Headsman

Origin

Secretly seeking power and influence in New York's criminal underworld, wealthy industrialist Norman Osborn used advanced technology to equip the Headsman, an axe-weidling criminal operative he had hired anonymously via the telephone.

Equipping him with an energy-powered axe and an early prototype of his one-man, vertical-thrust "Goblin Glider", Osborn sent his new operative to negotiate a deal with the criminal Enforcers, and he twice fought the then-new superhero Spider-Man, but fled into hiding after Spider-Man disabled his axe.

Deciding it was a mistake to waste his power on underlings, Osborn subsequently crafted his own super-criminal identity as the Green Goblin.

Creation

Headsman was created by Kurt Busiek and Pat Olliffe and first appeared in Untold Tales of Spider-Man #8.

Character Evolution

Headsman was introduced and pretty sharply forgotten among the incredibly large and memorably rogues gallery of Spider-Man. It was until Andy Diggle brought the character back as a member of Norman Osborn's Thunderbolts team during Dark Reign that he became anything more than a Z-list Spider-villain. While with the team, he acted as the Green Goblin from time-to-time and was one of the more "heroic" members of the team. He however didn't receive the chance to truly redeem himself in the eyes of heroes as he was killed just prior to Siege.

Major Story Arcs

Fued with Norman Osborn

Headsman vs. Spider-Man

Wanting revenge and trying to restore his reputation, the Headsman seemingly slew Spider-Man and used this "victory" to seek a position with Lucky Lobo's criminal gang. Learning that Spider-Man was still alive, a furious Headsman attacked the hero again.

While Spider-Man was busy saving young onlookers Liz Allan, Jason Ionello and Flash Thompson, the Green Goblin covertly assaulted the Headsman. Denouncing his former henchman as an embarrassment and a liability, the Goblin destroyed the Headsman's high-tech gear and beat him senseless in a matter of seconds, leaving him barely alive.

The Goblin escaped unseen, but Spider-Man found the fallen Headsman and called an ambulance. He was taken into police custody and remained in prison until Osborn arranged to have him released in return for agreeing to serve as a Thunderbolts covert operative.

Burning Down the House

His first mission with Norman Osborn's covert Thunderbolts team was to impersonate the Green Goblin and attack Air Force One to help convince the public Norman Osborn and Goblin were not the same person.

Magnum Opus

Headsman next mission was to hunt down the mercenary Deadpool and silence him since he was a constant thrown in Norman side. After a seemingly endless game of Cat and Mouse the Thunderbolts caught Deadpool where Headsman delivered a decapitating blow to the merc while he was on his knees.

In their next mission to recruit Mister X, Cleavon was told by Ghost that he had saved his life twice. When he questioned Ghost about the second time he learned that he was considered a disposable loose end by Osborn who gave him a faulty parachute. Upon Mr. X joining the team, he has mocked Headsman on multiple occasions and even defeated him after provoking Headsman to fight him.

Siege

While on a mission to stop the Agents of Atlas, the Thunderbolts had the upper hand until Venus, distressed by the apparent death of Robert Grayson, used her voice to invoke their bad memories. Headsman recalled memories of killing his brother Cody's dog with a hatchet. Meanwhile Nuke had his mind tampered with by Bob Grayson commanding him to kill Norman Osborn on sight. While on their jet on the way to the cube, Osborn gave the Thunderbolts a briefing for their next mission through a hologram message. Nuke fired a single shot at the hologram. The bullet traveled through the hologram, and struck Headsman in the head, killing him.

Powers and Abilities

The Headsman is a brawny, ruthless and surprisingly swift physical combatant, albeit graceless, unimaginative and ill-tempered.

An expert in the use of his custom-made ae, he could charge it with an energy field eneabling its blade to slice effortlessly through most substances (including steel, brick, stone and Spider-Man's webbing). The axe drew its energy from a power packed strapped to his back. Originally connected to the power pack by a cable, the axe was later modified so that the pack could power it remotely.

He traveled via a one-man airborne platform which could hover in place or fly at speeds of up to 75 mph.

Failsafes secretly built into the Headsman's gear enabled Norman Osborn to fuse its circuitry via remote control.