Swordsman (comics) - Fictional Character History

Fictional Character History

Jacques Duquesne grew up as a privileged youth in the (fictional) Southeast Asian nation Sin-Cong, then under French rule. Unlike his father and other European residents, Duquesne held no prejudice against the Sin-Cong 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 Sin-Cong, only to learn the rebel leader Wong Chu had killed Jacques' father. Devastated and disillusioned, Duquesne departed Sin-Cong to seek adventure. 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. 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 adopted his swordsplay act to become a costumed supervillain.

Years later, the Swordsman attempted to join the Avengers (whose members included Clint Barton, now known as the superhero Hawkeye) in order 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. 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. 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.

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. With Power Man, he fought against Captain America as agents of the Red Skull. The Swordsman also participated in the Mandarin's attempt at world conquest, along with other villains. He later battled Captain America again, as a member of Batroc's Brigade, was employed by Egghead where he battled Hawkeye (in his Goliath persona). Along with Power Man, the Swordsman joined the supervillain group the Lethal Legion and battled the Avengers.

Eventually, the Swordsman briefly rejoined the Avengers in a war against Ares in Olympus Later, he met with Mantis, an ally of the Avengers, and then rejoined the Avengers after he secretly fell in love with her. He subsequently participated in the Avengers/Defenders war.