BATTLEAXE

Real Name: Anita Ehren

Identity/Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Mercenary, former professional wrestler

Group Membership: Grapplers, Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation (UCWF), Superia's Femizons

Affiliations: Power Broker Inc. (source of powers, Power Broker)

Enemies: BAD Girls INC (Asp (Cleo Nefertiti), Black Mamba, Impala), Captain America, Chilean soldiers, Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Paladin, Puppet Master, Scourge, Thing, Titania (Davida DeVita, competitor/rival)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Currently unknown; formerly Femizonia Island; training facility for the UCWF/Grapplers

First Appearance: Thing I#33 (March, 1986)

Powers: Battleaxe has superhuman strength (Class 50-75?) and durability. She is a trained wrestler, and is skilled in using that form of combat. After leaving wrestling, she started carrying a pair of large battleaxes as weapons.

History: BTS-Battleaxe, like the majority of the members of the UCWF, presumably obtained her powers by undergoing the strength augmentation process of Power Broker INC. She became a member of the Grapplers after the group affiliated with the UCWF and greatly expanded its membership.

(Thing I#33) - Battleaxe defeated Titania, a member of the original Grapplers, and claimed the title as new champion of the Grapplers. Despite their unfriendly rivalry, Battleaxe was enraged when Titania was shot and killed soon after by Scourge, posing as a Grappler named Golddigger. Battleaxe believed (incorrectly) Scourge to be a single person, a man, and having no means to take out her anger on Scourge, she sought the closest male target. Battleaxe convinced the UCWF president, Edward Garner, to arrange a battle of the sexes match between herself and the Thing, who was then the champion of the men's division. The Thing was having girlfriend troubles at the time, and became frustrated enough with women to eventually agree to the competition. However, when it came down to it, he couldn't take out his aggressions on Battleaxe. He recognized that she was taking out her frustrations on him, and so he allowed her to defeat him. Battleaxe realized he had let her win, and she was even more angry after the fight, declaring the contest void.

(Captain America I#387+388-BTS, 389-391, [392]) - Battleaxe answered an invitation to join Superia's Femizons. She traveled aboard the luxury liner, the S. S. Superia, to Femizonia Island. En route, Captain America and the Paladin were caught attempting to ascertain their activities (that would be spying on them). Battleaxe, along with an army of super-villainesses attacked and captured the two.

Superia's plot was ultimately foiled, with additional assistance of the Asp and Black Mamba. Superia put a price on their heads: @ $10, 000 a piece, dead or alive.

(Captain America I#394/2, 395(395/2)) - Battleaxe, along with Steel Wind and another Golddigger, encountered the Asp and Black Mamba at "The Bar" a club populated by costumed criminals. Battleaxe and the other tried to bring them in to claim the money. Impala helped the Asp and Black Mamba fight off Battleaxe, and escape.

(Captain America I#411-414) - Battleaxe was present at the AIM Weapon Expo on Boca Caliente. She was part of an even bigger army of costumed criminals who attempted (and failed) to subdue Captain America when he was exposed in their midst.

(Ms. Marvel II#18) - Battleaxe got into a fight with Ms. Marvel in front of William Wagner's closed restaurant. Puppet Master's mind-controlled Chilean soldiers caught Battleaxe with an electric net and tried to take her with them, but Ms. Marvel defeated them and took the soldiers and Battleaxe on her minicarrier. Tied up and unconscious Battleaxe was left in front of the soldiers' holding cell.

(Avengers: The Enemy Within#1 - BTS) - Magnitron (Yon-Rogg) sent constructs of the Grapplers (Battleaxe, Gladiatrix and Poundcakes) and dinosaurs against Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), but she quickly defeated them with the aid of Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) and Thor.

Comments: Created by Michael Carlin and Ron Wilson.

The name BAD Girls comes from "B" for Black Mamba, "A" for Asp, and "D" for Diamondback. Diamondback quit and was replaced by Impala, but they kept the name BAD Girls, because BAI Girls just didn't sound as good to them..

I'm surprised there was no interaction shown between Battleaxe and Golddigger either with the Femizons, or in the struggle against the BAD Girls. At the time, she was in a costume very similar to the one Scourge to kill Titania, and you'd assume there would have been the omni-present case-of-mistaken-identities fight. I guess they just worked it out like adults.

Clarifications: Battleaxe, Anita Ehren, has no known connection to:

• Battleaxe - of the Hostess advertisement--Marvel Team-Up I#91
  
• Battleaxe - aka DeGrayde, a member of the Death Squad of the Microverse--Micronauts I#35
  
• Battleaxe - a duplicate of DeGrayde's version, formed in the Body Banks--Micronauts I#46
  
• Battleaxe (Jerome Hamilton) - of the Harriers--Wolverine II#5
  
• Battle Axis - a group of traitorous american villains during World War II--Invaders II#1