Publication history
The Swordsman first appeared as a supervillain in The Avengers #19 (1965). [6] He went on to appear in The Avengers #20, 30, 38, 65, 78 and 79 (1965–1970). The Swordsman changed his ways and became a superhero in The Avengers #100 (1972) and later became a member of the Avengers in The Avengers #112–130 (1973–1974), Defenders #9–11 (1973), Captain Marvel #32–33 (1974), Fantastic Four #150 (1974), Giant-Size Avengers #2 (1974) and Avengers Spotlight #22 (1989). Later, the Cotati-possessed Swordsman appeared in The Avengers #134, 135, 157, 160 (1975–1977), Giant-Size Avengers #4 (1975) and West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #39 (1988).
The Swordsman has been a member of various supervillain groups, including the Lethal Legion in The Avengers #78–79 (1970) and Iron Man Annual #7 (1984), the Emissaries of Evil in Alpha Flight Special (vol. 2) #1 (1992), and the Legion of the Unliving in The Avengers Annual #16 (1987), Avengers West Coast #61 (1990) and Avengers (vol. 3) #10–11 (1998).
Introduced as a villainous counterpart to Hawkeye in the pages of The Avengers, the Swordsman went on to appear in Hawkeye #1 (1983), Solo Avengers #2 (1988), Hawkeye (vol. 3) #3 (2004) and Hawkeye: Blindspot #1 (2011) as part of Hawkeye's origins. The Swordsman also battled Captain America in Tales of Suspense #88 (1967) and Captain America #105 (1968).
The 2010–2011 crossover storyline Chaos War saw the return of the Swordsman. He was one of the central characters in the tie-in series Chaos War: Dead Avengers (2010–2011). The Swordsman also featured in Chaos War #2 & 4–5 (2010–2011) and Chaos War: Ares #1 (2010).
Fictional character history
Jacques Duquesne grew up as a privileged youth in the (fictional) Southeast Asian nation of Siancong, then under French rule. [7] Unlike his father and other European residents, Duquesne held no prejudice against the Siancongese natives, and after performing an act of kindness for a native servant, he was invited to join a communist rebellion against French rule. As the costumed Swordsman, Duquesne, fancying himself a swashbuckling freedom fighter, helped liberate Siancong, only to learn the rebel leader Wong Chu had killed Duquesne's father. [8] Devastated and disillusioned, Duquesne departed Siancong to seek adventure. [9] Nothing else is known of Duquesne's early career, but he eventually joined the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders; although his swordplay made him one of the carnival's star attractions, he gradually descended into gambling and drunkenness, his youthful idealism long behind him.
Eventually Duquesne, by now in his thirties or older, took a young runaway named Clint Barton under his wing and taught him how to use bladed weapons, while another performer, Trick Shot, taught Barton archery, at which he proved to be a master. [10] [11] The young Clint stumbled upon Duquesne stealing money from the carnival's paymaster to pay a gambling debt. Clint attempted to turn his mentor over to the law, but he was pursued by Duquesne and badly beaten. Before Duquesne could deliver the fatal blow, Trick Shot stepped in to save the young boy. Duquesne then fled the carnival and adapted his swordsplay act to become a costumed supervillain. [12]
Years later, the Swordsman attempted to join the Avengers (whose members included Clint Barton, now known as the superhero Hawkeye) to take advantage of the benefits that go with an Avenger ID. He was refused entry into the team, largely due to Hawkeye's protests and the fact he was wanted in different states, and threatened to kill Captain America after capturing him, but the rest were able to rescue him. [10] After failing the first time around, he was accepted into the Avengers. However, he was secretly an agent of the Mandarin, who had teleported him to his castle before the Avengers could capture him, and created a pseudo-image of Iron Man to recommend the Swordsman to the Avengers. [13] The Mandarin also fitted the Swordsman's sword with extra powers, such as firing artificial lightning bolts, though he warned the Swordsman if they were ever pointed at him they would reverse. Soon after joining the Avengers, the Swordsman revealed his true intentions and betrayed the team, planting a bomb on the control panels which could be activated by remote-control. He soon had a change of heart and betrayed the Mandarin to save the Avengers. Despite his heroics, the Swordsman left the ranks of the Avengers, knowing the Mandarin would now be against him. [14]
The Swordsman went back to being a supervillain for hire and battled the Avengers on numerous occasions. Under Black Widow's leadership, the Swordsman teamed with the original Power Man and fought the superhero team, capturing nearly all of its members. [15] With Power Man, he fought against Captain America as agents of the Red Skull. [16] The Swordsman also participated in the Mandarin's attempt at world conquest, along with other villains. [17] He later battled Captain America again, as a member of Batroc's Brigade, [18] was employed by Egghead where he battled Hawkeye (in his Goliath persona). [19] Along with Power Man, the Swordsman joined the supervillain group the Lethal Legion and battled the Avengers. [20] Eventually, the Swordsman briefly rejoined the Avengers in a war against Ares in Olympus. [21] Later, he met with Mantis, an ally of the Avengers, [22] and then rejoined the Avengers after he secretly fell in love with her. [23] He subsequently participated in the Avengers/Defenders war. [24]
In his last mission, Duquesne aided the Avengers in the conflict that involved Kang's quest for the "Celestial Madonna". To facilitate his plans, Kang had captured the Avengers present at the time – Vision, Thor, Iron Man, Mantis, The Scarlet Witch, and their guest Agatha Harkness – but left Swordsman behind because he considered him useless. Humiliated but determined to show Kang his true worth, Swordsman tracked the captive Avengers to Kang's pyramid base in Gizeh, where he encountered Rama-Tut, Kang's chronological alter ego. With his help and the assistance of Hawkeye, who had just returned from a leave of absence, Swordsman managed to free his fellow Avengers. It was later revealed that Mantis was in fact the "Celestial Madonna". After Kang's plans were foiled and he decided not to leave the Madonna to anyone else, the Swordsman sacrificed his life by intercepting Kang's energy blast which was meant for Mantis. [25] [26]
Mantis soon after married the eldest of Earth's alien Cotati, who had resurrected and possessed the Swordsman's corpse and infused a portion of its own consciousness into it. [27] Mantis and Swordsman went on to have a son together called Sequoia who became the Celestial Messiah. [28] After battling the Avengers, the Cotati-possessed Swordsman crumbled to dust. [29]
During the Chaos War storyline, Swordsman is among the deceased heroes released by Pluto to defend the Underworld from Amatsu-Mikaboshi. [30] Returning to Earth, the Swordsman joins a team of "dead" Avengers, led by Captain Mar-Vell, who take it upon themselves to protect their unconscious teammates from the Grim Reaper. After the battle only the Swordsman and the Rita DeMara Yellowjacket remained. [31]
In the "Road to Empyre," the eldest of Earth's Cotati still using the Swordsman's body and Sequoia have reappeared on the Blue Area of the Moon after the oxygen-rich area was revitalized. They request the Avengers help to avoid another Cotati massacre by the Kree/Skrull Alliance. [32] However, it quickly transpires that the Cotati are deceiving the Avengers and seek to exterminate all 'meat'-based life, starting with humanity. This "Cotati" Swordsman is confronted in Wakanda by the Black Panther who destroys him. [33]
