This article is about the antagonist. For the unit entry, see Adam (Unit).

"Perhaps we are not so different after all."

— Adam

Adam is a major character and secondary antagonist in NieR:Automata and NieR:Automata Ver1.1a. He is the older twin brother of Eve.

Appearance

Adam looks identical to his brother, but has longer, straight silver hair and is fully clothed. He has a sophisticated yet sharp appearance, with striking red eyes behind black rimmed glasses. He wears a white, long-sleeved button-down shirt with a high collar, paired with a loose black tie. Like Eve, he has black gloves tipped with red claws that are accented with golden brown laces at the wrists. He also has dark, slim-fitting pants, secured by a black belt with a golden brown decorative chain, and polished black dress shoes.

Personality

Adam is a silver-haired humanoid machine whose identity is shrouded in mystery. He has a cool-headed temperament, but takes merciless action for the sake of his objective—studying humanity and anything related to them.

In the light novel adaptation, Adam is shown as a more complicated and depressed character. It is revealed that he deeply despises whoever placed him and Eve in such a world with no proper education or care, describing what happened to them as "hatred."

He mentions that Eve learns from him, despite having no one to learn from himself. This results in him educating himself by learning from humans. It frustrates him how complicated humans and learning about them are—each time he learns something, there's another complicated concept that he doesn't understand.

As such, Adam is shown to have a deep interest in the concept of death, which he considers an extremely complex characteristic of humanity. While it means nothing to machines, as they can regenerate, if humans die, it's the end for them. He hopes that in understanding death, he can understand humanity in its fullest and finally escape from the shadows of his creators, the aliens, and evolve. In pursuit of this, he displays masochistic and warrior-like tendencies, relishing the heat of battle and the pain he is inflicted with as it is reminiscent of human feelings. Upon achieving death, the light novel remarks him dying with a smile, but at the same time feeling as though something was missing.

Adam is shown to be a good role model for Eve, as he thinks that he is obligated to play the role of a brother. In Ending D, Adam holds Eve with a gentle embrace as he is sleeping in the Ark. Additionally, the light novel reveals that Adam doesn't think Eve is stupid—he states that Eve simply "prefers" different things compared to him—Adam striving to be more knowledgeable, while Eve enjoys physical activities. Despite this, Adam worries that if Eve does not learn like he does, then they won't grow and adapt. In losing Eve in the anime adaptation, he realizes death is miserable and knowledge without someone to share with is meaningless, becoming nihilistic and wanting to destroy everything.

Story

NieR:Automata

Adam and Eve were born during a fight that involved 2B and 9S destroying another machine nest, in which the machines began to repeat "This. Cannot. Continue." Before suddenly coming to a stop and then crawling together to form a cocoon unlike anything seen before. From it, Adam is born. He is thought to be an android at first but 9S confirms he is a machine, it's speculated he is a Bio-Machine. Adam was born in a state of confusion but calls out to the androids, upon being attacked he asks why he is being fought though it is impossible to continue the story without fighting him. He is shown to teleport during the fight to escape 2B and 9S momentarily, further attacks prompt him to start shooting projectiles of light upon the androids.

He is stabbed from behind by 9S and from the front by 2B, oddly bleeding red as a human would. He falls to the ground, unmoving, and from him Eve is born. Eve initially appears to be similar to Adam, though later he is seen looking completely different. Eve shouts in rage at the androids for harming his brother. Eve then picks Adam up as 2B and 9S run away, the arena collapsing around them.

There is a cutscene with the twins sitting at a long dining table, Eve eating an apple and Adam reading. Eve laments having to wear clothes while Adam explains they're doing so in order to be like the humans in his records. Eve then questions why he is eating an apple when machines don't need to eat and Adam explains that it is a fruit and says mankind gained great intelligence from such a fruit. Eve asks if they can play together for a bit and Adam agrees.

Later on 9S and 2B discover a bunker underground filled with destroyed alien ships and corpses. Adam and Eve appear behind the pair, the twins now sporting a new look. Adam welcomes the androids and explains their purpose during a fight. Adam explains the bunker is a graveyard for the creators of machines. He introduces himself as Adam, telling 2B the aliens they seek are no longer around, wiped out centuries ago by machines. He threatens to wipe out the androids next. He explains machines are weapons capable of evolution, they can grow and become aware, and the intelligence in the network of machines eventually surpassed that of their creators. Adam is intrigued by the humans on the moon as they are as capable of violence as they are of love. Adam explains that the machines are dedicated to finding out why humans would do such a thing. He requests the androids bring them the humans from the moon, wanting to dissect and analyze them to understand them better. The androids refused and Adam concluded the next step was destroying them in order to get to the humans on the moon. Adam says time is short, threatening the fate of the aliens to be the same fate for the humans on the moon.

In the novel, Adam is resolved to surpass his creators and makes Eve promise him to wait at their table while he heads off to their recreated human city, that they also use as their playground: the Copied City.

Later in the Copied City, Boss Fight 8 begins. Adam emerges from a collection of cubes, now dressed in formal attire with glasses. He starts discussing his interest in humanity, curious about things such as love, family, religion, and war. He claims to be charmed by their complex nature, explaining that he created the city to understand and know humans better, expressing his desire to learn and adopt every facet of humanity. He is intrigued by humans wanting for love and family but then explains that he understands the core of humanity to be conflict. He explains that machines are immortal and invincible but there's not one flicker of life in their data. Death means nothing to machines and so Adam decides to risk his life in battle with 2B, severing his connection to the network meaning if he dies he truly will die. He fights 2B, and when his health reaches a certain area a cutscene will play. He admits he is enjoying himself before floating upwards, the wall of his copied church crumbling away to reveal 9S trapped there, pinned and crucified. Adam lifts his head up, claiming he prepared the situation just for 2B. He says they need something to fight for, and in doing so, reveals the truth about humanity’s extinction.^[3] 2B is in furious denial and Adam is excited by her anger. The fight continues. 2B finally stabs Adam in the stomach and he embraces her with a smile while asking "Is this death?" 2B slices the rest of the way through him and he falls to the ground. He whispers that it is dark and cold before dying.

Eve can be seen at the dining table again, Adam's chair empty. His brother shouts in grief, asking why his brother had to die. He cries that it's not fair to lose his only brother. Eve swears to kill them all with glowing red eyes.

In Ending D, the reformed consciousnesses of both Adam and Eve are also present on the ark, free of any malice or hate towards the androids. Eve sleeps in Adam's embrace and the latter invites 9S to join them, a choice which is player dependent. They, along with the memories of the machine lifeforms, fire off in the ark to explore new worlds.

NieR:Automata Ver1.1a

In episode 8, 9S follows Adam to the Flooded City, believing he was A2. He arrives in a room filled with drawings and paintings of himself and 2B, finding it very strange. After this, he is hacked and kidnapped by Adam, who binds him with tentacles in a virtual world, psychologically provoking 9S and insinuating that he wanted to do something with 2B. What he meant remains ambiguous.

In episode 9, 2B arrives in the Copied City to rescue 9S, finding a church on site and entering it. Inside, she sees several statues of human figures, and further ahead, she encounters several dismantled YoRHa androids forming the YoRHa emblem. Afterward, she reaches a large library where Adam reveals himself to her. 2B recognizes him, and he is pleased by this, explaining the truth about the aliens already being dead, and then asking her to join him. 2B refuses, demanding to know where 9S is, and Adam reveals 9S trapped to the wall with stakes piercing his body, leaving 2B furious. They fight, with Adam materializing a sword similar to 2B's. After a flurry of strikes, Adam reveals that he can regenerate and that machine lifeforms are invincible if connected to the machines' network, but he states that he cut off his connection on purpose because he wanted to understand death to grasp what it means to be human. He reveals that humanity was already extinct, and 2B tries to attack him but is immobilized by copies of 9S created by Adam. However, the city is hacked by 2B's pod, which managed to distract Adam long enough for the pod hack to complete. Adam, stripped of his powers, accepts his death while 2B charges at him. But to everyone's surprise, Eve steps in the way, taking the attack in his place. He manages to throw 2B out of the church before falling, held by Adam, who, still in shock, watches his brother disappear, descending into despair as the place collapses around him.

In episode 10, Adam is shown mourning Eve's death in the spot where they used to be. Machine lifeforms approach, and one of them occupies Eve's chair, which annoys Adam, prompting him to kick the machine's head, killing it. After this, he begins to dwell on his loss, lamenting not having played with Eve before. He burns the shirt he was wearing, revealing a tattoo on his arm, identical to his brother's. He destroys the table by burning it, and then the black marks begin to spread across his body as he shows a furious expression on his face, determined to seek revenge.

In episode 11, Adam attacks the resistance camp, controlling the machine lifeforms. At one point, he transforms into a gigantic creature, claiming that the pursuit of knowledge is meaningless without someone to share it with. He goes into a rage, and during the battle, he is hacked by 9S, who enters his mind, experiencing various scenarios until he sees a memory of Adam with Eve. He then finds himself alone with Adam, who corrupts him with a virus. After the hacking, Adam is destroyed by the resistance's weapons and finished off by the YoRHa Satellite laser, causing a massive explosion.

In episode 12, 2B and 9S discover that Adam survived and go to the destroyed area to kill him. They find him there, trying to regenerate, but he gives up upon noticing their arrival, accepting his end. In his final moments, he grabs 2B's leg, who has a brief glimpse of his memories with Eve. 2B hesitates to attack, surprised to see a machine with a heart, but 9S approaches and finishes him off, stabbing Adam in the head with his sword. Adam then disappears, viewing death as a way to reunite with his brother and fulfill his promise to play with him.

In episode 24, Adam appears alongside Eve, Red Girl, and other machine lifeforms, inviting A2 to join them in the ark. She refuses, and as the tower collapses, the ark takes off into the sky, beginning its journey into space.

Appearances

Adam appears in the following episodes of NieR:Automata Ver1.1a:

• Episode 3, break ti[M]e (appears)
• Episode 4, a mountain too [H]igh (mentioned)
• Episode 5, mave[R]ick (appears)
• Episode 7, [Q]uestionable actions (appears)
• Episode 8, aji wo [K]utta? (appears)
• Episode 9, hun[G]ry for knowledge (appears)
• Episode 10, over[Z]ealous (appears)
• Episode 11, head[Y] battle (appears, different form)
• Episode 12, flowers for m[A]chines (appears)
• Episode 14, mission [F]ailed (mentioned)

Description

Intel

Chapter 03: This unit has achieved an unusual level of evolution among machine lifeforms, as it possesses a strong resemblance to androids. Born naked from a cocoon of machine lifeforms, its movement was initially quite clumsy. It grew rapidly, however, and promptly began learning new methods of attack.

Chapter 05: Adam was again encountered inside the alien mothership. Strangely enough, he spent part of that fight lecturing his foes about how the aliens met their ends at the hands of the machines. Deeply fascinated with mankind, he seeks to dissect the surviving humans on the moon.

Chapter 08: Adam also appeared in the Copied City. His fascination with humanity lead him to create the Copied City in an attempt to imitate them. He then separated himself from the network and put his life on the line against 2B in an attempt to better understand the concepts of life and death. While he eventually gained the knowledge he sought, the price was his own life.

Gameplay

Route A

Adam is fought for the first time in Chapter 03 when 2B and 9S are sent to the Desert Zone to take out the machines there. He begins the battle without attacking, but obtains more skills as the battle progresses. He can deflect melee and ranged attacks, and will fire pillars of light at 2B.

Adam is fought again in Chapter 08, where he has gained more skills and is more aggressive.

Route B

Identical to Route A, Adam is fought in Chapter 03. He is also fought in place of Eve in Chapter 05.

Other Appearances

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius

Adam, 2B, 9S and 21O appeared under the crossover banner "Destroy the Machine Lifeform," and in the game's Global version, A2 and Eve were also added.

War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius

Adam is a summonable vision and an optional playable character in War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.

Trivia

• Along with Eve, Anemone, and Commander White, Adam was designed by Yuya Nagai.
• In the first encounter with Adam in the Desert Zone, Adam does not attack the player until provoked after several iterations of evolving, even asking 2B & 9S why must they fight.
• Out of the two brothers, Yoko Taro considers Eve to be the more "intelligent" one and closer to being human due to him only wanting to be with his brother and make him happy. Their relationship can be seen as a cynical reflection of adult and child mentalities, with children being the more emotionally intelligent ones at times in knowing what they really want.^[4]
  • Yoko Taro has also stated that Eve's emotions are more complex than Adam's, as Eve wants to create something new with his relationship with Adam whereas Adam is ultimately expanding his knowledge like a machine expands its database. Adam has an adult-like mentality of conforming to societal expectations by reading and acquiring knowledge, with him unable to realize he is further straying from humanity.^[4]
• The way Eve carries Adam in the Desert Zone and Adam carrying Eve in the Copied City of NieR:Automata Ver1.1a mirrors 2B carrying 9S in World Guide Volume 1 Cover and the introductory scene of the anime.
• Adam and his twin brother share similarities with One and her twin brother from the Drakengard series.
  • Both take inspiration from the biblical story of Adam and Eve, with One's brother and Eve being born from hers and Adam's ribs respectively.
  • Both One and Adam also mentor and educate their younger siblings, and share a desire for knowledge.
  • After One and Adam's deaths, both of their siblings create the image of the Three-Eyed Gemini as their soldiers go insane, develop cults, and exhibit red eyes.
• During episode 9 of NieR:Automata Ver1.1a in the fight between Adam and 2B, Adam makes a copy of 2B's sword, Virtuous Contract.
  • In the same episode, Adam builds multiple body copies of 9S to fight 2B.
• During episode 11 of NieR:Automata Ver1.1a, Adam transforms into a Multi-limb, a monster from NieR Reincarnation.
• In NieR:Automata Ver1.1a Eve is the one who dies in the Copied City, not Adam as seen in NieR:Automata.

Gallery

References

Navigation

Characters   NieR Main Other Blue Carlo Defense System: Geppetto Dimo Fisherman Gideon Goose Grimoire Rubrum Halua Hans Hansel & Gretel Hook Jack Jakob Kainé (Gestalt) Kainé's Grandfather Kali Kali (Gestalt) Kalil King's Advisor Nier's Mother Nier's Wife P-33 Red-Bag Couple Roc Sebastian Shadowlord (Father) Shahriyar The Dragon The Giant Tyrann Ursula Wendy Yonah (Gestalt)   Automata Main YoRHa YoRHa Boys Other Accord Auguste Big Sister Machine Boku-Shi Council of Humanity Engels Erica Ernst Grün Hegel Immanuel Jean-Paul Juliet Kierkegaard Ko-Shi Little Sister Machine Marx No.2 (Prototype) No.9 (Prototype) Pod-24 Ro-Shi Romeo Seed Shion Simone So-Shi Sonia SS YoRHa No.4 Type S YoRHa No.8 Type B YoRHa No.22 Type B YoRHa No.64 Type B YoRHa Type A No.1 YoRHa Type P No.2 Zinnia   Reincarnation Main Memory Collab Other Eleanor Him Hina (Divergent Reality) Mourning Mother Old Man Yuzuki (Divergent Reality)