Fenris (comics)

Andrea von Strucker and Andreas von Strucker are two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are the German twin children of supervillain Baron von Strucker of HYDRA and the half-siblings of Werner von Strucker. Created by Chris Claremont and John Romita, Jr., they first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #194 (June 1985) as Andrea and Andreas and as Fenris in Uncanny X-Men #200 (December 1985).

Fictional character biography

Andrea and Andreas are the children of the terrorist organization HYDRA leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. While the two were still in their mother's uterus, they were genetically modified which gave them bio-energy powers which they can use when in physical contact with one another (usually when holding hands). Baron indoctrinated his children in the beliefs of white supremacy, Nazism and the Fourth Reich. In adulthood, the twins became the supervillains known as "Fenris" and led the Fenris terrorist organization.

Like their father, the twins are incestuous white supremacists. The Strucker twins have gone up against Storm when Storm interrupts Andreas' attempted assault on a native woman in Africa. Andrea retaliates for Storm's humiliation of her brother by shooting her in the head and leaving her to die.^[1]

The Strucker twins despise Magneto for the role in their father's seeming death some years after World War II. They conduct acts of terrorism and finally attack Magneto during the trial in Paris by the International Court of Justice for crimes against humanity.^[2] The X-Men foil their assassination attempt, but Fenris manages to escape by allowing themselves to be swept into the old city sewers.

The twins later resurface as part of the Upstarts, a group of mutant millionaires who engage in a campaign of murder as part of a game organized by the mutant telepath Gamesmaster and the Hellfire Club's former Black Queen Selene. The twins tried to acquire Omega Red for the Upstarts but failed. The twins ultimately met their match, though, when they tried to kill the former New Mutant Wolfsbane. Wolfsbane and the X-Factor team easily beat the twins.

The twins joined a conference of powerful criminal leaders who intended to divide up the empire left by the fallen Kingpin. Among the members of the conference were Slug, Hammerhead, Tombstone and Werner von Strucker. The twins did not believe Werner was actually their sibling. This, and other arguments, caused the conference to degenerate into a shouting, shooting and blasting match. Fenris attempted to kill Hammerhead but he was rescued. Their sibling is soon after killed by their father attending the conference disguised as Werner's assistant.

The twins resurfaced, where they were seen working with their father Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker.^[3] They fight Citizen V (John Watkins III), however, Andrea discovers that Citizen V is actually Baron Helmut Zemo's mind transferred into Citizen V's comatose body by Techno after being decapitated by Nomad under Henry Peter Gyrich's orders. Zemo quickly kills Andrea to keep her from telling anyone the truth.

Andreas von Strucker as Swordsman (middle) next to Songbird (behind, left). Art by Mike Deodato.

After Andrea's death, Baron Zemo has the Purple Man brainwash Andreas into taking the alias "Swordsman". Purple Man has Swordsman flay the skin from Andrea's corpse to incorporate the resulting leather into his sword's hilt. This allows him to channel the powers they shared through his sword. Andreas breaks free of Purple Man's control and joins the Thunderbolts.

Andreas continues to be a member under the Thunderbolts' new leadership. Teammate and current field leader Moonstone has approached Andreas with a reassurance. If he helps her kill Songbird, Moonstone would be able to make a move to usurp the mentally fragile Norman Osborn as the Thunderbolts' director. Thus two factions seem to be forming amongst the Thunderbolts with Swordsman and Moonstone on one side while Songbird and Dr. Chen stand on the other.

Despite his considerable skill, he has been defeated twice; the first is when Jack Flag hit him with the flat of his own sword, and the second is when Steel Spider threw him through a window and a flat-screen television using a metal limb.^[4]

Under the control of four imprisoned telepaths, Swordsman has taken over his father's hereditary title "Baron Strucker" and shaved his head in honor. He has gained the loyalty of several guards by paying them well, and ordered them to set off a bomb in the Thunderbolts' carrier, the Zeus, to initiate a lockdown. He declares to one of his guards that Norman will bring him back his sister or he will kill everyone in Thunderbolts Mountain.^[5] After a detachment of guards kill most of his loyal guards, Strucker kills off the remaining attacking guards. He then encounters Venom declaring to eat Strucker. The two fight, and Strucker runs Venom through with his sword, activating his energy powers while the sword is in Venom's body.^[6] Soon afterwards, Osborn snaps from the pressures of running the Thunderbolts, the Green Goblin brutally attacks Swordsman, crucifying him to a wall with small goblin-daggers.^[7]

Not long afterward, it is discovered that Andreas used Arnim Zola to make Andrea von Strucker's clone. Although Andreas has his sister back, he decides to complete his Thunderbolts contract, leaving the group as a free man. In order to protect his sister's clone while he is on missions, Andreas skins his arm, giving the flesh to Andrea's clone to hold, allowing her to use their shared powers.^[8] Andrea's clone accompanies Andreas and the Thunderbolts into battle against the Skrulls during the Secret Invasion, and witnesses as Moonstone incapacitates Andreas and attempts to make a deal with the Skrulls.^[9] Andrea's clone then attacks Moonstone. While she is preoccupied with Moonstone, Bullseye kills her from behind. Osborn later convinces Andreas that the Skrulls killed his sister.^[10] Swordsman also saves Songbird when Bullseye attempts to kill her.^[11]

Swordsman later confronts Osborn with the revelation that he was not being offered a slot on the Dark Avengers and that Norman had never planned on fulfilling the vow to resurrect Swordsman's sister or to give him a full presidential pardon after his contract with the Thunderbolts ended. During Swordsman's confrontation, a momentarily insane Osborn stabs Andreas through the chest, apparently killing him with his own sword, and throws him out over the mountain.^[12]

Andrea and Andreas returned to the living and have opened a supervillain club in Manhattan called Club Fenris. When questioned about their demise and their return from the dead, they stated that their father "took care of it."^[13]

Powers and abilities

As a result of genetic engineering with their X-Genes when they were still in utero, Fenris were able to fly and generate energy blasts, but only when they were holding hands. When holding hands, Andreas could generate concussive force blasts while Andrea could generate disintegration beams. Swordsman uses various hidden blades; his primary sword blade is sheathed in an adamantium alloy and can shoot a grappling hook-like projectile. His sword's hilt is wrapped with Andrea's skin to release powerful bioelectric blasts of concussive force.

Other versions

House of M

Andrea and Andreas were seen assisting their father in a resistance against both mutants and Kree. Both of them end up killed in action.^[14]

Ultimate Marvel

The Ultimate Marvel version of Andrea von Strucker and Andreas von Strucker are androgynous mutant twins that can generate heat blasts when they touch each other that seek mutant supremacy through economic control as German business tycoons. Co-Presidents of the global investment firm Fenris International, they're deeply involved in corporate crime to "end the economic domination of Homo sapiens" while masquerading as an honorable investment banking firm with offices in the Empire State Building.^[15] It is also shown that they're both lovers. They have dealings with a thus-far unseen Black Tom Cassidy, and have tried to recruit Gambit and Rogue; Rogue rejected the offer and Gambit was already in their employ but rebelled to help Rogue escape. It is revealed that the Fenris twins are behind the recent Sentinel attacks with Bolivar Trask, the creator of the first wave of mutant hunting robots. It has also been revealed that they are tied to the Mutant Liberation Front. As a result of their activities involving the Sentinels and the Mutant Liberation Front, Bishop apparently killed the twins during their battle with Bishop's X-Men team.^[16]

In other media

Film and Television

• Andrea von Strucker (as Viper) appeared in Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., played by Sandra Hess. This version was the older half-sibling to Werner von Strucker. Viper escapes with her father's body that is revived in the film's final scene.
• Andrea and Andreas are seen on William Stryker's list of mutants in X2.
• Fenris are referenced in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. In the episode "Widow's Sting", Baron Strucker has Fenris set as the code word to set off HYDRA Island's self-destruct sequence.

Video Games

• Andreas von Strucker (as Swordsman) appears in the PSP version of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Swordsman is seen in the exclusive simulator disc boss for Hawkeye.

Bibliography

• Citizen V and the V Battalion #1-3
• Cloak & Dagger vol. 3 #8-9
• Excalibur vol. 1 #32-34
• Gambit vol. 3 #10
• Generation X 1996
• Quicksilver #8-9
• Uncanny X-Men #194, 196, 200, 260, 268
• X-Men vol. 2 #4-7

References