Adam Taurus

I do agree with this statement, mainly on Adam. You can see how much they hate him and as such they make him as shit as possible. Its like some people who write HP fanfictions, they specifically single out characters they do not like and proceed to bash those characters even if the plot does not really require it.
This is Protagonist Centered morality/Moral Myopia at its finest. Ilia is a good person despite doing arguably worse things than Adam as far as the on screen actions depict, and no one calls her out on her skewed morality like Adam is. She calls out her old school "friends" for laughing about Faunus deaths despite not even trying to protest, even joining in on it. So Racism is wrong when it's not directed at your own parents? There is no defense of this behavior unless you assume Ilia's crush on a main character and arbitrary sympathy from Blake puts her above Adam. For that matter, why is Blake more invested in Ilia's morality than Adam's?
RWBY: Black Trailer: Blake and Adam work in tangent with one another to attack a SDC cargo train. “Don’t be so dramatic” is said lightheartedly- possibly even flirtatiously to Adam. Both individuals show a clear partnership and relationship built on mutual trust, often jumping in front of bullets the other might not have been able to avoid. Adam saves Blake from getting stepped on by the Spider drone. Blake completely trusts Adam when he hangs back and says “buy me some time” indicating that at the very least she trusts him with her life and knows that he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her while he readies whatever attack he might be readying. Blake looks genuinely solemn when she cuts the engine off from the rest of the train, as if it was a tough decision to make.
RWBY: Best Day Ever: Blake: *draws Adam in her notebook. the drawing is completely non-threatening and decently detailed, indicating that she at least is thinking about him in some positive light and misses him. His back is turned, indicating that she might feel distant from him when she might not necessarily want to be feeling that way*
RWBY: Mountain Glenn: Blake: *Calls Adam her partner and mentor. Calls him a monster after discussing how his views had changed while she knew him, and she could no longer support his lack of morals- at no point does she mention or even imply that he was abusive towards her or that his views regarding humanity had become so militant, only stating that “his idea for a perfect future turned out to be… not perfect for everyone.”
RWBY: Beginning of the End: Adam: In an extremely uncharacteristic move for an “abuser,” personally cancels the search party constructed by the White Fang that was set to look for Blake. (Abusers are normally extremely possessive over their victims and would not have allowed them to escape so easily, see also: 50 Shades of Gray)
RWBY: Destiny: Blake: “I had someone very near to me change. It wasn’t in an instant, it was gradual. Little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry. At first they were accidents, then it was self defense. Before long even I began to think he was right.” Again, neither a mention nor an implication that Adam was ever abusive towards her. She’s clearly painting the picture that at one point Adam was someone who she felt close to and could support 100% however he began to change in ways she couldn’t support. With ample opportunity to say something to the people she cares about and trusts the most she never says Adam so much as mistreated her.
RWBY: Heroes and Monsters: Adam: *Kicks her Blake in the fucking face. Says multiple times he wants to see her suffer for “betraying” him. Pimp-hands the fuck out of her. Claims his undying love for her in full M’lady fashion. Claims he still loves her but says he’ll make it his mission to destroy everything she ever loved? Fucking stabs Blake who is unarmed in the stomach without a second thought?? Slices Yang’s fucking arm off????? ATTEMPTS TO FUCKING DECAPITATE BLAKE?!!??!!?
People who’ve been analyzing RWBY since the trailers: ??????????? IS THIS THE SAME PERSON???? IS THIS SERIOUSLY THE SAME PERSON WE MET THREE YEARS AGO??? WHERE DID THIS MAN COME FROM???? WHERE IS THE CONSISTENCY IN THIS MAN’S PORTRAYAL????
I'm gonna be honest, i disliked the entire part when Adam became completely crazy over Blake. I really liked how calm and calculated he was and would have liked if they would have continued to write him like that. Idk maybe make him go after Blake because she is a threat to the White Fang after Volume 4 and 5, instead of his "How could you leave me?" stuff. I don't have a problem with Adam dying really, it was bound to happen this fight in hindsight, but i was shocked to see that two Main characters actually killed someone.

Physical Description

Facial Features

You'd think branding the faunus would be a PR nightmare, which makes me think that what happened to Adam is the exception and not the rule.

Apparel & Accessories

My idea for why adam has a mask would be that perhaps what if he had a connection to raven (this idea came to mind in volume 2). it would explain their shared mask usage, red and black motif, and katana based fighting style). the idea was that adam was a disciple of raven and thus adopted some of her features out of respect. this was before they made adam a nutcase and he was still just a conflicted man whose responsibilities were beating him down into the beast blake feared he would become which didn't help when cinder put a metaphorical leash on him and that blake abandoned him on the same day.
also to add to the web of relationship this would also connect adam to yang since adam would have been her mothers student who she gave much more attention which would make things awkward since adam cut yangs arm off.
I had the exact same idea. When Raven first showed up I IMMEDIATELY thought that they were going to establish that she taught Adam how to fight. They have so many similarities that it couldn't be a coincidence. It would have been very interesting that Raven took Adam as a student and very interesting that Adam learned from a human. It would have been a great way to explain a lot about Adam and would have given more depth to why he did stuff. Raven could have even been influential in Adam's descent into villainy with how she taught him, even if it was accidental. That would have connected Raven more to what's going on and give her more reason to be involved in things.

Specialized Equipment

Adam's weapons "Wilt and Blush" are named for a loved one who died of sickness. The loved one died of sickness which had high fever as a symptom, hence looking like a permanent "blush", before s/he passed away after being too weak in body - the person "wilted" away. Adding to this is that the name of the sword is "Wilt", and could represent how the person's life was "severed" (as if by the cut of a blade) by sickness; the gun's name is "Blush", where blushing covers a rather wide area of the face (to which Adam has been seen using Blush more like a shotgun instead of a rifle).

Mental characteristics

Personal history

I never got the impression that Adam and Blake was an abusive relationship. From volume 1 to 2, I thought of it as like an Anakin Skywalker/Ashoka Tano situation where you got a mentor turning to the dark side. But then from volume 3 onward, they transformed it into an abusive relationship which makes me question why did Blake not mention this in the campfire scene in volume 2? Why didn't Adam mistreat her in the Black trailer as well as that one moment in the volume 3 finale? This whole abusive relationship thing with Adam and Blake just screams retcon to me.
I agree, it's definitely a retcon. I like the Anakin/Ahsoka comparison you made cause that would really make their relationship interesting. Blake even specifically refers to him as a mentor in Vol 2. I always got a sort of surrogate big brother vibe from how Adam had been built up. Blake's backstory screamed "orphan" or "missing parents" so I figured Adam must be like the only family she has. And the tragedy is that her only family has gone full on terrorist. There's a lot to explore between Blake and Adam and what their relationship was. But then Adam all of a sudden is turned into an abusive ex boyfriend who only wants revenge on Blake and all of the potential that Adam's character had was just flushed down the drain. He even lost his fighting style come Vol 3.
Adam could’ve been the perfect villain for all of Team RWBY. Adam clashes with Ruby on their color scheme, different flower motif, contrasting worldviews, and both being Paragons for their factions, making Adam Ruby’s dark foil. Adam clashes with Weiss over the WF’s fight with the SDC and how their atrocities have negatively affected her life. Adam clashes with Blake over their shared past and how Blake used to look up to Adam as a hero and father-figure, now that petastle is broken. Adam clashes with Yang due to their similar Semblances and because she finds out that Raven taught Adam how to fight and she sees finding Adam as a clue to finding Raven.
Adam needs time to both ready his Semblance before he stores an attack and time to store energy into his body/weapon and then release it, so he usually needs a partner out in the field to fight effectively. Knowing that he stores potential energy in his sword for later use, it's possible that storing too much will either overflow or blow up in his face. That could be why he says "Just a little is fine". He wears a mask because he got overconfident, didn't understand his limits fully and stored too much energy, the energy exploding and scarring his face. Blake being concerned also suggests she saw this happen first-hand.
Wait I'm confused, if Adam was marked by The Schnee Dust Company, why doesn't he go after Weiss or her family as revenge? If he wants to destroy everything that Blake love and care about, why doesn't he attack Ruby, Weiss, etc? All we see him interact with in the main cast is Blake and Yang. Speaking of which, has Adam ever even met Ruby or Weiss?
Nope, they never met. Infact, Qrow, Ozpin/Oscar, and JNR don't even know he exists.
"I'll destroy everything you love." "Not my teammates!" "Holy shit, you have friends!? Not just the blonde one?"
That also reminded me that before the first volume started Monty did say that Adam and Ruby had a connection after fans asked since they both have rose symbols, but he was extremely vague. I bet he did have a plan, or at least an idea that he shared with Miles and Kerry, and yet they totally ignored it and Adam was only around Blake and Yang, which is a shame. I know Monty was prone to spontaneous plot additions, but it seemed like he had Adam's story all figured out but it was immediately hijacked upon his death. Even worse M&K decided to include the Maidens and all the magic stuff because those were the last ideas Monty came up with, only to not integrate them fluidly into the series AT ALL and make them almost meaningless.
When you say the Schnee Dust Company, wouldn't that also include anybody working for that company like human employees or managers and not just the CEO and his family. Though the only time we see this is him attacking the train in the Black trailer, Weiss mentions that friends of her family disappear, the companies board members executed, along with mention of stolen dust from the train(No doubt Adam's involved even though it's not said, but it's a no brainer when you think about which villain hates humans the most that could be involved), we see him encouraging the other faunus to sabotage at the beginning of his short, and raiding one of the facilities owned by the SDC.
I'm so glad you said this because it hit me too. He's a Blake sidestory villain when he should've been a RWBY boss villain. It shouldn't have been Blake and Yang fighting him. It should have been team RWBY fighting him. Ruby could've been there face to face with the man that mutilated her sister and stabbed her friend. As you said about SDC, Weiss would be face to face, again, with another faunus that wanted revenge, but this time it's more dangerous. This fight became all about Blake and Yang protecting each other and stuff when it should've been an introduction to the real monsters they'd have to face before Salem.
Another good idea, but I'd personally have Mercury take Yang's arm. Deepen their rivalry, provide Yang with a lower benchmark to surpass and give Mercury a nice moment where he realises that he's become just like his father.
That would be bloody beautiful it would give Mercury more screen time. It would help us see what makes him tick and maybe give him a redemption arc at some point after he loses to Yang.
This is why I have started to think that Blake and Weiss should have been Adams rivals not Blake and Yang. think about it if Weiss were to confront Adam she would not only be fighting the embodiment of the spiteful white fang ideology that contributed to her harsh childhood. But she would also be confronting a monster that her family played a role in creating. From Adams point of view Blake standing up for and fighting alongside a Schnee would be a massive insult to him. But nope this never happens and it hurts me.
you know original the creator intended Adam to be the one who kill Penny and make him feels regret after killing her.

Morality & Philosophy

Pre-Volume 3, Adam had the most potential to be a complex villain, he could've been a person with a good motive and intention led astray by his experiences with racism against faunus which would make his descent into villainy understandable but not outright justified. He used to be depicted as dangerous with his power and fighting skill along with his charisma that is implied to have ensured many faunus' loyalty to him but he also had his defining flaws like his hostile attitude to humans based on the simple fact that humans are not faunus and narrow vision that led him to commit atrocities all for the name of Faunus Emancipation/Supremacy. With power, skills, charisma and a start of villainy that made sense, he could've been a great villainous character.
Post-Volume 3, he became an unhinged manchild no one in their right mind would follow who is single-mindedly obsessed with Blake and is then one-shotted by her in Volume 5, all in the name of subtext because Blake's VA made out their relationship to be romantic in nature instead of a teacher-student with Adam being an abusive boyfriend on social media. The character derailment is real with Adam and it cost RWBY as well because they could've also used Adam to have a deeper look into Faunus racism and make it a grey-and-grey morality but no, it's easier to nerf him and make him a shallow character that would only serve as a way to make Blake look better, what a joke.
I know the faunus subplot has been so poorly handled that it practically espouses racism/segregation, but I feel like this one can't be screwed up.
If there is one villain who should not be killed, whether or not he's redeemed, or thrown in jail or just vanishes, it's Adam. Why? The White Fang plot is practically all about how violence and bloodshed isn't the answer, and that the faunus have been misled down a dark path. After we've now found out that Adam himself was misled by Sienna, him dying, either as redemption or, god forbid, at the hands of the heroes and this being treated as the right thing would miss the point so hard it'd hurt.
Especially when Ilia's apparently been a full-on terrorist for five years(there while Ghira was in charge) and has been accepted with a pat on the back after attempting an assassination on the entire Belladonna family. No amount of sad faces in the middle of missions is going to change that. Even if Blake winds up being miraculously spotless and has never done anything wrong while being part of a terrorist group for five years and a radicalizing organization for probably 5-6 more, Ilia's an actual terrorist. Obviously I'm referring to the narrative, not the characters themselves being aware of the themes of the show.
Adam is willing to kill out of spite, but that does not make Ilia not a terrorist. She has been an active combatant for five years and has been on, using the Short as proof here, missions including the higher-ups of the entire White Fang. She's up there. She's not a goon following orders. She's not even like Adam where she's been misled into thinking that this was the only way and spiraled out of control.
This is someone who would have been fighting on the frontlines for five years for the baddies and at least for 1.5 of those years(see: pre-Adam being placed in Vale at all) had been aware of her actions being morally ambiguous at best.
A line can't be drawn between "oh well this person's a terrorist and felt bad, but this person was a terrorist and didn't feel bad" especially when both of them have undoubtedly done the same things. Ilia is not a goon just following orders.
On whether or not the assassination was justifiable on grounds of it being war, yea, generally terrorists don't like it when people get in the way of terrorism. Doesn't make them blowing others up acceptable. Personally? Oh yeah, Blake absolutely is in that category and the fact that she gets away with literal terrorism is insane.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Adam used to be a member of Raven's bandit clan. Both wear Grimm masks, and it's implied that Adam was the one who started that trend among the White Fang, and both wield swords with blood red blades, and are heavily associated with the colors black and red.
Blake and Adam nickname each other "Dum-Dum" whenever they think the other is doing something stupid.

Family Ties

Adam was a father-figure to Blake. This one also gets into Blake's past a bit and is a bit of a Tear Jerker. Blake was orphaned when her parents were killed in the Schnee Dust Company’s mines likely due to poor maintenance on the Company's part. Adam, through a moment of genuine compassion, takes Blake in providing her a place to live and food on the table, effectively adopting her and become her mentor in the process of inducting her into White Fang( Change this to Adam was considering for her to join the WF but Blake left before she could become an official member). She never realizes just how terrible he really is until the Train Job.
Adam was Blake's Big Brother Mentor and the one who got her into the White Fang. Even though Blake abandoned him during their mission in her trailer, she looked genuinely sad about it and still thinks about Adam judging from the fact that she doodles him in her journal during volume 2. There's also Adam's Futile Hand Reach towards her. Considering any Faunus who tries going AWOL is killed, it's a wonder how Blake got away with no one out to kill her when her partner was (or at least seems to be) a high ranking member of the organization. Perhaps Adam took her under his wing when she was younger and taught her to fight and eventually got her to join the White Fang. And now that she's gone, Adam is either not telling anybody about her going AWOL for her safety or because he wants to be the one to take her out.

Social Aptitude

I always saw Adam as a King Bradley type character in terms of personality. Shows an affable exterior for his subordinates but is hiding a burning hatred for all of his enemies, tempered by a quiet and cold frown. This could lend parallels between him and Jacques, who is also dangerous and cold. Adam could have been this darker version of Ruby where he wants to make life for his people better but life kicked him in the teeth too many times. Adam is/was Blake’s father figure. Adam is a utilitarian “the ends justifies the means” type villian. Adam remembers Blake’s parents and that they took him in when he was starving out in the streets. Adam could’ve been the perfect villain for all of Team RWBY. Killmonger from Black Panther is Adam done right. Adam legitimately cares about Blake and her safety in a surrogate father sort-of-way.

Character Prototype

Allusions- The Beast, The Minotaur, Bull Demon King, Mowgli, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Wrath( FMA:B). He can still be Mowgli. They just made the characters come after him that's all. I think they made those guys as extra foreshadowing for Adams reveal. He is mowgli because all the animals called him man cub and Adams name means Man Bull. Also the animals were afraid of mowgli because of his power over fire and Adam has a lot of imagery with fire. His sword in the black trailer has streaks of fire come out of it and when black burns down the house she points to the fire and said it's the future of the Faunus if Adam has his way. He kills sienna similar to mowgli. Mowgli just traps the tiger and kills him with a stampede of bulls. Adam kills her wearing bull mask. Also Adam is associated with the white fang. The white fang is a novel who’s main character is a wolf and Mowgli grows up in a wolf pack like how Adam grows with the white Fang. And lastly the animals had a nickname for Mowgli's power. They called it red flower......and what flower is Adam associated with?