Elliot Randolph is an Asgardian who stayed on Earth after a battle centuries ago. The name "Elliot Randolph" is an alias, though his true name is unknown. Randolph was once a member of the Berserker Army and possessed the Berserker Staff, which he broke into three pieces and hid across the globe. Afterward, Randolph chose to remain on Earth, posing as a human. During his long tenure on Earth, Randolph became a professor specializing in Norse mythology.

In the 21st century, Randolph's true ancestry was uncovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson while they were working to stop a hostile group of Norse paganists from harnessing the Berserker Staff. Randolph would work with Coulson again much later, this time to help him in uncovering the nature of the Monolith, a dangerous artifact.

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Biography

Ancient Times

"I was a mason. I broke rocks... for thousands of years. If you can imagine that. So when they came, asking for people to fight, yes, of course, I signed up. I think, really, I just wanted to travel." ―Elliot Randolph

The Asgardian that would come to be known as Elliot Randolph was a stonemason for thousands of years before being recruited for a military mission to Earth in the 12th century. Tired of his mundane existence in Asgard and desire to travel the Realms, Randolph signed on.

While on Earth, Randolph served with the Asgardian Berserker Army, who gained superior strength, even by Asgardian standards, by touching a device known as the Berserker Staff, which brought all of the rage and hatred that the wielder keeps suppressed and transforms it into strength.

Time on Earth

Warrior Who Stayed

"He came to Earth to fight, but he ended up falling in love."

"With whom?"

"With life, on Earth. Humanity. He fell so much in love that when his army returned to Asgard, he stayed behind." ―Elliot Randolph and Jemma Simmons

During his time on Earth, Randolph fell in love with the planet and its people, and when the rest of the Asgardian host returned home, Randolph stayed behind. The Berserker Staff was left behind as well. Randolph, who now considered himself a pacifist, did not want the staff or the power it possessed. Fearing that the dark magic of the staff would fall into the wrong hands, he broke the staff into three pieces and spread them in various places across Europe. He hid one in a tree in what would become the Trillemarka National Park in Norway, one in a crypt in Seville, Spain and the final piece in a church in Ireland.

Randolph had lived on Earth for several centuries when, in the year 1546, he met and fell in love with a French girl. He told her his story and her brother, who happened to be a priest, wrote the story down and created the legend of "The Warrior Who Stayed." Randolph hoped that his obscure locations in the story would prevent anyone from attempting to find the pieces of the staff.[1]

Costume Party

"A Hebrew warning carved in an English castle struck me as odd. Out of place. Seems ancient."

"But you stopped looking into it?"

"A man dressed as an owl, of all things. I got him drunk enough to admit that no travel to other worlds was even occurring. Just ritualistic killings. Eh, the whole thing stunk of half-baked satanism. Just some fabrications to entice new members. And, well, there were fire dancers. I got distracted." ―Elliot Randolph and Phil Coulson

In the 1853, having heard rumors of a group of lords who traveled across the stars, Randolph visited a castle in Gloucestershire, England to investigate while attending a costume ball. Randolph did notice carvings on the walls which read death by punishment in ancient Hebrew; however, another party guest dressed as an owl drunkenly admitted that there was no space travel happening at the castle, only ritualistic killings. Seemingly having gotten his answers, Randolph went on to enjoy the party.[2]

Modern Times

"When we first found the hammer in New Mexico I consulted one of the world's leading experts on Norse mythology. Elliot Randolph, a professor at a university in Seville." ―Phil Coulson to his team

By the 21st Century, Randolph had taken up the guise of a human professor of Norse Mythology at the University of Seville. When S.H.I.E.L.D. discovered the Asgardian weapon Mjølnir in the desert of New Mexico, Agent Phil Coulson called upon Randolph for a consultation.[1]

Hunting the Berserker Staff

Meeting with Phil Coulson

"Based on these runes, I'd say I'm looking at a piece of the Berserker Staff. Let's have a look. The myth dates back to the late 12th century, it's all about a powerful warrior from Asgard, a soldier in the Berserker Army." ―Elliot Randolph to Phil Coulson

Two years later, when the piece of the Berserker Staff that Randolph hid in Norway was found by a Norse Paganist Hate Group, a search began for the final pieces and Phil Coulson again consulted with Randolph. Coulson interrupted Randolph's meeting with a student named Elena and asked Randolph about the staff. He explained the history of the staff, even commenting on the legend of the Warrior who stayed but decided not to reveal his own connection to the staff.

Recognizing what they were searching for and the dangerous power it held, Randolph attempted to gather the pieces of the staff before either S.H.I.E.L.D. or the neo-Norse pagans could. He found the second piece in the underground catacombs in Spain, but before he could escape he was discovered by Agent Grant Ward. When Ward tried to arrest Randolph, he accidentally touched the staff which triggered a deep rage inside Ward, Randolph used the opportunity to make his escape with the staff.

As Randolph made his hasty escape, he bumped into Jakob Nystrom by mistake, unaware that Nystrom and his friends were the Neo-Norse Pagans he was hiding from. The Pagans cornered Randolph and threw his car across the road in a show of force. Unfortunately, Randolph did not wish for his identity as an Asgardian to be revealed and as a result, could not keep the staff piece out of the hands of the pagans, and was soon found by Phil Coulson and his team. Randolph offered no explanation or resistance and was taken into custody by Coulson's Team.[1]

Questioned by S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Horny. I met a French girl in 1546. Ah, she loved stories. So... I told her a great one. All about the peaceful Asgardian warrior who stayed. Now, how was I to know her brother, the priest, would write it all down and turn it into, I don't know, a thing?"

"Do you know Thor?"

"Oh sure. I spent all my days palling around with the future king of Asgard. No, I don't know Thor." ―Elliot Randolph and Phil Coulson

Randolph was put in the Cage onboard the Bus and interrogated by Phil Coulson and Grant Ward. Randolph hid his true intentions behind finding the Berserker Staff, claiming that as a professor he had simply wanted to be the one to find and examine the staff before anyone else. Seeing they were getting nowhere in their interrogation, Coulson and Ward took a short break from the questioning.

Ward returned a few moments later, still clearly filled with rage after touching the Berserker Staff. Ward asked Randolph how to fix what the staff had done to him but when Randolph refused to answer, Ward attacked him with a knife. Randolph calmly used his strength to bend the knife with ease before Coulson revealed he had deduced that Randolph was the legendary Asgardian "Warrior Who Stayed". Having previously interrogated Thor, Coulson remembered that he didn't even flinch the entire time and Randolph was showing similar behavior. Coulson got Randolph to cooperate after threatening to reveal his Asgardian origins to the world.

As the team flew to Ireland, the location of the final piece of the Staff, Randolph was approached by the still agitated Ward, who continued to struggle to cope with the side-effects of touching the powerful staff. He asked Randolph how long the effects of the staff last, which Randolph compared to a burning sensation in the gut filled with all your hate and rage. Randolph told him that the staff works differently on humans compared to its effect on Asgardians but the effects should wear off in a few months to a year's time, which did not seem to comfort Ward, but they continued with their mission regardless.[1]

Completing the Staff

"Am I dead?"

"Apparently not." ―Elliot Randolph and Phil Coulson

Randolph led Coulson's Team to the church in Ireland where the final piece was hidden, explaining to them how the monks of the church had kept a vow of silence to protect his secret. Before they could find the staff piece, however, they found that the Paganists had beaten them there and Jakob Nystrom stabbed Randolph through the heart with a staff piece. Jakob believed he could ascend to godhood by killing a "god".

While Grant Ward attacked Nystrom and crew of Neo-Norse Pagans, Coulson called upon Jemma Simmons to try and find a way to save Randolph's life, although Simmons was unsure how to deal with an Asgardian body. Coulson grabbed Randolph's heart and physically pumped it, managing to keep him alive long enough for his advanced Asgardian physiology to heal itself. While this happened, Agents Grant Ward and Melinda May utilized the staff to take out the Paganists. When Randolph awoke, fully recovered from his near-death experience, his first comment was to Jemma Simmons, calling her the most beautiful thing he had seen in a thousand years, which made her blush.[1]

Aftermath

"Can we give you a lift back to the university?"

"Well, you know, with Europe's new fascination with all things Asgardian, I'm wondering if it's time to start over somewhere else." ―Phil Coulson and Elliot Randolph

Afterward, S.H.I.E.L.D. took the Berserker Staff into its possession and Randolph decided that given Europe's new fascination with all things Asgard that it was perhaps time for him to move on. Coulson recommended that he move to Portland, Oregon, and agreed to visit him there.[1]

Saving Jemma Simmons

Recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D.

"I will help you get her back. I'm not entirely heartless. But if I do, I want your word that we will demolish this portal and no one passes through it again." ―Elliot Randolph to Phil Coulson

While comfortably spending time in his prison cell in Norway having been arrested for getting drunk by challenging his biology's ability with taking human alcohol, Randolph was visited by Phil Coulson, Bobbi Morse and Leo Fitz who asked for his assistance in studying the Monolith which had sucked Jemma Simmons through a portal to another world. Randolph refused to help as he claimed that he would rather keep his Asgardian identity a secret from the already fearful public.

Due to his refusal, Coulson changed his tactic and began to threaten to call the ATCU and the world news on him and expose his Asgardian identity to the world, noting how excited the organizations would be to have an Asgardian to study and experiment on. Desperate to keep under the radar, Randolph was left with no choice but to reluctantly agree to help in their investigation. Randolph ripped the bars from his cell and walked out, when the guards arrived to investigate the noise, Randolph calmly blamed the damage on Coulson before walking free.

Returning to the Playground, Randolph looked over the Monolith, shocked to see it change from solid to liquid and back again. He asked if its transformation happened often. Fitz claimed that it was random, but Randolph disagreed, guessing that something was triggering the Monolith, most likely not on Earth. Randolph questioned why they had come to him for advice as he claimed not to know about the scientific research into traveling through space and time, but Coulson made it clear that he knew he had.

Randolph admitted he had come to confirm its existence and destroy it, but Fitz threatened him if he tried, so Randolph agreed to help to get Simmons back if they destroyed it afterwards. The team showed Randolph a piece of paper with links to the Monolith and Randolph recognized the words from a castle he had visited at a party hundreds of years ago and recommended they go to England to investigate. Randolph called everyone to Zephyr One before awkwardly asking if he was allowed to give orders.[2]

Testing the Monolith

"Okay, well, this room wasn't on the last tour. It's an odd shape for architecture this period. Definitely built after I was here."

"Reminds me of the bunker under the Louvre."

"What? There's no bunker under the Louvre. That's a joke, right? You're messing with me. All right, great. Now I'll have to check." ―Elliot Randolph and Bobbi Morse

Upon arriving at the castle in England, Randolph began to reminisce about the costume party he had attended and what he had learned during it. He pointed out the carvings on the walls which allowed Phil Coulson to discover a secret doorway, leading to another room filled with ancient equipment and a hole in the floor which seemed to be used to test and activate the Monolith. As they explored the room, Bobbi Morse made a causal comment comparing the room to the bunker under the Louvre, which Randolph noted that he would have to check to see if she was lying.

Seeking to understand the stone and what happened in this room more, Coulson called Alphonso Mackenzie and requested that he fly the Monolith to their location. Once it was put in place, Leo Fitz activated the machine which caused the room to vibrate and the Monolith to transform to liquid; however, this was only brief and the machine seemed to break before long. A second experiment was conducted this time with Daisy Johnson using her vibration powers to open the portal allowing Fitz to jump inside. Before long, the portal exploded and Fitz reappeared with Jemma Simmons.[2]

Learning of the Inhumans

"Agent Coulson, what exactly is Daisy?"

"They call themselves Inhumans."

"I have not heard that word in a very long time." ―Elliot Randolph and Phil Coulson

Amazed by what he just witnessed, Randolph approached Phil Coulson and asked him what exactly was Daisy Johnson to have exhibited such power. Coulson explained that Johnson was a member of the Inhumans. Randolph's curiosity grew deeper, remembering that, though he had been on Earth for centuries, he had not heard that word in a long time.[2]

Personality

"I hated that thing. Other guys loved all the power that comes with the rage. No, I didn't like it at all." ―Elliot Randolph

Randolph is a very hedonistic and sexually driven man, having told much of his story to a pretty French girl over pillow talk without realizing her brother was a priest who subsequently recorded his legend in an ancient text. Though on the positive side, he did love Earth's culture and did not attempt to do others harm unless he was threatened. He also tends to be sarcastic when annoyed.

Powers

"You were right. He's Asgardian."

"Good thing. Otherwise, that would have been awfully embarrassing." ―Grant Ward and Phil Coulson

Asgardian Physiology: As an Asgardian, Randolph has several superhuman abilities.

"You'll have to go through me."

"And I could. Literally." ―Leo Fitz and Elliot Randolph

Superhuman Strength : Like all Asgardians, Randolph is superhumanly strong. He was able to break the Berserker Staff into three pieces, bend a knife that Grant Ward used to attack him with one hand, and easily break off the handcuffs that were supposed to restrain him. Randolph also claimed to be strong enough to literally walk through Leo Fitz.

: Like all Asgardians, Randolph is superhumanly strong. He was able to break the Berserker Staff into three pieces, bend a knife that Grant Ward used to attack him with one hand, and easily break off the handcuffs that were supposed to restrain him. Randolph also claimed to be strong enough to literally walk through Leo Fitz. Superhuman Durability: Randolph's body is much more resistant to physical harm than the body of a human being. He was able to grab and bend the blade of a knife without cutting his hand. However, he was seriously injured by the Berserker Staff.

"Asgardians regenerate faster than we do." ―Phil Coulson

Regenerative Healing Factor : Despite his body's resistance, Randolph can be injured like any other Asgardian. However, his metabolism enables him to rapidly regenerate damaged bodily tissue with greater speed and efficiency than a human being is capable of. When he was stabbed in the heart with the Berserker Staff, he was seriously injured and would have died if Coulson had not stopped the bleeding long enough for his body to regenerate itself. Randolph was completely healed a few minutes later.

: Despite his body's resistance, Randolph can be injured like any other Asgardian. However, his metabolism enables him to rapidly regenerate damaged bodily tissue with greater speed and efficiency than a human being is capable of. When he was stabbed in the heart with the Berserker Staff, he was seriously injured and would have died if Coulson had not stopped the bleeding long enough for his body to regenerate itself. Randolph was completely healed a few minutes later. Longevity: Randolph ages at a rate that is much slower than that of a human being. Even though he is over 3000 years old, he still looks like a middle-aged man by Earth standards.

Relationships

Allies

Enemies

References

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