Art by Mike White from Issue 1
Ax-Battler is a barbarian from The Legend of the Golden Axe who, along with Tyris-Flare and Gilius-Thunderhead, spent his time trying to get the Golden Axe back to Yuria and enjoy some downtime.
History[]
According to the manual of the Golden Axe series, Ax (also known as Tarik) headed to Yuria to get revenge on Death Adder for killing his mother. On the way, he met Gilius and Tyris and the trio defeated Death Adder. Soon after, they had to defend the region from new villain Dark Guld, eventually reclaiming the stolen Golden Axe from him. After this, Ax and company took the Golden Axe back to the kingdom of Yuria.
Gaining some rest in a small town, Ax and friends were attacked by Rigia Mortius and Ul-Tima while shopping. They easily managed to fight off weak lizard guards but struggled against stronger minotaurs. While using magic, the earth power from Gilius was deflected by a minotaur and struck Ax on the head. Everyone else believed the barbarian to be dead and left him behind. The town's "old crone" ordered Ax to be hung on the stocks for everyone to see him rot, but Ax soon woke up. After questioning the old person, Ax took a Bizarrian to Auropolis in order to find his friends. The clumsy human quickly lost his new friend to a sewer creature (and fed it a lizard guard) before encountering a Hatch Maiden. Ax was unable to stop her from warning Sorcerer Blackspell, who sent Rigia to capture Ax. After a quick battle, Ax was knocked out by a sleeping potion and taken to the dungeons with the others.
After being chained up, Ax was powerless until Gililus coerced Rigia into freeing them with her sword. Thanks to a lucky strike, Ax was released and returned the favour by stringing Rigia up (upside down). The two left the citadel and met Proffit, the wizard trader, who supplied them with a pair of Bizarrians. They headed to the Corpselands where they fought Ul-Tima and her skeleton army, proving victorious. They needn't have rushed, as Tyris was holding her own against the newly-revived Dark Guld's henchmen. Ax and Gilius sped to Tyris' side but Ax was soon captured by the eagle form of Dark Guld and Blackspell. Despite being helpless, Ax continued to make threats. The barbarian was taken to Firedrake Fell, where he was outwitted by a group of empty suits of armour. Waiting for the unconscious Blackspell to wake up, Ax was eventually found by Gilius and Tyris, who had recently replenished their magic stock. A final attack caused the volcano to erupt and the three warriors escaped, planning on returning the Golden Axe once more.
Some time later, the three visited Rockguard, home of the dwarf people, which was under attack by Cobraxis and his wizard priests. The attackers carried with them hypnotic snakes that convinced the good dwarves to fight against their own kind. After joining in the battle, Ax found himself helpless to resist a snake's charms and was compelled to obey. Fortunately, his sword had already been raised; when Ax lost control, the sword fell and chopped off the snake's head, meaning it could no longer give Ax commands. Unfortunately, Ax was still in a trance and decided to wander through the caverns, humming and babbling to himself. At one point, he managed to walk over the poisoned bodies of Gilius and Yuki-Plantcharmer, but was completely oblivious to their presence. The hypnotism wore off right after the final battle with Cobraxis, leaving Ax to wonder what had happened.
Character[]
Ax is a barbarian, so his primary thoughts are on fighting and survival. Sometimes, this means common sense can get left to the wayside. Despite Gilius being the small one, Ax is seen more as a "butt monkey"; he is captured three times in the first story and completely removes himself from the battle of Rockguard after being weak. Nobody seems to reveal to him what happened, leaving him clueless. Despite his flaws, Ax is a strong warrior. Both Tyris and Gilius wished that Ax could have been with them in particular situations (the latter being instead of Yuki). Ax uses a two-handed broadsword to cause heavy damage. He also has a habit of "calling his attacks", his favourite being the powerful Big Attack.
For some reason, Ax never wears a shirt.
Appearances[]
- Issue 1 to Issue 6 - Citadel of Dead Souls
- Issue 5 - cover
- Issue 13 to Issue 18 - Plague of Serpents
- Issue 24 - Wonder Boy in Ghost World (cameo)