?). The second and third cursive lines are much clearer. The second is "Heis living" and the third is "why?"
- ↑ Upon receiving Adam, Gendo refers to it as "the first human" (ningen). This is potentially a reference to Adam's status as the first human-like being on Earth, utilizing NGE's expanded definition of "human" which includes Angels as well as humans.
- ↑ Neon Genesis Evangelion Episode 08, Platinum subtitles.
- ↑ The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, edited by Robert Henry Charles, page 40.
- ↑ Dictionary of Angels, Gustav Davidson, page 23.
| Angels (Portal) |
| Angels (general) |
| First and Second Angels (Seeds of Life): Adam | Lilith |
| Third to Seventeenth Angels (Adam's Children): |
| Sachiel | Shamshel | Ramiel | Gaghiel | Israfel | Sandalphon | Matarael | Sahaquiel |
| Ireul | Leliel | Bardiel | Zeruel | Arael | Armisael | Tabris |
| Eighteenth Angel: Lilin |
| Rebuild of Evangelion: ?Adams? | Lilith | 3rd Angel | 4th Angel | 5th Angel | 6th Angel | 7th Angel | 8th Angel | 9th Angel | 10th Angel | 11th Angel | 12th Angel | 1st/13th Angel |
| Other: Extracanonical Angels |
