Libra (Marvel Comics)

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caption=Libra, art by Rob Liefeld
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Libra
real_name=Gustav Brandt
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Avengers" #72 (January 1970)
creators=Roy Thomas
Sal Buscema
alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
alliances=The Zodiac Avengers
aliases=Master of the Balance, Lloyd Willoughby
powers=Psychic senses; teleportation into the Between.|

Libra (Gustav Brandt) is a Marvel Comics character, a former supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe, most notably a member of the Zodiac Cartel.

Publication history

The original Libra first appeared in "Avengers" #72 (January 1970), and was created by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema.

The character subsequently appears in "Avengers" #80-82 (September-November 1970), "Daredevil" #69 (October 1970), "Iron Man" #33-36 (January-April 1971), "Daredevil" #73 (February 1971), "Avengers" #120-125 (February-July 1974), #130-134 (December 1974-April 1975), "Giant-Size Avengers" #3 (February 1975), "Avengers" #135 (May 1975), "Giant-Size Avengers" #4 (June 1975), "Iron Man" #184-185 (July-August 1984), "West Coast Avengers" #26 (November 1987), and "Avengers Forever" #1-12 (December 1998-February 2000).

Libra appeared as part of the "Zodiac" entry in the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition" #20.

Fictional character biography

German soldier Gustav Brandt served with the French forces during the Vietnam War. While in Saigon, he met and fell in love with a Vietnamese woman named Lua, and eventually had a daughter with her. However, Lua's brother, Khruul, was enraged with the interracial coupling of his sister and a European man. He and his men attacked Gustav and his family with flamethrowers. Lua was killed in the ensuing battle, and Gustav lost his eyesight. He and his daughter took shelter in Pama, where he was trained by the priests, but was forbidden to communicate with his daughter.

Joining the Zodiac Cartel, Gustav adopted the codename Libra, and served as a terrorist. Battling the Avengers on several occasions, he eventually discovered that Mantis was the daughter he had left in Pama, and turned himself in to the authorities. He then vanished mysteriously, later turning up in Ho Chi Minh City, where the Swordsman revealed to everyone Mantis' transformation into the Celestial Madonna. Libra then witnessed the marriage of Mantis and the Swordsman, and returned to prison shortly after. He did not stay in prison long, though, as he escaped and committed illegal acts alongside the Zodiac once more.

After the Zodiac's death at the hands of a Life Model Decoy, Libra served alongside the Avengers briefly as they battled Kang. He is presumably residing in the The Between, a mystical world.

Powers and abilities

Libra is physically blind, but possesses psychic senses, and is also a skilled martial artist. He has the ability to shift into the Place Between Places, a mystical dimension that is untraceable to most life-forms.

Other media

Libra appears in "" as a member of the Zodiacs. In this show, Libra is a female alien who wields a weighing scale-like weapon.

External links

*http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix2/librabrandt.htm