First Appearance: Black Axe #1 (April 1993).
Appearances: Black Axe #1-8.
Years Active: circa 8,000 B.C.E.-present.

Black Axe is an immortal adventurer; he is around 10,000 years old. Through most of his history he was not a hero; in his own words, he spent time in "a thousand civilizations...scheming, fighting and killing" so that he could test himself against every possible challenge. In his lifetime he has been an assassin, soldier, thief, mercenary and warlord. His earliest recorded activities took place in Saqqara, Egypt over 3000 years ago, where he worked for a powerful, non-noble member of the ruling class. He was active during Japan's "Age of War" before the 1600s, remains a friend to the Tamayoshi family, and has clashed with the ninja clan the Hand on a number of occasions. He was active during the American Civil War, and his reputation lingers on until at least 2020. By World War Two (roughly) he was living under the name "Robert Hyde," and feeling that there were no more adversaries worthy of him had decided to face "the challenge of peace." As "Robert Hyde" he was a mysterious benefactor to at least one survivor of the Blitz. By 1961 he was believed to be dead by those close to him, and as of the beginning of Black Axe he had not accepted a mercenary contract in over 50 years. He has (undefined) super-strength and super-endurance, uses (and probably used in the past) armor, and carries a six-foot-tall bladed laser weapon.

Note: Black Axe was a Marvel UK book, and so most U.S. comic book readers won't have read his adventures, but like a lot of the Marvel UK characters he interacted with the more mainstream Marvel characters, including the Black Panther in one issue, and so he should be counted as existing within Marvel continuity.