Deathurge
First Appearance: I guess Marvel Two-In-One 71, but only in the lower right corner of the last page and with no name to boot. He got more to do in the following issue.
What's His Problem? Deathurge claims to be an embodiment of the latent self-destructive impulses in all sentient beings, appearing to certain beings who have lost their will to live and grants them oblivion. But either his appointment book is seriously mixed up, or he enjoys trying to relocate some who are not ready for the hereafter. He also claims to be protecting the universe from "the chaotic blight of aberration called life", a questionable attitude indeed. Spiffy cape, though.
Abilities: An immortal-type who can do things like reattach his severed head, Deathurge shows no need for food, sleep, and especially air; he can survive trips through space and, after becoming intangible, planets. He ignores attacks from those down in the dumps, but confident and skilled persons can knock him around. From his ebon torso D'urge can pull weapons "made of the midnight in all mortal souls" that cause the intended target to blacken and die. He prefers spears or bow and arrows but can wield axes, chains and swords with equal skill. He dons a pair of black skis for some fast flying, but he's teleported a few times as well.
Favorite Quote: "I almost had you, you void-sucking voyeur!" (Quasar 24, after aiming for the eyes of none other than Uatu the Watcher. But while he can handle moving targets, those vanishing targets are something else...)
Heroes He Keeps Running Into: He's dodged the Thing and an Inhuman or two, and had a brief chat with the Avenger Captain Marvel. Every so often he picked on Quasar, for reasons up to and including possession of the dreaded Ultimate Nullifier, the use of which is kinda suicidal. Deathurge has also fought Ghost Rider to a draw, tried to bump off Stephen "I'm-busy-saving-the-Earth-again" Strange, got his ebon buttocks kicked by three of the Squadron Supreme and even raced the Silver Surfer.
People Who Think He's Not So Bad: Deathurge served the evil hybrid Maelstrom, executing his minions once and Maelly himself twice before being dismissed. But in truth, he is herald to the entity called Oblivion, himself brother of Death and counterpart to Infinity; Oblivion foresaw Maelstrom's eventual attempt to destroy the entire universe and evidently thought he could use a hand. And while some who may truly welcome Deathurge's "gift", they don't stay around long enough to act as references.
Most Despicable Act: On Maelstrom's orders, Deathurge secretly spread the Oblivion Plague amongst the unsuspecting Watchers, many of whom died believing that observing was interfering and thus violated their moral code. Don't worry, Quasar later convinced them to return to life. Then there's the tale of the Eternals of Uranus, who spent millennia trying to discover the Grand Unified Theory of Everything. Once they did, they moped around for a few centuries until you-know-who ruptured their colony's life-support dome; they supposedly froze and suffocated "with open eyes and loving smiles." Sheesh, talk about cold comfort... For myself, Deathurge's participation in the suicide of Patsy Walker, the Hellcat, a woman with enough self-confidence to take on Satan, ranks WAAAAY up there -- editor Jeanne.
by Ray Schaff
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