SWORDSMAN
Real Name: Phillip Jarvert
Identity/Class: Human (extradimensional, Earth-921)
Occupation: Wanderer, adventurer;
former servant of Proctor
Group Membership: Avengers (Earth-616),
formerly the Avengers of his native dimension, formerly the Gatherers,
and the
Queen's Vengeance
Affiliations:
Avengers (Beast (McCoy), Black Knight (Whitman), Black Panther, Black Widow (Romanova), Captain America (Rogers), Crystal, D-Man, Darkhawk, Deathcry, Falcon, Firebird, Firestar, Giant-Man, Hawkeye, Hercules, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Justice, Living Lightning, Machine Man, Magdalene, Moondragon, Namor, Photon (Rambeau), Quasar, Quicksilver, Rage, Sandman, Scarlet Witch, Sersi, She-Hulk, Spider-Woman (Carpenter), Starfox, Stingray, Tigra, Thor, US Agent, Warbird, Wasp),
Century, Coal
Tiger, Daredevil, Iron Fist, Edwin Jarvis, Rick Jones, Lockjaw, Luna, Luna imposter, Marilla, Masque, Moonraker, Night
Thrasher, Nova, Speedball, Spider-Man, Thunderbolts (Atlas (Josten), Citizen V (Zemo), Jolt, Mach-1 (Jenkins), Meteorite (Sofen), Songbird, Techno (Fixer) ), T'kyll
Alabar, Tuc, White Tiger;
formerly the Gatherers
Enemies: Bloodwraith, Elements of Doom, Immortus, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Lunatic Legion, Malachi, Mephitisoid, Midgard Serpent, Morgan Le Fay, Neut, Proctor, Tobias, Whirlwind, the rest of the Space Phantoms involved in the Crossing
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Chevalier" (name on Earth-Morgan Conquest)
Base of Operations: Wandering in another dimension;
formerly one of Tony Stark's mansions in the Adirondacks;
formerly Avengers' Mansion;
formerly Proctor's citadel in the Andes mountains;
formerly Earth-921
First Appearance: Avengers I#343 (January, 1992)
Powers/Abilities: The Swordsman is an expert with a sword and is in nearly peak physical condition. He wields a sword that can emit a powerful energy beam.
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 250 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
History:
(Avengers I#355 (fb)) - Swordsman, the other dimensional counterpart to the
Swordsman of Earth-616 (not completely...) grew up in his native dimension with Clint Barton
(Hawkeye) and was once an Avenger in his native timeline. Apparently, in his
native dimension, he had a relation with Mantis, who had grown up on the
artificial moon of Titan. At some point, the Avengers on his world, specifically
the Vision, betrayed him and left him to die. His world was destroyed by the insane Sersi of his
dimension. He was the last survivor of Sersi's onslaught and was saved by
Proctor, who recruited him as one of his Gatherers, making their base in the
Andes mountains of Earth-616. He served along with the warrior female Magdalene,
the telekinetic elder Cassandra, and the super strong, furry Sloth. He and
Magdalene fell in love, and Magdalene left Proctor to be with the Swordsman.
Despite the uncomfortable situation, Magdalene and the Swordsman were grateful
to the man who had saved them as their worlds died and stuck by Proctor, helping
him to achieve his goals.
(Avengers I#344 (fb) - BTS) - Swordsman did not adapt well to
being taken from his home dimension and began to experience excruciating
headaches and dizziness, as well as confusion. He did not completely understand
what the Gatherers were doing or what their purpose was, or even that each
member of the Gatherers was the last survivor of their home dimension. The
reason he could not be properly gathered on Earth-616 was that his counterpart
in Earth-616 had died long before him, so he could not get completely in synch
with the reality (See comments). Whenever the pain and confusion became to much
for him, he would go to Proctor, and Proctor would heal him.
(Avengers I#343) - Under the direction of Proctor, the Swordsman and Magdalene laid a trap for the Avengers by sending a phony distress signal from the Human Torch asking the Avengers to stop by the Fantastic Four's headquarters. However, when the Avengers got there, they were ambushed the two Gatherers.
(Avengers I#344) - Catching the Avengers by surprise, Swordsman and Magdalene managed to fend off much of the team. The Swordsman was attacked first by Hercules, then by the Black Knight whom he fought until he began to experience one of his headaches. Magdalene realized the battle could not be won alone and teleported herself and her lover back to Proctor. Proctor was begged by Magdalene to heal Swordsman, and did so.
(Avengers I#355 (fb)) - Two times, completely cloaked from detection by the Avengers, Swordsman and the other Gatherers infiltrated the Avenger's mansion, first to infiltrate their emergency beacon, and then to sabotage the Black Panther's skycar.
(Avengers I#355) - Swordsman joined his fellow Gatherers, Cassandra, Magdalene, and Sloth on an alternate Earth on the verge of destruction. This was the Swordsman's first mission and he was quite disturbed by the carnage. The Gatherers saved that dimension's last survivor in order to bring him to Proctor so he could be recruited to the Gatherers. This last survivor was an alternate version of the Black Panther called the Coal Tiger. However, the stress put on the Coal Tiger was too great, and for him to survive, it was ruled that Proctor needed to perform what he called a "gathering," in which he would kill the Black Panther of Earth-616 that his counterpart might live. Swordsman hesitantly went along with the mission. To find the location of the Black Panther, the Gatherers infiltrated Avengers' Mansion once again. However, this time the Avengers were ready for them, and a fight ensued. Swordsman engaged the Black Knight in battle again during the fight, and though he fought well, the Swordsman slowly lost momentum. The battle ended when Cassandra knocked out all the Avengers with a powerful telekinetic blast, knocking them all unconscious.
(Avengers I#356) - After going to Wakanda to capture the Black Panther, Swordsman and the Gatherers were again confronted by the Avengers. This time however, Swordsman was too confused to fight. What they were doing didn't seem right to him, and he did not understand. This time, his confusion was so great that he did not join the fight, and instead simply stood over the captive Coal Tiger, whom the Gatherers had brought with them, keeping watch. The Coal Tiger tried to appeal to the Avenger within the Swordsman, telling him that he knew that what they were doing was wrong, and imploring him to help. Coal Tigers words further confused the Swordsman until he was unsure of anything that the Avengers and Gatherers were doing. Soon afterward, as Cassandra was preparing to kill the Black Panther so that the Coal Tiger could survive, Coal Tiger begged the Swordsman to stop this from happening, that he didn't want to live at the expense of another. Finally, out of instinct and doubt, the Swordsman struck Cassandra, stepping against the Gatherers and interrupted the process long enough for the Avengers to claim victory. The Coal Tiger thanked the Swordsman with his dying breath, and then the Gatherers escaped their enemies, but the Swordsman was left behind, a captive in the Avengers' hands.
(Avengers I#357) - The Avengers interrogated Swordsman about the Gatherers, trying to gain information about their foes, but the Swordsman began experiencing his headaches, worse than ever before, and could not get his mind clear enough to answer their questions. The Swordsman verbally lashed out at the Vision, as the Vision on his own earth had been villainous, and Swordsman was too confused to tell the difference. They showed him pictures of people from his Earth-616 counterpart's past to learn about this Swordsman's own past, realizing along the way, that this Swordsman had lived a very different life than that of his counterpart that they had known years earlier.
(Avengers I#358) - The Swordman was told of his Earth-616 counterpart's past by Marilla, but found it so surreal that he thought she was joking. After that, the Vision showed up and invited the Swordsman to view the files they had on his counterpart in order to learn more about himself on their world. The Swordsman gladly obliged and viewed the files.
(Avengers I#360) - Swordsman continued to view the files on
his counterpart's life, and was thoroughly intrigued by them, and also
apologized to and befriended the Vision before getting another of his dreadful
headaches. Later, when Sersi was fighting with a bout of temporary insanity (secretly caused by Proctor), Swordsman rushed to help the other Avengers deal
with her, pushing the Black Widow out of the way of one of Sersi's blasts.
(Avengers I#362) - The Swordsman approached the Vision and asked him if Vision would like to help him go through some more of his counterpart's files, and thanked him for his friendship since he arrived on Earth-616. Unbeknownst to the Swordsman, this Vision was not the real Vision, but actually a member of the Gatherers who had infiltrated the Avenger's mansion. This imposter Vision had been sent by Proctor to kill the Swordsman before he could divulge any information about the Gatherers. The imposter Vision then used his density powers to solidify his hand inside the Swordsman's chest. Swordsman collapsed, and the imposter Vision left him for dead.
(Avengers I#363 - BTS) - The Avengers found the Swordsman near death and placed him in a medical capsule to prevent further harm to him.
(Avengers I#367) - The Swordman finally miraculously awoke from his coma with Magdalene by his side. (She had been brought to Avenger's mansion following a victory of the Avengers over the Gatherers).
(Avengers I#372) - Swordsman, Magdalene, Deathcry, and the Vision flew to the coast of Scotland to investigate the loss of one of the Avengers' tracking stations. Magdalene confided to Swordsman that she had the strange feeling that someone was watching them, but the feeling passed.
(Avengers I#378) - Unbeknownst to Swordsman or the others, a creature called the Mephistoid had begun to mentally enslave villages near the destination of the Avengers. One of the Mephitisoid's pawns, James Campbell, an engineer hired by the Avengers, attacked them, only to die from terror after being defeated and captured. The Mephitisoid soon confronted the Avengers, and used his power to take control of the Swordsman and Magdalene, who then defeated the Vision. The Mephitisoid's agents Swordsman, Magdalene, and Vision back his base.
(Avengers I#379) - Swordman was present when the Shi'ar T'kyll Alabar apologized to the Mephitisoid for his own past crimes, and handed the Mephitisoid a Kree weapon, telling the Mephitisoid to kill him if it would make amends. Swordsman also watched as Deathcry killed the Mephistoid.
(Incredible Hulk II#417) - Swordsman attended the bachelor party of Rick Jones.
(Avengers I#390) - Lent a place to stay by Tony Stark, Swordsman and Magdalene welcomed the Avengers to a cookout. After Lockjaw ran off, Hercules, who was clearing brush with Magdalene, ran after him. He returned with the enigmatic Tuc, who read the future of several Avengers members, while Swordsman and Magdalene watched on.
(Avengers I#391) - Swordsman left Magdalene's side at night and went like a sleepwalker into the woods nearby his new home where he was drawn by Tuc. A Priest of Pama was at Tuc's side and gave Swordsman the task to ask the Avengers who mourned for Agaphaur.
(Avengers
I#392) - Swordsman sought the place where the Priest and Tuc talked to him
because he wanted to be sure that it wasn't just a dream. When he found the
place again, the grass on the small plane turned into the Cotati Swordsman
(actually an imposter). Suddenly Tobias and Malachi attacked and with the aid of
Vision, Swordsman tried to protect the Cotati Swordsman from them, but the
heroes failed.
(Iron
Man I#323) - Swordsman and Vision returned to
(Avengers
I#393) - Swordsman was present at
(Iron
Man I#324) - Swordsman treated Crystal's leg and was among the
Avengers who learned from Moonraker that Kang and Mantis were working together
against them.
(Avengers
I#394) - Swordsman was present at
(Incredible Hulk II#439-440) - Swordsman was with the other Avengers when they
had assembled to decide what to do about the Hulk's recent terrorist actions as
the "Maestro." They debated what should be done until Thor ran off to
fight the Hulk. From a safe distance, Swordsman and the other Avengers watched
the indescribably fury and power of the battle between the Hulk and Thor.
(Avengers I#397) - The Avengers, including Swordsman,
explored the destruction left behind on the Canadian landscape after a battle
between the Hulk and Thor, and found some gamma-irradiated citizens of Freehold.
The assembled Avengers learned of the Leader's plan to blow up a variety of
landmarks around the globe and successfully prevented the plan from succeeding.
(Avengers Unplugged#6) - Swordsman came to talk about his world's Ebony Blade which was responsible for Proctor's creation after Sean Dolan was brought to Avengers Mansion. The Avengers remembered too late that Proctor's sword was still in the Mansion and failed to stop Dolan from getting it and Dolan became Bloodwraith again. Swordsman followed Bloodwraith on Black Knight's Atomic Steed and pushed him down from Valinor with a blast from his sword. Swordsman continued to fight Bloodwraith on the ground until the villain destroyed his sword and knocked him out. When the fight was over Dolan was human again, left with Proctor's Ebony Blade and Swordsman and the Avengers allowed him to keep the sword.
(Thunderbolts I#8) - When the Elements of Doom began to exit their base in Central Park and attack New York City, Swordsman was among the heroes who fought to oppose them along with many others. The heroes held their own against the many Elements of Doom until several radioactive elements showed up. Luckily, the Thunderbolts arrived and destroyed the Elements with a destabilization ray. Afterward, Swordsman and the other heroes conversed and bonded with the Thunderbolts and each other.
(Avengers III#1) - In Central Park, Swordsman and Magdalene were attacked by mythological flesh-eating plants. Simultaneously, every former Avenger was attacked by a mythological creature. Eventually, the creatures disappeared. Later on, the Avengers called out all their former members to address the major threat at hand. Swordsman joined with almost every former Avenger at the Mansion and at the press conference where the threat was explained, getting into an argument with Spider-Man for wanting to leave, and with Sandman for defending Spider-Man. When the Avenges split into five groups to find five separate Norn stones. Swordsman was among the Avengers that went to seek out the Norn stone in the South Pacific. However, it was a trap, and the group of Avengers including Swordsman, Magdalene, Sersi, Rage, Firestar, Justice, and the Black Widow were forced to fight the Midgard Serpent.
(Avengers III#2) - When Morgan le Fay used the power of the Norn stones and the Twilight Sword to recreate reality how she wanted it, Swordsman was among the Avengers who were transformed into Morgan le Fay's servants and elite guard (the Queen's Vengeance), under the name of Chevalier. Several Avengers awoke from Morgan's spell and tried to win over several other Avengers who had been entranced by Morgan le Fay, but it proved a futile effort. Swordsman was among the Avengers that fought against those awakened from Morgan's spell until the awakened heroes were bailed out by Thor and escaped.
(Avengers III#3) - In an attempt to attack Morgan le Fay, the awakened Avengers tried to sneak into her castle in disguise. However, the bewitched Avengers discovered them, and Swordsman was again among the entranced Avengers that fought against their teammates. Eventually, when Morgan le Fay needed to commit too much of her power to fight Wonder Man and the Scarlet Witch, Swordsman and the other Avengers awakened as well. They all focused their wills into the Scarlet Witch, who poured more power into Wonder Man, and eventually defeated Morgan le Fay.
(Avengers III#4) - Swordsman was among the Avengers who attempted to prevent a bank robbery by Whirlwind. However, there were too many Avengers present, and they repeatedly got in each others' way, allowing Whirlwind to escape. Later on, while forming a new lineup of Avengers, both Swordsman and Magdalene were asked if they wanted to join. They replied that while they hadn't made any decisions, they had doubts as to joining the team because it wasn't their world and they felt out of place.
(Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998) - After attending a training session with Captain America, Swordsman and Magdalene were offered membership slots in the Avengers. They were honored, but declined as the Avengers just reminded them that they were alien to the world they inhabited. Later on, after Iron Man and Magdalene worked together for many hours until they managed to create an apparatus utilizing Magdalene's power lance in order to breach dimensions. Swordsman and Magdalene decided to leave Earth, deciding that they had nothing to hold them there. They bid the Avengers farewell and left Earth to find their place in the universe.
(JLA/Avengers#4) - Pulled forward in time Jarvert fought alongside the Avengers and JLA against Krona's guards.
Comments: Created by Bob Harras, Steve Epting, and Tom Palmer
The Cotati Swordsman was revealed to have actually been a Space Phantom in Avengers Forever.
Funny that after the Proctor story line was over, the Swordsman's headaches conveniently disappeared. Maybe Proctor was the source of them or something.
Swordsman received an entry in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update#2.
Clarifications:
images: Avengers I#355 (cover)
Avengers I#358, page 17, panel 3
Avengers I#344 (cover)
Avengers I#343-344 (January-February, 1992) - Bob Harras (writer), Steve Epting (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers I#355-357 (Late October-December, 1992) - Bob Harras (writer), Steve Epting (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers I#358 (January, 1993) - Bob Harras (writer), Steve Epting (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers I#360 (March, 1993) - Bob Harras (writer), Steve Epting (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers I#362 (May, 1993) - Bob Harras (writer), Gordon Purcell (pencils), Alexandrov & Fredericks (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers I#363 (June, 1993) - Bob Harras (writer), Steve Epting (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers I#367 (October, 1993) - Bob Harras (writer), Jim Hall (pencils), Don Hudson (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#417 (May,1994) - Peter David (writer), Gary Frank (pencils), Cam Smith (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Avengers I#378-379 (September-October, 1994) - Bob Harras (writer), Stewart Johnson & Tom Grindberg (#379) (pencils), Tom Palmer & Rich Rankin (#379) (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers I#390-391 (September-October, 1995) - Bob Harras & Terry Kavanagh (writers), Mike Deodato (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers I#392 (November,1995) - Bob Harras & Terry Kavanagh (writers), M.C. Wyman (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Iron Man I#323 (December, 1995) - Dan Abnett & Terry Kavanagh (writers), Jim Cheung, Yancey Labat & Hector Oliveira (pencils), Rey Garcia & Mark McKenna (inks), Nel Yomtov (editor)
Avengers I#393 (December,1995) - Bob Harras, Terry Kavanagh & Ben Raab (writers), Mike Deodato (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Iron Man I#324 (January, 1996) - Dan Abnett & Terry Kavanagh (writers), Mark Bright & Jim Calafiore (pencils), Sergio Cariello, Sam de La Rosa, Steve Moncuse & Peter Palmiotti (inks), Nel Yomtov (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#439-440 (March-April, 1996) - Peter David (writer), Angel Medina (pencils), Robin Riggs (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Avengers I#397 (April,1996) - Terry Kavanagh & Howard Mackie (writers), Mike Deodato Jr. (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers Unplugged#6 (August, 1996) - Glenn Herdling (writer), M.C. Wyman (pencils), Sandu Florea (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Thunderbolts I#8 (November, 1998) - Roger Stern & Kurt Busiek (writers), Mark Bagley (pencils), Vince Russell (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers III#1-4 (February-May, 1998) - Kurt Busiek (writers), George Perez (pencils), Al Vey & Bob Wiacek (#4) (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers/Squadron Supreme An1998 (July, 1998) - Kurt Busiek & Len Kaminski (writers), Carlos Pacheco (pencils), Matt Banning, Vince Russell, Bob Wiacek, Al Vey & Paul Neary (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
JLA/Avengers#4 (February, 2004) - Kurt Busiek (writer), George Perez (artist), Tom Brevoort & Dan Raspler (editors)
First Posted: 08/06/2005
Last updated: 10/17/2013
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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