From villain to avenger to villain to hero. Introduced in Avengers #19 (1965) by Stan Lee and Don Heck, Jacques DuQuesne was a performer for various carnivals that would use his sword skills to do tricks. In one of the carnivals, he took Clint Barton and his brother, Barney, in archery and sword works respectively, with the brothers’ becoming helpers in his performance. However, Jacques developed a gambling problem and had to steal the carnival’s money. He was discovered by Clint and had to flee.

He would begin committing various crimes around the world but would later try and join the Avengers but was refused thanks to his crime. Angry, he attacked Captain America but was teleported away by Mandarin, who outfitted him with a new sword. Mandarin used Swordsman to trick the Avengers into allowing him to join. Surprisingly, he began fitting in well with the team, developing a crush on Scarle Witch. However, when Mandarin planted a bomb in the mansion and he tried to dismantle it, it appeared to the Avengers that he was trying to plant it and had to flee. Reluctantly, he returned to crime but longed to return to being a hero.

He began heavily drinking and somehow wound up in Vietnam, where he met Mantis. He fell in love with her after she helped him recover from an injury. They would return to the states and join the Avengers. It was eventually revealed that Mantis was the Celestial Madonna and was kidnapped by Kang. She was saved by the Avengers but in retaliation, Kang shot at Mantis and Swordsman dove in front of her to protect her. He died in her arms but was his body was later resurrected by the Cotati. Immortus would marry him to Mantis, and they left the planet to create the Celestial Messiah. Swordsman’s body would later be resurrected a few times but would return to the dead.