Though the Swordsman was long gone from active duty Avengers roster when I entered comic-dom, the character appealed to me from the moment I first saw his headshot in one of those "all-time Avengers" compilations that would occasionally crop up.
Part of it was that I tended to like any skill-based hero (e.g., Captain America, Hawkeye, Batman, etc.). Second--as the existence of this blog attests--I always favored the marginalized or "second-string" characters.
So perhaps you'll understand how underwhelming it was when I finally got to read a Swordsman story (in Avengers Spotlight #22). Initially, I thought this might simply have been a one-off origin stinker. (After all, I think it's pretty difficult to make an origin story really engaging.) But alas...the more I read about Jacques Duquesne, the less..."heroic" the hero seems.
It's not just that Swordsman is an anti-hero in the mold of Punisher, Lobo, Paladin, etc., but rather that he just seems to have no core convictions at all. Just read the Comic Vine entry on the guy and look at how many times he tried for the Avengers, got rejected, committed some crime in response, latter joined, then got kicked out, etc. It's a terrible farce.
If they weren't going to make Swordsman heroic, I like to think he could've at least been interesting. He might've worked as the superhero version of having an addict in the family...someone who struggles, really tries to do right, but just keeps failing and failing. Increasing nuance and complexity in how the Avengers (both individually and as a team) chose to respond to their dysfunctional comrade might've made an interesting commentary on enabling, intervention, etc.
But instead, I feel like we just got a poorly-written, second-tier guy with a sword...and then he died.
Anyone care to disagree? I'd love to be shown "the error of my ways" on this one.
Part of it was that I tended to like any skill-based hero (e.g., Captain America, Hawkeye, Batman, etc.). Second--as the existence of this blog attests--I always favored the marginalized or "second-string" characters.
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| Avengers Spotlight #22 (SEP 1989) |
It's not just that Swordsman is an anti-hero in the mold of Punisher, Lobo, Paladin, etc., but rather that he just seems to have no core convictions at all. Just read the Comic Vine entry on the guy and look at how many times he tried for the Avengers, got rejected, committed some crime in response, latter joined, then got kicked out, etc. It's a terrible farce.
If they weren't going to make Swordsman heroic, I like to think he could've at least been interesting. He might've worked as the superhero version of having an addict in the family...someone who struggles, really tries to do right, but just keeps failing and failing. Increasing nuance and complexity in how the Avengers (both individually and as a team) chose to respond to their dysfunctional comrade might've made an interesting commentary on enabling, intervention, etc.
But instead, I feel like we just got a poorly-written, second-tier guy with a sword...and then he died.
Anyone care to disagree? I'd love to be shown "the error of my ways" on this one.
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