GODWULF
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Alternate Reality (Earth-7484 / Earth-Deathlok)
human cyborg
Occupation: Freedom Fighter;
former
technician/field agent for Nth Command;
Group Membership: Formerly Brand Corporation, Nth Command, Nth Commandos, Roxxon Oil Company
Affiliations: Justice Peace, Redeemers (Big Man, Gentle Sam, Iron Butterfly, Sage, Swashbuckler);
Iron Butterfly was notably his former lover;
formerly the CIA's Luther Manning clone,
Deathlok the Demolisher (Luther Manning), Henry
Akai/Timestream;
unwittingly formerly Red Skull;
(Earth-616): Deathlok (Michael Collins), Nth Command, Siege;
(other realities): Justice Peace and the
Time Variance Authority (loose,
intermittent alliances)
Enemies: (Earth-7484): Avengers, Bangers, Defenders, Demolisher (formerly Deathlok), Doomsday-Mech (Hellinger's Luther Manning clone),
Doomsday/Alpha-Mechs, Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Woman/Sue Storm, Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards, Thing/Ben Grimm), Hellinger (Harlan Ryker), Mason and his associates, Timestream (Henry Akai) and his mechanoid agents, X-Men and other heroes;
presumably Red Skull, Simon Ryker;
formerly the U.S government (circa 1983 A.D.);
(Earth-616): Luther Manning (transformed into Deathlok form and manipulated by Timestream), Mentallo (Marvin Flumm)
(other realities): Justice Peace,
Time Variance Authority;
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Skulker of the City's Underside; Perpetrator of the Godwulf Principle
Base of Operations: (All Earth-7484)
the pedestal/remnants of the Statue of
Liberty, Liberty Island, New York (circa 2011 A.D.);
formerly the Redeemers' central command post, Manhattan, New York (circa 1993 A.D.);
formerly a base within Manhattan's 23rd Street Station (circa 1991 A.D.);
formerly Nth Command Central (circa 1983 A.D.)
First Appearance: Astonishing Tales I#36 (July, 1976)
Powers/Abilities: Godwulf primarily relies on
physical skills including hand-to-hand combat, archery, and rope
swinging.
At least by 2011 A.D., Godwulf used arrows charged with some form of energy.
Despite his otherwise primitive appearance, Godwulf
apparently has cybernetic technology within his body, allowing
him to plug into and connect with computer systems directly.
Godwulf also has a mastery of advanced technology, including a vast communications network and a functional time machine.
He
eventually wore a belt and a pair of gauntlets which allowed him
to navigate the timestream on his own. One of his gauntlets was
stolen, thus, at least temporarily, neutralizing this ability.
At least one of the gauntlets contained a using probability sensor, that allowed him to evaluate the chances of success of any actions he might take.
His gauntlet, belt or other
technology allowed him to levitate and to walk on the surface of a body
of water.
In his more recent appearances, he had the ability to erase the memories of another (at least the memories of the last hour) via brief contact with the target's cranium.
He is experienced in operating the Redeemers' personal aircraft, rocket-powered and possessing paired lateral blaster units on their aft ends (although he still generally used his bow and arrow as much as possible).
Height: (Unrevealed) approximately 6'
Weight: (Unrevealed) approximately 200 lbs.
Eyes Blue
Hair: Blond
History:
(Captain America I#288
(fb) / Deathlok II#34) - Godwulf acted for 6-10 years as an agent
of the Nth Command, a subsidiary of the Brand Corporation, which was a subsidiary of Roxxon
Oil.
(Deathlok II#34 (fb)) - Nth Command's Henry Akai designed the Nth Generator and Nth Projectors.
(Marvel Fanfare II#1 (fb) - BTS) - The Red Skull secretly funded and directed Roxxon's Nth Command in these efforts.
(Captain America I#289 (fb) - BTS) - After training for ten years the Nth Commandos were sent into action.
(Captain America I#288 (fb) / Deathlok II#32 (fb) / Deathlok II#34 (fb)) <1983 A.D.> - Invading the headquarters of the Avengers, Fantastic Four and the X-Men, the Nth Commandos used their Nth Projectors to beam the heroes to extradimensional realms where most, if not all, were instantly killed.
(Captain America I#289) -
Godwulf and Iron Butterfly were on the team who broke into the
Baxter Building to eliminate the Fantastic Four. See here for presumably similar actions on Earth-616
The success of Operation: Purge represents the point of divergence from Earth-616
(Captain America I#288 (fb) / Deathlok II#34) - These years of service culminated in Operation: Purge. One day, several units of Nth Commandos had made synchronized attacks on the headquarters of the Fantastic Four, Avengers, X-Men, and Defenders. Using Nth Projectors, all of these adventurers were displaced to alternate realities where they would soon die. Also, individual metahuman adventurers had been hunted down and similarly teleported. Roxxon, with no metahumans to worry about, attacked the U.S. government, intending a quick coup d'etat.
(Deathlok II#34 (fb) - BTS) - The Nth Generator exploded, destroying Nth Command HQ and empowering Akai while slaying everyone else present.
(Captain America I#288
(fb) - The Nth Projectors consumed so much
power that it had taken a long time to generate just the power
for Operation: Purge that rebuilding the Nth Generator and using the projectors for the coup d'etat was out
of the question. Roxxon thus relied on more conventional weaponry
for their struggle against the U.S. government. A prolonged
struggle resulted.
The U.S. government fragmented, with the CIA
setting up a hegemony here, the military a hegemony there.
Overseas, repercussions included war in the Near East. Then wars
started up in other hotspots. Finally, a spectacular attack on
New York -- by whom it remains unclear -- took place.
An evacuation was
attempted, but more people may have died in the panic to escape
than in the actual bombing.
Scrounging together some leftover technology, Godwulf -- having changed his views on life as a result of the previous events -- sought to atone for his actions in Operation: Purge.
(Captain America I#287 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf considered Captain America a hero and guiding spirit.
(Astonishing
Tales I#36 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf practiced a number of combat
maneuvers, such as swinging on a cable and kicking down a pair of men,
and anxiously awaited the chance to perform them.
(Astonishing Tales I#36 (fb) - BTS) - Mason and/or his associates encountered Godwulf under unrevealed circumstances, but they were apparently easily defeated.
(Astonishing Tales II#36 - BTS / Marvel Spotlight#33 (fb) - BTS) - While Deathlok battled Hellinger's Doomsday-Mech, Godwulf clandestinely caused it to vanish before it could destroy Deathlok.
(Marvel Spotlight#33 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf's actions made Hellinger aware of his abilities.
(Marvel Two-In-One I#27 (fb) - BTS) - The telepathic Earth-616 villain Mentallo learned of Deathlok's existence by eavesdropping on Spider-Man's thoughts after he had returned to his own time after encountering Deathlok on Earth-7484.
(Astonishing Tales II#36) - As Deathlok battled a number of Simon Ryker's agents (Mason and his associates) in Manhattan's 23rd Street
(subway) Station, Godwulf came swinging in. Surprised at his scant
clothing, Deathlok asked, "Who's the dude in the underwear?" Godwulf
replied that he was the one who was about to save Deathlok from
himself, and one of Ryker's agents was distraught to see "him again,"
considering that they had not a chance in -- and Godwulf kicked them
down before the man could finish his sentence; Godwulf was pleased to
have finally performed this often-practiced maneuver.
Godwulf then cordially confronted Deathlok, commenting on Deathlok's presumed confusion, and Godwulf introduced himself, and noted himself to be the "skulker of the city's underside and the perpetrator of the Godwulf principle -- that edict, by no means divine, which advocates sabotage. Commenting on Godwulf's use of bow and arrow against men with automatic weapons and asked if he was crazy. Godwulf told him, "Not quite," but before he could continue, Deathlok told him that he did not have for an overly long discussion, although he did note that Godwulf had some explaining to do and wondered why they had never met before.
Godwulf respectfully told Deathlok
that his impatience was unwarranted and that his presence was unwanted.
Appreciating Godwulf's meaning, Deathlok told him he was going to
complete his mission anyway, and Godwulf futilely tried to warn him as
he tripped over a wire. Godwulf leapt to safety as a bomb in the wall
exploded, after which he told Deathlok he had tried to alert him to
this and offered him a hand up, but Deathlok warned him that if tried
to help he would beat him. Godwulf then turned and noted that they
would part company, but the curious Deathlok followed him. Godwulf
entered his base, connected himself to its computers via a port in his
chest, and turned some dials.
(Marvel Spotlight I#33) - When
Deathlok entered the room, Godwulf told him that when he bade him "au
revoir," he was merely being polite, and he did not expect to see him
again so soon. "And I simply abhor bring followed! Therefore, my dear death-machine, this time I must extend a most firm farewell -- forever!"
(Astonishing Tales#36 / Marvel Spotlight I#33) - Godwulf's
computers formed an energy field, causing Deathlok to vanish.
(Astonishing Tales#36 / Marvel Spotlight I#33 / Marvel Two-In-One#27 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf transported Deathlok across time and dimensions back to Earth-616, before Operation: Purge had occurred, to briefly hide and protect him from Hellinger.
(Marvel Spotlight#33 - BTS) - However, this plan backfired, since Hellinger had monitored Godwulf's displacement of Deathlok via Terminal Eye read-out.
(Marvel Spotlight#33 - BTS) -
Godwulf subsequently considered aloud that he hoped Deathlok harbored
no hard feelings, as he often had to do what was most expedient.
(Marvel Spotlight#33 - BTS) - Unsure of Godwulf's
intentions and considering Godwulf's behavior to have been absolutely
arbitrary, and considering Godwulf's inexplicable power made him a threat (to
Hellinger) against which only Deathlok's power may prove sufficient to
prevail, Hellinger resolved to summon Deathlok from the past.
(Marvel Spotlight I#33 / Marvel Two-In-One#27 (fb) - BTS) -
Godwulf attempted to return Deathlok to his proper time soon after he had transported him.
(Marvel Two-In-One#26 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking to use
Deathlok as their pawn, the Fixer and Mentallo traveled to the Baxter
Building, the base of the Fantastic Four, and used Dr. Doom's time
machine to snatch Deathlok from the timestream and returned him to the
modern time period of Earth-616.
(Marvel Spotlight I#33 / Marvel Two-In-One#26 (fb) - BTS) - This transportation thwarted both Hellinger and Godwulf's efforts. Both Godwulf and Hellinger apparently lost track of Deathlok due to this.
(Marvel Spotlight#33) - Godwulf apologized after the fact for having transported Deathlok away, stating that he had merely done what was most expedient.
(Marvel Spotlight#33 - BTS / Marvel Two-In-One I#27 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf, who had only sent Deathlok back in time to remove him from Hellinger's attention, attempted to return Deathlok to his proper time. However, this plan backfired, since Hellinger had monitored Godwulf's displacement of Deathlok, and not knowing who Godwulf was, Hellinger decided to return Deathlok to his proper time to find out. Independently, Godwulf also attempted to return Deathlok to his proper time. Neither got Deathlok, since Mentallo and his partner the Fixer used a Doctor Doom-style time machine to bring Deathlok to the present and enslave him. Godwulf lost track of Deathlok due to this.
(Captain America I#288 (fb)) - BTS) - While Godwulf and most were unaware of the situation overseas, the US military eventually wrested control, but they retained a very tenuous grip on things, as there were dozens of powerful splinter groups itching for a takeover. Eventually, Hellinger proved himself to be a threat to make all the others look like amateurs.
(Captain America#288 (fb) - BTS) - Having rebuilt
himself in giant form, Hellinger decided that humanity had reduced the
previously logical world into chaos and had to be destroyed.
With his Alpha-Mechs now walking plutonium bombs, Hellinger strategically stationed them around the world, planning to release his signal, unleashing their nuclear fury and <presumably destroying humanity>. He intended for his machine followers (including humans re-built into mechanical or at least cyborg form), which he called "Homo Ascendant," to rule the world.
(Captain America I#288 (fb)) - BTS) - At some
point (see comments), Godwulf gathered together some of his fellow former Nth
Commandos -- notably the ones at least now going by the aliases Big
Man, Gentle Sam, Iron Butterfly, Sage, and Swashbuckler -- as his
Redeemers. Although they had not considered the ramifications of their
actions until it was too late, they strove against all odds to build
some meaning from the chaos the brought on, to atone. Their shared
experiences, emotions, and goals established a strong bond amongst the
members.
Godwulf and Iron Butterfly, if they were not already so, became lovers.
The Redeemers established their central command post in Manhattan, a walking distance from the 23rd Street (subway) Station in which Godwulf had a base. They cobbled together machines from post-war leftovers.
They further recruited a relatively small number of followers who engaged in war against Hellinger and the other would-be enslavers of America.
(Deathlok II#34 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf allied with Timestream in efforts to destroy Hellinger.
(Captain America#288 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf was approached by the Luther Manning clone (the one originally possessed by Simon Ryker and later associated with the CIA; the one with Deathlok's memories and computer link-up). The clone stated that he theorized that Deathlok might still be alive in another era. Godwulf offered him a chance to prove his theory.
(Captain America I#286) - Godwulf sent the surviving Luther Manning clone from his 23rd Street station subway base back and across time to Earth-616, just days before Operation: Purge.
(Captain America I#287 - BTS) - Although the Luther Manning clone had perished at a re-programmed Deathlok's hands, it restored Deathlok's memories before dying, and Deathlok traveled to the 23rd Street Station and had Godwulf transport him back to his own timeline. Having followed Deathlok, Captain America leapt into the temporal portal and arrived in Earth-7484's 1993 A.D. (Captain America I#287) <1993 A.D.> - As Deathlok
arrived on Earth-7484 at Godwulf's 23rd
Street station subway base, Godwulf started to ask where the clone was but was shocked by Captain
America's arrival. As Godwulf gushed over Captain America, Deathlok
grabbed him by the hair and demanded explanations. Cap calmed Deathlok,
telling him that Godwulf would provide the answers they wanted without
his bullying.
(Captain America I#287 (fb) - BTS) - Cap and Deathlok explained to Godwulf the circumstances of the clone's death and how Captain America had become involved.
(Captain America I#287) - When Captain America asked
for an explanation of what was going on, Godwulf started by showing Cap
the devastated appearance of Manhattan in his time.
(Captain America I#288) - En route to the Redeemers' central command post, Godwulf caught up Captain America on the history of Earth-7484.
(Captain America I#288) - Godwulf introduced Deathlok
and Captain America to the Redeemers, who were ecstatic to meet the
legend from their past. Godwulf then detailed Hellinger's plot, and he
and Captain America convinced Deathlok that he (Deathlok) was the
symbol or rallying point that the Redeemers
and their associates needed to defeat Hellinger.
(Captain America I#288) - Detecting as Captain America, Deathlok, Godwulf and the Redeemers approached his stronghold in their personal aircraft, Hellinger launched a number of blaster probes at them. Godwulf took out at least one of them with his bow and arrow.
The group ultimately took
out the rest of the blaster probes and landed at the base of
Hellinger's stronghold. Too late, Deathlok's computer warned them as Hellinger
opened the floor from underneath them. As they fell toward the base,
some kind of air-jets below them slowed their fall, preventing injury
upon landing within the maze..
As the group navigated the maze, Hellinger progressively captured them in pairs; he assured the group that those
captured would not be killed
but rather transformed into "Homo-Ascendant" cyborgs under his control.
Two trios of tentacles extended from a wall, grabbed Iron Butterfly and Godwulf, and pulled them against the wall, which then flipped 180 degrees. They were gone before Captain America or Deathlok could react, but Deathlok urged Captain America to leave them and continue forward to Hellinger.
(Captain America I#288 - BTS) - Guided by his computer (which was almost certainly already influenced by Hellinger), Deathlok led Captain America out of the maze and into Hellinger's control center. With Hellinger's
death, the entire fortress died with him; machinery short-circuited,
imploded, and screamed, leaving only silence. Apparently with Hellinger dead, his Alpha-Mechs ceased
to function as well. Godwulf and the Redeemers were released from the maze.
(Captain America I#288) - Godwulf noted that while Hellinger was gone, there was a whole world out there that's still in "one devil of a mess" and needed all the help it could get. Deathlok agreed to help him in this endeavor.
(Captain America I#289 - BTS) - Captain America returned to the modern era of Earth-616, where he succeeded in destroying the power source of Nth Command, effectively nullifying Operation: Purge, and thus diverging Earth-616 from Earth-7484.
(Deathlok II#32 (fb) - BTS) - Restoring a semblance of civilization apparently drew the interest of a foreign monarch (this was Henry Akai, aka Timestream, although on Godwulf knew his identity) who established a command center from which he launched a cyber-tank army that ravaged the country (presumably America). (Deathlok II#34 (fb) - BTS) - Apparently after Timestream/Japan's forces established a presence in America, Godwulf resolved that he did not want Timestream in his country. (Deathlok II#32 (fb)) - Obsessed with destroying this
foreign monarch and realizing that an attack against him would be a
suicide mission, Godwulf led Deathlok and the Redeemers against his
command center to eliminate his control of the cyber-tank army, and
they went along without question. Arriving via their personal aircraft,
they fought their way in and battled the mechanoids within. When Iron
Butterfly was impaled by a mechanoid and called out to Godwulf, he
stated that there was not time to help her, and he continued on the
mission. (Deathlok II#32 (fb) - BTS) - Appreciating that she was dying, Iron Butterfly fired into the mechanoids, taking as many of the mechanoids with her as she could. Ultimately the group succeeded in destroying their target. (Deathlok II#32 (fb)) - Godwulf and the others escaped the command center on foot, but as they got into their aircraft and fled, the base's defenses took out the rest of the Redeemers' ships. Only Godwulf and Deathlok made it out, and they believed the rest of the Redeemers to have perished. Timestream survived as well. The retaliation for this
mission led to massive nuclear attacks from three sides. (Deathlok II#31 (fb) - The ensuing conflicts toppled what was left of civilization. (Deathlok II#32 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf blamed the CIA for not doing things his way, while Deathlok was sure that Godwulf had known that this would be the result of their actions. Believing that Godwulf had been withholding information from the others, Deathlok separated from Godwulf. (Deathlok II#31 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf underwent a trial and was disciplined by the Time Variance Authority for his use of unauthorized time travel. (Deathlok II#33 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf fought alongside Justice Peace during some unknown struggle. (Deathlok II#33 (fb) - BTS) - The Time Variance Authority commissioned Godwulf to capture and execute Timestream for his threats to the temporal continuum. Godwulf defeated Timestream,
but gave him the option of life imprisonment as a gesture of honor. Timestream accepted that option but later escaped. (Deathlok II#29/2 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Godwulf established a base within the remains of the Statue of Liberty/pedestal. |
(Deathlok II#29/2) <2011 A.D.> - Eighteen years after the struggle against Hellinger, Godwulf observed as Timestream recruited the Demolisher (Manning, who had since dropped the Deathlok alias) to his side. Appreciating that Timestream had returned from his banishment, he noted that "the timeflux has been triggered," and he considered that his having taken Deathlok was the most heinous of harbingers.
(Deathlok II#31 (fb) - BTS) - Timestream's return and actions led the Time Variance Authority to call Godwulf before a tribunal.
(Deathlok
II#31) - Criticizing Godwulf's failure to permanently deal with
Timestream previously, the Time Variance Authority informed him of
Timestream's potential to implode Earth-616 and other existing
realities via his efforts to change events in the past. Granting
Godwulf full immunity to time-skip as necessary to detain Timestream
before he succeeded, the TVA also warned him that he knew what they did
to failures.
(Deathlok II#33 (fb) - BTS) - The implication was
that the TVA would destroy both Reality-7484 and -616 and that Godwulf
himself would be nullified if he failed.
(Deathlok II#31) - Godwulf traveled to the modern time period of Earth-616 and recruited
Deathlok (Michael Collins) and his ally Siege, informing them of what
the TVA had told him of Timestream's threat to their reality as well as
that of Collins' predecessor Deathlok (Luther Manning). Via virtual
reality, Godwulf revealed to them the history of Earth-7484 and how
Manning had been sent back to their reality and had served as the
impetus for the creation of the current Deathlok form by Cybertek.
Godwulf then transported Collins
and Siege back in time to prevent Timestream's forces, which included
the Demolisher, Luther Manning of Earth-616 (who Timestream had
transformed into a duplicate of Deathlok-7484's past self) and
Timestream's alternate reality Bangers cyborgs, from slaying Captain
America and the Luther Manning clone that had been sent back to
retrieve Deathlok (circa Captain America I#286-287) from the Brand
Corporation's Long Island facility.
Timestream apparently sought to have Operation: Purge occur, diverging another reality of his creation.
(Deathlok II#32) - As Timestream and his allies prepared to ambush the past Cap & Manning clone, Godwulf opened a portal to this time and location, and he, Collins, and Siege emerged through it and fought Deathlok the Demolisher, Manning-616, Timestream, and his Bangers; Timestream acknowledged him as "the most hated Godwulf."
Noting that he had let him live
all of those years ago as a gesture of honor, Godwulf fired an arrow
that Timestream -- while countering that he would not have done the
same for Godwulf -- blocked with his sword, although he received an
apparently electric shock.
(Deathlok II#32 - BTS) - Timestream somehow retaliated, knocking Godwulf to the ground and preparing to blast him again.
(Deathlok II#32) - Collins blocked his attack. With Collins' having ripped
of the Demolisher's arm and with the time for the past Deathlok blowing
up the Brand Corporation building imminent, Timestream fled with one of
his Bangers, promising death for Godwulf another time. Godwulf, Collins, and Siege
successfully prevented
the remaining Bangers from taking out the past Cap and Deathlok until
the moment of detonation, after which Cap and Deathlok headed back to
the 23rd Street Station (see comments).
(Deathlok II#32 - BTS) - Collins did something -- for which Siege gave him credit -- to protect himself, Siege, and Godwulf from the explosion.
(Deathlok II#32) - As the trio extricated themselves
from the rubble, Collins' computer noted the location of Timestream and
his associates, and Godwulf considered that they must be lost
(Timestream was not aware of the location from which they had traveled
back to Deathlok's future, and the Demolisher was suspicious of
Timestream and had not yet shared that information) as that was not
where Captain America and Deathlok would be heading.
Collins wondered how a cyborg from a timeline that shouldn't even exist anymore could have led to his creation (and the subsequent conflicts), and Godwulf informed him, "implausibilities and realities are more closely linked than you'd care to know" (translation: Changing the past does not necessarily eliminate the future, it just diverges a different reality). Siege wished to just take out their foes, but Godwulf told him that that was not possible according to his probability indicator. Instead, he instructed Siege to seek out Timestream and his allies and to delay them in any way possible while he and Collins traveled to the 23rd Street Station that his younger self was monitoring in 1993 A.D of Earth-7484; Godwulf had calculated a 79% probability that they would have to stop Timestream at that junction.
(Deathlok II#32 - BTS) - As
Siege engaged Timestream and his associates, Timestream sent
Manning-616 to the subway station to try to stop the past Cap and
Deathlok from being pulled forward in time to Earth-7484's 1993 by that
time's Godwulf.
(Deathlok II#32) - At the subway station, Collins
considered that at this time period, he was still living with his wife,
Tracy, in Philadelphia. He noted that he wished he could change things
so that he would not become a cyborg, but Godwulf asked him to compare
he and his wife dying in the wars following Operation Purge in
Earth-7484 to his current existence. Collins asked what would happen if
the Demolisher assassinated his younger self, and Godwulf clarified
that such an action would diverge a new timeline, but he was certain
that the Time Variance Authority would wipe out both of their timelines
to make room for the new reality. Noting the good that he had
accomplished as Deathlok, Godwulf assured Collins that he was where he
needed to be.
When Manning-616 arrived and
called out to Godwulf to transport him back home, Godwulf recognized
that this was Manning-616 rather than Deathlok-7484, and he instructed
Collins to get him out of the way. Collins successfully occupied
Manning-616 while the past Cap and Deathlok were transported to
Earth-7484's 1993 A.D. by that time's Godwulf.
Timestream and the rest of his agents arrived too late to stop them, but Timestream had the Demolisher threaten Siege to force Collins to release Manning-616. Not caring about the others, Godwulf fired an arrow into Timestream's chest. Announcing how is power had grown since they had let met, Timestream pulled out the arrow and then used his sword to open a vortex that cast them into the the timestream itself -- the junction point of all time and dimension. Not willing to allow Timestream to remain in Earth-616's past to wait for Captain America's return (so they could kill him then), Godwulf blasted Timestream and his allies with his time gauntlet, although he was not sure exactly when or where he had sent them.
(Deathlok II#33) - After they crashed to the floor
and Siege was incapacitated in the impact, Godwulf mused that he had
never imagined the timestream's enormity, the sheer volume of time
vortexes and warp holes.
The Time Variance Authority then sent Justice Peace and some other time-troopers to recapture Godwulf in order to bring him in for trial and potential nullification for his failure to capture Timestream; and they further planned to nullify all involved timelines to remedy the potential threat to the entire temporal continuum. With Deathlok trying to revive Siege, Godwulf expressed frustration with the TVA's bureaucratic impatience that might destroy countless realities, to which the Time-Troopers too umbrage and battered Godwulf into submission. However, Collins and then Siege then revived, took out the Time-Troopers and put Justice Peace at their mercy.
Convincing Justice Peace that he could find them
anywhere or anywhen, Godwulf
made a deal to give him 24 hours (absolute time) to eliminate
Timestream. Justice Peace provided Timestream's location at junction
4831143, and he provided a timesled that was programmed to take them
there directly.
Godwulf, Collins, and Siege thusly caught up with Timestream and his cyborg allies, including both he Demolisher and Manning-616. Still blaming Godwulf for the deaths of the Redeemers, the Demolisher punched back Godwulf as he approached Timestream's platform, but Godwulf saved himself via a tethered arrow.The Demolisher subsequently had Collins at his mercy but he hesitated, wanting to understand Godwulf and Timestream's connection before committing. Siege then recovered Godwulf and still had him in tow when Timestream and the Bangers fled into a vortex; attempting to stop them, Siege (along with Godwulf) was instead pulled into the vortex with them.
(Deathlok II#34 - BTS) - Timestream manipulated the vortex to put some distance between his group and Godwulf and Siege.
(Deathlok II#34 - BTS) - Justice Peace located
Collins by the corpse of Manning-616, who had killed himself to escape
from Timestream's control; he sent Collins to Godwulf's timeline at the
time of Operation Purge. In order to prevent the TVA from eliminating
that reality, Collins had to prevent Timestream from changing events to
diverge a new timeline.
(Deathlok II#34) - Siege and Godwulf arrived on Earth-7484 circa 1983 A.D., the day of Operation Purge's enactment, and Godwulf reasoned that they would find Timestream at Nth Command headquarters.
(Deathlok II#34 - BTS) - Learning Timestream was the
foreign monarch he had fought in the battle that slew the Redeemers,
the Demolisher turned on Timestream but was taken down by the Bangers
and left behind.
(Deathlok II#34) - Guided by Godwulf, Siege broke into Nth
Command headquarters, and Godwulf told that time period's Henry Akai
that his future self was coming to assassinate him. Seconds later,
Timestream and his allies arrived via an elevator from a secret
passageway (having been able to use his powers due to concern of being
neutralized due to proximity to the Nth
Generator), and Godwulf noted that Timestream's powers were becoming
hypersaturated. The Demolisher then arrived alongside Collins, and the
Demolisher soon after impaled Timestream with his own technosword, but
Timestream's seething energies allowed him to remove the sword and
recover. Collins then blasted Timestream with an Nth Projector, but the energies unleashed against and possessed by Timestream caused the Nth
Generator reached maximum capacity such that it would explode and
devastate the complex within 5 minutes. Timestream ultimately
discorporated, although he warned that things were not what he thought
them to be.
When the Demolisher prepared to
execute the younger Henry Akai to prevent him from becoming Timestream,
Godwulf warned him that they must let everything happen as it
previously had or the TVA would...but the Demolisher cut him off,
asking if they would nullify him and if this was all about him anyway
or if he actually cared about the rest of the world. Godwulf asked the
Demolisher to return to their world with him and together they
would...but the Demolisher cut him off again, noting that together they
had helped to destroy a world: "Every time I get involved with you, it all goes straight to the devil."
Stealing one of Godwulf''s time gauntlets, the Demolisher activated it
and stated his plan to get as far away from him as possible.
Godwulf lamented that without both
time gauntlets, he could not return himself to his own time or Collins
and Siege to their timelines, nor could he track the Demolisher.
Justice Peace then arrived
and instructed Godwulf to use his science to blank the younger Henry
Akai's memory of the last hour, and in two minutes Akai would be
mutated in the Nth Generator explosion that would destroy complex, leaving him the sole survivor.
After Godwulf complied, Justice
Peace then transported Godwulf back to Earth-7484 (presumably in 2011
A.D.) and Collins and Siege back to Earth-616's relative present (for
them).
Comments: Created by Rich Buckler & Keith Pollard.
Deathlok's timeline diverged from Earth-616 in
Captain America I#289, in which Captain America, armed with the
knowledge of the future, led the disruption of Nth Command's
power and prevented the mass banishments.
While
the Captain America stories were published in 1983, the date is topical
for Reality-616. However, for Deathlok and Simon Ryker's timeline, it
was not a topical date.
The top left image in the Nth Commandos' sub-profile may or may not represent Godwulf. I had thought it was, but when we saw Godwulf with the Nth Commandos
on Earth-616 prior to the divergence, he had a mustache but no beard.
Perhaps Godwulf shaving off his beard was an early divergence than the
thwarting of Operation Purge?
Godwulf's and Iron Butterfly's Earth-616
counterparts were involved in the failed Operation: Purge, as
seen in Captain America I#289. Their subsequent fates are
unrevealed. Now there's a story!
Godwulf and Iron Butterfly-616 should really have sub-profiles under Earth-616's Nth Command profile. I will plan to add them at some point, but if someone else wants to get to it before I do, more power to you!
As I re-re-re-re-re-reviewed all of the Deathlok stories as part of a celebration of his 50th anniversary, I have realized that a few things I have long assumed are no longer certain to me.
If the storyline from Deathlok is confusing,
allow me to summarize. It basically involved every single
incarnation of Deathlok (who existed at the time of its
publication) and revolved around stopping Timestream from wreaking
havoc with the timelines--and thus prevented the TVA from
nullifying corrupted timelines, which might otherwise have
included Earth-7484 and possibly even Earth-616.
I know the events of Deathlok II#29-34 are
confusing, and I've detailed them as clearly as I can. It was a cool story, and you probably need to get
the issues yourself to fully understand them.
However, it is noteworthy that the Fordham Roads Station references are
erroneous, as this station was actually Manhattan's 23rd Street Station. See that sub-profile for further discussion/explanation.
Profile by Per Degaton and Snood.
Old images replaced with digital versions by David A. Zuckerman.
New images and major text expansion by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Godwulf of Earth-7484 should be distinguished from his Earth-616 counterpart.
Neither has any known connection to:
images:
Astonishing Tales I#36/2, pg. 5, panel 1 (swinging on cable);
panel 2 (kicking Mason and associate);
panel 4 (head shot; Godwulf principle);
pg. 7, panel 11 (Godwulf with cables hooked into chest; banishing Deathlok through time);
Marvel Spotlight I#33, pg. 2, panel 1 (face);
Captain America I#286, pg. 3, panel 1 (sending Luther Manning clone back in time);
#287, pg. 21, panel 2 (gushing over Captain America);
Captain America I#288, p1 (full body)
Captain America I#288, p4, pan2 (Redeemers)
Captain America I#289, p6, pan1 (Earth-616 version)
Deathlok II#29/2, pg. 8, panel 5 (seated/wired in SoL base);
panel 6 (face; lateral oblique);
#31, pg. 12, panel 1(full; rear view);
panel 2 (upper; main);
pg. 17, panel 6 (full);
#32, pg. 2 (full, with bow & arrow);
pg. 10, panel 3 (using probability sensor);
last page, panel 1 (Godwulf blasting Timestream and his allies via his gauntlet);
Appearances:
Astonishing Tales I#36 (July, 1976) - Rich Buckler (writer/pencils), Keith Pollard (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Marvel Spotlight I#33 (April, 1977) - David Anthony Kraft (writer),
Rich Buckler, Mike Nasser & Arvell Jones (pencils), Klaus Janson
(inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Captain America I#286-289 (October, 1983 - January, 1984) - J.M.
DeMatteis (writer), Mike Zeck (pencils), John Beatty (inks), Mark
Gruenwald (editor)
Deathlok II#29 (November, 1993) - Gregory Wright (writer), John Hebert
(pencils), Richardson & Tim Tuohy (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Deathlok II#31-33 (January-March, 1994) - Gregory Wright (writer),
Kevin Kobasic (pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Deathlok II#34 (April, 1994) - Gregory Wright (writer), Kevin Kobasic
& Anthony Williams (pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort
(editor)
First Posted: 12/26/2002
Last updated: 07/24/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
All characters mentioned or pictured are
™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All
Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the
real thing!
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.!