The SWORDSMEN

HISTORY

The Swordsmen are a group of criminal mercenaries operating primarily on the American West Coast. The group was formed by the mercenary Blademaster and consists exclusively of costumed criminals that use swords as their main weapon or gimmick.

The Swordsmen have most recently been seen in Superior City where they have come into conflict with members of the city's super hero teams the Enforcers of Justice and the New Adventurers. It is not known if there is any connection with this Swordsmen team and the Golden Age Swordsmen who also operated out of Superior City.

MEMBERS

BLADEMASTER

The true identity of the Blademaster is unknown except to a trusted few; everyone else who has learned this secret is dead. As a young man the future Blademaster joined the League of Assassins where he rose through the ranks and became an expert with all manner of edged weapons, from throwing knives to massive swords. Eventually the man could no longer find the challenges he sought with the League so he left and adopted the identity of the Blademaster.

As Blademaster he became a mercenary, traveling the world looking for work that would challenge his skills. Eventually the Blademaster decided that the greatest challenge would be to face off against the powerful metahuman super-heroes. Finding challenging opponents scarce in Europe, the Blademaster relocated to America. While he could often hold his own against solo heroes, Blademaster found himself frequently facing multiple opponents at the same time. As a result he decided to form a team of his own and so the Swordsmen were born.

Blademaster is an accomplished sowrdsman and an expert with nearly all forms of melee and thrown weapons. Unlike his teammates he does not rely on trick or gadget-equipped weapons, instead he typically goes into battle with a pair of high-quality long swords. He also carries a number of knives of various sizes in numerous sheathes on his costume.

SCABBARD

Ian Chalmers was an accomplished engineer and inventor. When the company he worked for was bought out, Ian found himself let go with no severance or pension despite his contributions to the company over the years. Taking his most advanced technological developments, Ian decided he would take his revenge on those who fired him by taking everything of theirs.

A fan of sword-and-sorcery fiction, Ian fashioned a series of advanced weapons designed to look like medieval and fantasy swords. Equipped with these weapons, he set out to rob the senior executives of the company that had let him go. During one of the robberies, Ian's victim was severly injured. With the authorities now seeking him on charges of attempted murder as well as the robberies, Ian went on the run.

While in hiding Ian was found by the Blademaster, who recruited him into the Swordsmen. Though initially reluctant, Ian has since grown to like the life of a mercenary. He has adopted the identity of the Scabbard as a member of the team.

Ian has developed a series of high-tech gadgets built in the form of swords. While these weapons can function perfectly well as a regular sword, their true power is in the additional abilities that Ian had built into them. So far the Scabbard has been seen wielding swords that can shoot fire, ones that can project electricity, ones that can generate a freeze ray, and even one that can slice through dimensions allowing Ian to generate a portal between two distant locations for a quick escape. Ian keeps the weapons stored in a hidden location and in the field he wears a special scabbard that allows him to teleport the weapon of his chose from storage to his current location.

RAPIER

Rapier is Elizabeth Drake, allegedly the neice of Mortimer Drake who faced off against the Batman as the villainous Cavalier. Whether or not she is fact related to Mortimer, Elizabeth does appear to be in possession of some of the equipment he used as the Cavalier. Using this equipment Elizabeth has adopted the identity of the Rapier and has committed a string of robberies in the central and western United States. She specializes in the theft of rare and unique items and artifacts from collectors and museums. The Rapier's reputation led to her being recruited into the Swordsmen by the Blademaster.

Elizabeth is a skilled swordswoman and is armed with the Cavalier's rapier, which in addition to being an actual sword is also able to be electrified and can fire off bolts of electricity. The feather in her hat is in reality a steel-tipped dart that the Rapier is able to throw with great accuracy. She also wears reinforced gloves that let her deal extra damage should she have to resort to hand-to-hand combat with an opponent.

SCIMITAR

Rashid el-Akhter is an archaelogist specializing in Middle Easter artifacts. Seeking a rumored treasure, Rashid snuck into the country of Qurac to perform an illegal dig. Rashid found the tomb of legendary thief and uncovered two artifacts - a sword and a carpet. Both items turned out to be magical, and Rashid smuggled them both out of Qurac. Soon after, Rashid began using the artifacts to commit crimes, mostly to steal rare items from museums.

Eventually Rashid's crime spree took him to America, where the media dubbed him Scimitar. As Rashid made his way across the country he was sought out by the Blademaster and recruited into the Swordsmen. As the Scimitar he has continued to operate with the team, though he may have an ulterior motive to staying with them.

Rashid's sword, a magical scimitar, is capable of freezing in place anyone he strikes with it. The sword also seems to be capable of draining the life force from those it stabs. The carpet that Rashid found is also magical, and is a true Flying Carpet right out of the Arabian Nights. Scimitar uses the carpet as a means of transport, and has learned that it can increase in size to be large enough to carry the rest of the Swordsmen along for the ride.

Rashid believes that he is under the control of the sword, that his criminal actions are not his own, but that he is also unable to rid himself of the artifacts because they are cursed. This may be true, or it just may be a justification that Rashid uses to excuse his actions. Since arriving in Superior City, Scimitar has taken an interest in the villain Erik Bloodaxe. This may indicate there is a connection between Rashid's magical scimitar and the magical axe that Bloodaxe wields.

CORSAIR

Neil Hodges comes from a wealth family. Spoiled and bored, the swashbuckling-obsessed young man decided to become a modern-day pirate. A stroke of luck led to Neil coming into possession of the energy blasting gadget of a super-villain. He adapted the weapon to fit in the hilt of a sword, and donning a mask and fanciful costume Neil embarked on his criminal career as The Corsair!

A combination of luck and skill led to a series of successful robberies up and down the American West Coast. Even when confronted by super-heroes like the Green Arrow in Star City and Manhunter in Pacific City, the Corsair would manage to escape capture. When Blademaster came recruiting for the new Swordsmen, Corsair was more than happy to sign up seeing it as an opportunity for more excitement.

Corsair is a skilled swordsman, one of the best in the world with his chosen weapon despite being mostly self-taught. Corsair has also become an expert in using the energy blaster he installed in the hilt of his sabre. A gifted athlete, Corsair is extremely agile and light on his feet, skills he uses to add flourish to his combat style. He also has been known to use his natural charm and eloquence to distract opponents or talk himself out of trouble. Corsair's obsession with swashbuckler movies sometimes gets the best of him, he prefers to commit crimes that follow a swashbuckling theme and will go out of his way to challenge any opponents who happen to be armed with a sword.

So far Corsair has avoided arrest, even recently when other members of the Swordsmen were defeated and incarcerated. This has let him maintain the secret of his real identity, which in turn has given him continued access to his personal and family wealth.