BERZERKERS

 

BERZERKERS*

Roster (from left to right): Anodyne (Madelyne Pryor-Summers); Master Builder (Paul Domenic); Earthshaker (Jeanne Chretien); Lore Lord (Samuel Ross); Cornucopia (Carla Ballenger); Brawler (Jacques Moreau); Beastmaster (Boyd Wilson); Pathfinder (Nick Rodriguez); and Lord of the Plants (Philip Descard).

First Appearance: X-Men & Alpha Flight (Vol. 1) #1, December 1985

Powers: The "Berzerkers" received magically-inclined superhuman abilities after exposure to Loki's Fire Fountain. The Fire Fountain transformed the internal magic of a human being into an external expression, often causing personal aspects of someone's character to manifest as magical powers. The Berzerkers generally became larger and stronger than they were as normal humans as well, even if their gift did not relate to physical power. The side effect of the Fire Fountain was that it consumed the internal magic of people in order to create its effects, leaving those it transformed unable to imagine, dream, or create. The effects of the Fire Fountain were eventually reversed, turning those affected back into normal people.

As Anodyne, Madelyne Pryor became a healer. She generated a healing flame that, through contact, could repair any form of injury or illness in others (and likely herself). She could undo physical injuries, wipe away fever or disease, even eliminate fatigue to restore someone's stamina. In addition, Anodyne's power could erase mental or psychological problems, such as Aurora's personality disorder and Wolverine's berserker rage, leaving the latter unrestricted by his animal instincts. She could alter superhuman abilities from uncontrollable to controllable, as she did with Rogue's touch or Cyclops's optic blasts. She could even undo curses or purely mystical inflictions, such as Puck's "dwarfism" or the corrupting influence of Tanaraq on Sasquatch's psyche.

 

The Master Builder was an architect able to animate and reshape unliving materials. Prior to exposure to the Fire Fountain, he had a notebook filled with elaborately designed buildings and structures, and his power enabled him to form these structures seemingly out of nothing. The magical nature of his power means he may have literally conjured his structures from nothing, or perhaps he merely made use of nearby raw materials. Once created, he could also manipulate his structures in simple ways, such as barring a door or causing a walkway to move on its own. His lost internal magic meant that the Builder could only create things he had seen or remembered, though -- actual creation of new designs was beyond his abilities once he received his powers.

 

Earthmover was a geologist who developed power over rock and earth. She could animate large or small masses of geological material, forcibly pushing them in a given direction to create mudslides or speeding rocks. She could also manipulate tectonic activity to create earthquakes, cause cave-ins, and so on.

Lore Lord was a living library, able to access knowledge simply by focusing his mind on a given topic or chronicle. It was said that the "knowledge of the ages" flowed through him, meaning he could mentally recall "every book ever written, every story ever told". It was unconfirmed whether he merely meant every human book or story, but he could recollect vast amounts of information on any topic, translate languages, etc.

 

Cornucopia could conjure food and clothing at will. She could mend existing sets of clothes, or alter them in considerable detail to produce new garments. The mechanism by which she created food was never shown, but she could apparently summon an endless supply and variety of food out of thin air. Like Master Builder, though, Cornucopia could not create new recipes or clothing styles. She could only replicate what she saw or could otherwise remember.

Brawler demonstrated tremendous strength, endurance, and resistance to physical injury, even for the naturally powerful Berzerkers.

Beastmaster had a natural affinity for the animal kingdom. He could communicate with animal life and direct animals to carry out actions on his command. His abilities extended to Wolverine's animal side, allowing him to temporarily manipulate Logan's actions and blank out portions of his memory.

Pathfinder was noted to be a tracker, but his abilities were never fully shown. It's likely he had highly acute senses, the ability to detect spore and other traces of an animal or objects passing, and even a supernatural sense of direction or homing ability.

The Lord of the Plants was botanist by trade who gained the ability to manipulate plant life, causing it to grow at an accelerated rate and respond to his mental commands.

*The group was only referred to as "Berzerkers" in solicitation and promotional material, and never in the story itself.