Mercenary Of The Ages!

Can YOU

Name This Marvel Villain??

It's hard to imagine someone laying claim to being the greatest warrior in the galaxy, much less the universe, though we've met a few--for instance, the Elder, Champion, certainly held that opinion of himself, while the Over-Mind felt that he could crush any opposition on his way to universal conquest. But if you've never heard of the Berserker, who looks like he stepped right off the set of Ben-Hur, it's not because he's been hiding under a rock. More like a mountain, though we'll get to that in a moment.

For now, we have to figure out just how what appears to be a soldier from ancient Earth became a warrior feared throughout the universe. Let's go back a few centuries, where we find two tribes at war--and the sole survivor of one of those tribes flees into what they all called "The Cave of Glowing Walls," where none had ever returned from. But this man proves to be the exception.

That fury is first unleashed on the entire tribe that slew his own. Since then, this now-immortal "berserker," who develops a real knack for killing, goes on to fulfill that insane desire for centuries, becoming a hired gun for those in power who can make good use of his "talent." And while there's no clear answer as to how such a thing might come to pass, his growing reputation reaches the stars, where others who might benefit from his services await.

Finally, an ancient race known as the Earth Lords--who wielded power over the elements--move to destroy the Berserker, though they found that his power had grown to such an extent that they could only contain him.

But before he could carry out his mission, the "guardian" that the narrative refers to--the Shadow Lord--came into conflict with the Avengers, who mistook him as an enemy and inadvertently caused his death. Elsewhere, in the Italian countryside, a group of archeologists have excavated what they believed to be a body that had become a casualty of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius--but what they have unwittingly returned to life from his 2,000-year slumber may well become responsible for the deaths of millions.

Seeking to right their wrong, the Avengers assume the mission of the Shadow Lord and seek out the Berserker. Yet while our villain may seem at first glance little more than an outdated soldier of an empire long since extinct, his centuries-old reputation speaks for itself (and from what we've seen, speaks quite a distance, at that)--and though the Avengers are a force to be reckoned with as well, they're caught off guard by an aggressive foe whose way of life has been nothing but battle and dispensing death.

To make a long story short, the Avengers are decisively clobbered. In addition to the power he gained in the cave, the Berserker has accumulated advanced weaponry which has effectively countered anything that the Avengers have used against him. A shield that dissolves anything that touches it; a dagger that can wound even the Vision; armor that stands up to Iron Man's assault; gauntlets that sap Wonder Man's might and adds it to his own; and strength that deals with Captain America and the others.

But following a hunch regarding gems that came from the Shadow Lord, a desperate Wonder Man is able to banish the Berserker forever.

To date, the Berserker remains a one-shot villain from 1981 who appears to be trapped in dimensional exile indefinitely.