BATTLEAXE
Real Name: Anita Ehren
Identity/Class: Human mutate
Occupation: Professional wrestler; formerl mercenary
Group Membership: Grapplers, Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation (U.C.W.F.), Superia's Femizons
Affiliations: Power Broker Inc. (source of powers, Power Broker)
Enemies: BAD Girls INC (Asp/Cleo Nefertiti, Black Mamba/Tanya Sealy, Impala), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Chilean soldiers, Lt. Michael Lynch, Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura), Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Paladin, Puppet Master (Phillip Masters), Scourge (Caprice), Thing (Ben Grimm), Titania (Davida DeVita, competitor/rival)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Training facility for the U.C.W.F./Grapplers;
formerly Femizonia Island
First Appearance: Thing I#33 (March, 1986)
Powers/Abilities: 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 U.C.W.F.,
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 U.C.W.F. 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 U.C.W.F. 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.
(Thing I#34) - Battleaxe was among the female wrestlers watching Thing train with Demolition Dunphy. She wasn't as impressed by Thing as the others because she believed that she could've actually beaten. Sharon Ventura entered the facility to tell Battleaxe and the others that she would be ready to join them within the next week. Battleaxe told her that she would be a welcome addition to the roster.
(Thing I#35) - Battleaxe was among the U.C.W.F. wrestlers Auntie Freeze set on Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura) and Lt. Michael Lynch because the Power Broker had called and told her that he wanted Ventura dead because she knew too much about his operation. Thing aided Ventura and Lynch in their escape.
(Thing I#36) - Battleaxe and the other wrestlers found Ventura, Thing and Lynch. Battleaxe got kicked in the head by Ventura.
(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 others 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, 412-414 - BTS) - 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.
SECRET WARS III HAPPENED
(Astonishing Avengers Infinity Comic#17) - Battleaxe sparred with Butterball in the ring at the U.C.W.F. training facility.
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.
New and additional images by Markus Raymond, who also added a few missed and new appearances.
Profile by Snood. Update by Markus Raymond.
Clarifications: Battleaxe, Anita Ehren,
has no known connection to: images: (without ads) Appearances:
First Posted: 12/27/2001 Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know. All characters mentioned or pictured are
™ and © 2001 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights
Reserved. Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
Thing I#33, p, pan (main)
Thing I#33, p13, pan4 (head shot)
Thing I#33, p1 (wrestling Titania)
Captain America I#390, p3 (with Femizons)
Thing I#33 (March, 1986) - Mike Carlin (writer), Ron Wilson (pencils), Kim DeMulder (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Thing I#34 (April, 1986) - Mike Carlin (writer), Paul Neary (pencils), Kim DeMulder (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Thing I#35-36 (May-June, 1986) - Mike Carlin (writer), Paul Neary (pencils), Sam de la Rosa (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Captain America I#387-392 (early July - late September, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#394 (November, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Larry Alexander (pencils), Dan Panosian (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#395 (December, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Dan Bulanadi (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Story 2: Mark Gruenwald (writer), Larry Alexander (pencils/inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#411-413 (January-March, 1993) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Ms. Marvel II#18 (October, 2007) - Brian Reed (writer), Aaron Lopresti (pencils), Matt Ryan (inks), Bill Rosemann & Steve Wacker (editors)
Avengers: The Enemy Within#1 (July, 2013) - Kelly Sue DeConnick (writer), Scott Hepburn (artist), Sana Amanat & Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
Astonishing Avengers Infinity Comic#17 (June 5th, 2025) - Steve Orlando (writer), Francesco Archidiacono (artist), Alanna Smith (editor)
Last updated: 03/12/2026