Swordsman

Real Name
Andreas von Strucker

Occupation
Licensed super hero; former adventurer, terrorist leader

Citizenship
Madripoorian

Place of Birth
Unrevealed

Known Relatives
Wolfgang von Strucker (father, deceased), Elisbeth von Strucker (stepmother, deceased), Andrea von Strucker (fraternal twin), Werner von Strucker (half-brother; deceased), Jan (husband, deceased) 

Group Affiliation
Thunderbolts; Formerly Upstarts, Fenris

Education 
Unrevealed

Height 
5' 9"

Weight 
165 lbs.

Eyes 
Blue

Hair 
Blond

Powers

As a result of genetic engineering when they were still in utero, the twins possess bio-energy powers which only function if the twins are in physical contact - usually by holding hands. Andreas fires bolts of pure concussive force. Their powers also allow them to fly; however, only when they are in physical contact. 

Abilities 
Andreas is a phenomenal acrobat and hand-to-hand combatant, skilled in the use of all bladed weapons. He is fluent in German, albeit out of practice.

Other Info
Andreas and his twin sister Andrea were the children of Baron Strucker. While the twins were still in their mother's uterus they were genetically modified, giving them bio-energy powers which they can use when in physical contact with one another. Baron Strucker instilled in his twins his Nazi values. Therefore, Andreas grew up as a white supremacists who had great sympathy for the Nazi agenda, and strove for the Fourth Reich. Later, discovering they were both mutants, the twins became costumed supervillains known as "Fenris." (To learn about the characters, group, and/or team above, just click on their highlighted names.)

At one point, Andreas' father appeared to have seemingly died in an incident involving Magneto and Professor X. For this, the Strucker twins despised Magneto. Therefore, as the years passed, Fenris finally made for an attack on Magneto during his trial in Paris by the International Court of Justice for his crimes against humanity. Unfortunately for them, the X-Men showed up and foiled their assassination attempt; however, the twins managed to escape. (To learn about the characters and/or team highlighted above, just click on their names.)

Later on, Andreas and Andrea joined the Upstarts (a group of mutant millionaires who engaged in a campaign of murder as part of a game organized by the Gamesmaster and the Hellfire Club's former Black Queen, Selene). As part of the Upstarts, Fenris captured many members of the New Mutants and the Hellions. They also had run-ins with Generation X, Quicksilver, and Gambit on a couple occasions. Fenris even tried to acquire Omega Red for the Upstarts, but failed. The twins ultimately met their match when they tried to kill Wolfsbane. She, along with her new X-Factor teammates, easily defeated the Andreas and his sister. (Click the highlighted names above to learn about the teams and/or characters. Note: Beware of the revealing outfits worn by some on the Hellfire Club and Hellions' bio pages.)

After the fall of the Kingpin, Andreas and Andrea joined a conference of powerful criminal leaders who intended to divide up the Kingpin's empire. Among the members of the conference were Slug, Hammerhead, Tombstone, and their half-brother Werner von Strucker (however, the twins did not believe Werner was actually their sibling). At the conference, many arguments happened which resulted in a shouting, shooting, and blasting match. Fenris attempted to kill Hammerhead; however, he was rescued. In the end, Werner was killed by their father (who was disguised at the conference as Werner's assistant). Before the twins could make more of a claim to the Kingpin's empire, the meeting was broken up by Daredevil, Nomad, and the Punisher.(To learn about the characters above, just click on their highlighted names.)

After, Baron Helmut Zemo killed Andrea to keep her from telling anyone his secret of being in Citizen V (John Watkins III)'s body, Andreas was shattered emotionally. Seeing potential in Andreas' abilities and the opportunity to exploit his fractured mental state, Zemo (unknown to Andreas) employed the Purple Man to brainwash and train Andreas to become the new "Swordsman." While being brainwashed, Andreas tanned his sister's skin which he created into a leather strap grip for his sword, which allowed him to harness Fenris' powers. In his first outing as the Swordsman, Andreas sought revenge on his father and attacked him at HYDRA headquarters. However, Andreas' attempted assassination of his father was interrupted by Wolverine (who had been brainwashed as well into becoming an assassin by HYDRA). This resulted in the Swordsman and Wolverine clashing over who would get to kill the Baron and ultimately neither succeeded. In the end, the Swordsman ended up saving Wolverine from plummeting to his death, which allowed the Baron to escape. The two would-be assassins parted ways, both deciding to take their vengeance with the Baron later. (To learn about the characters and/or team above, just click on their highlight names. Also, Andreas as the Swordsman is shown in the first, fifth, and sixth pictures posted above.)

Later, when HYDRA launched an attack on New York City, Andreas fought alongside Captain America, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, and the Thunderbolts against legions of HYDRA soldiers. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the characters and/or team. Note: Beware of the form-fitting outfits on the Thunderbolts' and Ms. Marvel's bio page.)

Wanting to strike back at Zemo for his sister's murder, Andreas ended up joining Zemo's team of Thunderbolts under his new "Swordsman" identity. And when the Purple Man was eventually defeated by the Thunderbolts, Andreas was confronted by Zemo, who revealed himself as the mastermind behind his training. Despite this revelation, the Swordsman stayed with the group. However, when both Zemo and the Grandmaster made a play for the Wellspring of Power, the Swordsman and the Thunderbolts opposed them, and stopped them. (To learn about the the Grandmaster, click on his highlighted name above.)

Some time later, the Swordsman was one of the few Thunderbolts who remained with the team as they became a Government-sanctioned superhero team (despite having an all-villain lineup) led by Norman Osborn. While active on the team, Andreas was re-united with his deceased sister, Andrea, who mysteriously returned from the dead (she claimed to have been resurrected by Arnim Zola's cloning process). However, Osborn became suspicious of how quickly Zola was able to create her. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn more about the characters.)

During the Skrull's Secret Invasion, the twins joined the Thunderbolts in battle against the aliens. But, when Moonstone attempted to cut a deal for part of the conquered planet, Andrea attacked her. She was preparing to finish off Moonstone, when she was stabbed and killed from behind by Bullseye. With Andrea dead, Osborn lied and tricked Andreas into believing that it was the Skrulls who had murdered his sister and not Bullseye, hoping to inspire him in battle against the Skrulls. This lead to the Swordsman destroying an entire Skrull ship single-handedly. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the different race, event, and/or characters. Note: Beware of the very skin-tight outfit worn by Moonstone on her bio pags.)

Later on, after the end of the Secret Invasion, Osborn was promoted as the new director of SHIELD. As director, he announced that he was going to dismantle the current Thunderbolts program. In addition, Osborn promoted Bullseye, Moonstone, and Venom to his new team of government-sanctioned Avengers. Bullseye and Venom were ordered to kill Songbird; however, Andreas arrived and saved her from being killed. The Swordsman let Songbird escape and made it look as if she died in an explosion to help her go into hiding. Andreas then realized that he, like Songbird, had no place within Osborn's plan. So, he decided to confront Osborn. However, during the confrontation, Osborn grabbed Andreas' sword and killed him. (To learn about the team highlighted above, just click on their name. 

To learn more a little bit more about the Swordsman, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Swordsman_%28Andreas_Strucker%29.

In the film X2, "Andreas von Strucker" appears as a folder on William Stryker's computer files. (His name is listed on the very top of the list on the second picture posted above.)