Phallic, ain’t he?
Make My Marvel! – Swordsman
Jacques Duquesne was the first hero/anti-hero/villain to go by the Swordsman moniker. A circus performer alongside future Avenger/man-slut Hawkeye, Jacques developed astronomical debt due to a gambling problem (his problem was that he wasn’t any good at it. Zing!). Jacques turned to crime in order to pay off his debts. After developing the Swordsman persona, he later attempted to join the Avengers, thinking playing as a hero would place him in position to commit even more profitable crimes. Laughing at Swordsman’s far-too-sensible bootcuffs, the Avengers rejected his application for membership, at which point Swordsman attacked Captain America. He escaped before the Avengers could apprehend him and came into service of the Mandarin. The Mandarin enhanced Swordsman’s abillities and facillitated his eventual membership into the Avengers as a spy.
Apparently like nearly every other heterosexual male/male android (makes you wonder about Cap, doesn’t it?), Swordsman developed tingly feelings in his tights for the Scarlet Witch and ended up buying fully into the hero gig. Unfortunately for him and his chances of bagging Wanda, Mandarin’s plot was uncovered and Swordsman was forced to flee. He returned (reluctantly) to crime for a period before once again attempting to make amends. Swordsman rejoined the Avengers and later sacrificed himself to save Mantis, the Celestial Madonna. Swordsman’s surprisingly not rotified corpse became the host body of a tree spirit that ended up proposing to and marrying Mantis. The two flew off and became parents to the Celestial Messiah. Yeah, cocaine is a helluva drug.
Philip Javert was the second hero to take up the Swordsman name. This Swordsman was originally an Avenger from a parallel universe. Following the death of the rest of his team, Swordsman part deux was tricked by the villain Proctor into aiding him in assassinating every version of Sersi.
Swordsman II: Electric Boogaloo eventually was brought to Earth-616 where he initially fought that realities’ Avengers. He and his companion Magdalene turned on Proctor and joined the Avengers. Following several altercations with Proctor, Swordsman II: Swordsmen United and Magdalene later left for another dimension.
Our third Swordsman is longtime X-villain and evil mutant Andreas Strucker. Following the death of his twin sister Andrea, Andreas joined the Thunderbolts as the third Swordsman following promises that his sister would be returned to life after one year of service. That didn’t so much happen and Andreas, who could only use his mutant power as Fenris while being in physical contact with his sister, crafted a leathered strap made from Andrea’s skin so that he could continue to use his powers. He turned on the Thunderbolts (Zemo specifically) though is currently still a member of the team.
Now’s the time to decide: Which version of Swordsman do you most want made for Marvel Legends? Answer by voting in this week’s poll: http://www.thefwoosh.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=96
**Some images courtesy of Comicvine.com**