Swordsman (comics)

Swordsman
Swordsman on cover of The Avengers Vol.1 #19 (Aug. 1965). Art by Don Heck, Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Avengers Vol.1 #19 (Aug. 1965)
Created by	Stan Lee (writer) Don Heck (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Jacques Duquesne
Team affiliations	Avengers Emissaries of Evil Legion of the Unliving Lethal Legion Circus of Crime
Partnerships	Hawkeye
Abilities	Olympic-level athlete Master swordsman Cunning strategist Highly skilled unarmed combatant Uses a modified sword that projects various energy beams Carries various throwing knives and daggers

Swordsman (Jacques Duquesne) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. His first appearance was in The Avengers Vol.1 #19 (Aug. 1965) and was created by Stan Lee and Don Heck. Although he was first introduced as an enemy of Hawkeye and the Avengers, the character has since appeared as both a supervillain and a superhero.

The Swordsman first appeared as a supervillain in The Avengers Vol. 1 #19 (1965). He went on to appear in Avengers Vol. 1 #20, 30, 38, 65, 78 and 79 (1965–1970). The Swordsman changed his ways and became a superhero in Avengers Vol. 1 #100 (1972) and later became a member of the Avengers in Avengers Vol. 1 #112-130 (1973–1974), Defenders Vol. 1 #9-11 (1973), Captain Marvel Vol. 1 #32-33 (1974), Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #150 (1974), Giant-Size Avengers Vol. 1 #2 (1974) and Avengers Spotlight #22 (1989). Later, the Cotati-possessed Swordsman appeared in Avengers Vol. 1 #134, 135, 157, 160 (1975–1977), Giant-Size Avengers Vol. 1 #4 (1975) and West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #39 (1988). The Swordsman has been a member of various supervillain groups. The character has appeared as a member of the Lethal Legion in Avengers Vol. 1 #78-79 (1970) and Iron Man Annual #7 (1984), the Emissaries of Evil in Alpha Flight Special Vol. 2 #1 (1992), and the Legion of the Unliving in Avengers Annual #16 (1987), Avengers West Coast Vol. 2 #61 (1990) and Avengers Vol. 3 #10-11 (1998). Introduced as a villainous counterpart to Hawkeye in the pages of the Avengers, the Swordsman went on to appear in Hawkeye Vol.1 #1 (1983), Solo Avengers #2 (1988), Hawkeye Vol.3 #3 (2004) and Hawkeye: Blindspot #1 (2011) as part of Hawkeye's origins. The Swordsman also battled Captain America in Tales of Suspense #88 (1967) and Captain America #105 (1968). The 2010-2011 crossover storyline Chaos War saw the return of the Swordsman. He was one of the central characters in the tie-in series Chaos War: Dead Avengers (2010–2011). The Swordsman also featured in Chaos War #2 & 4-5 (2010–2011) and Chaos War: Ares #1 (2010).