Fenris (Andrea von Strucker and Andreas von Strucker) are two

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

characters appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. They are the German twin children of supervillain

Baron Strucker Baron Wolfgang von Strucker () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A former Nazi officer, he is one of the leaders of the Hydra terrorist organization, and the archenemy of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. H ...

of Hydra and the half-siblings of Werner von Strucker. The two characters appear in '' The Gifted''.

Publication history

Created by

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is an English-born American comic book writer and novelist. Claremont is best known for his 16-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Clarem ...

and John Romita Jr., the von Strucker twins first appeared in ''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the List of X-Men comics, X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of super ...

'' #194 (June 1985) in their civilian identity and in ''Uncanny X-Men'' #200 (December 1985) as Fenris.

Fictional character biography

Andrea and Andreas are the children of Hydra leader Wolfgang von Strucker. While the two are still in their mother's uterus, they are genetically modified by

Arnim Zola Arnim Zola is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by Marvel Comics. He is a master of biochemistry and a recurring enemy of Captain America and the Avengers. The character first appeared in ''Captain America and the Falcon'' #208 (A ...

. This gives them bio-energy powers which they can use when in physical contact with one another (usually when holding hands). Strucker indoctrinates his children in the beliefs of

white supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

, and the

Fourth Reich The term Fourth Reich () is commonly used to refer to a hypothetical successor to Adolf Hitler's Third Reich (1933–1945) and the possible resurgence of Nazi ideas. It has also been used pejoratively by political opponents. Origin The term " ...

. In adulthood, the twins become the

s known as Fenris and lead the terrorist organization of the same name. Andrea later discovers that Citizen V is actually

Helmut Zemo Helmut Zemo is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella and Sal Buscema, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Captain America (comic book), Captain America'' #16 ...

. Zemo kills Andrea to keep her from telling anyone the truth. After Andrea's death, Zemo has the

Purple Man The Purple Man (Zebediah Killgrave) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Joe Orlando, he first appeared in '' Daredevil'' #4 (October 1964). His body produces pher ...

brainwash Andreas into taking the alias of

Swordsman Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...

. The Purple Man has him flay the skin from Andrea's corpse to incorporate the resulting leather into his sword's hilt, allowing him to channel their shared powers through his sword. Andreas breaks free of the Purple Man's control and joins the Thunderbolts. Under the control of four imprisoned telepaths, Strucker takes over the title of Baron Strucker and shaves his head in his father's honor. He gains the loyalty of guards by paying them well and orders them to set off a bomb in the ''Zeus'' (the Thunderbolts' carrier) to initiate a lockdown. He declares to one of his guards that

Norman Osborn Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of th ...

will bring him back his sister or everyone in Thunderbolts Mountain will be killed. It is later discovered that Andreas had Arnim Zola create a clone of his sister. Although Andreas has Andrea back, he wants to complete his Thunderbolts contract, leaving as a free man. To protect Andrea while on missions, Andreas skins his arm, giving the flesh to his sister's clone to hold and allowing her to use their shared powers. Andrea's clone and Andreas later return to the land of the living and open "Club Fenris", a supervillain club in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. They are also residents of the

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...

nation of

Krakoa Krakoa is a fictional living island appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in '' Giant-Size X-Men'' #1 and was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. While often depicted as an antagonist, Krakoa later fe ...

Powers and abilities

As a result of genetic engineering with their X-Genes when they were still

in utero The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more fertilized eggs until bir ...

, Fenris are able to fly and generate energy blasts, but only when they are holding hands. When holding hands, Andreas can generate concussive force blasts while Andrea generates disintegration beams. The Swordsman uses various hidden blades; his primary sword blade is sheathed in an

adamantium Adamantium is a fictional metal alloy, most famously appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is best known as the substance bonded to the character Wolverine's skeleton and claws. First mention in Marvel comics It was ...

alloy and can shoot a

grappling hook A grappling hook or grapnel is a device that typically has multiple hooks (known as ''claws'' or ''flukes'') attached to a rope or cable; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may cat ...

-like projectile. His sword's hilt is wrapped with Andrea's skin to release bioelectric blasts of concussive force.

Other versions

Marvel Noir

An alternate universe variant of Andreas von Strucker / Fenris from Earth-90214 appears in ''

Marvel Noir Marvel Noir is a 2009–2010 Marvel Comics alternative continuity combining elements of film noir and pulp fiction with the Marvel Universe. The central premise of the mini-series replaces superpowers with driven, noir-flavored characterization. ...

''. This version is an agent for the German-based

Weapon X Weapon X is a fictional government genetic research facility project appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They were conducted by Department K, which turned willing and unwilling beings into living weapons to carry out c ...

House of M

Alternate universe variants of Andrea and Andreas von Strucker from Earth-58163 appear in ''

House of M "House of M" is a 2005 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics, consisting of an eight-issue comic book limited series with a number of crossover tie-in books written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel. Its first i ...

''. These versions are members of their father Baron Strucker's resistance against mutants and the

Kree The Kree, briefly known as the Ruul, are an List of fictional extraterrestrials, alien race appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are native to the planet Hala in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and have a scientificall ...

. Both of them end up killed in action.

Ultimate Marvel

Alternate universe variants of Andrea and Andreas von Strucker from Earth-1610 appear in the Ultimate Marvel imprint. These versions are androgynous mutant twins who can generate heat rather than energy.

In other media

Television

Fenris appears in '' The Gifted'', with Andreas von Strucker portrayed by Paul Cooper (younger) and Carsten Norgaard (older) and Andrea von Strucker portrayed by Caitlin Mehner (younger) and Julia Farino (older). This version of the duo are mutant terrorists who were active in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Additionally, Andreas possesses telekinesis while Andrea has molecular forcefield creation, with the two being able to produce destructive light energy when in physical contact. Horrified by their actions, Andreas's son Otto runs away from them and manages to suppress the X-Gene after years of conducting research on his son Reed to prevent the threat from returning. However, Reed's children Lauren and Andy Strucker inherit Fenris' abilities.

Film

* Andrea von Strucker, as

Viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

, appears in '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', portrayed by

Sandra Hess Sandra Hess (born 27 March 1968) is a Swiss former actress and fashion model. She is best known for her role as Sonya Blade in the film '' Mortal Kombat Annihilation'' (1997), and Lieutenant Alexandra "Ice" Jensen on the television series '' ...

. This version is Werner von Strucker's half-sibling. * Fenris were originally slated to appear in ''

Dark Phoenix "The Dark Phoenix Saga" is an extended X-Men comic-book storyline published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne, the storyline first appeared in ''X-Men'' #129 (January 1980). It focuses on the superhero Jea ...

'' as members of the

Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a term used to describe several exclusive Club (organization), clubs for high-society Rake (character), rakes established in Great Britain and Ireland in the 18th Century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood, 11t ...

, but were ultimately cut from the film.

Video games

Andreas von Strucker as the Swordsman appears in the PSP version of '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance''.

References

{{X-Men characters Characters created by Chris Claremont Characters created by John Romita Jr. Clone characters in comics Comics characters introduced in 1985 Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities Fictional German people Fictional swordfighters in comics Genetically engineered characters in comics Marvel Comics female supervillains Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics neo-Nazis Twin characters in comics X-Men supporting characters