BERSERKER
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Enhanced human, extraterrestrial weaponry
Occupation: Mercenary
Group Membership: Led various armies
Affiliations: Champion, Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom), Faceless One, Riot Robots, Terrax the Tamer;
previous alliances with numerous governments of Earth, as well as extraterrestrial races
Enemies: Avengers (Beast/Hank McCoy, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Jocasta, Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff, Vision, Wasp/Janet Van Dyne, Wonder Man/Simon Williams), Amaryllis Dejure (Death), Earth Lords, Rachel Palmer, Bobby Spector, Thing (Ben Grimm)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: The Eternal Warrior
Place of Birth: Unrevealed
Base of Operations: Watcher's Citadel in the Blue Area of the Moon;
formerly the Shadow Realm (extradimensional prison);
formerly imprisoned under surface of volcanic rock on Mount Vesusvius;
formerly mobile across surface of Earth and other planets;
original region of origin unknown
Extent of Education: Self-taught in the arts of warfare
First Appearances: Avengers I#207 (May, 1981)
Powers/Abilities: The Berserker possesses vast superhuman strength, durability, etc., the extent of which is unknown, but he could stand his ground against Wonder Man even without engaging any of his numerous weapons. He was immortal, and possessed of an insane, savage, unquenchable fury. He is a master of many forms of armed and unarmed combat.
The Berserker also possessed numerous weapons of extra-terrestrial weapons. He rode a chariot pulled by flying mechanical horses. This chariot emitted a fiery exhaust which could suffocate those trapped within it. His Cerellian Power-Sword could release a stream of energy that could cleave through most substances, extending over a range of over one hundred yards. He could use it to carve gaping holes into the Earth to trap his attackers. His shield emitted an aura which could turn virtually any metal to dust before it could contact him; this included Iron Man's armor and Jocasta's titanium steel frame. The shield also generated a powerful traction force to draw metal towards it. He used a spear which could be thrown to fell a jet-fighter at full flight speed. His body armor was built by the tyrants of Aturak IV and could withstand a proton cannon. He had a dagger from the Arkossian system, which embedded itself in energy sources. This proved capable of stabbing an intangible Vision II. His gauntlets sap the strength of anyone who engages him in hand-to-hand combat.
His power was sufficient to overcome an entire contingent of Avengers or a military attack including tanks and jet fighters within a few minutes.
Height: 7'2"
Weight: 425 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Brown
History:
(Avengers I#208 (fb)) - The Berserker's history extends
beyond the dawn of recorded history. He was the sole survivor of
his people's war party in a fight against their tribal enemies.
He fled from his attackers, taking refuge in what was known as
the Cave of Glowing Walls. All others who had entered the cave
had been killed by the unearthly energies there, but he managed
to crawl to the back of the cave and tumble down a rocky slope to
safety. Within hours, he arose, surging with incredible power and
an insatiable thirst for slaughter.
He slew the entire tribe who had opposed him, and then anyone else he encountered, earning the name of the Berserker for his unstoppable fury. He eventually became a mercenary in the ancient city of Sumer, when he was hired by a nobleman to murder the city's ruler. Having found a purpose, he began hiring his sword arm out to all who could afford it. His powers allegedly fashioned such empires as the pharaoh's dynasties and the conquests of Alexander the Great. His reputation was such that he was even sought by conquerors from another world. This led to a series of battles, which decided the destinies of entire planetary systems, which earned him a vast arsenal of fantastic weaponry and the reputation of supreme warrior in the galaxy.
(Avengers I#207-208 (fb)) - Returning to Earth, he joined the Roman legions, and his power threatened to destroy the balance of power and nature across the entire planet. A society known as the Earth Lords realized the danger inherent in this and used their control over the power of nature. After several unsuccessful attempts, they succeeded in imprisoning him under hundreds of tons of volcanic rock when they caused the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
(Avengers I#207) - The Berserker remained trapped there until the modern era when he was unearthed by a group of archeologists. Rapidly reviving, he began to slaughter all he encountered and unearth his arsenal of weaponry. The Earth Lords had channeled all of their power into a man known as the Shadow Lord, who served to protect the Earth against the Berserker should he return. However, the Shadow Lord was inadvertently slain in battle with the Avengers. Learning of the existence of the Berserker, the Avengers confronted him, but were quickly defeated. He made off to a Roman gladiatorial arena along with Rachel Palmer, a wannabe investigative reporter who had followed the Avengers to the city of the Shadow Lord.
(Avengers I#208) - The Avengers located the Berserker a second time and were quickly overcome again. However, Wonder Man recovered and was able to figure out that the necklace given by the Shadow Lord to Rachel Palmer was a portal to the Shadow Realm. Activating the necklace at sunset, he managed to banish the Berserker to that realm, where he has apparently remained ever since.
(Thing III#5 (fb) - BTS) - Doctor Doom hired the Faceless One as part of a plot to invade Death's realm.
(Thing III#4) - Thing, Amaryllis Dejure and Bobby Spector ran into the Faceless One, Terrax and Berserker in the Blue Area of the Moon. One of the trio asked Thing where the Champion was and learned from him that he had been taken care of. The three villains then leapt at him.
(Thing III#5) - Thing tackled the three villains, but Berserker caught him with cable while Terrax and the Faceless One went after Amaryllis and Bobby. Thing knocked Berserker's sword out of his hand, but Berserker's staff was enough to knock Thing to the ground. Berserker revealed that his master (it turned out to be Doctor Doom) forbade him to kill Thing, but he was still allowed to beat him up. Thing managed to block Berserker's attack with the staff and then apparently killed him with a single punch before losing consciousness himself. When he regained consciousness he trussed up Berserker with his own cable even though Amaryllis told him that Berserker was dead because neither of them trusted the fact that he was actually dead. Thing kept Berserker's staff.
Comments: Created by Bob Budiansky, Danny Fingeroth, and Gene Colan.
He is an interesting character who clearly could return at any point if anyone has any interest in him. We never found out the origin of the energy which empowered him. Any would be world conqueror could find some way to return him to Earth, or whatever planet was desired.
Berserker has an entry in OHotMU 2006 A-Z#2.
Profile by Snood. Update by Markus Raymond (Thing).
Clarifications: He is not to be confused with the other Berserkers:
images: (without ads)
Avengers I#208, p1 (main image)
Avengers I#208, Cover (second image)
Thing III#5, p2, pan6 (vs Thing)
Appearances:
Avengers I#207-208 (May-June, 1981) - Danny Fingeroth & Bob Budiansky (writers), Gene Colan (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Thing III#4-5 (April-May, 2022) - Walter Mosley (writer), Tom Reilly (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 09/02/2001
Last updated: 11/08/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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