Deathurge
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Deathurge is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He is a wraith-like superhuman entity who served as the herald and agent of Oblivion. He first appeared in Marvel Two-In-One #71.
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[edit] Character biography
[edit] Origins
Deathurge's origins are not known. He may or may not be a supernatural being such as a demon or ghost. He may or may not be a physical being granted new life in a quasiphysical form such as the Eternal Kronos or Drax the Destroyer. He may or may not be an abstract entity like Oblivion, Master Order, Lord Chaos, or the In-Betweener. On multiple occasions he has claimed to embody the impulse for self-destruction that resides within all sentient life, which implies that he is an abstract entity. However, Deathurge has demonstrated nothing if not a penchant for obfuscation, so this may be exaggeration or an outright lie.
[edit] History
He was first observed in the employ of the villain Maelstrom. Deathurge was dispatched to slay the clonal bodies of Maelstrom's three prime minions and twice was commanded to slay clonal bodies of Maelstrom himself. Although Maelstrom sometimes treated Deathurge as if he were a lackey, Deathurge served only at Oblivion's behest, for Oblivion perceived within Maelstrom the potential to drastically tip the scales between existence and non-existence in his favor.
For a time at least, Deathurge harbored great animus towards Quasar and opposed him repeatedly in the course of the latter's self-titled series. With Quasar assuming the mantle of Protector of the Universe, Oblivion saw him as a threat to his agenda and set Deathurge against him, both before and after Quasar thwarted Maelstrom's plot to collapse the universe into a gargantuan black hole. Deathurge was determined to exploit the streak of fatalism he sensed within the hero's personality. The way Deathurge saw it, Quasar was a despicable hypocrite for pledging to champion all life while denying his feelings of futility and angst regarding his own existence. In the course of one of their battles, Deathurge summed himself up succinctly with the following remark:
You claim you are Protector of the Universe, Quasar, but you fail to see that life itself is an aberration. A random mixture of chemicals and electricity with delusions of grandeur! Oblivion is the universe's preferred state. You are so vain as to think that because you are alive, that's what the universe desires. Fah! I am Protector of the Universe too, Quasar--I protect the universe from the chaotic blight of that aberration called life.
Deathurge was also responsible for compelling Patsy Walker to commit suicide.
Deathurge has since become involved in the affairs of the Great Lakes Avengers, a team of heroes with a knack for self-destruction. He supplied them with information crucial to foiling another of Maelstrom's plans for universal destruction. Having lost his job to Doorman for failing to lead the soul of Monkey Joe to the afterlife, Oblivion has apparently cursed him to remain in the squirrel form he was in when trying to lead Monkey Joe into the after life. Oblivion gave Deathurge one last chance to gain his job back, if he could kill Squirrel Girl's new sidekick, Tippy Toe. Thanks to the intervention of Mr Immortal, and a cuckoo clock however, his attempts failed, and was last seen seeming to fall for Tippy Toe.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Deathurge can fly at great speeds, become intangible at will, and draw forth from his non-reflective ebony body a variety of simple weaponry such as spears, axes, and bows and arrows. These weapons, also non-reflective black, appear to be made of the same unknown substance as Deathurge's body. When these weapons strike Deathurge's target, the target dies, a blackness spreading from the spot where the weapon bloodlessly struck and passed through the target's body. If the weapon happens to pass through someone other than Deathurge's target, that person will feel the sensation of numbing coldness but will not blacken or die. Deathurge's targets are apparently only those who have at least to some degree craved death and oblivion. If a target does not wish to die, or can from the brink of death find a strong will to live Deathurge's powers have little to no effect on the target and can be for all intents and purposes harmless.
