GLADIATRIX
Real Name: Robin Braxton
Identity/Class: Human mutate
Occupation: Professional wrestler; former adventurer, mercenary
Group Membership: U.C.W.F.;
formerly Daughters of Liberty (Sharon Carter, Dryad/Peggy Carter, Echo/Maya Lopez, Invisible Woman/Susan Storm-Richards, Iron Patriot/Dr. Toni Ho, Misty Knight/Mercedes Knight, Mockingbird/Barbara Morse, Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew, White Tiger/Ava Ayala), Anti-Registration Underground (Battlestar, Canasta, Dahntu, Freeware, Green Guardswoman, Harbormaster, Johnny Justice, Kruzado, Lawman, Masked Rose, Natural, Network (Valerie Martin), Qiblah, Scorecard, Skybolt, Staten Island Star, Tosser, Typeface, U.S. Annie, Warbug, Zapster, others), Grapplers, Superia's Femizons
Affiliations: Black Crow, Blue Shield, Coldblood-7, Sally Floyd, Lectronn, Lightbright, Living Mummy, Mechonaut (Fabian Stankowicz), Prodigy (Ritchie Gilmore), Prowler (Hobie Brown), Secret Avengers (Captain America (Steve Rogers), Asp (Cleo Nefertiti), Black Mamba, Black Panther (T'Challa), Luke Cage, Cloak (Tyrone Johnson), Dagger (Tandy Bowen), Daredevil (Daniel Rand), Diamondback (Rachel Leighton), Falcon (Jim Wilson), Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), Hercules, Hulkling, Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Invisible Woman, Patriot (Elijah Bradley), Power Broker Inc., Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Storm, Wiccan), Shroud, Speedball
Enemies: Captain America, Paladin, Pro-Registration forces (Arana, Bishop, Black Widow, Doc Samson, Iron Man (Stark), Ms. Marvel (Danvers), Mr. Fantastic, Nighthawk, Sabra, Sentry (Reynolds), She-Hulk, S.H.I.E.L.D., Stature, Thunderbolts (Blizzard, Bullseye, Fixer, Lady Deathstrike, Radioactive Man, Songbird, Taskmaster, Venom), Tigra, Wasp, Wonder Man, and others), Soviet Super Soldiers (Darkstar, Ursa Major, Vanguard; now part of Winterguard)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Place of Birth: Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York
Base of Operations: Training facility for the UCWF/Grapplers;
formerly New York City, New York;
formerly Femizonia Island
First Appearance: Thing I#33 (March, 1986)
Powers/Abilities: Superhuman strength (Class 10-25 and durability. Fighting skills learned as a professional wrestler
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 300 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Red
History:
BTS - Gladiatrix, 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) - Gladiatrix was one of the Grapplers who were forced to restrain the original Titania after she lost her title to Battleaxe. Shortly thereafter, Titania was killed by the assassin Scourge, posing as a Grappler named Golddigger. Battleaxe believed (incorrectly) Scourge to be a single person, a man, and was frustrated because she couldn't take out her anger on Scourge, so she sought the closest male target. Scourge/Golddigger (while making her getaway) told the other Grapplers that Titania had been shot by a man, and Battleaxe allowed them to believe it was the Thing. Gladiatrix and the rest dogpiled on top of the Thing until Battleaxe finally admitted that she was with the Thing, and that he couldn't be the killer.
(Captain America I#352) - Gladiatrix, alongside Blue Shield, the Mechanaut, and Speedball, tried out for the Avengers, under the supervision of Captain America. Cap was called away to deal with the Soviet Super Soldiers, who had arrived on Avengers Island seeking amnesty. Still believing this to be part of their test, Gladiatrix and the others attacked the Soviets (and were taking a beating). Gladiatrix was just about to get mauled by Ursa Major, when Cap arrived and broke things up.
(Captain America I#387-388-BTS, 389-391, #392 - BTS) - Gladiatrix 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). Gladiatrix, along with an army of super-villainesses attacked and captured the two.
(Captain America I#411-414) - Gladiatrix 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.
(Civil War: Front Line#4) - Gladiatrix met with other unregistered heroes at a secret hideout in Manhattan. During an attack of Iron Man, his Pro-Registration heroes and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents she was told by Battlestar to bring Sally Floyd, a reporter, to the east passage. Sally Floyd got away, but an explosion buried Gladiatrix beneath debris and she was arrested.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#535) - When Iron Man and Spider-Man visited the prison, Gladiatrix was seen in a cell. She was ensconced within a virtual reality simulator to keep her subdued.
(Civil War I#6) - Gladiatrix was freed from her cell in the Negative Zone prison 42 and joined Captain America's Anti-Registration heroes to oppose Iron Man's Pro-Registration heroes.
(Civil War I#7 / Amazing Spider-Man I#538) - Gladiatrix participated in the end fight between the anti- and pro-registration heroes in New York City. She was shocked when Cap surrendered.
(Civil War: Battle Damage Report#1) - She was one of the few heroes that refused to accept the offer of amnestoy following Captain America's surrender.
(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
(Captain America X#9) - Gladiatrix joined the Daughters of Liberty, who planned to break out Steve Rogers from the the Myrmidon prison. She didn't have much to add to the planning process.
(Astonishing Avengers Infinity Comic#17) - Gladiatrix watched from ringside a sparring match between Battleaxe and Butterball in the U.C.W.F. training facility.
(Astonishing Avengers Infinity Comic#18) - Gladiatrix was present when She-Thing (Sharon Ventura) introduced a new trios team from Latveria to the rest of the female U.C.W.F. roster. They were actually three Avengers working undercover under the names Jurisbrutalist (She-Hulk), Assassinista Fashionista (Wasp) and Captain Catastrophe (Photon). Gladiatrix noticed almost immediately that Assassinista Fashionista was not speaking with a Latverian accent, but Wasp claimed that she spoke English without an accent because she watched so much American television. Gladiatrix assured Assassinista Fashionista that She-Thing would whip her into shape because she was their best coach. The new trios team was able to impresse Gladiatrix and the other members of the roster.
Comments: Created by Michael Carlin and Ron Wilson.
Gladiatrix had the questionable honor to be hit on by the Hulk in War is Heck, an alternate Earth recount of events by Uatu, in World War Hulk: Front Line#4 (November, 2007) by Paul Jenkins (writer) & Chris Moreno (artist).
New and additional images by Markus Raymond, who also added a few missed and new appearances.
Profile by Snood. Update by Markus Raymond.
Profile by Snood.
Clarifications:
Gladiatrix has no known connection to:
The Grapplers, the larger team that
participated in the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, @ Thing
I#33, are usually distinguished from:
Neither team has any known connection to:
images: (without ads)
Avengers Assemble I#1, Gladiatrix profile (main)
Astonishing Avengers Infinity Comic#18, pan2 (head shot)
Captain America I#352, p2-3, top panel (training)
Captain America I#352, p5, pan2 (upper body, ready to fight)
Appearances:
Thing I#33 (March, 1986) - Mike Carlin (writer), Ron Wilson (pencils), Kim Demulder (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Captain America I#352 (April, 1989) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Kieron Dwyer (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#389-392 (August-September, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#411-413 (January-March, 1993) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Civil War: Front Line#4 (September, 2006) - Paul Jenkins (writer), Ramon Bachs (pencils), John Lucas (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#535 (November, 2006) - J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Bill Reinhold (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)
Civil War I#6 (December, 2006) - Mark Millar (writer), Steve McNiven (pencils), Dexter Vines (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Civil War I#7 (January, 2007) - Mark Millar (writer), Steve McNiven (pencils), Dexter Vines, John Dell & Tim Townsend (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#538 (March, 2007) - J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Bill Reinhold (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)
Civil War: Battle Damage Report#1 (2007)
Avengers: The Enemy Within#1 (July, 2013) - Kelly Sue DeConnick (writer), Scott Hepburn (artist), Sana Amanat & Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
Captain America X#9 (June, 2019) - Ta-Nehisi Coates (writer), Adam Kubert (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Astonishing Avengers Infinity Comic#17-18 (June 5th-12th, 2025) - Steve Orlando (writer), Francesco Archidiacono (artist), Alanna Smith (editor)
First Posted: 01/05/2002
Last updated: 03/12/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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