WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Record of Ragnarok, now streaming on Netflix.
Netflix's Record of Ragnarok pits humanity against the gods in a brutal tournament to stave off the former's annihilation. In just its second bout, the anime shocks viewers with Brunhilde sending in Adam, the First Man God created, to eventually take on Zeus. However, in the heat of battle, as we learn more about Adam's motivations for fighting against the gods, Zeus underrates Adam, who has a secret deadly ability that puts a bloody twist on the Bible's first sin.
In Christian scripture, Eve ate an apple from the Tree of Knowledge after God explicitly told her and Adam not to. She then influenced Adam, which resulted in their expulsion from Paradise, despite Eve being coaxed by the Devil into it. As it turned out, Satan disguised himself as a serpent and goaded her on, promising she wouldn't regret the defiance.
Record of Ragnarok warps that story but with a more altruistic spin, painting Eve as an innocent victim as we're shown the Serpent trying to assault her in the garden during a flashback sequence. As it wants her to be his mate, it takes on a more humanoid form. Eve is able to escape, though, much to the Serpent's annoyance. It's clearly being used as a statement on toxic masculinity and misogyny, qualities that get worse when it bites an apple.
It gets its revenge by framing Eve, who's then thrown into court, with all the other gods chastizing her. They believe she's a sinner and must be put to death, but Adam has other plans. As the courtroom doors are flung open, one of the Titan soldiers comes crashing through, with Adam close behind.
With a basketful of apples in hand, to everyone's shock, he starts biting and casting them aside, disrespecting everyone in the room while sticking up for his wife, knowing she was lied about. The Serpent loses it as it sees the undying love they both share, turning into its most monstrous form to attack Adam. However, it didn't know about his gift, imbued in him by God.
Adam, made in God's image, can copy any deity. So, as the Serpent (aka the opposite to God, but still a heavenly entity) lunges, Adam copies its claws and slashes the reptilian demon to death. He doesn't care about the blood spilled -- he's just there to rescue his wife. With everyone frightened to face him, Adam then takes her out of the room and heads to Earth as he doesn't want to be part of the celestial realm anymore.
He can't stand the betrayal, hypocrisy, ego and how no one gave him and Eve the benefit of doubt in a loaded, unfair trial. This memory is what spurs Eve and their sons, Cain and Abel, to support their dad vociferously in the Valhalla arena during Record of Ragnarok's main tournament. As for Adam, he's not just fighting for them, but all of mankind, whom he considers his children.
